Is my GRE good enough for top schools (Biological sciences)?

[Dro133]

Hi all,

 

This is my first post here. Here's my little story: I was "pre-med" all throughout college, and I enrolled in an MS program (cellular and molecular medicine at a large public university) after college to boost my credentials for medical school applications. However, after working on a research-based thesis for a year, I am leaning towards graduate school rather than medical school, as I have found that I enjoy the bench more than the clinic. I am currently applying to medical school, but am also considering applying to graduate school for this cycle as well.

 

I took the GRE before acceptance into my MS program and received the following score: 164 V / 161 Q / 5.0 W (93%, 80%, 93%, respectively).

 

Are these scores competitive for the top ~15-20 ranked research schools? I'm talking Stanford, UCB, UCSF, etc. I am concerned about my Quant score. Would taking GRE subject tests overcome this score?

 

Also, do graduate schools consider MCAT scores at all?

 

A little more information about my application for kicks and giggles...I have a 3.30 GPA from a top ~15 university with a 4.0 GPA in my MS program. Does my undergraduate GPA place me out of the running for the top graduate schools?

 

I apologize if some of my questions come off as simplified or uninformed, but there seems to be much less information out there for graduate school admissions than there is for MD admissions.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

 

[bsharpe269]

Hi Gro133, our stats are pretty much identical and I will be applying for biophsyics and computational bio phd programs this cycle. I have a 3.3 uGPA and a 4.0 MS GPA and 168Q,162V,4.0 GRE. I do think that our uGPAs have the potential to hurt our applications but they arent horrible and I dont think we are doomed. I dont think you should worry about your GRE scores... they are great. I also wouldnt worry about taking the GRE subject test since your great masters GPA shows that you understand bio material well. Do you have a reason for the lower uGPA? I have pretty bad ADHD and didnt start treating it until grad school. I am trying to figure out how to touch on this in my SOP without saying it outright. I might just mention that a medical issue held me back during undergrad. If you have a reason for the low uGPA then I would figure out how to touch on it in your SOP without dwelling on it.

 

A big part of phd admissions is research. Since you have a MS, I am sure that you have some decent research experience. Have you identified the subfield that you want to work in and are you actively reading papers in that field so that you can discuss it intelligently in your SOP and at interviews? Also, how good will your LORs be? These things matter as much as your stats.

 

Since we have similar stats, I can describe my plan since it may serve as a good comparison for you. Most of the phd programs  that I am applying to are ranked around 30 in my field. I am targetting schools based on research fit instead of ranking and this is where most of the schools that fit well for me fall. I am applying to a few "top" schools like UCSF, Stanford, and Johns Hopkins but most are around the prestige of programs like upitt and Stony Brook. Some of these top 30ish schools are actually my top choices due to amazing research fit. I would try to target schools based on research fit and the number of professors in your subfield. Unlike Med school, the name of the PI and research productivity matter more than the name of the school. I do think we both have a decent shot at good programs if we make sure our reserach backgrounds fit really well with the professors in our chosen departments! Good luck!!

[Dro133]

bsharpe269, thank you for the detailed reply. Your post eases my anxiety about my stats, but it opens up a whole new set of questions (this is a good thing!).

 

I'll try to explain my situation with a little more detail. The research I have been doing for my MS has been in the field of cardiomyopathy. While I find the work interesting and can speak about it at length if needed, I am not dead set on working in this field, so I don't have a specific field of interest in mind. My plan, if I do decide to go to graduate school, was to do rotations in a few different labs with topics that I find interesting, and to pick the one that piques my interest the most. This is part of my motivation to apply to top schools; I figure that the overall quality of the labs at these schools is likely superb, which increases my chances at finding a quality lab in a topic that I find interesting. Is this line of thought unorthodox for most graduate school applicants? Do graduate school adcoms necessarily expect you to have a specific field in mind? These are things I haven't considered.

 

Another motivating factor for targeting top schools is in case I decide to go to industry after earning my degree. I have absolutely zero evidence to back this up, but I feel like a degree from Stanford or Berkeley sounds sexier to most companies vs. a degree from The University of (insert state here). That's not to say I'm leaning towards industry vs. academia one way or another, but I've learned that it's not a bad idea to keep one's options open.

 

As far as my uGPA, I really don't have any good excuses - I simply wasn't focused on my studies during my first two years of undergrad. I'm hoping that my junior and senior year GPA's (~3.6), GRE score, MS GPA, and MCAT score (if they even look at this) will convince graduate schools that I can succeed when I'm determined to.

 

For what it's worth, I think you have a very good shot at getting into whatever program you want, especially if you have such a good idea of the field you are going to pursue. Also, I am definitely jealous of your Quant score. Good luck to you as well!

[bsharpe269]

I dont think you necesarily need to have a specific subfield chosen yet and given your more detailed explanation, it makes sense that you would target mostly top schools. It may be unique that I have such specific interests already. I really just fell in love with my MS research and know for certain that I finally found my niche.

 

I do think its important to at least be at the point where you can skim the research interests of professors in your chosen departments and narrow the list down to a few that you might want to work with. There should also be some sort of theme to your list. For example, you might know that you want to study cancer but want to rotate with a few different labs who use different methods. Or maybe you are really set on using a certain method but could apply it to a variety of topics. There is still time to narrow in your interests more before applications. If you keep reading research papers in your field then I am sure you will see patterns in the ones you find most intriguing. At this point, I also think its ok to have a couple different themes and to write about whichever one that particular school is strong in. I guess the point is that you should at least be able to write about general themes to your interests at this point, even if you do change them later. Others who have been through the application process may be able to comment more or even disagree. These are my thoughts but I havent applied yet!

 

Also, the upward trend in your uGPA will definitely help, especially when combined with your MS GPA and your great GRE scores.