Biomedical Engineering/Bioengineering Applicant Profiles for 2019 Admission

[Crazy Rich Asian]

Internation applicant from Germany here, might need some help and advice from you guys.

 

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): German university with a very strong research background, Top 1/2 for life sciences & Top 3 overall in Germany, Top 50 in the world.

 

Major(s): Molecular Biotechnology (3-year Bachelor's degree via Bologna Process, specialization in Biophysical Chemistry)
Minor(s): -
GPA in Major: 3.75/4.00ish? (not sure yet how the conversion from the German grade to the GPA works...)
Overall GPA: see above

Demographics/Background: Asian male with German background. Parents were first-gen immigrants in Germany, spent half of my life in Germany and the other half in China at a German international school. 

GRE Scores:
Q: 163 (85%)
V:  161 (88%)
W: x.x (xx%) (tba)

LOR: 

One from my undergrad PI where I wrote my thesis, who is the Director of a renowned German research institute and very respected in his field internationally

One from the head of my major's department,  who has witnessed my engagement as the semester representative and my work in the student association of my major

One tbd, probably from my supervisor of my current startup internship (which is completely unrelated to biology tho, so it would be a letter emphasizing my abilities outside uni and bio and my personality I guess)

Since we're talking about German universities, where the relationship between students and professors is very anonymous (I've talked to my undergrad PI <5 times), I can't say that my LORs will be strong. The only thing I can "rely" on is the rather high-profiles of my recommenders.  

Research Experience: 

Not really sure how to evaluate this, since we had a lot of practical lab courses starting in 2nd semester. If I had to break it down, it would be something like

2.5 years research experience in academia and industry (both dry & wet lab), including  an 8-week spring internship at a local Biotech company (peptide microarrays) followed by 1.5 years of research assistant experience in the same company, a 6-month internship at the microfluidics lab of a well-known German research institutes (under my undergrad PI, where I wrote my thesis too) and several lab courses throughout my studies (inorganic/organic chem, biochem, microbio, molecular bio, bioinformatics...) 

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations: No publications. Have written a thesis, a review and held numerous presentations at the uni,  but nothing "official" in the American sense I guess. You usually start with these things in your Master's here in Germany.

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Applied for a Fulbright Scholarship for the 2019 Fall sem, should get a notice until end of Sep and hopefully be invited to an interview in Nov. Apart from that that none.

 

Fellowships/Funding: None, German unis don't reward you for studying and doing research lol.

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:  

Lab intern and later research assistant at a young Biotech company for 1.5 years (microarrays, immunoassays, data quantification & analysis)

Lab intern at a very renowned German research institute for 6 months, where I later wrote my Bachelor's thesis  (microfluidics, liposomes, biomimetics)

 

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments:

Elected as the semester representative for the entirety of my studies (3 years), with tasks such as the coordination of important internal affairs for more than 80 people in my semesters and the communication between the student body and the department. Also worked very closely with the student association of my major.

Been a coordinator (1.5 years) and one of the first members of a university-affiliated society that organized volunteering projects in the global south. We've successfully organized two projects from scratch, running fundraising campaigns and lecture series/workshops to promote our agenda

 

Anything else in your application that might matter (faculty connections, etc.):

Since most of the German students continue their studies in Germany and some in Europe, I'm one of the very few that actually wanna go outside Europe. Thus, I don't really have any connections to the US itself.

I'm currently taking a gap year to prepare my applications (would definitely not have had the time to do that during my studies) and do some internships. As I wanted to explore the world a bit, I purposely applied for internships completely unrelated to my field of studies (doing business development at a FinTech startup right now) and plan to travel for at least 5 months beginning next year. 

Feel like I'm not the best at writing SOPs (hate presenting myself on paper and not used to the US-style essays), but I do believe that I can convince most schools in a direct interview, if I do get invited to one.

 

Research Interests:

Still pretty undecided tbh, I have been working a lot with microfluidics, biomimetics and liposomes. But I'm also interested in nanotech & nanodevices, biosensors & bioelectronics and biomaterials. Geriatrics seems like a cool research field in general.

 

Institutions/Programs:

In descending priority:

1. Stanford MS BioE

2. Berkeley MEng BioE

3. UCSD MS BioE (prob have a better chance at MS than at MEng)

4. UW MS BioE

5. Columbia MS BME

 

Comments:

Need you guys opinion on a few things:

1. Should I retake my GREs for my intended schools? Scores were from my first take yesterday, was aiming for 165 in quant but performed a bit poorer than I hoped. I really don't feel like retaking them bc I'd basically spend extra 200$ on trying to get a few more points on quant (I assume that my verbal score is ok and AWA should be fine too). But I also don't wanna risk being cut off immediately due to a more average quant performance. 

2. Am I reaching too high with my choice of schools, based on my background? Tbh I don't know that much about the top programs and top schools for BioE in the US and what their requirements for incoming grad students are. Only thinking about applying in the US bc the topic of BioE is not really existent here in Germany and the US offers a much better ecosystem for this discipline. 

3. Would be German application background be of a disadvantage? Most of the German students remain in Germany (or some in Europe) for their Master's, so the German system is not optimized for applying outside Europe at all. First, I only have a  3-year Bachelor's degree. On the one hand, the grading systems are totally different (still struggling with the GPA conversions) and I don't know how much stricter the grading system here/in the US is and in what way that will be weighted out in the application. On the other hand, since German unis imo are more about letting students fend for themselves instead of actively fostering and supporting them, we didn't really have any incentives throughout our studies (no awards, honors, grants, presentations, conferences, competitions...) and don't really know our professors and lecturers either for a strong and personal recommendation, so I'd probably have a worse standing on these application criteria compared to most US students.

4. How problematic is my switch from Biotechnology to Bioengineering in regards to the application? As some schools stated that students with an engineering background are more competitive, would that put me at a great disadvantage compared to BioE/Eng undergrads? I only realized during my studies that I'm more interested in bioE related stuff than conventional drug research (hence the biophysical chemistry track), but am unsure whether my training is enough to switch into this more engineering-heavy major

5. Do you think the gap year would constitute a problem in my application, since I'm not doing anything related to biology? I'm probably gonna argue with something like "I wanted to educate myself interdisciplinarily and holistically" or "I wanted to learn more about other subjects to see the role of biology in a greater context and to think about how I can use my scientific knowledge in positions that bridge multiple disciplines", but I feel like most of the schools are looking for students with a very distinct and purposeful research background?

