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Bioengineering/Biomedical Engineering Applications for 2020 Admission


LHMQ

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Hi guys. I'm feeling a bit lonely in my application endeavor (barely anyone around me is applying), so I'm creating this annual thread so we can help each other out (and suffer together).

Here's the template:

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): 

Major(s): 
Minor(s): 
GPA in Major: x.xx/4.00
Overall GPA: x.xx/4.00
Demographics/Background: 


GRE Scores:
Q: xxx (xx%)
V: xxx (xx%)
W: x.x (xx%)


LOR: 


Research Experience: 

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations:

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

 

Fellowships/Funding:

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

 

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments:

 

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

 

Research Interests:

 

Institutions/Programs:

 

Comments:

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I'll go first.

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): R1 State School

Major(s): Chemical Engineering
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 3.91/4.00
Overall GPA: 3.90/4.00
Demographics/Background: International student


GRE Scores:
Q: 164 (84%)
V: 166 (97%)
W: 4.0 (57%)


LOR: 1 from my current PI and 2 from my PIs for summer research


Research Experience: ~1.5 years in my current lab + 2 months in a European university

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations: one 1st author paper, one presentation coming up

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: International Scholarship, Junior Academic Excellence Award

 

Fellowships/Funding: None. I'm not even eligible to apply :(

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: College math tutor, but this probably does not matter

 

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

Anything else in your application that might matter (faculty connections, etc.): ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ besides maybe having a clear narrative of how my research interests came to be (having major problems writing my SOP though)

 

Research Interests: I'm mainly interested in protein engineering, protein-protein interactions, chemical biology

 

Institutions/Programs: A mix of BioE and ChemE. All are chosen based on whether there are faculties doing projects I'm interested in. Some are very ambitious but I'd like to give a shot.

BioE: UCB-UCSF, Stanford, UW, MIT, BU

ChemE: UT Austin, JHU, UW-Madison, CU Boulder

 

Comments: Would love to hear about where other people are applying to :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'll bite!

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): R3 Liberal Arts University (top 100 engineering for non-doctoral institution)

Major(s): Bioengineering (conc. electrical), Applied Mathematics
Minor(s): Data science, possibly physics (if I stomach a required course next semester)
GPA in Major: 3.98/4.00 / 4.00/4.00
Overall GPA: 3.96/4.00
Demographics/Background: White male, lower-middle class

GRE Scores:
Q: 169 (96%)
V: 159 (83%)
W: 4.5 (82%)


LOR: 3 strong recommenders from those I have done research with, 5 more potential strong recommenders from courses/advising


Research Experience:
Bioelectrical Systems Research .....................November 2017 - May 2018, January 2018 - June 2019
Independent Research (Graduate Credit) ............................................June - December 2018
Undergraduate summer research, REU ....................May - August 2017

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations:

PUBLICATIONS

  • One second author publication in Neuropsychologia, published 2018


PRESENTATIONS

  • one major conference presentation
  • three minor conference presentations

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

  • Barry Goldwater Scholarship...................................................................2019
  • [Highest non-application institutional scholarship]  ....................................................................... 2015-present
  • Dean’s Honor Roll*..........................................................................2016-present
  • Summer Research Opportunities Program grant..........................................................2017
  • Pi Mu Epsilon (Mathematics Honor Society) ....................................................... 2018
  • Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honor Society)...........................................................2017
  • Phi Kappa Phi (Academic Honor Society)..........................................................2017

*=Institutional recognition

Fellowships/Funding:

  • Applied to NSF GRFP
  • Applying in the future to DOE CSGF

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

  • Intern doing software engineering/data science at Intel corporation for the past 4 months (co-op)

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments:

  • Wrote a fairly lengthy paper (50 pages) on numerical methods for solving differential equations
  • One unpublished, original paper (inconclusive results, haven't had time to finish things up and justify attempting a journal submission)

