Canadian undergrad senior applying to top US PhD's in the life sciences - do I even stand a chance?

[DavidBellamy]

[Apologies for the brutally long post, I just hoped I could provide all the relevant info] 

 

Hi everyone, I'm applying this coming fall (2015) for hopeful admission in Sep. 2016. What would help me so much is if anyone with relevant experience/knowledge could comment on my application profile and maybe help me refine my expectations and possibly save me a lot of time, energy, and money. I've been waiting for this application season for 2-3 years now and my nerves are really starting to flare with the anticipation.

 

I'm applying to:

1. Harvard BBS
2. MIT Biology
3. UCSF TETRAD
4. Stanford Biosciences
5. Yale BBS
6. Rockefeller (David Rockefeller PhD)
7. Berkeley MCB
8. Princeton Mol. bio
9. U Penn BGS
10. && Columbia Biological sciences

 

My profile:

• School & program - Canada's capital university (uOttawa), modest but very research-intensive. Honours BSc in biochemistry
• Cumulative GPA - ~4.0/4.0 (converted from my school's 10.0 scale) 
• Position in my class: top 1% (possibly the highest academic standing, I'll know when I graduate)
• General GRE - haven't written just yet but will soon. For the sake of this post let's suppose/hope I manage to kill it and get 90th+ percentile for verbal, quantitative and the AWA (that's what I'm aiming for and will rewrite if necessary)
• Subject GRE in biochemistry - will write this in October. Maybe leave this out of your consideration for now - too hard to predict.
• Publications: 1 upper-author publication on a fairly important Nature Med paper (out of 30 authors). 2 others being submitted in the near future to either Nature Med or another similar tier journal (much shorter author lists with me being close to first, if not first author). 1 other from my current lab that should be submitted to a modest mass spec/proteomics journal before applications are due.
• Personal statement: Very vaguely, I'll be trying to communicate something along the lines of "I was born to do basic science research" - this PhD isn't my plan B, or because I didn't get into med school. I love what I do and I can't see myself doing anything else. My ultimate goal would be to land a faculty position in a top department eventually. 

 

Awards:

• Canada's NIH/NSF equivalent, NSERC - won their undergraduate research award twice (considered quite prestigious, need an A average to even stand a chance)
• "The best undergraduate researcher" award at my university's hospital research institute.
• First place in my university's healthcare symposium research poster competition & I hope to win a similar symposium/conference this August.
• Academic merit scholarships 4 years running for exceptional academic standing in my program
• Dean's honour list 4 years running
• A considerable tuition scholarship since I was admitted
• The J. Armand Bombardier student mobility scholarship for when I went abroad to do research at Harvard Med school
• Among some others that aren't as important

 

Research experience: I've worked in 4 labs (currently in my 4th)

• First lab: 4 months full-time and 5 months part-time during my 2nd year in an inorganic chemistry lab (where I held the 1st NSERC award I won)
• Second: 8 months full-time in what is considered by most the most successful/biggest lab in the city (and potentially beyond). The project I was a part of alone received $1.2 million dollars in funding: http://www.ottawasun.com/2014/03/25/research-dollars-take-aim-at-pancreatic-cancer
• Third: 4 months full-time (more like 8 months because of 100+ work hour weeks :-D ) in Dr. Yang Shi's lab at Harvard Med school. Met him at a conference and connected, eventually landing a position in his lab. Turns out he is a very prominent prof at Harvard (the post-docs put him among the "titans" of the faculty haha) and has even been involved in grad school admissions for BBS there. He was the one who strongly encouraged I apply to these programs (most especially Harvard's BBS of course)
• Fourth: 4 months full-time & ongoing (for the next 12 months or so; 4th year research project & thesis) in another very big lab in Ottawa. PI is the chair of the department. Highest salaried and funded prof at the university (besides my past PI). Insane publishing record (mass spec & proteomics). I'm currently holding my second NSERC award here.

 

Letters of recommendation: 4 PI's from all my previous labs (and my current one). Will only use 3 for the schools that request 3, but I think I'll include my 4th PI (the first lab I worked in) for good measure when applying to schools that allow >3.

