2016 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

[Vene]

Gram, your writing score is fine. It is the absolute least important aspect of your application and I'd be surprised if adcoms even so much as glance at it.

[Infinito]

Gram, your writing score is fine. It is the absolute least important aspect of your application and I'd be surprised if adcoms even so much as glance at it.

I've heard mixed reviews about that. That some adcoms do care that you score at or above a 4.5 because graduate students are expected to read and write well. The test, of course, is but a fragment of anyone's total output as a writer, but at the end of the day, even though GREs are subjective and do not correlate with much graduate success, some schools might at least want to see a threshold score. 

I'm pretty sure that logic applies to all aspects of the GRE.

[hippyscientist]

Undergrad Institution: Top 3 School for my field in the UK

Masters Institution: Top School in my field in the UK

Undergrad Major(s): Sport and Exercise Science

MSc: Sports Biomechanics
Minor(s): Not done in the UK 
GPA in Major: Around a 3.6 in what I'm applying for my PhD
Overall GPA: 3.3 (roughly using a variety of conversion websites)
Position in Class: I think I was middle-ish (I had a really rough 3 years, mentioned in my SOP)

I don't have a GPA for my masters as I don't start til September.
Type of Student: International female, first to go to uni in my family

 

GRE Scores (revised/old version): Taking it in two weeks (diagnostics are putting me around 162V and 163Q)!!

 

Research Experience: I've written journal style lab reports every year, done a comprehensive independent piece of research for my undergrad dissertation (in the process of getting it published as first author), working on a national research study currently, will be doing my MSc too and that has a tonne of research in it. All my research is on injury risk factors, prevention and rehabilitation which is broadly the field I want to go into (I like knees lol).

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Was on scholarship for academic potential for all 3 years of undergrad (only about 10 awarded to entire incoming student body). 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Working as a research associate on major study related to my field for the summer. Was on the staff student liason committee at both undergrad and my masters programmes.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
It's tough to say. I'm struggling translating what I've done in the UK to what's on offer to US students. I was an elite athlete but retired due to injury, hence my research interests.  

 

Special Bonus Points: (Such as connections, grad classes, famous recommenders, female or minority status etc...)
My LORs will be good - one US lecturer who knows me well (to the point that when I was driving across the US I crashed at his place), my research supervisor at undergrad, and my research supervisor from my MSc (who got his PhD in Biomechanics from one of the schools I'm applying to). Also the uni I'm at for my MSc is ranked top in the field in this country, and alumni from my programme are now faculty in a few of the schools I'm applying to.

 

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
I basically had a horrendous time in my BSc, which explains why my GPA is so low (e.g. I found out a friend died the day before the start of exams, I saw a friend die in a hit and run in front of me, my dad got diagnosed with aggressive cancer etc). I've touched on this in my SOP but am determined to make my MSc make up for it.

 

My MSc university has been named by the International Olympic Committee as one of the main research hubs for injury prevention research so I'm coming from a strong place for what I want to do.

 

Applying to Where:

USC - Biokinesiology

Penn State - Kinesiology - Biomechanics

U Michigan - Kinesiology - Biomechanics

U Connecticut - Kinesiology - Biomechanics

U Florida - Applied Performance and Kinesiology - Biobehavioral Studies

U Wisconsin - Madison - Kinesiology - Biomechanics

 

I didn't see this was in Biology but I guess it's life science related...please tell me to move it if it's not okay here!

Edited July 30, 2015 by piglet33

[Ferroportin]

Undergrad Institution: Top ranked UC

Major(s): Human Biology

Minor(s): None

GPA in Major: 3.67 (last two year GPA ~3.99)

Overall GPA: 3.61

Position in Class: Unknown

Type of Student: Domestic, Asian male

 

GRE Scores (revised/old version):

Q: 167 (94%)

V: 164 (94%)

W: 5.5 (98%)

B: Getting mixed opinions on whether the subject test is necessary or not…

 

Research Experience:

2 years as a research intern in HIV lab

-       well renowned PI has agreed to sign off on LOR, but has asked that I provide him a draft first.

 

6-month internship at another HIV lab

-       did some animal work and learned biochemical techniques (westerns, etc). didn’t feel like I left a strong impression here…won’t be asking for a LOR

 

Currently working as a research associate in a Lung Biology lab (~4 months)

-       strong LOR from here

 

(Last LOR coming from professor at home institution, should be strong)

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

Provost’s Honors for multiple quarters (but not all)

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

Teaching Assistant for 2 undergraduate upper division biology classes

Resident Advisor for summer high school STEM science camp (3 years)

Resident Advisor for two years during undergrad (not sure if this will help by showing “leadership”…do adcomms give any points for these activities?)