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

  • I have personal faculty connections at (*=mild, **=strong, ***=excellent)
    • Harvard*
    • Duke**
    • USC*
    • UIUC***
    • University of Chicago**
    • University of Connecticut**
    • Princeton*
    • UC Berkeley**
    • Johns Hopkins University*
  • I have taken several courses not a part of my majors out of interest
    • Computational, thermal, and quantum physics
    • Classical mechanics
    • Neurobiology
    • (Graduate level) numerical methods class

Research Interests:

I have a great interest in studying mathematical models of neurobiological phenomena and how gleamed understanding may be applied to the creation of brain-computer interfaces. I have wide cross-disciplinary interest in bioengineering, neuroscience, applied mathematics, and biophysics

Institutions/Programs:

image.png.e13197aa14f5ef7a0a07ed17259767e9.png

Comments:

I have been very serious about pursuing a PhD for the past few years, so I have gone out of my way to do as much research as I can, get good grades, and in general not screw things up as I feel I did in my undergraduate application process. I unfortunately have the attention span of a mouse, and so a lot of my research and interests are in different disciplines, so I feel that my general academic persona may suffer from a lack of coherent direction. I do feel however because of this that I have the potential to be a strong interdisciplinary pplicant in several areas, and I hope that shines through in my applications.

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Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM):  Top 10 public engineering school

Major(s): Bioengineering, animal physiology
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: x.xx/4.00: Not sure tbh, 3.5+
Overall GPA: x.xx/4.00: ~3.65ish
Demographics/Background: Asian male


GRE Scores:
Q: xxx (xx%)
V: xxx (xx%)
W: x.x (xx%)

Haven't taken this yet so can't be sure.
LOR: 

- Research advisor @ home institution. Should be really good.

- Chief scientist of company I interned at. Should be really good. 

- UCSF Prof that I did summer research with. I read the letter and it's pretty good.
Research Experience: 

- 1 summer @ UCSF

- 1 summer REU

- 1 R&D summer internship @ a startup

- 2 yrs @ home institution

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations:

- Mid-author pub in PNAS 

- 1st author manuscript in prep

- 1 international conference presentation from REU

- couple random on campus/smaller symposiums or preliminary data presentations, probably doesn't count for much.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

- Got about 50k in academic merit scholarship from school

- Won $4k scholarship for a proposal I wrote from UG institution

- Deans List in both my majors for a few semesters each

Fellowships/Funding:

- Applied to NSF but dunno if I'll get it

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

- Mentor bioe freshmen

- Tutor for AP biology @ local high school

- Volunteered @ local food pantry for a few yrs (probably doesn't count for anything)

- Volunteered @ local hospital for a year (probably doesn't count for anything)

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments:

 

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

- Probably not really, I emailed a few professors over the summer to now but nothing huge came out of it.

Research Interests:

- Synthetic biology

- Metabolic engineering

Institutions/Programs:

- Dunno if these are realistic at all, but my current list is, in no particular order:

MIT, Stanford, UIUC, UCSF, UCSD, Princeton, BU, UPenn, Columbia

Comments:

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/31/2019 at 1:56 AM, Kyle the Doctor* said:

I'll bite!

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): R3 Liberal Arts University (top 100 engineering for non-doctoral institution)

Major(s): Bioengineering (conc. electrical), Applied Mathematics
Minor(s): Data science, possibly physics (if I stomach a required course next semester)
GPA in Major: 3.98/4.00 / 4.00/4.00
Overall GPA: 3.96/4.00
Demographics/Background: White male, lower-middle class

GRE Scores:
Q: 169 (96%)
V: 159 (83%)
W: 4.5 (82%)


LOR: 3 strong recommenders from those I have done research with, 5 more potential strong recommenders from courses/advising


Research Experience:
Bioelectrical Systems Research .....................November 2017 - May 2018, January 2018 - June 2019
Independent Research (Graduate Credit) ............................................June - December 2018
Undergraduate summer research, REU ....................May - August 2017

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations:

