Neuroscience/Molecular Biology Admission Stats

[bozwell15]

Hi all,

This is my first post on here as I am just getting acclimated to the application process. I was wondering for those who have applied and gotten accepted to either neuroscience or molecular biology PhD programs, what was your gpa, gre scores, and other stats when accepted? I feel I am more behind then other recent applicants when I talk to them so I wanted to know my admission chances based off of my stats. 

I have an associates in engineering science from SUNY Broome with a 2.7 gpa, I will be graduating this coming year with with a bachelors of science in biological sciences with a minor in statistics from the University at Buffalo. Currently my GPA at UB is a 3.15 but I have another semester before I submit my apps so there is room to improve. I have almost 3 years of combined research experience in the two molecular biology labs I've worked in, a conference presentation based off of research, and I have been a TA for the advanced molecular biology class at UB for almost a year. 

 

The PhD programs I plan on applying to so far are:

• UB - Biological Scences,
• UB - PPBS
• Stony Brook - Genetics
• Washington U - Neuroscience
• UMich - Neuroscience   

And a few other similar programs... would anyone be able to help me with what my admission chances would be? Thank you! 

[BabyScientist]

If you want to improve your odds of admission, you might consider taking a year or 2 after you finish your degree to get more research experience, publications, presentations, etc.

Really you should post in/browse the "2019 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results" thread in the biology list. It also gives you a guide for what information we might need to help answer your question.

[glialstar]

Try filling it out in the below format- helps to better assess your application!

Undergrad Institution: (School or type of school, such as big state, lib arts, ivy, technical, foreign (what country?)... Overall Reputation in Biology?)
Major(s):
Minor(s):
GPA in Major:
Overall GPA:
Position in Class: (No numbers needed, but are you top? near top? average? struggling?)
Type of Student: (Domestic/International, male/female, minority?)

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q:
V:
W:
B:


TOEFL Total: (if applicable, otherwise delete this)

Research Experience: (At your school or elsewhere? What field? How much time? Any publications (Mth author out of N?) or conference talks etc...)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: (Within your school or outside?)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Such as tutor, TA, SPS officer etc...)

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: (Such as connections, grad classes, famous recommenders, female or minority status etc...)

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where:

School - Department - Research Interest
School - Department - Research Interest
School - Department - Research Interest

[bozwell15]

Thank you both for your quick replies. I will reformat this and post it in the 2019 admissions spot. 

[strugglebus2k17]

From what I've seen in my experience, if you can become a tech at the school of your choice and science of interest and work productively for 1 or 2+ years, maintain a great relationship with the PI, you can tremendously improve your odds of admissions given some slight blemishes on your application (low test scores or GPA's). I'm a first year PhD student and I've seen some students admitted sub-optimal GPA's or GRE's but did research as a tech in the school for a couple years, got some publications in, and were ultimately admitted. 

[yash13177]

On 8/23/2018 at 12:08 AM, bozwell15 said:

Hi all,

This is my first post on here as I am just getting acclimated to the application process. I was wondering for those who have applied and gotten accepted to either neuroscience or molecular biology PhD programs, what was your gpa, gre scores, and other stats when accepted? I feel I am more behind then other recent applicants when I talk to them so I wanted to know my admission chances based off of my stats. 

I have an associates in engineering science from SUNY Broome with a 2.7 gpa, I will be graduating this coming year with with a bachelors of science in biological sciences with a minor in statistics from the University at Buffalo. Currently my GPA at UB is a 3.15 but I have another semester before I submit my apps so there is room to improve. I have almost 3 years of combined research experience in the two molecular biology labs I've worked in, a conference presentation based off of research, and I have been a TA for the advanced molecular biology class at UB for almost a year. 

 

The PhD programs I plan on applying to so far are:

• UB - Biological Scences,
• UB - PPBS
• Stony Brook - Genetics
• Washington U - Neuroscience
• UMich - Neuroscience   

And a few other similar programs... would anyone be able to help me with what my admission chances would be? Thank you! 

Hi bozwell15,

So my perspective is as a fellow applicant, but many of my friends have already applied and gotten in so I am also sharing their wisdom.

It honestly sounds like your research experience is sound but what might make programs worry is your academic history. If you don't want to take time to do a Master's, you can compensate for your low GPA with a stellar GRE score. I also highly suggest you address why your academic history is not optimal when you apply to programs. For neuroscience in particular, I think they are looking for individuals with research experience and creative minds. If you show you are aware of your academic history (but demonstrate your proficiency with a good GPA score) and what you have done to address your challenges/problems I think they are more than willing to overlook your GPA.

What will help even more is if you can get a LOR from your PI who can attest to your research experience and success!

Hope this helps!