 

I'm pretty keen on going to the US for my Master's, since the entire biotech ecosystem sucks here in Germany (and in most of Europe). So these applications kinda matters to me, even though I'm not entirely enthusiastic about writing all the applications and going through this complicated process...

Thanks in advance!

Edited September 23, 2018 by Crazy Rich Asian

[sgaw10]

1 hour ago, Crazy Rich Asian said:

Internation applicant from Germany here, might need some help and advice from you guys.

 

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): German university with a very strong research background, Top 1/2 for life sciences & Top 3 overall in Germany, Top 50 in the world.

 

Major(s): Molecular Biotechnology (3-year Bachelor's degree via Bologna Process, specialization in Biophysical Chemistry)
Minor(s): -
GPA in Major: 3.75/4.00ish? (not sure yet how the conversion from the German grade to the GPA works...)
Overall GPA: see above

Demographics/Background: Asian male with German background. Parents were first-gen immigrants in Germany, spent half of my life in Germany and the other half in China at a German international school. 

GRE Scores:
Q: 163 (85%)
V:  161 (88%)
W: x.x (xx%) (tba)

LOR: 

One from my undergrad PI where I wrote my thesis, who is the Director of a renowned German research institute and very respected in his field internationally

One from the head of my major's department,  who has witnessed my engagement as the semester representative and my work in the student association of my major

One tbd, probably from my supervisor of my current startup internship (which is completely unrelated to biology tho, so it would be a letter emphasizing my abilities outside uni and bio and my personality I guess)

Since we're talking about German universities, where the relationship between students and professors is very anonymous (I've talked to my undergrad PI <5 times), I can't say that my LORs will be strong. The only thing I can "rely" on is the rather high-profiles of my recommenders.  

Research Experience: 

Not really sure how to evaluate this, since we had a lot of practical lab courses starting in 2nd semester. If I had to break it down, it would be something like

2.5 years research experience in academia and industry (both dry & wet lab), including  an 8-week spring internship at a local Biotech company (peptide microarrays) followed by 1.5 years of research assistant experience in the same company, a 6-month internship at the microfluidics lab of a well-known German research institutes (under my undergrad PI, where I wrote my thesis too) and several lab courses throughout my studies (inorganic/organic chem, biochem, microbio, molecular bio, bioinformatics...) 

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations: No publications. Have written a thesis, a review and held numerous presentations at the uni,  but nothing "official" in the American sense I guess. You usually start with these things in your Master's here in Germany.

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Applied for a Fulbright Scholarship for the 2019 Fall sem, should get a notice until end of Sep and hopefully be invited to an interview in Nov. Apart from that that none.

 

Fellowships/Funding: None, German unis don't reward you for studying and doing research lol.

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:  

Lab intern and later research assistant at a young Biotech company for 1.5 years (microarrays, immunoassays, data quantification & analysis)

Lab intern at a very renowned German research institute for 6 months, where I later wrote my Bachelor's thesis  (microfluidics, liposomes, biomimetics)

 

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments:

Elected as the semester representative for the entirety of my studies (3 years), with tasks such as the coordination of important internal affairs for more than 80 people in my semesters and the communication between the student body and the department. Also worked very closely with the student association of my major.

Been a coordinator (1.5 years) and one of the first members of a university-affiliated society that organized volunteering projects in the global south. We've successfully organized two projects from scratch, running fundraising campaigns and lecture series/workshops to promote our agenda

 

Anything else in your application that might matter (faculty connections, etc.):

Since most of the German students continue their studies in Germany and some in Europe, I'm one of the very few that actually wanna go outside Europe. Thus, I don't really have any connections to the US itself.

I'm currently taking a gap year to prepare my applications (would definitely not have had the time to do that during my studies) and do some internships. As I wanted to explore the world a bit, I purposely applied for internships completely unrelated to my field of studies (doing business development at a FinTech startup right now) and plan to travel for at least 5 months beginning next year. 

Feel like I'm not the best at writing SOPs (hate presenting myself on paper and not used to the US-style essays), but I do believe that I can convince most schools in a direct interview, if I do get invited to one.

 

Research Interests:

Still pretty undecided tbh, I have been working a lot with microfluidics, biomimetics and liposomes. But I'm also interested in nanotech & nanodevices, biosensors & bioelectronics and biomaterials. Geriatrics seems like a cool research field in general.

 

Institutions/Programs:

In descending priority:

1. Stanford MS BioE

2. Berkeley MEng BioE

3. UCSD MS BioE (prob have a better chance at MS than at MEng)

4. UW MS BioE

5. Columbia MS BME

 

Comments:

Need you guys opinion on a few things:

1. Should I retake my GREs for my intended schools? Scores were from my first take yesterday, was aiming for 165 in quant but performed a bit poorer than I hoped. I really don't feel like retaking them bc I'd basically spend extra 200$ on trying to get a few more points on quant (I assume that my verbal score is ok and AWA should be fine too). But I also don't wanna risk being cut off immediately due to a more average quant performance. 

2. Am I reaching too high with my choice of schools, based on my background? Tbh I don't know that much about the top programs and top schools for BioE in the US and what their requirements for incoming grad students are. Only thinking about applying in the US bc the topic of BioE is not really existent here in Germany and the US offers a much better ecosystem for this discipline. 

3. Would be German application background be of a disadvantage? Most of the German students remain in Germany (or some in Europe) for their Master's, so the German system is not optimized for applying outside Europe at all. First, I only have a  3-year Bachelor's degree. On the one hand, the grading systems are totally different (still struggling with the GPA conversions) and I don't know how much stricter the grading system here/in the US is and in what way that will be weighted out in the application. On the other hand, since German unis imo are more about letting students fend for themselves instead of actively fostering and supporting them, we didn't really have any incentives throughout our studies (no awards, honors, grants, presentations, conferences, competitions...) and don't really know our professors and lecturers either for a strong and personal recommendation, so I'd probably have a worse standing on these application criteria compared to most US students.

4. How problematic is my switch from Biotechnology to Bioengineering in regards to the application? As some schools stated that students with an engineering background are more competitive, would that put me at a great disadvantage compared to BioE/Eng undergrads? I only realized during my studies that I'm more interested in bioE related stuff than conventional drug research (hence the biophysical chemistry track), but am unsure whether my training is enough to switch into this more engineering-heavy major

5. Do you think the gap year would constitute a problem in my application, since I'm not doing anything related to biology? I'm probably gonna argue with something like "I wanted to educate myself interdisciplinarily and holistically" or "I wanted to learn more about other subjects to see the role of biology in a greater context and to think about how I can use my scientific knowledge in positions that bridge multiple disciplines", but I feel like most of the schools are looking for students with a very distinct and purposeful research background?