HIV Test Counselor

 

Special Bonus Points:

My undergrad institution, one of the undergrad labs, and the current lab I’m working in are three of the universities I’m applying to. LORs are also coming from faculty at those universities, not sure if this carries any weight at all?

 

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

My first two years of undergrad were not reflective of my academic ability. I was dealing with personal family issues during the first two years of my undergrad (LGBT related, unfortunately enough). However, my last two years were much better; taking almost entirely upper division biology courses (the “harder” classes). My GPA for these courses are ~3.9 and account for roughly over half of my graduating credits. Is this something I need to explain in the SOP? Or will the academic improvement speak for itself in my transcripts?

 

Applying to Where:

I’m interested in disease pathology and will be applying mainly to cell bio/molecular bio programs.

 

UCSF (Tetrad)

USC (PIBBS)

UCI (Cellular and Molecular Biosciences)

UCLA (IMMP)

UC Berkeley (MCB)

Scripps Research Institute

UCSD

Stanford

UC Davis (MCIP)

 

Not too sure how competitive I am for these schools, so any advice or thoughts would be appreciated!

[pm666]

Undergrad Institution: Well known public university, India

Major(s): B.Tech, Biotechnology
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: We dont have major/minor, only one overall GPA
Overall GPA: 3.7

Position in Class: Above average

 

Graduate School: Average ranked public university, USA

Major: Biology

Overall GPA: 3.22  (this is a major problem!! )

Position in Class: Not sure
Type of Student: Domestic, Asian

GRE Scores (revised/old version): Not yet taken ( debating whether I should take subject test or not ). Taking in Sep.

Research Experience: 

a. Summer internships: total 2 -  6 and 3 months each summer internship at a major research facility and biotech company in India - did mass spec and molecular, tissue culture and assay development

b. One year research experience in an academic lab, studying mice models for diabetes, animal work, cell culture, biochemical assays 

c. One year in a bioanalytical core facility in a major biotech company doing biochemical and mol bio work.

d. 8 months working in a bioanalytical lab in a major biotech company doing enzymatic assays and chromatography work 

e. 4 years in an academic lab in a teaching hospital focusing on autism and neurodevelopmental work - crux of work focuses on stem cell work, genome editing, several cell, biochemical and mol bio assays.

- I have no first authors, but 1 2nd author in press, 4 middle author publications.

- Given some talks at the institute

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Such as tutor, TA, SPS officer etc...)
a. Currently a research tech in a lab specializing in autism and neurodevelopmental deficits.

b. Part time genetics instructor at a US middle school for one semester - Genetics outreach volunteering program - Designing syllabus, teaching and teacher mentoring.

b. Teaching assistant during undergrad for 2 years.

 

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

a. A new volunteer coordinator for a non-profit supporting grassroots movements in India for land, livelihood and social justice.

b. Project coordinator to support grassroots in India working on seed conservation for rural farmers.

Special Bonus Points: (Such as connections, grad classes, famous recommenders, female or minority status etc...)

a. I am getting LOR's from 2 Harvard faculty members. One of them is a tenured faculty, director of my institute and super well known. The other one is well- established non-tenured faculty at Harvard.

My 3rd LOR is from a senior research investigator/director of a stem cell core facility with 20 plus years of research experience and patents.All three have supervised me directly.  

I am mostly applying to universities with labs that do similar work to the above PI's so that the LOR's can be recognized.

 

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

​a. My low GPA during my masters: I have tried my best to make up for it by showing my ability to conduct independent research and being an author in published articles in high impact factor journals.

 

Applying to Where: 
Still narrowing down departments as I am looking at universities which have labs focusing on autism work.

This is not a finalized list.

Harvard - BBS - 

Univ of wash Seattle - Genetics - several PI's there who are doing work that I am very interested in. 

Univ of Oregon Health Sciences 

Stanford - TETRAD

UCSD - Dept?

Duke - Genetics

John Hopkins 

Baylor college of medicine

Univ of Texas, South western medical center

 

With my low GPA, is it even worthwhile applying to program in Stanford/Harvard ..its killing me thinking about this  :(.. 

