Computational Biology PhD Program - Please help!

[8081123]

Hi all, 

I am finishing my senior year soon, and after taken some computer science classes and learning about the field of computational biology, I've decided to switch from applying to computational biology program instead of just biology. However, I'm having a little trouble on deciding the right programs to apply. I think I'm a much weaker applicant for a computational biology program than a biochemistry program. First of all, while I have been doing research for 4 years, all of them are molecular biology/genetics, rather than computational biology related.(apart from the 4 years of research experience I have, I'm a pretty average applicant...) Another issue that I have is that I'm an international student, which means that funding is going to be tough. So far I have a fairly unrealistic list that would most likely gives me no offer at all:

UIUC - Biophysics and Computational Biology

Cornell - Computational Biology

CMU - U of Pittsburg Computation Biology 

MIT - Computational and System Biology

Harvard -Systems Biology

 

Unfortunately, these schools are super hard to get in, at the same time they accept a good amount of international students(yaaaayy). On the other hand there are some schools that I'd probably have a better chance of getting in (if I wasn't an international student), admits only a small amount (like 1 per year) or international students. I was hoping if you guys can give me some suggestions on school that I'd stand a fair chance getting in as an international student. Any input is appreciated!!

 

Here's my stat:

Undergrad Institution: Big state school, Top 20 in both Biology and computer science
Major(s): Biochemistry
Minor(s): Computer Science
GPA in Major: 3.94, minor 3.90
Overall GPA: 3.94
Position in Class: top 2 %
Type of Student: International
GRE Scores (revised/old version): v 160, q 168, r 4.0
Research Experience:

one plant bio lab for 2 years, (include a summer scholar program with stipend)

one for a summer  (scholar program with stipend)

and another lab for 2 years. (home institution and honor thesis)

1 second author publication, 1 honorable mention in a publication and presented in 2 undergraduate national conference

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

summa cum laude,phi beta kappa, provost honor and was in one of the summer scholar program

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

TA for a year,

writer for school science journal for a year

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:meh

Special Bonus Points: PI of both labs I worked in are super big in their field, and I'll get awesome recs from them based on my work there.

 

[aberrant]

if I understand correctly, you are applying to a specific program because of the name of the school instead of a specific PI? I can tell you right off the bat that some of these schools actually don't have a strong computational biology program (no big names in the field).

 

while your numbers are great any everything, I think that it would be the best if you prepared for the worst scenario. after all, you are competing with applicants from around the world, especially with the big name schools. the only weakness that you have is applying your programming knowledge in a research environment. also, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but computational biology requires LOTS of chemical knowledge, mostly physical chemistry. so if you want to prepare yourself for computational biology, doing well in those classes will be very helpful. It really is about using your knowledge is chemistry, with the skills if scientific computing, to study biological molecules and relevant phenomena.

 

for that reason, I would recommend you to look at individual PIs whose research interested you, and then shoot them a e-mail to ask if they are taking new students, about your chances to get in to work in their lab, or even the program itself. all these information will help you the build a list that fits your research interests and skill sets, not straightly based on ranking.

 

Just my 2 cents.

Edited July 13, 2015 by aberrant

[sqxz]

I can't comment on your chances with any of the other schools, but I think you have an excellent chance at UIUC based on the stats you've posted! We have had several students switch from the experimental side of things to the computational side of things or vice versa when transitioning from undergrad, so I do not think this should hurt you. In fact, one of the guys in my cohort came in with no computational/programming experience whatsoever. He is now happily settled in a purely computational lab, so I think having a minor in Computer Science will make you very competitive, even though you don't have any computational research experience. The important thing is that you have lots of other research experience. Just be sure to explain how your research interests changed and why in your SOP. (That goes for any program you apply to.) Also, unlike other universities, being an international student will not hurt your chances with our program, as the number of international students accepted is often greater than the number of domestic students accepted in any given year. For example, in my cohort, there were (originally) five domestic students and eight international students. 

 

As to your question, I think all of the programs I applied to (see my signature) are worth taking a look at, depending on what kind of computational biology research you're looking for. I do agree with @aberrant that you should definitely be looking now for PIs whose research is of interest to you. When I applied, I found out (almost too late) that my interpretation of the overall focus of a program (as stated on the program website) often did not comport 100% with the research pursued by the faculty associated with the program. Unlike @aberrant, I do not necessarily think it will be a useful exercise to ask PIs at this point if they think they will be accepting students more than a year from now. In my experience, most PIs will not have a clue. However, establishing a good relationship with PIs whose work interests you early on can only benefit you throughout the application process, so I would advise you not hesitate to email these PIs if you feel like doing so.