 

I'm pretty keen on going to the US for my Master's, since the entire biotech ecosystem sucks here in Germany (and in most of Europe). So these applications kinda matters to me, even though I'm not entirely enthusiastic about writing all the applications and going through this complicated process...

Thanks in advance!

I'm actually a Germanic studies minor. Have taken German since junior high! If I were you I wouldn't retake the GRE. I have a similar quantitative score (and a much lower GPA!), but I really can't justify wasting more time reviewing and slimming my wallet even further just to maybe snag a point or two back.

Have you taken any engineering courses or just biology stuff? I think this also depends a lot on what area you really end up choosing. Biomedical engineering encompasses a breadth of topics, some more engineering-esque than others. But a lot of biology-focused undergraduates do pursue a graduate degree in biomedical engineering, if that makes you feel any better.

Not every applicant has a million and one publications and conference presentations. Realize that you are getting a taste of a very select few by logging onto GradCafe. I think you have a shot at the schools you've listed, especially since you are applying for master's programs only. But if you are dead set on coming to the United States for the master's immediately, then it would not be a bad idea to add a school or two as a somewhat "safer" option.

[Crazy Rich Asian]

On 9/23/2018 at 8:27 PM, sgaw10 said:

I'm actually a Germanic studies minor. Have taken German since junior high! If I were you I wouldn't retake the GRE. I have a similar quantitative score (and a much lower GPA!), but I really can't justify wasting more time reviewing and slimming my wallet even further just to maybe snag a point or two back.

Have you taken any engineering courses or just biology stuff? I think this also depends a lot on what area you really end up choosing. Biomedical engineering encompasses a breadth of topics, some more engineering-esque than others. But a lot of biology-focused undergraduates do pursue a graduate degree in biomedical engineering, if that makes you feel any better.

Not every applicant has a million and one publications and conference presentations. Realize that you are getting a taste of a very select few by logging onto GradCafe. I think you have a shot at the schools you've listed, especially since you are applying for master's programs only. But if you are dead set on coming to the United States for the master's immediately, then it would not be a bad idea to add a school or two as a somewhat "safer" option.

That's really cool! It's a bummer that the major/minor system is not so common in Germany, would've loved to learn about something entirely different during my studies. But German must be a pain in the ass to learn, isn't it? I still get frustrated over the lack of logic in the German language sometimes...

But yeah, right now I'm leaning towards not retaking the test. Really don't feel like dishing out those 200$ for few more points (if I do manage to score better). Might also be that I'm just too lazy to study for it again lol. Wouldn't say that I have taken any conventional engineering courses per se, but we did have several courses which were much more tech-focused and not just biology.

Are there any additional "safe" schools you would recommend applying to? The city/environment the school is in is pretty important to me. I've studied in a pretty small town here in Germany and must say that I do look forward to living in some place that is more dynamic and offers more options. So wouldn't want to go to college in the most secluded place...

It's pretty nice seeing all of you guys posting here,  always cool to have someone around who is going the same path as you. Since many of us are applying for the same schools, I guess there is even a chance that we'll see each other during the interviews, if we do get invited?

 

[sgaw10]

1 hour ago, Crazy Rich Asian said:

That's really cool! It's a bummer that the major/minor system is not so common in Germany, would've loved to learn about something entirely different during my studies. But German must be a pain in the ass to learn, isn't it? I still get frustrated over the lack of logic in the German language sometimes...

But yeah, right now I'm leaning towards not retaking the test. Really don't feel like dishing out those 200$ for few more points (if I do manage to score better). Might also be that I'm just too lazy to study for it again lol. Wouldn't say that I have taken any conventional engineering courses per se, but we did have several courses which were much more tech-focused and not just biology.

Are there any additional "safe" schools you would recommend applying to? The city/environment the school is in is pretty important to me. I've studied in a pretty small town here in Germany and must say that I do look forward to living in some place that is more dynamic and offers more options. So wouldn't want to go to college in the most secluded place...

It's pretty nice seeing all of you guys posting here,  always cool to have someone around who is going the same path as you. Since many of us are applying for the same schools, I guess there is even a chance that we'll see each other during the interviews, if we do get invited?

 

Oh, I love the structure of the German language. Learning it came surprisingly quite naturally to me. I still have not been over there yet, unfortunately.

GRE won't really make a huge difference unless your score is terrible, to be honest. I personally don't think your score will make or break you.

I feel you on the urban environment. I grew up in the suburbs but have fortunately been attending undergraduate in one of the biggest cities in the US. I love it. So, I could never apply for a program in a rural area. My "safer" schools right now include University of Virginia with University of Utah and University of Colorado at Boulder probably added. UT Austin is probably more middle-of-the-road, too. One of my professors who is well-established in the biomedical engineering community quite likes the work being done at University of Florida and Ohio State, so those might be good to check out as well.

Everyone here is super impressive, so I will probably be the one who hears the stories of you all meeting up at interviews. That's fine ?

[Crazy Rich Asian]

On 9/23/2018 at 6:34 PM, Crazy Rich Asian said:

International applicant from Germany here, might need some help and advice from you guys.

 

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): German university with a very strong research background, Top 1/2 for life sciences & Top 3 overall in Germany, Top 50 in the world.

 

Major(s): Molecular Biotechnology (3-year Bachelor's degree via Bologna Process, specialization in Biophysical Chemistry)
Minor(s): -
GPA in Major: 3.75/4.00ish? (not sure yet how the conversion from the German grade to the GPA works...)
Overall GPA: see above

Demographics/Background: Asian male with German background. Parents were first-gen immigrants in Germany, spent half of my life in Germany and the other half in China at a German international school. 

GRE Scores:
Q: 163 (83%)
V:  161 (88%)
W: 5.0 (92%)

LOR: 

One from my undergrad PI where I wrote my thesis, who is the Director of a renowned German research institute and very respected in his field internationally

One from the head of my major's department,  who has witnessed my engagement as the semester representative and my work in the student association of my major

One tbd, probably from my supervisor of my current startup internship (which is completely unrelated to biology tho, so it would be a letter emphasizing my abilities outside uni and bio and my personality I guess)

Since we're talking about German universities, where the relationship between students and professors is very anonymous (I've talked to my undergrad PI <5 times), I can't say that my LORs will be strong. The only thing I can "rely" on is the rather high-profiles of my recommenders.  

