Low GPA, High GRE, Research Experience

[UBCbiograd2009]

Hi everyone,

I want to enter the Biology/Zoology PhD programs at the following universities: University of Miami, Louisiana State, Portland State, University of Hawaii, Washington State, UC Irvince

My stats: I have an undergrad GPA of 3.01 from the University of British Columbia and earned a 1320 on my GRE (770Q, 550V, 5.0AW). I have 2.5 years of research experience in the lab I did my undergrad thesis (have a co-authorship on a paper that includes significant data from my thesis). I will probably get another co-author on a paper as I am pretty much doing the pilots for the grad student's experiments.

My GPA is low because I came out to my family and I was pretty much rejected by them. This caused me to become depressed and I just couldn't handle it, so my 2nd term sophmore/1st term junior year grades dropped (C+ avg). However, my grades increased in the 2nd term of my junior year and dramatically in my senior year. I also took a genetics course that was composed of graduate and undergrad students (essentially a graduate level course, except that us undergrads didn't have to do a presentation) and I earned a B+ in it.

I have three strong letters of recommendation: the first from my current PI/thesis supervisor, the second from a prof who is very well known and respected in his field and the third from a prof who is internationally known (all comparative physiologists know his work).

My SOP is solid and covers everything, but it's concise and not verbose.

So what are my chances of being accepted? I'd really like to go to Miami since they have awesome facilities and a great research team in the lab I want to join. The second professor I mentioned talked to the profs from Miami and Louisiana on my behalf at a conference, and they said they were interested. Does this mean they'll go to bat for me?

Any advice would be helpful. Thanks!

P.S. I'm Hispanic and an immigrant from South America, and I hold Canadian citizenship. Will this help my chances as well?

[waddle]

Hi UBCbiograd2009,

As no replies have been made thus far, I figured I might as well give you my opinion. I am not a grad student, just a fellow applicant in the chemical earth sciences (though I'm familiar with the various subfields of the life sciences).

Stats-wise, obviously your GPA may stand out to admission committees (in a bad way), especially at some of the schools you've listed. You should dedicate some space in your SOP to explain it, although I understand it is a delicate topic. Your GRE isn't too high (relative to the average well-qualified applicant), so no advantage there either.

Your research experience seems very strong, and would definitely shed some positive light on your application.

I was under the impression that international applicants needed have a much more robust application than the average domestic applicant in order to be seriously considered. I can't comment on the strength of your application relative to other international applicants in zoology, but it is something to consider.

Your ethnicity may be able to provide a little boost, but I definitely wouldn't consider it a crutch if I were you.

Good luck!

[ScreamingHairyArmadillo]

After glancing at U of Miami's website, it seems they most heavily weigh recommendations and contact with their faculty. Now's the time to start emailing who you are interested in working with. Otherwise, I don't think your GPA or GRE will wow the committee (though your Quant is high, which I think is most important in the sciences, so no worries there), but if your research experience is strong and your recommenders make that clear, you should have a good chance.

[NeuroNerd86]

To the OP:

I was a PhD applicant last year and my stats and research experience/accomplishments are dead on like yours (my GPA was a tiiiiiiiinnny bit higher but everything else is pretty much exactly the same). I was also concerned about my GPA quite a lot (to the point that I have become very annoying haha). I was applying for neuroscience programs which are highly competitive pretty much everywhere. I applied to 10 programs, got interviewed and accepted at 4 and now attending one of the top 10 schools. Letters of rec, research experience and publications go a long way. I think you have a good shot at the schools you are interested in.

One thing though - are you a domestic or an international applicant? i apologize if you mentioned that but I didn't read it, sorry

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me anytime:)

[UBCbiograd2009]

Hi! Thanks for all the replies.

I contacted all the professors from the schools I listed and they encouraged me to apply to their institutions. They all said that my research experience, along with my publication, letter writers and GRE scores were positives for my application. Those professors also know at least one of the people who are writing my letters of recommendation very well, with one of my letter writers having met with the profs from Miami and LSU at a conference and put in a good word for me (the profs seemed very interested in my potential apparently). One of my other letter writers is a world leader in his field, so having a letter from him will hopefully go a long way. The professors from Miami, LSU, Portland and WSU also said that my GRE scores were high and not a detriment.

The only blemish is my gpa, but I added the reasons behind this as an addendum to my SOP. My senior year gpa is pretty high!

@NeuroNerd86: I am an international applicant.

Hope I've cleared up my earlier comments. Thanks again!