Edited July 30, 2015 by pm666

[Vene]

I've heard mixed reviews about that. That some adcoms do care that you score at or above a 4.5 because graduate students are expected to read and write well. The test, of course, is but a fragment of anyone's total output as a writer, but at the end of the day, even though GREs are subjective and do not correlate with much graduate success, some schools might at least want to see a threshold score. 

I'm pretty sure that logic applies to all aspects of the GRE.

The thing is, the AW section has nothing to do with scientific writing. It's useless for us. The value of the quantitative section makes sense as we should be able to do math. The value of the verbal section makes sense as it has many questions on logical reasoning.

[Infinito]

The thing is, the AW section has nothing to do with scientific writing. It's useless for us. The value of the quantitative section makes sense as we should be able to do math. The value of the verbal section makes sense as it has many questions on logical reasoning.

All true points. Yet, for the schools that do publish their admitted score ranges, somehow people still get in with scores in the upper 140s, reminding us that admissions is more holistic than we think.

[StemCellBio]

MA Institution: Large unranked state school, very little research

Major: Stem Cell Biology

GPA: 3.7

Undergrad Institution: same school as MA

Undergraduate Major(s): Cell and Molecular Biology

Minor(s): Chemistry

GPA in Major: 3.32

Overall GPA: 3.24

Position in Class: University doesn’t provide this information

Type of Student: Domestic, female, veteran

 

GRE Scores (revised/old version):

Q: 155 (60%)

V: 158 (79%)

W: 4.0 (56%)

B: Possibly taking it in September, if needed

 

Research Experience: One year of research in a molecular and stem cell biology lab at a top 20 biology university for a well known professor while working on my masters project. As an undergraduate, one semester in an c. elegans molecular lab, one year at a stem cell biotech start up and one semester in a molecular plant lab. Unfortunately, I do not have any publications.

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: CIRM funded scholarship and internship for MA, Summer Undergraduate Research Grant during from University, veterans scholarship from university.

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA’d one semester of advanced cell biology, worked for one year in an IVF clinic although it was patient care related work and not in the lab.

 

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

 

Special Bonus Points: My current PI is well-known in the stem cell field.

 

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: 14 year Army veteran, served in numerous combat and conflict areas around the world. I also have a military disability but I’m unsure if this will help or hurt my application.

 

Applying to Where:

 

Harvard – BBS or MCO, I haven’t decided yet

Yale – BBS

UCSF – TETRAD

UC Davis – BMCDB

U of Hawaii – Developmental and Reproductive Biology

Stanford – Bioscience, specifically SCBRM

MIT – Biology – Stem cell and epigenetics

Princeton – Molecular Bio

Cal Tech – BBE

Princeton – Molecular Bio

Brown – BioMed: MCB

 

Should I retake my standard GRE since my scores are so low? I know that research is more important but I don’t want to be immediately rejected due to cut off scores. How important is taking the subject GRE since I already have good grades in graduate classes?

 

I would also like someone’s opinion on whether I should include my veteran disability on my application.

 

Thank you!

[ilovelab]

 

Should I retake my standard GRE since my scores are so low? I know that research is more important but I don’t want to be immediately rejected due to cut off scores. How important is taking the subject GRE since I already have good grades in graduate classes?

 

I would also like someone’s opinion on whether I should include my veteran disability on my application.

 

Thank you!

I would retake the exam if you have the time/money. The quant score is a little low. Usually schools use a combined Q+V score for cutoffs if they have them. Otherwise you have a great application. Good Luck!

[cumulina]

 

Applying to Where:

 

Harvard – BBS or MCO, I haven’t decided yet

Yale – BBS

UCSF – TETRAD

UC Davis – BMCDB

U of Hawaii – Developmental and Reproductive Biology

Stanford – Bioscience, specifically SCBRM

MIT – Biology – Stem cell and epigenetics

Princeton – Molecular Bio

Cal Tech – BBE

Princeton – Molecular Bio

Brown – BioMed: MCB

I don't know if you're seriously considering U of Hawaii, given the other schools you're looking at, but the advice I was given was to not apply to the Dev. Biology program due to lack of funds (the person I used to work for used to be the department head, I believe). I would instead apply to the cell and molec. program, and to my understanding you can still do rotations with the professors within the Developmental program as well as a lot of other faculty connected to the CMB program.