Research Experience: 

Not really sure how to evaluate this, since we had a lot of practical lab courses starting in 2nd semester. If I had to break it down, it would be something like

2.5 years research experience in academia and industry (both dry & wet lab), including  an 8-week spring internship at a local Biotech company (peptide microarrays) followed by 1.5 years of research assistant experience in the same company, a 6-month internship at the microfluidics lab of a well-known German research institutes (under my undergrad PI, where I wrote my thesis too) and several lab courses throughout my studies (inorganic/organic chem, biochem, microbio, molecular bio, bioinformatics...) 

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations: No publications. Have written a thesis, a review and held numerous presentations at the uni,  but nothing "official" in the American sense I guess. You usually start with these things in your Master's here in Germany.

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Applied for a Fulbright Scholarship for the 2019 Fall sem, should get a notice until end of Sep and hopefully be invited to an interview in Nov. Apart from that that none.

 

Fellowships/Funding: None, German unis don't reward you for studying and doing research lol.

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:  

Lab intern and later research assistant at a young Biotech company for 1.5 years (microarrays, immunoassays, data quantification & analysis)

Lab intern at a very renowned German research institute for 6 months, where I later wrote my Bachelor's thesis  (microfluidics, liposomes, biomimetics)

 

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments:

Elected as the semester representative for the entirety of my studies (3 years), with tasks such as the coordination of important internal affairs for more than 80 people in my semesters and the communication between the student body and the department. Also worked very closely with the student association of my major.

Been a coordinator (1.5 years) and one of the first members of a university-affiliated society that organized volunteering projects in the global south. We've successfully organized two projects from scratch, running fundraising campaigns and lecture series/workshops to promote our agenda

 

Anything else in your application that might matter (faculty connections, etc.):

Since most of the German students continue their studies in Germany and some in Europe, I'm one of the very few that actually wanna go outside Europe. Thus, I don't really have any connections to the US itself.

I'm currently taking a gap year to prepare my applications (would definitely not have had the time to do that during my studies) and do some internships. As I wanted to explore the world a bit, I purposely applied for internships completely unrelated to my field of studies (doing business development at a FinTech startup right now) and plan to travel for at least 5 months beginning next year. 

Feel like I'm not the best at writing SOPs (hate presenting myself on paper and not used to the US-style essays), but I do believe that I can convince most schools in a direct interview, if I do get invited to one.

 

Research Interests:

Still pretty undecided tbh, I have been working a lot with microfluidics, biomimetics and liposomes. But I'm also interested in nanotech & nanodevices, biosensors & bioelectronics and biomaterials. Geriatrics seems like a cool research field in general.

 

Institutions/Programs:

In descending priority:

1. Stanford MS BioE

2. Berkeley MEng BioE

3. UCSD MS BioE (prob have a better chance at MS than at MEng)

4. UW MS BioE

5. Columbia MS BME

 

Comments:

Need you guys opinion on a few things:

1. Should I retake my GREs for my intended schools? Scores were from my first take yesterday, was aiming for 165 in quant but performed a bit poorer than I hoped. I really don't feel like retaking them bc I'd basically spend extra 200$ on trying to get a few more points on quant (I assume that my verbal score is ok and AWA should be fine too). But I also don't wanna risk being cut off immediately due to a more average quant performance. 

2. Am I reaching too high with my choice of schools, based on my background? Tbh I don't know that much about the top programs and top schools for BioE in the US and what their requirements for incoming grad students are. Only thinking about applying in the US bc the topic of BioE is not really existent here in Germany and the US offers a much better ecosystem for this discipline. 

3. Would be German application background be of a disadvantage? Most of the German students remain in Germany (or some in Europe) for their Master's, so the German system is not optimized for applying outside Europe at all. First, I only have a  3-year Bachelor's degree. On the one hand, the grading systems are totally different (still struggling with the GPA conversions) and I don't know how much stricter the grading system here/in the US is and in what way that will be weighted out in the application. On the other hand, since German unis imo are more about letting students fend for themselves instead of actively fostering and supporting them, we didn't really have any incentives throughout our studies (no awards, honors, grants, presentations, conferences, competitions...) and don't really know our professors and lecturers either for a strong and personal recommendation, so I'd probably have a worse standing on these application criteria compared to most US students.

4. How problematic is my switch from Biotechnology to Bioengineering in regards to the application? As some schools stated that students with an engineering background are more competitive, would that put me at a great disadvantage compared to BioE/Eng undergrads? I only realized during my studies that I'm more interested in bioE related stuff than conventional drug research (hence the biophysical chemistry track), but am unsure whether my training is enough to switch into this more engineering-heavy major

5. Do you think the gap year would constitute a problem in my application, since I'm not doing anything related to biology? I'm probably gonna argue with something like "I wanted to educate myself interdisciplinarily and holistically" or "I wanted to learn more about other subjects to see the role of biology in a greater context and to think about how I can use my scientific knowledge in positions that bridge multiple disciplines", but I feel like most of the schools are looking for students with a very distinct and purposeful research background?

 

I'm pretty keen on going to the US for my Master's, since the entire biotech ecosystem sucks here in Germany (and in most of Europe). So these applications kinda matters to me, even though I'm not entirely enthusiastic about writing all the applications and going through this complicated process...

Thanks in advance!

Updated with my AWA score and the official percentages. Q163 is just 83%, this is kinda bugging me...

[Crazy Rich Asian]

On 9/27/2018 at 1:28 AM, sgaw10 said:

Oh, I love the structure of the German language. Learning it came surprisingly quite naturally to me. I still have not been over there yet, unfortunately.

GRE won't really make a huge difference unless your score is terrible, to be honest. I personally don't think your score will make or break you.

I feel you on the urban environment. I grew up in the suburbs but have fortunately been attending undergraduate in one of the biggest cities in the US. I love it. So, I could never apply for a program in a rural area. My "safer" schools right now include University of Virginia with University of Utah and University of Colorado at Boulder probably added. UT Austin is probably more middle-of-the-road, too. One of my professors who is well-established in the biomedical engineering community quite likes the work being done at University of Florida and Ohio State, so those might be good to check out as well.

Everyone here is super impressive, so I will probably be the one who hears the stories of you all meeting up at interviews. That's fine ?

That's amazing, I've met a lot of people who hate German for the complexity of its sentence structures and its grammar. Maybe you could do your Masters here in Germany  

Thanks for the recommendations tho. I'll definitely consider that. But writing 5 full applications already seems like a daunting tast to me.... Let's see how it goes.

[BacktotheBlackBoard]

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM):  State School but a good one on east coast, US.