• First letter: My current PI. He's a big name but it's hard to say just how strong this letter will be. I've introduced his lab to CRISPR entirely by myself (worked with it in the Harvard Med lab), which he can write about hopefully giving me a unique edge. The post-doc & PI I work with here just don't seem to be super exuberant.
• Second: Previous PI from Harvard Med. He loves me, called me "the most impressive undergraduate researcher he's ever met" or aka his "wondergrad" haha. This will most likely be my strongest letter.
• Third: Previous PI from the heavily funded pancreatic cancer project. I accomplished a lot and won several awards working out of his lab during those 8 months so even though he's a very busy guy (I'm not sure how much effort he'll be able to put into it) I think I can rest assured it'll be quite strong.
• Fourth: Modest but well-established senior prof in the Chemistry Department - he practically writes I can "walk on water" in my letters so this should be a very strong letter too.

 

So...if anyone was bothered to read through all that (!!) - do I have a shot as an international student? Or am I still in risky territory for being rejected from all 10? What are your thoughts? I would be so thankful for any responses - maybe it could calm my nerves! Thanks

[Arm457]

You should spend some time away from applications and chill. 

 

See here please: 

Edited July 13, 2015 by Arm457

[DavidBellamy]

Fair enough, I probably deserve that. Thanks for the link, I hadn't seen that before!

[TakeruK]

Hi! 
 
It looks like you did some kind of co-op work program during your undergrad! I did it too, and I found it to be a huge help and boost in building up a strong history of research experience.
 
When it comes to the top grad programs, it's a crapshoot for everyone, even the best applicants. There are a lot of other factors, such as who has funding, or what focus the program wants to move towards. So, in my opinion, there comes a level where you have "saturated" your chances of getting in, and improving your profile beyond that will not make any difference.
 
I think you have reached that level. You have the best chance possible of getting into these programs (as an international student) and there is pretty much nothing else you can do to improve your chances.
 
My advice is to apply to a lot of private US schools because they are more likely to accept international students. Your list is a good mix right now. My other advice for Canadians is to apply to a Canadian "backup" school (if you want a backup school at all) and that, usually, it's not worth it to apply to any US school that is worse than the best Canadian school (but some people might have other reasons to choose a US school). Note that in many fields, the University of California schools are very very popular amongst international students so they are going to be more competitive. 
 
Finally, if you want a suggested tweak, I would say to "tone it down" a little on your plan for your Personal Statement / SOP. Statements like " 'I was born to do basic science research' - this PhD isn't my plan B" reads as very arrogant to me. And statements like "My ultimate goal would be to land a faculty position in a top department" sound a little naive. With your application profile, these two statements together give off a weird vibe that's hard to explain, but it sounds almost as if you are saying "if you don't accept me, you'll regret it" and that's probably not a good tone to convey. Certainly you should "sell yourself" in your SOP but there's such a thing as going too far and you are better off showing than telling (i.e. your experience and publication record will speak for itself).  But maybe your field is different than the norms in mine! I'd consult your advisors and have them read over your SOP.

[MathCat]

Finally, if you want a suggested tweak, I would say to "tone it down" a little on your plan for your Personal Statement / SOP. Statements like " 'I was born to do basic science research' - this PhD isn't my plan B" reads as very arrogant to me. And statements like "My ultimate goal would be to land a faculty position in a top department" sound a little naive. With your application profile, these two statements together give off a weird vibe that's hard to explain, but it sounds almost as if you are saying "if you don't accept me, you'll regret it" and that's probably not a good tone to convey. Certainly you should "sell yourself" in your SOP but there's such a thing as going too far and you are better off showing than telling (i.e. your experience and publication record will speak for itself).  But maybe your field is different than the norms in mine! I'd consult your advisors and have them read over your SOP.

I agree with this. Your application is obviously competitive for top places, but frankly some parts of your post come across as bit arrogant/bragging. For example, I think you've overstated the prestige of an NSERC USRA. I'm not suggesting you said you would, but definitely don't tell them how prestigious the awards you've won are in your application.