PUBLICATIONS

  • One second author publication in Neuropsychologia, published 2018


PRESENTATIONS

  • one major conference presentation
  • three minor conference presentations

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

  • Barry Goldwater Scholarship...................................................................2019
  • [Highest non-application institutional scholarship]  ....................................................................... 2015-present
  • Dean’s Honor Roll*..........................................................................2016-present
  • Summer Research Opportunities Program grant..........................................................2017
  • Pi Mu Epsilon (Mathematics Honor Society) ....................................................... 2018
  • Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honor Society)...........................................................2017
  • Phi Kappa Phi (Academic Honor Society)..........................................................2017

*=Institutional recognition

Fellowships/Funding:

  • Applied to NSF GRFP
  • Applying in the future to DOE CSGF

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

  • Intern doing software engineering/data science at Intel corporation for the past 4 months (co-op)

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments:

  • Wrote a fairly lengthy paper (50 pages) on numerical methods for solving differential equations
  • One unpublished, original paper (inconclusive results, haven't had time to finish things up and justify attempting a journal submission)

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

  • I have personal faculty connections at (*=mild, **=strong, ***=excellent)
    • Harvard*
    • Duke**
    • USC*
    • UIUC***
    • University of Chicago**
    • University of Connecticut**
    • Princeton*
    • UC Berkeley**
    • Johns Hopkins University*
  • I have taken several courses not a part of my majors out of interest
    • Computational, thermal, and quantum physics
    • Classical mechanics
    • Neurobiology
    • (Graduate level) numerical methods class

Research Interests:

I have a great interest in studying mathematical models of neurobiological phenomena and how gleamed understanding may be applied to the creation of brain-computer interfaces. I have wide cross-disciplinary interest in bioengineering, neuroscience, applied mathematics, and biophysics

Institutions/Programs:

image.png.e13197aa14f5ef7a0a07ed17259767e9.png

Comments:

I have been very serious about pursuing a PhD for the past few years, so I have gone out of my way to do as much research as I can, get good grades, and in general not screw things up as I feel I did in my undergraduate application process. I unfortunately have the attention span of a mouse, and so a lot of my research and interests are in different disciplines, so I feel that my general academic persona may suffer from a lack of coherent direction. I do feel however because of this that I have the potential to be a strong interdisciplinary pplicant in several areas, and I hope that shines through in my applications.

You have very good stats, especially with that Barry Goldwater Scholarship. I think as long as you demonstrate research focus in the SOP you should be fine. How did you make so many connections to faculties in other schools?

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On 11/3/2019 at 4:28 PM, 2020bioE said:

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM):  Top 10 public engineering school

Major(s): Bioengineering, animal physiology
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: x.xx/4.00: Not sure tbh, 3.5+
Overall GPA: x.xx/4.00: ~3.65ish
Demographics/Background: Asian male


GRE Scores:
Q: xxx (xx%)
V: xxx (xx%)
W: x.x (xx%)

Haven't taken this yet so can't be sure.
LOR: 

- Research advisor @ home institution. Should be really good.

- Chief scientist of company I interned at. Should be really good. 

- UCSF Prof that I did summer research with. I read the letter and it's pretty good.
Research Experience: 

- 1 summer @ UCSF

- 1 summer REU

- 1 R&D summer internship @ a startup

- 2 yrs @ home institution

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations:

- Mid-author pub in PNAS 

- 1st author manuscript in prep

- 1 international conference presentation from REU

- couple random on campus/smaller symposiums or preliminary data presentations, probably doesn't count for much.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

- Got about 50k in academic merit scholarship from school

- Won $4k scholarship for a proposal I wrote from UG institution

- Deans List in both my majors for a few semesters each

Fellowships/Funding:

- Applied to NSF but dunno if I'll get it

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

- Mentor bioe freshmen

- Tutor for AP biology @ local high school

- Volunteered @ local food pantry for a few yrs (probably doesn't count for anything)

- Volunteered @ local hospital for a year (probably doesn't count for anything)

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments:

 

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

- Probably not really, I emailed a few professors over the summer to now but nothing huge came out of it.