 

Finally, I feel that I have to note that I disagree with @aberrant's analysis of what is important in computational biology. Computational biology, at least by what I believe to be the most standard definition, requires a lot of knowledge of statistics and computer science, not chemistry or physical chemistry. Chemical or physical chemical knowledge is much more important when doing research that involves simulations of biomolecular systems, which typically falls into the field of computational biophysics or computational (quantum) chemistry, depending on what you're doing.

 

 

Hi all, 

I am finishing my senior year soon, and after taken some computer science classes and learning about the field of computational biology, I've decided to switch from applying to computational biology program instead of just biology. However, I'm having a little trouble on deciding the right programs to apply. I think I'm a much weaker applicant for a computational biology program than a biochemistry program. First of all, while I have been doing research for 4 years, all of them are molecular biology/genetics, rather than computational biology related.(apart from the 4 years of research experience I have, I'm a pretty average applicant...) Another issue that I have is that I'm an international student, which means that funding is going to be tough. So far I have a fairly unrealistic list that would most likely gives me no offer at all:

UIUC - Biophysics and Computational Biology

Cornell - Computational Biology

CMU - U of Pittsburg Computation Biology 

MIT - Computational and System Biology

Harvard -Systems Biology

 

Unfortunately, these schools are super hard to get in, at the same time they accept a good amount of international students(yaaaayy). On the other hand there are some schools that I'd probably have a better chance of getting in (if I wasn't an international student), admits only a small amount (like 1 per year) or international students. I was hoping if you guys can give me some suggestions on school that I'd stand a fair chance getting in as an international student. Any input is appreciated!!

 

Here's my stat:

Undergrad Institution: Big state school, Top 20 in both Biology and computer science
Major(s): Biochemistry
Minor(s): Computer Science
GPA in Major: 3.94, minor 3.90
Overall GPA: 3.94
Position in Class: top 2 %
Type of Student: International
GRE Scores (revised/old version): v 160, q 168, r 4.0
Research Experience:

one plant bio lab for 2 years, (include a summer scholar program with stipend)

one for a summer  (scholar program with stipend)

and another lab for 2 years. (home institution and honor thesis)

1 second author publication, 1 honorable mention in a publication and presented in 2 undergraduate national conference

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

summa cum laude,phi beta kappa, provost honor and was in one of the summer scholar program

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

TA for a year,

writer for school science journal for a year

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:meh

Special Bonus Points: PI of both labs I worked in are super big in their field, and I'll get awesome recs from them based on my work there.

 

[tempbiostud]

I feel strangely qualified to help you right now. I'm also highly interested in computational biology - I've been pursuing a microbiology degree with minors in chemistry and bioinformatics. I've done research in three labs so far in a rather peculiar order. 

• Environmental Microbiology - Two Years with only one Summer included - Looked at Salmonella and several gene regulators in context of plant systems.
• Computational Biology and Functional Genomics - One Summer (10-weeks) Internship - I don't want to go into detail because the professor can be tracked down very easily... But it was developmental biology work.
• Bioinformatics (Ecological Microbiology) - One month before the summer internship and then I'll return for a year - Microbiomes of forest environments shared across continents to elucidate differences in microbial populations.

The computational biology was done at UPenn and it was a great experience. I learned so many different techniques and UPenn's mentality and faculty are excellent and down to Earth. If you're looking at brand name they are an Ivy League with VERY impressive facilities. If you're looking for faculty they have a biomedical graduate studies program with a whole computational biology department. They are an excellent choice. I recommend you try this one and all the grad students seem to really love their lives here and the communication among labs is clear and constant. 

[jesseeisenberg]

Hi,

 

I am in a similar dilemma, though I am more 'off' from Computational Biology because I am an EECS major, in my senior year, and am looking for applying to Computational Biology groups, because I have (some) research experience in Biophysics and Systems Biology.