[NeuroNerd86]

You being an international student can potentially be a problem because foreign students usually cost a school A LOT more than citizens/permanent residents (I had a friend from Sweden who was straight out told by several programs she applied to that they would love to take her on but they can't afford her). However, I'm not sure if this general rule applies to Canadian citizens, maybe it's a different funding ball game there. If professors encourage you to apply, it's a very good sign, it means they see that you have a great potential for being a good scientist.

[intothenight1]

Hi,

Maybe someone could give me their honest opinion about my situation. I went to UCLA (GPA: 3.2) and GRE percentiles are 65% (both verbal and quantitative) and 84% (analytical writing). I have a first author publication (in a small journal but still peer reviewed), another first author paper that is submitted and in the review process at PLoS One, 1 paper where I'm a buried author but in reivew also at J Neurosci, 1 paper (which we hope to usbmit to Science) as co-first author that is being written up now and hopefully will be submitted in December, and 1 last paper that is being written up now but I am a buried author. I've presented a poster at an international conference in Rome, and have my name on several other posters. I have 5 solid years of reserach experience (2.5 years during undergrad, 2 years a research tech at MIT, and 1 year as a Fulbright Schoolar (currently) in Germany working at a Max Planck in a neuropsychiatry lab). My numbers (GPA and GRE) are on the low end but my research experience measured in terms of publications and productivity is good and I have a Fulbright. Also I'm applying for NSF and NSDEG predoctoral fellowships. I have good rec letters (form undergrad research advisor, boss as a tech and my PI for Fulbright). Overall, my question is does anyone think that I have a shot at a neuroscience PhD program at any of these places: Harvard, MIT, Stanford, WUSTL, and UCSF (these are my dream schools and the ones that are most competitive and I think realistically I cannot get in but want an unbiased opinion), Caltech and Rockefeller (these ones I think are a bit easier for admissions but still on the very competitive side) and Princeton, Yale, UPenn, Baylor, Utah and UIUC (these schools I think are not that hard for me because even though my numbers are low my research experience and publications give me a significant edge). Any opinions or comments are helpful ?

[waddle]

On 10/24/2010 at 1:07 PM, intothenight1 said:

Hi,

Maybe someone could give me their honest opinion about my situation. I went to UCLA (GPA: 3.2) and GRE percentiles are 65% (both verbal and quantitative) and 84% (analytical writing). I have a first author publication (in a small journal but still peer reviewed), another first author paper that is submitted and in the review process at PLoS One, 1 paper where I'm a buried author but in reivew also at J Neurosci, 1 paper (which we hope to usbmit to Science) as co-first author that is being written up now and hopefully will be submitted in December, and 1 last paper that is being written up now but I am a buried author. I've presented a poster at an international conference in Rome, and have my name on several other posters. I have 5 solid years of reserach experience (2.5 years during undergrad, 2 years a research tech at MIT, and 1 year as a Fulbright Schoolar (currently) in Germany working at a Max Planck in a neuropsychiatry lab). My numbers (GPA and GRE) are on the low end but my research experience measured in terms of publications and productivity is good and I have a Fulbright. Also I'm applying for NSF and NSDEG predoctoral fellowships. I have good rec letters (form undergrad research advisor, boss as a tech and my PI for Fulbright). Overall, my question is does anyone think that I have a shot at a neuroscience PhD program at any of these places: Harvard, MIT, Stanford, WUSTL, and UCSF (these are my dream schools and the ones that are most competitive and I think realistically I cannot get in but want an unbiased opinion), Caltech and Rockefeller (these ones I think are a bit easier for admissions but still on the very competitive side) and Princeton, Yale, UPenn, Baylor, Utah and UIUC (these schools I think are not that hard for me because even though my numbers are low my research experience and publications give me a significant edge). Any opinions or comments are helpful ?

I think you should go all-out for Harvard, MIT, Stanford, WUSTL, UCSF. Just based on people I know who got into some of these schools for biomedical graduate programs, your chances should be very good. I don't think you should be worried about your GPA or GRE, everything else seems to far outweigh these deficiencies. I figure that given a choice between those with phenomenal research experience (but who come up short on numbers) and those with great GRE/GPA (but less research), neuroscience PhD programs would definitely take the applicant with better research experience (especially since neuroscience programs will have a very specialized applicant pool, unlike Tetrad et al.). Good luck!

