What are my chances getting into top BME/Bioengineering Master programs in US?s

[bme0901]

Hi guys,

I am an undergrad going to my final year at a top Canadian school, with a major in BME. I am thinking of apply for BME/Bioengineering Masters program in US (F2013). Here are my stats:

- cGPA: 3.82/4.00

- GRE: V680, Q800, W3.0

- Have 3 years of biomedical related research experience (tho in different fields: regenerative medicine, medical devices)

- Have one year internship at MIT/Harvard research lab

- Have 2 minor co-authorship papers (in progess; may not be able to be published by the time I apply)

- Have some awards and went some conferences (not too big tho)

I am thinking of top BME masters program, such as Stanford, UCB/UCSF, UCSD, Columbia, JHU, Harvard, etc. I think my stats are not really stand out for them. Do you guys have any quick suggestions to build up my profile? Should I contact POI before apply or try to attend more conference?!? (I heard it is harder to get in a Master program than a PhD program for BME... is that true?

Thanks a lot!!!

[ghanada]

You have some good stats (except the GRE writing is abnormally low--not sure how much this will affect you, but it is below average even for engineers). Are those papers secondary authors? I would recommend trying to get a first author paper if you can, it doesn't HAVE to be published by the time you apply. Even if you can just start on a paper, you can at least list in your CV the paper as "in progress" or something.

Do you eventually want a PhD or are you looking at a terminal Masters? Your stats would be good enough for a PhD program right now so you could skip the M.S. if that is all you care about. Otherwise, I don't know where you would have heard that getting into a Masters is harder than a PhD. That doesn't make any sense to me. I could only see this as being true if you are trying to get into a FUNDED Masters, in which case those are extremely rare and I can see it being tough to get into, not because of competition but just because of how rare those programs are.

You should go through the "BME Applicant Profile" pages (there is a thread for each year, do a forum search to find the older ones) and check out the stats that other people post and the results they received from various schools. I would think your stats are good enough for a non-funded Masters at any of those schools you listed. You would even have a decent shot at a funded PhD at those schools, although I would definitely include some extra "safety" backups just in case. And you should definitely contact POIs before applying...I recommend e-mailing them around September (at the start of the next school year since they will have a good idea of whether or not they are accepting any more students for 2013). But yeah, you have about 8 months until apps are due so you should spend that time doing as much research and publishing as you can. Start writing your personal statement now, get feedback from lots of people. Start asking profs for letters of rec in the summer so they have a couple months to write it (they can be very slow in this). Also, I am terrible at this, but try to apply as early as you can before the deadline. This way your transcripts, GRE scores, letter of recs, etc will be all complete by the actual deadline and will be sure to get reviewed in time. Hope that helps a bit, good luck!

[ktel]

Also keep in mind that you can find a lot of funded Master's programs if you stay in Canada.

[bme0901]

Thanks so much for your reply, ghanada! Yea, I think my stats are good but not fantastic... (especially due to a super low mark on GRE writing). At current stage, I am not sure if I really want to do a PhD, and it would be ideal for me to find a MS can easily translate into a PhD program. My ultimate goal is still get some biomed-related industrial job. Therefore, I am more into a M.S. program rather than a direct PhD. But I guess I will still apply them all to see what I will get in the end.

Just one little question about emailing POIs, do you recommend emailing them even for a MS course-based program? Will it help the admission process? Again, thanks so much for your help!!!

[ghanada]

I don't think it can hurt to e-mail profs for a Masters. You are going to have to write a thesis so you are going to still need an adviser just like a PhD applicant would. The only difference is that you aren't finding out if the POI has space and funding in their lab, you are just trying to see what type of work they are doing and if they would have potential thesis work for you to do. Plus, the POI you talk to might be on admissions committee, so it never hurts to make some contacts, get your name out there, and show some interest.

[sabdo]

Given your stats, you have a pretty good chance of getting into all of those schools. My stats are not as impressive as yours and I got into Duke and interview with Berkeley/UCSF.

Although FYI, you might want to remove Harvard from that list. It is far from being a top BME program. Just because a school is an ivy leage doesn't mean its individual programs are top.