Research Interests:

- Synthetic biology

- Metabolic engineering

Institutions/Programs:

- Dunno if these are realistic at all, but my current list is, in no particular order:

MIT, Stanford, UIUC, UCSF, UCSD, Princeton, BU, UPenn, Columbia

Comments:

I also find emailing professors not helpful so far lol. They basically just tell me to apply and see what happens.

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1 hour ago, LHMQ said:

I also find emailing professors not helpful so far lol. They basically just tell me to apply and see what happens.

Yep. Some have said "I encourage you to apply" etc etc, which is motivating, but I also understand that they could simply reply with the same email to everyone who contacted them and they wouldn't lose out on anything. I did talk to one prof over the phone which was marginally helpful even if mostly he just spoke about his own work. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I suppose I'll go! Please let me know where you think I have a shot or no shot at some schools. Any advice would be great!

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): RO1 institution state school, top ten in engineering 

Major(s): Nuclear Engineering-Radiation Science
Minor(s): Physics
GPA in Major: 3.50/4.00
Overall GPA: 3.50/4.00
Demographics/Background: White Jewish male


GRE Scores:
Q: 164 (84th)
V: 157 (76th)
W: 4.5 (81st)


LOR: I have held three research positions so my mentor for each (each is in the field of medical physics/bme)


Research Experience: 

1.5 years in radiobiology lab where I got my name on two oral presentations at conferences. Worked on developing a microdosimetry platform 

AAPM Summer Undergraduate Fellowship where I have my name on two papers we are submitting this winter (won't be accepted by the time I apply but I am still putting them down obviously). Worked on image registration methods for proton therapy

This semester, my senior year, I joined a BME lab where I am working on computational medical image analysis, exactly what I want to for PhD. Working on image verification for thermal ablation. 

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations:

Said above but two oral presentations (second author) and two manuscripts submitted (second author)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

AAPM Fellowship, Deans List for most semesters

Fellowships/Funding:

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

 

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments:

Vice President for some other orgs on campus

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

I am also taking four graduate level courses in BME my senior year. Two in medical image analysis, one in radiation physics (medical physics course) and one in Medical Imaging Systems (i.e. the engineering principles behind imaging modalities).

I did a good job of reaching out to a solid 50 professors to see if they have funding for the next year and I have held skype interviews with 4.

Research Interests:

Medical Image Analysis, in particular neuroimaging

Institutions/Programs:

UC Berkeley/UCSF, Duke, UPenn, Columbia, Vanderbilt, U. Washington, WashU, Yale, Case Western, UPitt

Edited by nodog28
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On 11/22/2019 at 3:53 PM, nodog28 said:

I suppose I'll go! Please let me know where you think I have a shot or no shot at some schools. Any advice would be great!

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): RO1 institution state school, top ten in engineering 

Major(s): Nuclear Engineering-Radiation Science
Minor(s): Physics
GPA in Major: 3.50/4.00
Overall GPA: 3.50/4.00
Demographics/Background: White Jewish male


GRE Scores:
Q: 164 (84th)
V: 157 (76th)
W: 4.5 (81st)


LOR: I have held three research positions so my mentor for each (each is in the field of medical physics/bme)


Research Experience: 

1.5 years in radiobiology lab where I got my name on two oral presentations at conferences. Worked on developing a microdosimetry platform 

AAPM Summer Undergraduate Fellowship where I have my name on two papers we are submitting this winter (won't be accepted by the time I apply but I am still putting them down obviously). Worked on image registration methods for proton therapy

This semester, my senior year, I joined a BME lab where I am working on computational medical image analysis, exactly what I want to for PhD. Working on image verification for thermal ablation. 

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations:

Said above but two oral presentations (second author) and two manuscripts submitted (second author)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

AAPM Fellowship, Deans List for most semesters

Fellowships/Funding:

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

 

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments:

Vice President for some other orgs on campus

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

I am also taking four graduate level courses in BME my senior year. Two in medical image analysis, one in radiation physics (medical physics course) and one in Medical Imaging Systems (i.e. the engineering principles behind imaging modalities).

I did a good job of reaching out to a solid 50 professors to see if they have funding for the next year and I have held skype interviews with 4.