[intothenight1]

On 10/24/2010 at 7:36 PM, waddle said:

I think you should go all-out for Harvard, MIT, Stanford, WUSTL, UCSF. Just based on people I know who got into some of these schools for biomedical graduate programs, your chances should be very good. I don't think you should be worried about your GPA or GRE, everything else seems to far outweigh these deficiencies. I figure that given a choice between those with phenomenal research experience (but who come up short on numbers) and those with great GRE/GPA (but less research), neuroscience PhD programs would definitely take the applicant with better research experience (especially since neuroscience programs will have a very specialized applicant pool, unlike Tetrad et al.). Good luck!

Thanks for your input and I'm not saying that just because you gave me a positive answer. If you don't mind me asking, where did you apply and get into and what were your stats? This is a just a metric for me to asses myself so I can develop a realistic feel for my possible outcomes after applying to these places. Thanks again! ?

[intothenight1]

To the OP:

I was a PhD applicant last year and my stats and research experience/accomplishments are dead on like yours (my GPA was a tiiiiiiiinnny bit higher but everything else is pretty much exactly the same). I was also concerned about my GPA quite a lot (to the point that I have become very annoying haha). I was applying for neuroscience programs which are highly competitive pretty much everywhere. I applied to 10 programs, got interviewed and accepted at 4 and now attending one of the top 10 schools. Letters of rec, research experience and publications go a long way. I think you have a good shot at the schools you are interested in.

One thing though - are you a domestic or an international applicant? i apologize if you mentioned that but I didn't read it, sorry

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me anytime:)

Thanks for your input. If you don't mind me asking, where did you apply, and get into and what were your stats? Where are you now? This is a just a metric for me to asses myself so I can develop a realistic feel for my possible outcomes after applying to these places. Thanks again! :-)

[waddle]

Thanks for your input and I'm not saying that just because you gave me a positive answer. If you don't mind me asking, where did you apply and get into and what were your stats? This is a just a metric for me to asses myself so I can develop a realistic feel for my possible outcomes after applying to these places. Thanks again! :-)

I am just an applicant, too, so all I've said is based on my understanding of the records of some of my acquaintances who did end up going to UCSF, Harvard, etc. As such it may not be complete, but their numbers were ~3.8 (from No Name State U.) with ~3 years research experience (one did an Amgen program). I do not have an estimate for their GRE scores, so can't help you there. But all in all, I think their records are not nearly as impressive as yours, so you should have a good shot.

[intothenight1]

Where are you applying to? What kind of programs? How's the application process going for you so far? Thanks for the info as well :-) And I am a domestic applicant (even though I do now live in Munich, Germany because of the Fulbright Scholarship).

I am just an applicant, too, so all I've said is based on my understanding of the records of some of my acquaintances who did end up going to UCSF, Harvard, etc. As such it may not be complete, but their numbers were ~3.8 (from No Name State U.) with ~3 years research experience (one did an Amgen program). I do not have an estimate for their GRE scores, so can't help you there. But all in all, I think their records are not nearly as impressive as yours, so you should have a good shot.

[intothenight1]

I am a domestic applicant (even though I now live in Munich, Germany because of the Fulbright Scholarship) with a US citizenship.

Thanks for your input. If you don't mind me asking, where did you apply, and get into and what were your stats? Where are you now? This is a just a metric for me to asses myself so I can develop a realistic feel for my possible outcomes after applying to these places. Thanks again! :-)

[bhmlurker]

Don't worry so much about GPA. If they don't like your essay/letter, the GPA or GRE score is just an excuse to reject you. If they like your story, they'll look past GPA or GRE (as long as it's above the minimum). Calculate what your upper division course GPA would be (minus general ed classes) and mention that, if it's better. Also, being an international student isn't much of a problem, because you can be hired as a research assistant and paid as such. In my 6 years as a PhD student, I've seen some truly atrocious students get admitted. I thought I got lucky when I was admitted, and then realized that I wasn't so bad after all.

[UBCbiograd2009]

Happy to say that I received an interview request and recruitment invitation to the University of Miami in two weeks! The professor from LSU has asked the department to fly me out to Baton Rouge for an interview and recruitment tour.

So I guess everything else about my application did trump my low GPA. Also, GRE scores are just used for screening and weeding students out. So taking GRE and GPA aside from considerations, my letters of recommendation and SOP were instrumental in getting me interview requests.

Now I just have to wait for acceptance.

[UBCbiograd2009]

Long story short guys: I got accepted to the Univ of Miami, Louisiana State, and Washington State and I've chosen to go to Miami

So my shitty junior year grades were compensated by my other app stuff. Now to the beach!