Going From M.S. to Ph.D

[buffbulls4588]

Do you think a student applying for a Ph.D (in my case BME) with an M.S. from an average graduate school (ranked somewhere in the top 50) with average M.S. grades (GPA: 3.5) to a top tier program (for example Columbia ranked #20) with research experience and publications would be competitive? Also do you think an average MS student applying to a Ph.D program would be competitive versus a student applying with B.S. with higher grades but less research experience?

[TexasGuy]

I dont think any has the advantage over the other. i'm also M.S applying to PhD. It's very possible for an undergrad to have more research experience than an M.S.

 

Just apply. Stop worrying about 'your chances'

[juilletmercredi]

Do you think a student applying for a Ph.D (in my case BME) with an M.S. from an average graduate school (ranked somewhere in the top 50) with average M.S. grades (GPA: 3.5) to a top tier program (for example Columbia ranked #20) with research experience and publications would be competitive?

 

Yes, depending on what that research experience and those publications were.  If they are comparable with other applicants', yes.

 

Also do you think an average MS student applying to a Ph.D program would be competitive versus a student applying with B.S. with higher grades but less research experience?

 

Impossible to determine in generalities.  It depends on the students and their individual accomplishments.  A BS graduate from the #1 department in the field with 2 years of quality research with a bigwig could be more competitive than an MS student from an average program with 3 years of ok but not outstanding research with a lesser-known researcher.  It also depends on the fit - a student with less research but superb fit could get admitted over a student with more experience but less fit.  Remember that research experience past a certain point (around 1.5-2 years, I would say) isn't really about absolute numbers but more about quality, about demonstrating that you are capable of doing what you will be expected to do in graduate school.

 

I agree with the above assessment, though - don't worry about your chances so much, and aim high for the programs in which your research fits neatly.

[ss5ay]

It depends. Do you have publications? That will help a lot. Like what the others said, I would say apply anyway and see what happens.

 

As a current BME PhD graduating this year, I would not go for PhD again if I were to do it all over again. Nowadays, you cannot get a job in industry without several years of postdoc experience. Also you have to know people to get hired. Academia is even worse. In my program, we recently hired an assistant professor. For this 1 assistant professor position, we got something like 600-700 applications.

 

I don't know what your career goals are, but do not apply to PhD programs just because that's what everyone else does, etc. PhD program is long and hard and you will need a lot of self motivation to finish. Best wishes on your future career endeavors.