American Applying to UK PhD Programs in Biosciences - Advice Welcomed!

[jefferson.bean]

I am an American with a BSc in Chemistry (fair GPA, great university) and a MSc in Biological Sciences (good GPA, good university) with over 7 years of full-time research experience in drug discovery and stem cells, with several publications and great references who wants nothing more than to move to UK and finish my PhD.

While I could do this for free in the US, thanks to NIH, I truly desire to go to the UK and finish it at UCL, Cambridge, Oxford, Edinburgh, or Cardiff (to name a few schools I will be applying to). I will be applying early and for all possible scholarships, but it seems like as an EU-outsider, I am ineligible for A LOT of funding.

My questions are as follows:

1) How difficult is it for an American to get into biosciences graduate programs at top UK universities and get funding?

2) Are there any significant differences in the UK application/interview process? With respect to application essays, should I take a more formal approach as opposed to an "attention-grabbing"/dramatic technique as is sometimes suggested for US schools? Should I address my "fair" GPA from undergraduate in application essays?

3) How important are individual application features for UK school admissions committees? Is it really all about grades/honors in the UK even for someone with 7+ years of experience?

I would love to get the perspective of UK bioscience students in UK/US, any students in UK grad programs, or anyone with some perspective on being an American student abroad. Thanks for your help!

[ankurshah]

jeff

even am looking to apply to PhD prog in UK. but one of the most surprising issues i have come across is the lack of funding in any UK ni.. right from imperial oxbridge to bristol and Manchester... due to the economy.. its going to very very diff to find full funded scholarship... i guess u can get scholarship back in US to study abroad....

otherwise with good GPA's and cpl of steller reco will get u an admit.. on advice.. make a 1 page research histroy about urself and very PhD pre-app resume.. mail to faculties and see where it takes

[Spriteling]

Hi.

I am American. I did my undergraduate degree in maths in the UK, and am staying on over here for my PhD. I am fully funded.

1) I can't speak for biosciences, but it is not horrifically difficult to be accepted to a PhD program. It is, on the other hand, very difficult to get funding. There are, on average, 2-3 funded places for international students throughout the whole of science and engineering at any given university. You need to be the best of the best to get such funding, in terms of GPA and research and recommendations and whatnot. It is also very important that you find a supervisor who is willing to support your application and push for you to be funded.

2) You don't need the GRE or anything for the UK. Also for maths, I was interviewed in the UK, whereas none of the schools I applied to in the US interviewed me.

3) Can't really comment on this.

[UndeletedScenes]

I am an American with a BSc in Chemistry (fair GPA, great university) and a MSc in Biological Sciences (good GPA, good university) with over 7 years of full-time research experience in drug discovery and stem cells, with several publications and great references who wants nothing more than to move to UK and finish my PhD.

While I could do this for free in the US, thanks to NIH, I truly desire to go to the UK and finish it at UCL, Cambridge, Oxford, Edinburgh, or Cardiff (to name a few schools I will be applying to). I will be applying early and for all possible scholarships, but it seems like as an EU-outsider, I am ineligible for A LOT of funding.

My questions are as follows:

1) How difficult is it for an American to get into biosciences graduate programs at top UK universities and get funding?

2) Are there any significant differences in the UK application/interview process? With respect to application essays, should I take a more formal approach as opposed to an "attention-grabbing"/dramatic technique as is sometimes suggested for US schools? Should I address my "fair" GPA from undergraduate in application essays?

3) How important are individual application features for UK school admissions committees? Is it really all about grades/honors in the UK even for someone with 7+ years of experience?

I would love to get the perspective of UK bioscience students in UK/US, any students in UK grad programs, or anyone with some perspective on being an American student abroad. Thanks for your help!

Hi!

I'm English so I thought it might be of some use. I can't speak for Biosciences specifically, but in very general terms funding in the UK is much fewer and further between than it is in the US, but with your great research experience (a lot more than probably 90% of UK applicants and it does count for a lot) I would say you certainly have as good a chance as any EU applicant at getting funding. There are less scholarships for internationals but they generally do exist through the universities themselves rather than through government bodies or other organisations. The UK system is less concerned with grades, so you shouldn't need to explain your GPA. The most important things in the UK system are your proposal and your references. It's also probably a little more important to find a faculty and a potential supervisor who are open to your ideas rather than applying straight off. The good news is there's no need for the pain-in-the-arse GRE. I'd say yes to the taking a slightly more formal approach in your essays just because Brits are uptight - less is more on the dramatic stuff, but don't take it out completely though - a little goes a long way.

Hope this helps - if you have any questions about the UK generally then I'm happy to help.

[jefferson.bean]

Thanks for the advice! I will be writing a one-page research review and will be contacting professors directly. I was unsuccessful last time around, but only applied to some prestigious scholarships (Wellcome Trust, NIH-GPP). I will take a different approach and figure in the end I may have to suck up some of the financial burden myself. The nice part is, if I start my PhD somewhere here in the US, it is a guaranteed 4-5 years even though I have my master's. In the UK, it seems that 3 years is standard since I have this degree and this is cheaper and more reasonable. Also, tuition versus tuition, the UK is a bargain!

[aberrant]

Thanks for the advice! I will be writing a one-page research review and will be contacting professors directly. I was unsuccessful last time around, but only applied to some prestigious scholarships (Wellcome Trust, NIH-GPP). I will take a different approach and figure in the end I may have to suck up some of the financial burden myself. The nice part is, if I start my PhD somewhere here in the US, it is a guaranteed 4-5 years even though I have my master's. In the UK, it seems that 3 years is standard since I have this degree and this is cheaper and more reasonable. Also, tuition versus tuition, the UK is a bargain!

I agree for the most part. But why would you suggest that the tuition in the UK is a bargain? As far as I know, if you are accepted by a school in the U.S., there is a tuition waiver plus a stipend for you. Take a quick look at the numbers here:

http://www.ox.ac.uk/feesandfunding/fees/information/universityrates/201213feerates/ , I think that the tuition for some of the schools in the U.S. is event cheaper.

On the other hand, it might be very challenging for you to study in the UK without some sort of funding since you're not qualified for financial aid (unless you are a EU citizen). While there are different ways to take care of the tuition, most of the American scientists that I know who have done their PhD in the UK received a prestigious fellowship that covers their expends during their studies. When I was considering to apply grad schools in the UK last year, my perception on the tuition situation after performing extensive research on the internet is A. get a fellowship that can fund me for the next 3 years, or B. pay out of my own pocket. There could be an option C, but chances are slim unless you are extremely competitive, which mentioned above.