[StemCellBio]

I don't know if you're seriously considering U of Hawaii, given the other schools you're looking at, but the advice I was given was to not apply to the Dev. Biology program due to lack of funds (the person I used to work for used to be the department head, I believe). I would instead apply to the cell and molec. program, and to my understanding you can still do rotations with the professors within the Developmental program as well as a lot of other faculty connected to the CMB program.

 

Thank you for the advice. I am seriously considering applying to Hawaii's program for many different reasons. I know a lot of the schools I intend on applying to have a more competitive application process, however there are many factors about Hawaii's program that I find interesting. 

[StemCellBio]

I would retake the exam if you have the time/money. The quant score is a little low. Usually schools use a combined Q+V score for cutoffs if they have them. Otherwise you have a great application. Good Luck!

Thank you for the advice. I do have the time and money so I will retake the test this fall. 

[Gradbioguy]

Undergrad Institution: Big State School
Major(s): Biochemistry and molecular biology
Minor(s): Microbiology
GPA in Major: 3.25
Overall GPA: 3.0

 

Position in Class: Average 
Type of Student: Domestic Male

GRE Scores (revised/old version):  Haven't taken them yet but I've been scoring around 80 - 85th percentile
Q:
V:
W:
B:


Research Experience: I currently have 1.5 years of research experience at my school in a developmental biology lab.  So far I have two posters that I have presented at undergraduate exhibitions, I will do a third in the spring. I will be doing a senior thesis and as a result be graduating with a "distinction in research"

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Deans list several times

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: I tutored an ex-marine who took classes with me but this was not an official position.  I'm also part of a society of biochemists, done close to 500 hours of community service and have held positions within groups that I do the community service through.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

So I do have a bit of an interesting story.  I was unofficially diagnosed with PTSD my 4th semester after dealing with it since the start of my second semester.  My GPA from my second semester to my third was less than 2.0, but I sought help my fourth semester (same semester I started research).  I improved that semester to get a 2.8ish, but then the next year (my junior year) I improved even more to get a 3.53 and a 3.58 my fall and spring semesters respectively.  This was while taking the 400-level major courses, not easy fluff gen eds.  At its worst, my GPA was a 2.3, and now I've improved to a 2.98.  I plan on applying at the end of my fall semester (a semester during which, in addition to my normal coursework, I am taking a graduate level class - you need special permission to take these as an undergrad) to graduate school and given recent trends I anticipate getting at least similar grades to last year and being above 3.0 when I apply.  As it stands now, my major GPA is a 3.25 and for senior level major classes (400 level) my GPA is a 3.45.  

I'm spending this summer in my lab, but last summer I spent it working on recovering, going to counseling, etc., so I don't have internships or anything exciting like that.

I will have very solid and supportive LoRs from my PI, and two professors I know well and have done well in their classes.

 

As a consequence of all of this, I am applying to mostly terminal MS programs in biology.  I plan on doing one of those and succeeding there before applying to PhD programs.  Any advice is greatly appreciated

Applying to Where:

 

Washington State 

Boston College
William and Mary

Virginia Tech

UMD - Baltimore

Temple

Drexel

Wake Forest

[RunnerGrad]

A lot of these things don't apply, as I'm in Canada, but I'll add my details to the thread:

 

Undergrad Institution: Canadian "Comprehensive" University, considered one of the best in the country in food science and nutrition, undergraduate nutrition program accredited by the Dietitians of Canada
Major(s): Nutrition
Minor(s): Not "allowed" as part of the nutrition program
GPA in Major: Not calculated, but all nutrition and departmental courses were 90%+
Overall GPA: Again, not calculated, but 95% average for the last two years of undergrad, all courses 90%+ except for one elective (86%)
Position in Class: Top of class
Type of Student: Domestic (Canadian), female, non-traditional

 

Graduate Institution: Canadian university, ranked either #1 or #2 in the country, depending on which ranking you go by
Major(s): MPH in Nutrition & Dietetics
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 4.0
Position in Class: No idea, but won scholarship for being one of the top-ranked master's students
Type of Student: Domestic (Canadian), female, non-traditional

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Not required for my program in Canada

Research Experience:

Biological Engineering/Food Engineering Design Project (4 months)

NSERC USRA in Food Science (4 months)

Undergraduate Research Assistant in Food Science (4 months)

Senior Honours Thesis in Nutrition and Dietetic Education (8 months) - one publication submitted for this work (3rd author), one publication being prepared (3rd author)