Research Interests:

Medical Image Analysis, in particular neuroimaging

Institutions/Programs:

UC Berkeley/UCSF, Duke, UPenn, Columbia, Vanderbilt, U. Washington, WashU, Yale, Case Western, UPitt

Hard to tell without knowing your LORs, SOP and how good your research fit to each program is. You’re applying to a lot of top BME programs, which are a toss-up for anyone, even for top students. I think if you’re a great fit for these programs then it’s a good enough reason to apply. Anyways it’s near the deadlines already so let’s not worry and finish this off with a bang!

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5 hours ago, nodog28 said:

When do people usually here back from programs? Looking at last year it seems around mid to late January for most programs.

It depends. For most departments, they start reviewing applications immediately after the deadline. There are some programs who even start to review and send out offers before the end of their deadline. 

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Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): Public University, Top 100: 80s-90s

Major(s): Biomedical Engineering
Overall GPA: 3.85/4.00
Demographics/Background: White Female


GRE Scores:
Q: 162 (78%)
V: 164 (94%)
W: 4.0 (57%)


LOR:

Current PI

BioE REU PI

Professor (taken his class, runs BMES chapter at my school where I am VP)


Research Experience: 

3 Years at Home University

Chemical Engineering REU at Top 10 ChemE school

Bioengineering REU at Top 5 BioEschool

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations:

1 3rd Author Publication

6 Poster Presentations

1 Oral Presentation

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

Leadership Distinction in Research

2 Grants from Home University for Research

1st Place Poster Presentation

 

Fellowships/Funding:

Applied NSF GRFP, Ford Fellowship

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

President AEMB

VP BMES

Recruitment Chair Tau Beta Pi

 

Research Interests:

Diverse- background in protein engineering, neuroengineering, nanotechnology

 

Institutions/Programs:

Biomedical/Bioengineering:

Penn State

University of Pittsburgh

Lehigh

Cornell

University of Pennsylvania

University of Rochester

University of Maryland

Johns Hopkins

MIT
 

Chemical Engineering:

Princeton

University of Delaware

Drexel

MIT

Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute

 

Comments: I'm SO nervous- really can't wait for that first acceptance so I can calm down. Would love to get into a highly ranked program, but also wouldn't mind going to a state school/smaller university. Honestly just terrified I won't get into any program O_o

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2 hours ago, BiomedicalEngineer123 said:

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): Public University, Top 100: 80s-90s

Major(s): Biomedical Engineering
Overall GPA: 3.85/4.00
Demographics/Background: White Female


GRE Scores:
Q: 162 (78%)
V: 164 (94%)
W: 4.0 (57%)


LOR:

Current PI

BioE REU PI

Professor (taken his class, runs BMES chapter at my school where I am VP)


Research Experience: 

3 Years at Home University

Chemical Engineering REU at Top 10 ChemE school

Bioengineering REU at Top 5 BioEschool

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations:

1 3rd Author Publication

6 Poster Presentations

1 Oral Presentation

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

Leadership Distinction in Research

2 Grants from Home University for Research

1st Place Poster Presentation

 

Fellowships/Funding:

Applied NSF GRFP, Ford Fellowship

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

President AEMB

VP BMES

Recruitment Chair Tau Beta Pi

 

Research Interests:

Diverse- background in protein engineering, neuroengineering, nanotechnology

 

Institutions/Programs:

Biomedical/Bioengineering:

Penn State

University of Pittsburgh

Lehigh

Cornell

University of Pennsylvania

University of Rochester

University of Maryland

Johns Hopkins

MIT
 

Chemical Engineering:

Princeton

University of Delaware

Drexel

MIT

Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute

 

Comments: I'm SO nervous- really can't wait for that first acceptance so I can calm down. Would love to get into a highly ranked program, but also wouldn't mind going to a state school/smaller university. Honestly just terrified I won't get into any program O_o

As far as I am concern, you have a strong profile! I am in ChemE and not in BioE. I am sure you will get some acceptance offers. The only reason I see that can go wrong is when your POI in your research area are all not taking in students. But this is unlikely considering the number of schools you are applying.

