aiyaa Posted December 9, 2014 Posted December 9, 2014 Currently a sophomore biology major at top 30 undergrad (large research university, state flagship) GPA: 3.5 Have not taken GRE, but scored ~2150 on SAT with little studying (didn't give a crap about undergrad admissions lol) and am good test taker in general. 1 year in network neuroscience lab under fairly new PI Second author publication in small but peer-reviewed journal (IF ~5.4) Third author (out of 4) publication pending acceptance in PLoS Biology Currently in the beginning stages of an independent project, hopefully leading to a first author paper. Planning to stay in my lab (possibly with a SURF) this coming summer, do an REU the summer after junior year, and spend a year in a different lab for a year after I graduate while applying to grad school. Other random activities: Heavily involved in the university symphony and an intensive chamber music program. Teach free music lessons to underprivileged children. I don't think any of this matters but included it just in case. How can I improve my application for top tier schools, assuming that I apply to good fit programs?
eragon Posted December 10, 2014 Posted December 10, 2014 (edited) If you can come with 1/2 first author publications and get two strong recos from profs for your research you can get into top programs. Your profile suggests you are working towards that. Edited December 10, 2014 by eragon
aiyaa Posted December 12, 2014 Author Posted December 12, 2014 If you can come with 1/2 first author publications and get two strong recos from profs for your research you can get into top programs. Your profile suggests you are working towards that. Do you think my GPA will hold me back? I'm trying to increase it but I doubt I'll be able to get it higher than 3.7 or so.
eragon Posted December 12, 2014 Posted December 12, 2014 (edited) Yes. It might be a deterrent compared to your peers who might have 3.7 or above. But if you have enough research experience to compensate that, you will stand out. If you are able to reach 3.7, I would say you will be a strong candidate to the top 10-20 schools Edited December 12, 2014 by eragon
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now