Undergraduate Research Assistant in Nutrition and Dietetic Education (4 months)

Planned: Graduate Research Elective Winter 2016 (4 months), Graduate Research Practicum Summer 2016 (4 months)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

Governor General Bronze Medal

Numerous undergraduate scholarships

Dean's List Every Semester

NSERC USRA

PEO Gold Medal for graduating at top of class

Convocation Award for graduating at top of class

Volunteer Award for nutrition volunteer experience

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

Nutrition Practicum / Dietetic Intern

Group Fitness Instructor - 10 years +

Numerous nutrition volunteer experiences

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Non-traditional student with many years work experience as a Federal Public Servant, including some time in public health

Runner - I've completed three full marathons, over a dozen half-marathons and two triathlons

Will be eligible to write the CDRE to become a registered dietitian when my MPH is finished, so I will write it in November 2016 and, with luck, pass and have my RD credential

Special Bonus Points:

Being a female is nothing special in my female-dominated field, I am, however, a non-traditional student, with two undergraduate degrees (you need to complete and undergraduate degree accredited by the Dietitians of Canada in order to become a registered dietitian in Canada, so I had to do a second undergraduate degree).

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

The advisor for my undergraduate honours thesis told me I'd be welcomed back for a PhD at any point - the only issue is if I will be accepted to the PhD without having done an MSc with thesis.  I'm hoping my MPH with major research paper/project will be considered equivalent, but it might not.  The departments I'm interested in applying all say they require the MSc with thesis, so we'll see what happens.

Applying to Where:

University of Guelph - Family Relations and Applied Nutrition - Applied Human Nutrition PhD - Nutrition and Physical Activity Intervention Development and Evaluation

University of Guelph - Human Health and Nutritional Sciences - Nutritional Sciences PhD - Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals in Clinical Nutrition Practice

University of Waterloo - Public Health and Health Systems - Health Studies and Gerontology PhD - Dietary Patterns and Dietary Assessment

Univesity of Waterloo - Kinesiology - Physiology and Nutrition PhD - Determinants of Dietary Intake in Older Adults

[Metbio2016]

Undergrad Institution: Large Public University
Major(s): Physiology and Neurobiology
Minor(s): n/a
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 4.0
Position in Class: Top
Type of Student: Domestic, female

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 164
V: 160
W: 5


Research Experience: 

Will have 3.5 years of research experience at my university. Began by working on project under a grad student but have spent the past 1.5 years working on an independent research project funded by a grant. During the 3.5 years worked about 30-40 hours a week. Currently published as 4th author in one paper, with 1 other higher authorship (2nd) by the time I apply and hopefully a first author by the time I graduate. Presenting a poster at the SFN conference in Chicago in October.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

Member of honors program, Deans list, Academic Excellence scholarship (half tuition at my current university), Babbidge Scholar (maintaining 4.0), Idea Grant recipient (funding my research), and Lt. Paul Drotch Memorial Scholarship (major specific scholarship) 

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Such as tutor, TA, SPS officer etc...)

Mentor for underrepresented high school students in stem, work as a science instructor at a summer camp doing outreach, outreach to a local high school. 

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Vice president of club field hockey team, treasurer of a biology fraternity, member of an advisory board organizing a 10 million dollar project at the university. 

Special Bonus Points: Taking 2 grad courses before graduation


Applying to Where: Reasearch interest: Metabolic Biology/Neuroscience/Molecular Biology (dependent on program)

Harvard University - biological sciences in public health

MIT

Stanford

UC Berkeley

UC San Diego

Scripps

U Washington

UC SF

Yale

U Chicago

 

List is in no particular order. Would love some feedback about if I am within reach for these top programs. Not sure if I need to retake my GRE or if I need to rethink the schools I am applying to. 

Good luck to everyone!!!

[eeee1923]

 

List is in no particular order. Would love some feedback about if I am within reach for these top programs. Not sure if I need to retake my GRE or if I need to rethink the schools I am applying to. 

Good luck to everyone!!!

 

You are quite competitive at this point. Don't retake the GRE - you should be fine. Make sure you write a strong SoP and get strong LoRs. 

