Advice to polish off my application over the next year?

[10thomer]

Hi everyone! I recently had "the talk" with my PI - where I'm looking to attend graduate school. He is pretty convinced that I can get into nearly any university that I apply to, but I'm not so certain that my resume is quite strong enough yet, so I'm looking for some solid advice on what to focus on over the next year to ensure that I have the best application possible. I'll go ahead and list my accomplishments and then my aspirations. Please comment on anything that you think is helping me, hurting me, or is just not worth spending time on. Any sort of advice is very much appreciated!

Institution - Ohio State University

Degree - BS in Molecular Genetics - Honors program. This is a ridiculously difficult program as far as biological sciences go, but I'm not sure if it holds any sort of reputation. Does anyone else have any idea?

GPA - 3.67

GRE - Haven't taken it yet. Any advice with regards to preparation and/or testing tips would be extremely helpful. I'm thinking about signing up for a Kaplan course. Waste of money?

Course work - My major classes have consisted of very high-level genetics courses (600-level courses), and I have taken some courses that are half graduate student, and half undergrads, and have done fairly well in them. I have the opportunity to take multiple graduate level (700-level) courses before I apply.

Research Experience - I think this is definitely going to be what helps me get my foot in the door of most institutions. I have been doing undergraduate research since the winter quarter of my freshman year. I work in a lab that studies the epigenetic regulation of transposable elements, and I've been inspired to continue performing research with regards to epigentics in grad school, so I'll have extremely relevant research experience.

Publications - My lab has just submitted a paper for publication, and if all goes as planned, I will be the fifth author of a publication in Plant Cell. Any opinions on the reputability of this journal? I will more than likely have at least one more publication before the time to apply comes around.

Grants/Scholarships - I have received a National Science Foundation - Research Experience for Undergraduates grant, which allowed me to stay at my lab and perform full-time research in the summer between my sophomore and junior year. I have also recently received the Arts and Science Undergraduate Research Scholarship, which funds my research for Spring semester.

Poster Forums - I have presented at three poster forums thus far, all within my university, but my PI wishes to send me to present at a professional conference sometime in the near future.

Letters of Recomendation- I will have very solid letters. My PI is obviously going to write me one, but I was wondering if you guys had any tips as to how to properly and politely ask for a letter of recommendation, and if I should expand my letter-writing trio to more than just faculty in the molecular genetics department.

Statement of Purpose - Obviously not started. Any valuable tips here?

Extra Activities - Last year, I was a volunteer for the "Girls Discover Genetics" program at a local children's science institute known as COSI. I lead junior high girls around to different activities pertaining to genetics, and hopefully inspired them to join the field. I'm also a mentor in a program that helps incoming students find research and become situated in labs within the university. Lastly, I'm a member of the Molcular Genetics club (but who cares, right?)

Unfair advantages - I'm a girl. I know that this is an awful reason to have an advantage over another applicant, but is this going to make a difference at all?

Alright, now time for the schools I wish to apply for.

Top choices:

Stanford

UC Berkeley (My PI is an alum. Does this help at all?)

Harvard

MIT

University of Pennsylvania

Also interested in:

University of Chicago

Northwestern

University of Wisconsin

Penn State

So what do you guys think? Any comment at all would be very much appreciated! Thanks so much!