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Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM):  Covenant University, Nigeria (Top ranked in Nigeria)

Major(s): Chemical Engineering
Minor(s): 
GPA in Major: 4.82/5.00 . Roughly a 3.87/4.00
Overall GPA: x.xx/4.00
Demographics/Background: African/Male


GRE Scores:
Q: 160 (73%)
V: 162 (91%)
W: 4.5 (81%)


LOR: 1 from my research Supervisor, 1 from my design project Supervisor, 1 from another of my Professors and 1 backup from my internship


Research Experience: 1 year at home university (for credit) - one Research project and one design project

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations:

2 oral presentations

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

Award of Excellence

Fellowships/Funding:

Can't apply ?

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

Dunno if it counts as pertinent or relevant but I had a one year internship with Huawei. 

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments:

 

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

 

Research Interests:

Fuel cells, Perovskites, photocatalysis, PV cells, Energy production and storage.

 

Institutions/Programs: 

university of Michigan

Purdue university

University of Colorado Boulder

university of Notre dame

Rensselaer polytechnic institute

university of Iowa

Stevens institute of technology

Comments:  - Tbh, I don't know what to expect. I really hope I can get in! Would love to get into any of Michigan or Purdue, but I definitely would not mind any of the schools listed. I got a little scared seeing how everyone had so much research experience! I hope my relatively lesser experience doesn't keep me out.

 

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On 11/29/2019 at 5:43 PM, omega_Fractals1337 said:

It depends. For most departments, they start reviewing applications immediately after the deadline. There are some programs who even start to review and send out offers before the end of their deadline. 

I'm going to be out of the country with limited service from December 28th-January 4th so hopefully this won't be a big deal. Does anyone know if we have to respond by a certain day?

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3 hours ago, nodog28 said:

I'm going to be out of the country with limited service from December 28th-January 4th so hopefully this won't be a big deal. Does anyone know if we have to respond by a certain day?

April 15 for accepting the offer. 
 

You are out of the country during the professor’s vacation period too. Should they send you an email for follow-up, they will understand it if you are slow in replying.

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New to GradCafe, and feel an urge to post! So here it is:

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM):  Top 5 engineering

Major(s): Bioengineering (Synthetic Biology)
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: The interpretation of this is so broad...so I'll leave this blank. Around the same as overall. 
Overall GPA: 3.84/4.00
Demographics/Background: Asian


GRE Scores: high enough (>90% for both Verbal/Math)

LOR:

3 super strong letters.

- One from main research PI at home institution, One from research coadvisor who also taught me in a graduate course, One from a summer research PI


Research Experience: 

- 3.5 years in the same lab

- 1 summer research position in a prestigious program

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations:

- Second author publication in Nature (not a Nature subjournal)

- First author manuscript in prep (submitting soon); another Second author manuscript In Prep

- 1 oral presentation; 2 poster presentations (1 campus, 1 international)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

- Rhodes and Marshall Scholarship Finalist (2019)

- Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship (2019)

- Deans List multiple times

- Summer Research Fellowships/grants

- Honor Societies (TBP and the like)

- Eagle Scout (not so pertinent here)

- Amgen scholarship (but declined it...so I guess this doesn't count)

Fellowships/Funding:

- Applied for NSF-GRFP (pending)

- Other: Applied for Churchill and Gates-Cambridge Scholarships (pending)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

- a ton of research stuff =D

- Facilitate/organize a mentorship program/competition for high school students as well as mentor low-resource schools in STEM

- I'm a coach for my local swimming group and established a local running group for cancer survivors (which I also coach)

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments:

- Went to world-championships/nationals for a couple sports (can discuss if want to) and other major competitions/adventures

- State convention pianist and other music stuff

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

- Not sure, will update if I think of something

Research Interests:

Synthetic biology and genetic engineering technologies

Institutions/Programs: I know it's risky, but I'm taking the approach that if I don't get anything, a Gap year sounds good for dedicated research and some travel!