[shadowclaw]

Undergrad Institution: Tier 1 Public Research UniversityMajor(s): Natural Resource Conservation and ManagementMinor(s): BiologyGPA in Major: 3.2Overall GPA: 3.0Position in Class: averageType of Student: Domestic, white maleGRE Scores (revised/old version):Q: 165V: 157W: 3.0B: Not going to take unless told to do so (to save money)Research Experience:

1 summer and semester working as a research assistant looking at the breeding ecology of turtles in an ex-situ environment.Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

Deans List a semester, several scholarshipsPertinent Activities or Jobs:

Worked a couple years for the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Hawaii and Mississippi performing invasive ant management and endangered species management.Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Published GIS-created maps for official Federal Government documents.Special Bonus Points:

Currently working as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I can never count that out. Two well-known recommenders (at least in the South).Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Come from an underrepresented area in the states, known for being one of the poorest places in the country (if they look at where I come from).Applying to Where:

UC Berkeley - ESPM (Range Management)

UC Davis - Ecology GG

San Diego State U - Ecology

Humboldt State - Wildlife Biology

U Georgia - Forestry and Natural Resources

Colorado State U - Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology

Mississippi State U - Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture

U Michigan - Natural Resources

 

Note: at this point, I'm looking at MS or MFS programs as I'm not sure I want to do a Ph.D.

Greetings! You may wish to start a separate thread for EEB and related applicants (last year's thread: ). We tend to get lost in the main thread, plus we usually have a different application process and later deadlines!

A few comments on your profile - you have a bit of a low GPA for some of the schools you are applying to... if you were aiming for a PhD. Since you're looking for a masters, they will probably be much more forgiving, especially since you have awesome field experience. The biggest thing to remember when applying to Ecology programs is to secure a potential advisor. Almost all EEB programs will automatically reject you if someone hasn't agreed to support your application and be your advisor.

Of course, that also doesn't mean you will be accepted if you do secure someone... your POI will likely have several other interested applicants (sometimes a lot), and the one with the best fit and application materials will be selected. Alternatively, even if you are the best fit, the adcomm may still reject you depending on how many students they can financially support (this problem is avoided if your POI has their own funding through grants).

The Texas A&M wildlife job board and Ecolog listserv are great places to find professors with funding looking for a student to work on a project.

[otherss]

Greetings! You may wish to start a separate thread for EEB and related applicants (last year's thread: ). We tend to get lost in the main thread, plus we usually have a different application process and later deadlines!

A few comments on your profile - you have a bit of a low GPA for some of the schools you are applying to... if you were aiming for a PhD. Since you're looking for a masters, they will probably be much more forgiving, especially since you have awesome field experience. The biggest thing to remember when applying to Ecology programs is to secure a potential advisor. Almost all EEB programs will automatically reject you if someone hasn't agreed to support your application and be your advisor.

Of course, that also doesn't mean you will be accepted if you do secure someone... your POI will likely have several other interested applicants (sometimes a lot), and the one with the best fit and application materials will be selected. Alternatively, even if you are the best fit, the adcomm may still reject you depending on how many students they can financially support (this problem is avoided if your POI has their own funding through grants).

The Texas A&M wildlife job board and Ecolog listserv are great places to find professors with funding looking for a student to work on a project.

 

I'll start a new EEB applicants thread in a couple weeks when fall semester should start.

 

Yeah I'm about as average as they come, GPA and GRE wise. I know that about my GPA which is the reason why I'm focused on getting an MS or an MF(S) right now. But I've been talking to a couple of professors already and so far they're all fine with my GPA since it's above the cut-off. I don't have the luxury (or money) of going back to school to raise it up. Funding will always be an issue.

 

Yeah, I haven't looked at Texas A&M in a while and I'm already on the Ecolog listerv. Haven't found much on there (for this upcoming cycle) that has piqued my interest yet, but its a new year. Thanks for the advice though.

[Ferroportin]

Hi all! 

 

Would anyone mind taking a look at my stats (on page 2)? I'm starting to refine my apps and would appreciate any feedback on where I stand. Thanks!

[Metbio2016]

You are quite competitive at this point. Don't retake the GRE - you should be fine. Make sure you write a strong SoP and get strong LoRs. 

 

Thank you for the suggestions. I'll make sure to work hard on them

[Dedi]

Undergrad Institution: Top ranked UC

Major(s): Human Biology

Minor(s): None

GPA in Major: 3.67 (last two year GPA ~3.99)

Overall GPA: 3.61

Position in Class: Unknown

Type of Student: Domestic, Asian male

 

GRE Scores (revised/old version):

Q: 167 (94%)

V: 164 (94%)

W: 5.5 (98%)

B: Getting mixed opinions on whether the subject test is necessary or not…

 

Research Experience:

2 years as a research intern in HIV lab

-       well renowned PI has agreed to sign off on LOR, but has asked that I provide him a draft first.

