Am I good enough?

[none1]

Hi all, 

I'm feeling kind of meh about applying in to grad school... As I'm taking my GRE and finishing up school I find myself frequently asking am I good enough? There are days I feel like God's gift to the earth, which makes me feel like I am more than capable and qualified for Grad school...Other days I feel like a failure (these days are becoming more numerous as the application period creeps up on us). I want some honest advice, because much like my confidence mood swings, my friends and family are all over the place, some are sparing my feelings and some genuinely thing I'm awesome but don't quite know the criterion that is being evaluated. I also have some people who make oceans out of puddles, and make me feel insignificant to the graduate world... That said I would love some kind critical feed back, I'll give you my "features/stats" and maybe you can tell me that the stars I'm reaching for are within reason or beyond the scope of my universe 

 

Ok... so I am from the West Coast. Double majored in in a double bachelor of science program in  Human Biology (B.S) and Cognitive Science Specialization: Neuroscience (B.S) 

 

I love my majors but they don't love me--- I'm at a 3.00 GPA on the nose.

 

 

I Work as a research assistant for a hotshot Psychiatrist-- I've been there for 7 months now, also fantastic exposure but since they aren't actively running experiments now, I am working on all sorts of past data collections analysis etc. don't get me wrong it entails a ton of variations in skills and knowledge; but it isn't really active lab work (conducting experiments)...since I'm on summer I work here full time, but I am job scoping on the side, anything, even unpaid to get a chance, but lab positions are really competitive to snag around here. 

 

 

I was fortunate to TA, it was a fantastic exposure, I loved every minute-- I had a group of 40 students that I was responsible for writing quizzes, grading, holding a weekly section, hosting review sessions, weekly office hours, attendance and mastery of the material, weekly meetings with the Prof-- and I was given the opportunity to write and give a Lecture for the class on Neuroscience! (sized 150 students)

 

 

I'm part of a neuroscience journal publication editing club, as well as a couple of random clubs on campus that I follow up with whenever I have a chance.... 

 

I'm signed up for the GRE in july a subject test in psychology and maybe I might try biology as  well. 

 

I'm taking the main GRE exam in Augustish 

 

 

My goal schools is UCBerkeley and UC Davis; but I'm keeping my options open for UC Santa Cruz, UC Merced (funding), UC San Diego and UCSF (the schools i know i won't get into) 

 

 

My program of interest is a PhD Neuroscience and/or Neurobiology 

 

Will my GREs be the deciding factor? Do I have a chance or should I just save my money on applications?

 

Meh I have no idea. I would love some advice, testimonies, thoughts, prayers...anything basically because I just don't know 

 

 

Thank you!

Edited November 14, 2014 by fuzzylogician
edited for privacy. --fuzzy

[Vene]

Here are my somewhat disjointed thoughts.

 

UC Berkely and UC Davis are going to be difficult to get into with a 3.0 GPA. GREs are not likely to help you as much as you hope, they tend to keep people out of programs, not convince a committee to bring you in for an interview. Quantitative means more than verbal means more than writing. I'm not sure if a GRE test in psychology means much as neuroscience is more of a biological science than a psychological one. The TA experience doesn't seem likely to help you much, but you could include it as a part of a SOP if you want to use it to show why you want to teach. I think approximately zero people care about your journal club. Your experience in a research lab is helpful though.

 

You're probably most likely to get into a lower tier PhD program or you're going to have to do a MS to get into a respectable one. It's possible that connections from UCSD will help, especially if you get killer LORs and SOP. A 3.0 GPA doesn't mean you can't get to a PhD, but it's going to be tough to get into a top program and can make securing funding tough, depending on how the program handles funding. If your GPA rised as you progressed through undergrad it'll look better and if your GPA in science and math classes was higher than a 3.0 it'll also help your case.

[Dedi]

I agree with what Vene said.

 

Research experience, LORs and your SOP are going to be your deciding factors. Low GRE scores will hurt, but high GRE scores will not help you get into a program. Your TA experience might be useful in getting a strong LOR, but that's about it. Since you aren't doing any active experimentation, I assume that a publication is out of the question.

Is there a reason why you're looking at UC schools only? What are your research interests?