Bachelors

Major(s): Molecular and Cellular Biology - Is there even any point in trying to apply BioEngineering if I don't have an Engineering/ChemE degree?
GPA in Major: 3.95/4.00
Overall GPA: 3.91/4.00  (3.88 for both degrees as on transcripts)

Masters - Coursework MS.

Major(s): Molecular and Cellular Biology - Structural Biology, Biophysics, and Biochemistry concentration
GPA in Major: 3.72/4.00

Demographics/Background: White Female, US citizen.

GRE Scores:
Q: 158 (68%) - This sucks
V: 165 (96%)
W: 4.5 (86%)

LOR: From PI, and current Industry Scientist and Director above him.

Research Experience:  2 years academic microbiology lab, 2 years biotech therapeutics platform startup as Research Associate in Protein Sciences.

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations: one of many authors on patent pending for engineering exosome platform, paper to come, posters from undergrad no papers.

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: University Scholar, Honors Program, Outstanding Senior in MCB, Thesis research funding

 

Fellowships/Funding: I did not know this was a factor, only recently switched to BE from Biology applications.  Should I push to get applications in to NSF and such?  Please advise.

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 2 years biotech therapeutics platform startup as Research Associate in Protein Sciences, basically protein engineering is my full time job.

 

Research Interests: Protein and cell engineering for therapeutics, also disease and immunology, cancer therapeutics

 

Institutions/Programs: Would like to stay in Boston or east coast.  Have not decided where will apply BE vs. Biology, would love ideas.

 Harvard, MIT, Yale, UPenn, UWashington, UCSF, UCSanDiego, ?JohnsHopkins, ?Northeastern, ?Boston Univ. ?UMass Med

 

Please advise on:

Applying to BE without an engineering degree

Are Fellowship applications necessary for consideration

Are GREs too low in quant

What are good east coast BioEngineering schools/labs.

 

 

[sgaw10]

3 hours ago, SonyaRenee said:

Please advise on:

Applying to BE without an engineering degree

Are Fellowship applications necessary for consideration

Are GREs too low in quant

What are good east coast BioEngineering schools/labs.

I think you might be okay applying for bioengineering given that your research interests are more biology-based. Some programs do list prerequisites on their websites though, which may or may not differ by specific area.

If you have the time and money, it can't hurt to retake the GRE imho.

These probably aren't quite the locations you want, but I would check out University of Virginia, University of Florida, and University of Pittsburgh. Maybe Tufts, too.

[Teaching Faculty Wannabe]

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): a leading public research (heavily focused in STEM) university located on the east coast/south, ranked in the Top 25 Engineering Schools in 2019 according to US NEWS

Major(s): Materials Science and Engineering
Minor(s): Biomaterials concentration
GPA in Major: 4.00/4.00
Overall GPA: 4.00/4.00
Demographics/Background: Hispanic/Latina, from a lower middle class family (resulting in occasional financial difficulties and many loans for undergraduate), one of my parents immigrated from Venezuela, grew up on college campuses (my mother is a university professor)

GRE Scores:
Q: 157 (65%)
V: 152 (56%)
W: 4.0 (59%)
*I know these scores aren't the greatest. I really suck at standardized tests and don't have the finances/desire to retake it*

LOR: Two letters from professors I had classes with (one of the professors I also did research with and the other professor I connected with before taking their class through a research program they run that I was participant of) and a letter from a supervisor I did a summer internship with last year

Research Experience: A little over a year of research, 9 months of undergraduate research with the same PI (research on materials used to improve electrochemical processes), 10 week summer research experience at a university in Australia (research on a ceramic material used for refrigeration applications), 10 week summer internship at NASA (research on growing graphene for gas sensor development)

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations: Two poster presentations at state-wide conferences for NASA research, poster presentation for materials science and engineering senior design project at my university's undergraduate research symposium

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

• Received travel grant to visit University of Michigan at the end of this month
• Outstanding senior award in my department
• Best senior design paper award in my department
• Semester Dean's List for seven semesters (didn't get it for my last semester because I wasn't a full time student)
• Received for four one-time scholarships in the past four years.

 

Fellowships/Funding: Applying for NSF GRFP and GEM Fellowship

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: I know it is recommended to not discuss activities done before undergrad but I did a summer internship at Jefferson Lab, a national accelerator facility, when I was in high school that exposed me to the world of research/helped me discover that I want to be a researcher

 

Research Interests: Broad interest are biomaterials, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine; more narrow interests are using polymeric scaffolds for tissue growth/regeneration

 

Institutions/Programs:

• University of Delaware (Materials Science and Engineering)
• University of Florida (Biomedical Engineering)
• University of Washington (Bioengineering)
• University of Michigan (Biomedical Engineering)
• Boston University (Materials Science and Engineering)
• University of Rochester (Biomedical Engineering)
• Northwester University (Biomedical Engineering)
• California Institute of Technology (Medical Engineering)

 

Comments: Just an FYI, I recently graduated and am taking a gap year. I have done some traveling, but I haven't found any research opportunities as of yet, so I am just focused on getting my applications completed/refining my research interests.

Please offer advice on:

My research experiences pertaining to my lack of biomedical engineering experience (also it seems like a lot of people have a ton a lot more research than me)

Being a gap year "student" and is it bad that I am not currently working right now (I have been applying to a variety of jobs, just haven't gotten anything )

My mediocre GRE scores (can my GPA and other experiences make up for it?)

 

Thanks!

Edited October 11, 2018 by Moods 2.0
needed to add something

[sgaw10]

 

4 hours ago, Moods said:

Please offer advice on:

My research experiences pertaining to my lack of biomedical engineering experience (also it seems like a lot of people have a ton a lot more research than me)

Being a gap year "student" and is it bad that I am not currently working right now (I have been applying to a variety of jobs, just haven't gotten anything )

My mediocre GRE scores (can my GPA and other experiences make up for it?)

It sounds like you have solid research experience. My research isn't in my field of interest either (which is the same as yours) but is rather more systems biology based. From what I have read, showing that you can actually do research is more important than the project itself. 

I am not able to comment on gap year student stuff, but I, like you, am hoping that other parts of my application can offset the rest of it. Terrible GPA and average GRE holding me back, personally. /:

Awesome that we have similar research interests and a couple of schools in common though!

[Teaching Faculty Wannabe]

@sgaw10 Thank you for your input! It is pretty neat to "meet" someone with similar research interests and some common schools?️☺️! It would be funny if we ended up at the same place! Good luck with all of your applications!!