 

My Profile:

 

Undergrad school: Indian Institute of Technology,

Major: Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

GPA: 3.98, Top of my class

Type of Student: International

Research interests: Systems biology, like CS in Biology

 

Research Experience:

• Two years in a sys bio group in my home institution,
• One summer in a biophysics lab at MIT
• One summer in a (somewhat related to dynamical systems, but not bio) lab

Conferences:

• One IEEE Conference in Medicine
• One IEEE Conference (floating)

How would you rate my position with :

• Harvard Systems Biology,
• MIT CSBi
• Princeton Quantitative Biology

[8081123]

if I understand correctly, you are applying to a specific program because of the name of the school instead of a specific PI? I can tell you right off the bat that some of these schools actually don't have a strong computational biology program (no big names in the field).

 

while your numbers are great any everything, I think that it would be the best if you prepared for the worst scenario. after all, you are competing with applicants from around the world, especially with the big name schools. the only weakness that you have is applying your programming knowledge in a research environment. also, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but computational biology requires LOTS of chemical knowledge, mostly physical chemistry. so if you want to prepare yourself for computational biology, doing well in those classes will be very helpful. It really is about using your knowledge is chemistry, with the skills if scientific computing, to study biological molecules and relevant phenomena.

 

for that reason, I would recommend you to look at individual PIs whose research interested you, and then shoot them a e-mail to ask if they are taking new students, about your chances to get in to work in their lab, or even the program itself. all these information will help you the build a list that fits your research interests and skill sets, not straightly based on ranking.

 

Just my 2 cents.

Hey there,

Thanks for you input! I actually don't think it's true that computational biology requires LOTS of chemical knowledge. I'm more interested in the genomic science than molecular biology, and I've already looked into specific PIs. What I'm asking is if anyone here knows about some schools with good bioinformatics programs at the same time take a decent amount of international students so that I can look at the PIs.

[8081123]

I can't comment on your chances with any of the other schools, but I think you have an excellent chance at UIUC based on the stats you've posted! We have had several students switch from the experimental side of things to the computational side of things or vice versa when transitioning from undergrad, so I do not think this should hurt you. In fact, one of the guys in my cohort came in with no computational/programming experience whatsoever. He is now happily settled in a purely computational lab, so I think having a minor in Computer Science will make you very competitive, even though you don't have any computational research experience. The important thing is that you have lots of other research experience. Just be sure to explain how your research interests changed and why in your SOP. (That goes for any program you apply to.) Also, unlike other universities, being an international student will not hurt your chances with our program, as the number of international students accepted is often greater than the number of domestic students accepted in any given year. For example, in my cohort, there were (originally) five domestic students and eight international students. 

 

As to your question, I think all of the programs I applied to (see my signature) are worth taking a look at, depending on what kind of computational biology research you're looking for. I do agree with @aberrant that you should definitely be looking now for PIs whose research is of interest to you. When I applied, I found out (almost too late) that my interpretation of the overall focus of a program (as stated on the program website) often did not comport 100% with the research pursued by the faculty associated with the program. Unlike @aberrant, I do not necessarily think it will be a useful exercise to ask PIs at this point if they think they will be accepting students more than a year from now. In my experience, most PIs will not have a clue. However, establishing a good relationship with PIs whose work interests you early on can only benefit you throughout the application process, so I would advise you not hesitate to email these PIs if you feel like doing so.

 

Finally, I feel that I have to note that I disagree with @aberrant's analysis of what is important in computational biology. Computational biology, at least by what I believe to be the most standard definition, requires a lot of knowledge of statistics and computer science, not chemistry or physical chemistry. Chemical or physical chemical knowledge is much more important when doing research that involves simulations of biomolecular systems, which typically falls into the field of computational biophysics or computational (quantum) chemistry, depending on what you're doing.

 

Thanks for you input! I just have a few more questions about the application process if you don't mind:

1. What exactly do you mean by establishing a good relationship with the professors that you're interested in working with? I feel like they must be receiving tons of garbage emails that are basically saying "I really like your research". Do you ask questions that you don't understand about their research or ask them some details that aren't covered in their publications? (Sorry I know that is a stupid question)

2. Why did you pick UIUC over the other 2 schools? Is that environmental/ just the research interest?

Do you mind if I pm you a couple question regarding personal statement?