MIT | Bioengineering

Harvard | Chemical Biology

University of Cambridge | Biological Sciences (accepted to Cambride and a lab; awaiting fellowship/scholarship offers, fingers crossed!)

Comments:

- Please be honest in any comments!

Edited by Red_Ranger
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Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): Top-5 in Korea, definitely not Top in the world. 

Major(s): Undergrad: Chemical engineering, Masters: Biomedical Engineering. 
Minor(s): Undergrad: Biomedical engineering
GPA in Major: x.xx/4.00 ~3.5/4.00
Overall GPA: x.xx/4.00   ~3.5/4.00
Demographics/Background: International student, Asian/Post-soviet country


GRE Scores: 328
Q: 168 (93%)
V: 158 (80%)
W: 4.0 (57%)


LOR: 3 LORs: 1 from my PI of 3 years (i guess its strong), 1 from a co-author Professor who's well known in the field (maybe good), and 1 from supervisor of UROP (also well known). 


Research Experience: 2 years as an undergraduate and 1.5 year as Master's student. 

 

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations: 1 first-author publication in RSC advances, 1 oral presentation at domestic conference and 1 poster presentation at international conference.

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Magna cum laude in Chem eng. (not sure if its still considered as honors for application), the Best Oral Presentation award at domestic conference, Travel award for summer UROP  in US. 

 

Fellowships/Funding: none

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: extensive experience as tutor and teaching assistant (Biology, English, etc.) 

 

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments:

 

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

 

Research Interests: tissue engineering, bioMEMS, biomimetics

 

Institutions/Programs: Harvard, Cornell, UPenn, University of Michigan, UCLA, UIUC, Georgia Tech (all in either BME or BE)

 

Comments: I realized I was a bit too ambitious applying to only top programs with my credentials. But the application is over, so I am just hoping to get an offer from at least one of them. 

 

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Although we've all have submitted by now, I would like to share:

Undergrad Institution (approx. rank/reputation in STEM): UC school

Major(s): Exercise Physiology

Minor(s): 

GPA in Major: 3.51/4.00

Overall GPA: 3.61/4.00

Demographics/Background: Mexican-Syrian American

GRE Scores:

N/A

LOR: 

Supervising professor #1 neuroscience at one of the prospective schools listed below

Supervising professor #2 biochemistry & biophysics at one of the prospective schools listed below

Bioengineering professor/chair of a program listed below

Research Experience: 

4 yrs as a lab manager/research associate, neuroscience and biochemistry

1 yr undergraduate researcher, molecular biology

10 wks Amgen Summer Research Training Program, biochemistry & biophysics

1.5 yrs undergraduate researcher, biomedical engineering

10 wks NIH summer program, bioengineering

Publications/Abstracts/Presentations:

First authorship in progress, neuroscience

Second authorship, neuroscience/structural biology

Fourth authorship, biomedical engineering

Second authorship, bioengineering

3 oral presentations; 6 poster presentations (most national)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

Outstanding Performance Citation in Research from home institution upon graduation

2 presentation awards

MARC fellowship

2 other fellowships

Fellowships/Funding:

None for grad school

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

Research associate - UCSF

Former paramedic

Other Miscellaneous Accomplishments:

Jiu Jitsu black belt (briefly mentioned in SOP)

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

Having worked in academic research for some time, I’m well acquainted with several faculty members at institutions I’ve applied. All LORs were written by faculty I’ve published with and they also reside at some of the institutions I’ve applied.

Research Interests:

Drug Development and delivery systems for targeted therapies in disease and tissue engineering/regeneration.

Institutions/Programs:

UCSF - PSPG

UCB-UCSF - BioE

Stanford - BioE

Comments:

My personal life constrains me geographically that is why I have applied to very few institutions. I am aware these programs are super competitive. My GPA is not comparable to others who have posted and if I am accepted into a BioE program, I would have to catch up on some math. I just hope my experience makes a difference. Best of luck to you all and happy holidays!

Edited by C-132
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