[laveritecestla]

On 10/11/2018 at 12:49 PM, Moods said:

Please offer advice on:

My research experiences pertaining to my lack of biomedical engineering experience (also it seems like a lot of people have a ton a lot more research than me)

Being a gap year "student" and is it bad that I am not currently working right now (I have been applying to a variety of jobs, just haven't gotten anything )

My mediocre GRE scores (can my GPA and other experiences make up for it?)

 

Thanks!

 

Seconding that having extensive research background is more important than having a background in your specific field. What I said I wanted to do when I applied last year didn't really relate to what my background was in, and I did fine! I also don't think that taking a gap year looks bad - usually, people come off as "more mature" and sure of what they want. And you're GPA will definitely offset the GRE scores. 

[be2k19]

Hi all - gonna hop on the stress train here - I've had a hard time gauging my chances to get in anywhere so any feedback would be nice - mostly worried about lack of publications and only 2/3 LOR's being strong

 

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): Ranked around 20th

Major(s): Bioengineering (Com Sci Specialization)
Minor(s):  None
GPA in Major: x.xx/4.00 3.87
Overall GPA: x.xx/4.00 3.79
Demographics/Background: White Male

GRE Scores:
Q: xxx (xx%) 170 (96th)
V: xxx (xx%) 166 (97th)
W: x.x (xx%) 5.0 (92nd)

LOR: 1 strong letter from current PI of 1.5 years, One strong letter from manager at pharmaceutical company internship, one probably mediocre letter from current senior design project professor - known for about 2 months, but seems to like me

Research Experience:  1 year data analysis + modeling at MRI lab, 1.5 years til present in biomaterials, senior project will involve machine learning to process imaging results from novel device

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations: Big 0 - not at labs at times when papers were being generated

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Deans list 6 quarters

 

Fellowships/Funding: Will be applying, not expecting much

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:  One summer working in pharmaceutical company (non research, but adjacent to it)

 

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments:  Nada

 

Anything else in your application that might matter (faculty connections, etc.): ?  4.0 for all of junior year maybe?

 

Research Interests: I want to pursue a project where I can apply both my computational skills and biomaterials/biocompatibily knowledge, so something like development of neuro-prostheses would be ideal.  Varies by school whichever project looks promising.

 

Institutions/Programs: UW Madison, WashU, USC, UCLA, UCSD, Stanford, Cal      -        

 

Comments: I feel confident in my numbers but am definitely lacking in hard research accomplishments and awards despite 2.5 years of contribution. You guys have any insights on chances here? I definitely appreciated any feedback

[Victorious Secret]

Let's see... An upward-trending 3.8 GPA at a strong school with a perfect GRE quant and several highly relevant research experiences. Your letters sound about average. Papers, especially in engineering, are not the norm for undergrads at the time of application. But all a paper really does is demonstrate that you can do high-caliber research. This can be accomplished in other ways. Make sure your recommenders talk about your projects (bullet point some things for them to discuss) and highlight your independence of thought and work in our SOP. Unfortunately, it is probably to late to get some poster sessions onto your CV. They are not as good as a paper, but presentations at national conferences do demonstrate your commitment to becoming a scholar within the discipline. Your schools sound reasonable, though Stanford might be very tough, it is for everybody. And don't worry too much about funding, all of those universities will give you enough to live on. If you love research, you're well on your way to a career with your background. Best of luck, man!

[extramaniac]

Hi all,

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM):  top 50 school then transferred to a top UC

Major(s): Molecular and Cell Biology
Minor(s): Physiology concentration
GPA in Major: 3.54/4.00
Overall GPA: 3.58/4.00
Demographics/Background: Asian domestic male

Masters Institution: Top UC

GPA: 3.68 Biomedical Imaging

GRE Scores:
Q: 166 (90%)
V: 162 (91%)
W: 6.0 (99%)
 

LOR: 3 letters: 1 from a senior PI who was in charge of a paper I was 3rd author on. 1 from a post-doc (who is now a professor) who worked with me directly for 4 years. 1 from a PI who's lab I work in now (imaging lab), and who's class I took as a masters student.

Research Experience: 3 months in the summer at a hypertension lab measuring tensile strength of aorta in response to different compounds (2nd author paper in review)

 4.5 years of tissue engineering research between 2 institutions (was a collaboration) resulting in one 3rd author publication (of 19) in a Nature journal (not super prestigious though), 2 more middle author pubs (one submitted , one in preparation).

This academic year, I'm working in an imaging lab with a prof from my masters program.

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations:  ~7 national poster presentations/abstracts, 2 more submitted by the time applications will be submitted

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

• Just deans list for my first 4 semesters. GPA dropped when I transferred to the UC (3.8->3.35)

 

Fellowships/Funding: Haven't really applied to any

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Mostly research specialist positions in academic labs

 

Research Interests: quantitative MRI methods for body imaging (specifically cardiac, renal, and tumor applications)

 

Institutions/Programs: (in order of decreasing preference)

• Stanford BioE
• Berkeley/UCSF BioE
• Northwestern BME
• WashU Imaging Science
• UCLA BioE

 

Anything else in your application that might matter (faculty connections, etc.): PI I work with now knows majority of the people in the departments I'm applying to at my top 2 programs and I have a pretty good relationship with him.

Comments:  

I've done a lot of tissue engineering research, but after my masters I wanted to do a phd in imaging (related to MRI). 

I'm worried that my MCB background will result in adcoms not thinking I have the math background. While I never took differential equations/linear algebra, 2 undergrad classes I took, and my Imaging masters program were math heavy in these areas. Any advice on how this will be interpreted?

any suggestions of schools to add and my chances? mainly worried about my undergrad GPA (i'm 4 years post undergrad if it means anything) and my lack formal engineering classes taken in undergrad. my imaging masters did have math/cs/engineering-heavy courses.

thanks for any feedback

 

 

Edited November 1, 2018 by extramaniac

[be2k19]

On 10/31/2018 at 9:18 PM, Victorious Secret said:

Let's see... An upward-trending 3.8 GPA at a strong school with a perfect GRE quant and several highly relevant research experiences. Your letters sound about average. Papers, especially in engineering, are not the norm for undergrads at the time of application. But all a paper really does is demonstrate that you can do high-caliber research. This can be accomplished in other ways. Make sure your recommenders talk about your projects (bullet point some things for them to discuss) and highlight your independence of thought and work in our SOP. Unfortunately, it is probably to late to get some poster sessions onto your CV. They are not as good as a paper, but presentations at national conferences do demonstrate your commitment to becoming a scholar within the discipline. Your schools sound reasonable, though Stanford might be very tough, it is for everybody. And don't worry too much about funding, all of those universities will give you enough to live on. If you love research, you're well on your way to a career with your background. Best of luck, man!