 

6-month internship at another HIV lab

-       did some animal work and learned biochemical techniques (westerns, etc). didn’t feel like I left a strong impression here…won’t be asking for a LOR

 

Currently working as a research associate in a Lung Biology lab (~4 months)

-       strong LOR from here

 

(Last LOR coming from professor at home institution, should be strong)

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

Provost’s Honors for multiple quarters (but not all)

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

Teaching Assistant for 2 undergraduate upper division biology classes

Resident Advisor for summer high school STEM science camp (3 years)

Resident Advisor for two years during undergrad (not sure if this will help by showing “leadership”…do adcomms give any points for these activities?)

HIV Test Counselor

 

Special Bonus Points:

My undergrad institution, one of the undergrad labs, and the current lab I’m working in are three of the universities I’m applying to. LORs are also coming from faculty at those universities, not sure if this carries any weight at all?

 

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

My first two years of undergrad were not reflective of my academic ability. I was dealing with personal family issues during the first two years of my undergrad (LGBT related, unfortunately enough). However, my last two years were much better; taking almost entirely upper division biology courses (the “harder” classes). My GPA for these courses are ~3.9 and account for roughly over half of my graduating credits. Is this something I need to explain in the SOP? Or will the academic improvement speak for itself in my transcripts?

 

Applying to Where:

I’m interested in disease pathology and will be applying mainly to cell bio/molecular bio programs.

 

UCSF (Tetrad)

USC (PIBBS)

UCI (Cellular and Molecular Biosciences)

UCLA (IMMP)

UC Berkeley (MCB)

Scripps Research Institute

UCSD

Stanford

UC Davis (MCIP)

 

Not too sure how competitive I am for these schools, so any advice or thoughts would be appreciated!

 

Any particular reason you want to stay in the west coast?

 

I don't think the Biology Subject Test is really needed unless the adcomm would have reason to think your biology background is lacking. At least, that's what they say about the psychology subject test..

 

Have you contacted PIs from these institutions? Might make your list smaller if some PIs aren't taking in students.

[Dedi]

Everyone seems to be quite competitive. However, it is hard to tell sometimes just looking on paper because research/personality fit is major component to consider (that's why many universities have interviews!).

For example, my PI gets a lot of requests from straight A students to volunteer in his lab. It looks great on paper, but then he finds out that they aren't fit to do research or coursework is so high a priority that they just quit. He's also told me that ~20 graduate applicants wanted to be in his lab this year, and I imagine some of them were much more competitive than I was. What set me apart is that I made a connection with the PI, volunteered in his lab for a summer, and showed him that I was very well suited to do research, even if I did not get straight A's or come from a prestigious university (I was from an unknown liberal arts school).

The point being, looking at the stats/numbers doesn't say much about your motivation to do research, how involved you were with the projects (were you doing data collection, literature searches, or were you leading your own projects?), and how your interests and goals match with a PI. You're more or less applying to join a lab, not necessarily towards a program (this doesn't necessarily apply to those doing rotations, though you will eventually choose a lab). Your LoRs and SoP will be the main venue for showing that you are competent and motivated to do research. If you haven't started writing a draft of your SoP, I would do it soon. I remember making many dramatic changes to my SoP before it was fit to submit to graduate schools.

Finally, I would suggest at least trying to make a connection with your top choice PI's. If you have a chance to have a phone or face-to-face conversation, that's even better.

 

So, there's my little speech on grad school applications. If anyone on this thread wants me to take a look at their SoP, shoot me a PM.    

[Vene]

I don't think the Biology Subject Test is really needed unless the adcomm would have reason to think your biology background is lacking. At least, that's what they say about the psychology subject test..

I think this is pretty solid advice. The biology (and biochemistry) GRE is something you take when you're trying to make up for a deficiency (low GPA, non-biology major). Alternatively, I can understand taking it when you're an international student, assuming you do well, because it can be challenging for an international student to be admitted to a US university.

[Gram Neutral]

I'm considering taking the subject test to make up for a low GPA. Did you guys have to study a lot for it, or just mostly use the knowledge you gained in school? What did you use to study?

[Gram Neutral]

Also, what exactly is considered a good score for the subject test?