Edited September 21, 2015 by 8081123

[sqxz]

1. Personally, I did not contact anyone before going to my interviews, and this was partly because I didn't really know what to say. This might be a good question for the main 2016 Application Profiles forum to see what other candidates are doing, if anything, though I suspect it's already been addressed in some capacity somewhere else on this website if you search hard enough. I will say that I suspect that professors don't get that many emails saying "I really like your research," but I would certainly advise you to say more than that if you end up sending emails. Perhaps you could do something like this:

• In your first email, establish that you are applying to Program X this fall. You've visited their website and read some papers and are really interested in their research about A, B, C. You yourself have a background in Q, R, S, and you hope to do T, U, V in grad school. You had some questions about N, O, P (related to their research or the grad program) and were wondering if they were willing to talk to you about them.

Even though this is a lot, I would recommend you be as brief as possible in your emails. In my experience, most professors don't have the patience to wade through a lengthy email. Also be sure your questions are insightful and genuine. You don't want to ask a question that can easily be found on the professor's/program's website. 

Now, many professors will likely ignore such emails because they think it's too early in the application process. Some may tell you to wait, or they may refer you to someone or somewhere else for answers to your questions. Others will be more than glad to talk to you, so you should be prepared to have a meaningful conversation about the professor's research/the grad program and the questions you asked. This will be your first impression, and it matters. Eventually, since it's so early, I suspect the conversation will die with the Professor saying something like "Good luck with your applications!" or "Let me know if you have any more questions." or something like that, which gives you the opportunity to send a second email later on. If you had a good conversation with a professor and are not offered an interview, let them know. If he or she likes you, he or she may be in a position to pull some strings. Even if that's not the case, the professor is soon going to be like a colleague. I often see professors who interviewed me at conferences, on papers, etc. You never know when you're going to run into this person again, and it pays to have a good relationship with him or her. If you do get an interview, you might send an email like this:

• Remind the professor that you've talked/sent an email before and have now been invited to interview. You are hoping you have the opportunity to meet with him or her during your visit, and you have some questions about F, G, H (either related to the interview process or things you want to talk about related to research).

Those who didn't respond before are going to be much more willing to talk to you now. At this point, you are being interviewed, but professors know that you are also assessing them/their institution, and it is in their best interest to make a good impression. After your interview, be sure to send a "Thank you" email to those professors who you've previously been in contact with. This is an opportunity to continue to show genuine interest in the professor's research. Consider also sending emails to those professors who you haven't previously been in contact with. This is your opportunity to establish a relationship with this person like you've been doing with the other professors with whom you've been in contact. Some admission decisions will come so quickly that you will also be able to let the professors know how things went in your "Thank you" email. For other programs, this will be another email that you send. If you don't get in, treat it the same way as when you didn't get an interview. If you do get in, things suddenly become very interesting.

• If you haven't done so already, now is definitely the time to ask if professors expect to be accepting new students into their labs in the fall. Now is a good time to ask especially tough questions (while still being polite, of course) that you didn't feel comfortable asking during you interview. Discuss whatever you need to talk about to make an informed decision about where to attend grad school.

At this point, some professors are going to actively try to recruit you into their labs/institutions. You've demonstrated that you're interested and that you're going to be a good student, and they like you. This may become tricky for you because you may have made several contacts at different institutions, but you can only go to one school. Most professors will understand that this is an extremely personal/important decision and will encourage you to choose the school that is ultimately the best fit for you. But you should make sure that you haven't made any promises by this point that you can't keep (e.g., "I'm going to join your lab, no matter what!"). Once you've made your decision, let everyone know, and treat it like you did when you didn't get an interview/didn't get in.

This was the long answer to what I meant by "establishing a good relationship."

2. It was primarily research fit, but there were a lot of other factors, which I'd be happy to discuss in a PM.

3. Sure, go right ahead.

 

Thanks for you input! I just have a few more questions about the application process if you don't mind:

1. What exactly do you mean by establishing a good relationship with the professors that you're interested in working with? I feel like they must be receiving tons of garbage emails that are basically saying "I really like your research". Do you ask questions that you don't understand about their research or ask them some details that aren't covered in their publications? (Sorry I know that is a stupid question)

2. Why did you pick UIUC over the other 2 schools? Is that environmental/ just the research interest?

Do you mind if I pm you a couple question regarding personal statement?

[dienofail]

I'm currently a student in the MIT CSBi program. The program usually takes one, at most two international students each year due to restrictions on the training grant. If you are able to get an interview, chances of acceptance are usually pretty high. As an aside, if you're serious about the computational part of computational biology, I think MIT is definitely the best place to get training in the area out of all the schools you mentioned.

Edited December 5, 2015 by dienofail