Thank you very much for your input - definitely helps calms the nerves, as it's very hard to gauge how strong my chances/application are during this somewhat opaque process. Best of luck to you (and those of you in the rest of the thread as well) - from your resumes it sounds like you'll be in a very exciting place doing very exciting work come Fall! 

Actually as I look back I see no one gave you feedback on your resume post even though you started the thread! It's probably because no comment needs to be made - for lack of better words - holy crap! You're doing incredible work in all possible aspects of the application - your research sounds incredibly productive and relevant with the awards and publications to prove it, your letters sound exceptional, you've got incredible academic and standardized test numbers, showed drive to achieve above what is expected with units etc., and your work outside of school (founding a freaking NGO, etc.) is nothing short of admirable! I'd be surprised if you didn't get interviews at every institution you applied to unless no research interest fit is remotely possible (and I bet you've made sure that isn't the case) I'm sure every professor would love to have a go getter in the lab like you to make their research look good; congratulations of a fantastic academic career - I hope you can take the graduate application process as something of a victory lap! All I can say is good luck in finding your perfect fit!

Thanks again!

Edited November 3, 2018 by be2k19

[Teaching Faculty Wannabe]

On 11/1/2018 at 4:07 PM, extramaniac said:

I've done a lot of tissue engineering research, but after my masters I wanted to do a phd in imaging (related to MRI). 

I'm worried that my MCB background will result in adcoms not thinking I have the math background. While I never took differential equations/linear algebra, 2 undergrad classes I took, and my Imaging masters program were math heavy in these areas. Any advice on how this will be interpreted?

any suggestions of schools to add and my chances? mainly worried about my undergrad GPA (i'm 4 years post undergrad if it means anything) and my lack formal engineering classes taken in undergrad. my imaging masters did have math/cs/engineering-heavy courses.

thanks for any feedback 

Overall, I think your application profile looks really great. Your GPAs aren't as bad as you think. A 3.5 is still a good GPA. Your GRE scores are great. LORs sound good. Your research experience is wonderful, especially since you got publications and presentations from them.

I know your MCB background worries you, but I don't think it will make you look bad. There are ton of people that transfer from the sciences to engineering when entering into a PhD. You may have to take extra classes in order to make up for the required pre-req classes you didn't take in your undergrad and master's, but if that's fine with you, then that should be okay. Also, the fact that you have a more biology-based background with diverse research experience can be an advantage since it can make you seem more knowledgeable in biology, if that makes sense.

For other schools, I would check out University of Michigan (I just visited last week and it seems to have a great BME program), Wake Forest University, John Hopkins, and the joint NC State/UNC Chapel Hill BME program. I am not entirely sure if they have research you are interested in, but I believe they are good schools. Also, look at other places biomedical engineering people on here are applying to/have applied to in order to get an idea of other schools to look into.

I hope this helps, and good luck!

[AlkaKadri]

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): Average Canadian School, but decently well-known for research

Major(s): (Combined Degree)
BSc in Chemical Engineering with a Biomedical Engineering Specialization
BSc in Pure & Applied Mathematics
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: 3.92/4.00 (Chem Engg) 3.99/4.00 (Math)
Overall GPA: 3.94/4.00
Demographics/Background: 1st Gen Middle Eastern, but I guess that makes me white according to the Americans lol

GRE Scores:
Q: 169 (96%)
V: 164 (94%)
W: 5.5 (98%)

LOR: 1 from a well-known prof I did a summer studentship with, 1 from a chem engg prof I've gotten to know very well over 3 courses, and 1 from a math prof I took 3 courses with and TA'd with. Considering replacing one of the latter two with my boss from my 16 month R&D internship?

Research Experience: 4 months at a Bioprocessing Lab that ended in a conference poster, 16 month R&D internship for a polymers company, and final year thesis in biomedical engineering.

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations: 1 poster presentation at a conference. Is it worth mentioning technical memos published internally within the R&D company I worked for?

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: A great deal of undergraduate scholarships (around 6, none of which were particularly huge in payout) and a summer studentship award.

 

Fellowships/Funding: Applying to some in Canada, but I don't think those are available for me in the US...

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA'ing for the math department this year, and tutored at the student success centre for my Uni for a year.

 

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments: I did both of the above degrees in a matter of 4 years by taking 7 courses most semesters, and 8 courses one summer. Will graduate with 84 courses of credit.

 

Anything else in your application that might matter (faculty connections, etc.): Not as of yet.. Will reach out to faculty this week.

 

Research Interests: Simulation and modelling of clinically relevant problems - computational medicine, computational biology, and transport phenomena.

 

Institutions/Programs: Applying to "reasonable" schools within Canada, and all of my "dream" schools in the US:

• Johns Hopkins
• Caltech
• Stanford
• UCB
• UCSB
• UCLA
• MIT
• GA Tech
• UPenn
• UT Austin
• Minnesota
• CMU

 

Comments: Looking for an honest evaluation of my chance at a PhD admittance at these schools.. I'm kinda worried about the lack of research experience in using computational tools in biomed. My summer studentship was in stem cell culture scale up and my senior thesis is on biomaterials and iPSC maturation. The R&D job did involve a great deal of Python programming and simulation, but it was all plastics related. Thoughts, suggestions, feedback??

[sgaw10]

Submitted my first application today, sent all of the requests to my recommended, and have written about half of my SOPs... this sounds overly emotional, but it's really starting to hit me now. I'm not feeling very confident yet I still have some weird sort of faith.

[Victorious Secret]

On 11/3/2018 at 4:19 PM, be2k19 said:

Thank you very much for your input - definitely helps calms the nerves, as it's very hard to gauge how strong my chances/application are during this somewhat opaque process. Best of luck to you (and those of you in the rest of the thread as well) - from your resumes it sounds like you'll be in a very exciting place doing very exciting work come Fall! 

Actually as I look back I see no one gave you feedback on your resume post even though you started the thread! It's probably because no comment needs to be made - for lack of better words - holy crap! You're doing incredible work in all possible aspects of the application - your research sounds incredibly productive and relevant with the awards and publications to prove it, your letters sound exceptional, you've got incredible academic and standardized test numbers, showed drive to achieve above what is expected with units etc., and your work outside of school (founding a freaking NGO, etc.) is nothing short of admirable! I'd be surprised if you didn't get interviews at every institution you applied to unless no research interest fit is remotely possible (and I bet you've made sure that isn't the case) I'm sure every professor would love to have a go getter in the lab like you to make their research look good; congratulations of a fantastic academic career - I hope you can take the graduate application process as something of a victory lap! All I can say is good luck in finding your perfect fit!

Thanks again!

Wow, such a wonderful message to read, thank you so much for your feedback and kind words. These weeks have been a bit overwhelming, so it's reassuring to hear your thoughts. Best of luck!

[Teaching Faculty Wannabe]

On 11/5/2018 at 1:33 AM, AlkaKadri said:

Looking for an honest evaluation of my chance at a PhD admittance at these schools.. I'm kinda worried about the lack of research experience in using computational tools in biomed. My summer studentship was in stem cell culture scale up and my senior thesis is on biomaterials and iPSC maturation. The R&D job did involve a great deal of Python programming and simulation, but it was all plastics related. Thoughts, suggestions, feedback??

First off, great job with your GRE scores. Your GPAs are great, so you have those two things going for you. LORs are good. Maybe replace your second one with your boss if you want to switch them. Great research experience with some presentation skills. You could maybe mention in your SOPs that you have published memos, if you have room. It's super impressive that you obtained two degrees in four years with the GPAs that you have. Amazing!

Even though you may not have extensive research using computational tools in biomedical engineering, you do seem to have experience and skills using computational programming. Like myself, I haven't done any research in the area that I want to do in graduate school. However, in my SOPs, I am talking about how I can easily adapt to different labs and research projects being conducted. Also, if you show your passion in the subject, then I think that will be sufficient. Maybe others will say differently, but I am betting on that myself. 

I think you are an great candidate with all that you have accomplished, especially in a short amount of time! Good luck with everything!

[AlkaKadri]

On 11/7/2018 at 1:31 PM, Moods said:

First off, great job with your GRE scores. Your GPAs are great, so you have those two things going for you. LORs are good. Maybe replace your second one with your boss if you want to switch them. Great research experience with some presentation skills. You could maybe mention in your SOPs that you have published memos, if you have room. It's super impressive that you obtained two degrees in four years with the GPAs that you have. Amazing!

Even though you may not have extensive research using computational tools in biomedical engineering, you do seem to have experience and skills using computational programming. Like myself, I haven't done any research in the area that I want to do in graduate school. However, in my SOPs, I am talking about how I can easily adapt to different labs and research projects being conducted. Also, if you show your passion in the subject, then I think that will be sufficient. Maybe others will say differently, but I am betting on that myself. 

I think you are an great candidate with all that you have accomplished, especially in a short amount of time! Good luck with everything!

Thanks for the encouragement! I’m just not sure how much of a reach/waste of time it is applying to all those schools... But I’m thinking I have an okay chance. Good luck with all your applications as well!

[Tecumseh30]

On 11/1/2018 at 3:07 PM, extramaniac said:

Hi all,

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM):  top 50 school then transferred to a top UC

Major(s): Molecular and Cell Biology
Minor(s): Physiology concentration
GPA in Major: 3.54/4.00
Overall GPA: 3.58/4.00
Demographics/Background: Asian domestic male

Masters Institution: Top UC

GPA: 3.68 Biomedical Imaging

GRE Scores:
Q: 166 (90%)
V: 162 (91%)
W: 6.0 (99%)
 

LOR: 3 letters: 1 from a senior PI who was in charge of a paper I was 3rd author on. 1 from a post-doc (who is now a professor) who worked with me directly for 4 years. 1 from a PI who's lab I work in now (imaging lab), and who's class I took as a masters student.

Research Experience: 3 months in the summer at a hypertension lab measuring tensile strength of aorta in response to different compounds (2nd author paper in review)

 4.5 years of tissue engineering research between 2 institutions (was a collaboration) resulting in one 3rd author publication (of 19) in a Nature journal (not super prestigious though), 2 more middle author pubs (one submitted , one in preparation).

This academic year, I'm working in an imaging lab with a prof from my masters program.

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations:  ~7 national poster presentations/abstracts, 2 more submitted by the time applications will be submitted

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

• Just deans list for my first 4 semesters. GPA dropped when I transferred to the UC (3.8->3.35)

 

Fellowships/Funding: Haven't really applied to any

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Mostly research specialist positions in academic labs

 

Research Interests: quantitative MRI methods for body imaging (specifically cardiac, renal, and tumor applications)

 

Institutions/Programs: (in order of decreasing preference)

• Stanford BioE
• Berkeley/UCSF BioE
• Northwestern BME
• WashU Imaging Science
• UCLA BioE

 

Anything else in your application that might matter (faculty connections, etc.): PI I work with now knows majority of the people in the departments I'm applying to at my top 2 programs and I have a pretty good relationship with him.

Comments:  

I've done a lot of tissue engineering research, but after my masters I wanted to do a phd in imaging (related to MRI). 

I'm worried that my MCB background will result in adcoms not thinking I have the math background. While I never took differential equations/linear algebra, 2 undergrad classes I took, and my Imaging masters program were math heavy in these areas. Any advice on how this will be interpreted?

any suggestions of schools to add and my chances? mainly worried about my undergrad GPA (i'm 4 years post undergrad if it means anything) and my lack formal engineering classes taken in undergrad. my imaging masters did have math/cs/engineering-heavy courses.

thanks for any feedback

 

 

Great profile, I don't think your MCB background won't be a big deal to adcoms. BME PhD students come from diverse backgrounds and I think that it should be no problem

If you're interested in MRI or imaging (CT, US, etc) research, you might want to consider UW-Madison, JHU and Mayo Clinc.

[gummybear9]

@ad_infinitum @sgaw10 and anyone else applying to UCLA BioE... I'm working on the application now and I just realized that I have not been able to find any information about the length limits of their SOP and personal statement? I checked every page I could think of but it's nowhere. Am I missing something obvious or should I just assume it's 2 pages?

[sgaw10]

7 minutes ago, gummybear9 said:

@ad_infinitum @sgaw10 and anyone else applying to UCLA BioE... I'm working on the application now and I just realized that I have not been able to find any information about the length limits of their SOP and personal statement? I checked every page I could think of but it's nowhere. Am I missing something obvious or should I just assume it's 2 pages?

I am actually not applying to UCLA, but most of my schools did not provide a length limit. All of my statements are exactly one page. I think the general consensus is two page limit, but I spoke with someone quite knowledgeable who says that they typically aren't read past the first page anyway. I honestly don't think I could have written more than a page, but I wouldn't sweat it too much. Just quality over quantity.