2016 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

[Bioenchilada]

Alright, I'll chime in, though I'm still finalizing my final list. I'm another non-traditional low GPA/tons of research/slightly older applicant, and I have a Masters. 

 

Undergrad Institution: Mid-rank private
Major(s): Neuroscience
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.1
Overall GPA: 3.0
Grad GPA: 3.7
Type of Student: Female, domestic.

GRE Scores (revised Version):
Q: 159
V: 165
W: Waiting for score
B: ain't nobody got time for that 



Research Experience: Two years at a Harvard Med School lab, lymphoma research, 2nd author pub in a high-impact journal. At my undergrad, one year in a zebrafish lab, one semester doing cell signaling/insect growth and development with an undergrad research grant and poster. For my masters, thesis project on autophagy in drug-resistant breast cancers. The past two years I've been in industry doing target validation (essentially 90% basic science) for the oncology division of a small startup pharma. At this point I work on my own project, largely independently (designing, executing, analyzing experiments without any supervision) and am responsible for presenting all my data for the group. Overall, about 7 years of research, 4 or 5 of which have been doing independent work rather than work for someone else. 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: I made dean's list two whole semesters in undergrad! no, I won't be bragging about this in my application. 


Special Bonus Points: I have a teeny-tiny edge at one of the schools on my list due to some connections/collaborations, but I'm not convinced this will actually matter. My LORs should be very good.

Applying to Where:
This is where it gets tricky. I have no idea how low/high to aim, given my Meh grades (my GRE Q score also leaves a bit to be desired). My focus is mainly on cancer biology and stress & metabolic signaling. 

Current Definitely List:
Albert Einstein 
Cornell - BCMB
Scripps - Cell Biology
University of Colorado Denver - Cancer Biology
UPenn - CAMB

Maybes, how much money do I feel like throwing away next month?
Columbia - Pathobiology & Molecular Medicine 
Stanford - Cancer Biology. LOL, probably a waste. And I don't love Palo Alto anyway.
Berkeley - Molecular and Cell Bio. My boss really wants me to apply. We'll see.
Hopkins - Cellular and Molecular Med
Wisconsin - cell bio. I love this school, but I'm not sure I want to live in Wisconsin until I'm 31-33.

 

Why are you not applying to Harvard Medical School? I assume that having 2+ years of research there would probably be VERY beneficial in terms of admission. 

[lord_dracarys]

How much research experience would you say you have overall? (In months) Also, who's recommending you? 

If you count chemistry research this year and the research tech position about 5 semesters worth, which is about 15-18 months worth.

The PI's for my summer research (the research in one of their labs turned into my departmental honors thesis) would write LOR's and the head of the chemistry department at my school

Edited October 19, 2015 by lord_dracarys

[Bioenchilada]

I think you have a decent shot at some of the schools you're applying to. I don't know how high your GPA should be for schools like UChicago, but I think it'll be about average. GREs tend to have a smaller role than GPA, so I won't address that (Your scores are pretty good). In terms of research, I don't know how much experience the typical applicant has (I have 3 years of experience), but what matters is being able to make sense of your research and understand the greater purpose of each project. Ideally, you should get all your letters from people that have personally supervised some form of research, but if your non-research recommender knows you well, you should be good in that area.  

[Azia]

Everyone that has a 3.5 or higher and thinks they have a low/ non- competitive GPA needs to chill out. You're going to be okay!

I didn't even graduate my undergrad with a 3.0 (literally had a 2.99), doing a MS now and trying again. AND I think I still have a solid chance at getting in to a decent school.

As long as you aren't an idiot (your personal statement will give you away) and you have solid research experience and LOR's you should get in to at least a couple schools. So calm down, and stop stressing over things that are out of your control.

If there is any thing I learned from the first time I applied, it is to not psych yourself out in the few months between when you submit applications and actually start getting interview invites. Everyone here has solid stats and is a much more competitive applicant then a lot of people I know, so you can all relax and enjoy the last year of your freedom!

[Gram Neutral]

Hey here's a question for you all. How early before the due date do you submit your applications?

[eeee1923]

@Gram Neutral: It doesn't matter how early you turn in your applications as long as it's before the due date. Some institutes have rolling reviews and thus start reviewing as soon as they are turned in but the majority wait til after the new year to begin reviewing. 

[ImmunoXX]

One of my apps said "your application will be evaluated in the order of submission." Not sure if that affects your odds or not. I prefer as early as possible.  Also since all of mine let me submit before the LORs are submitted, which is usually the last piece. 

[pkoss10]

I have a question about the influence of high-impact publications in the overall application package. Would a high-impact publication (e.g., impact factor >10) help to offset a lower GPA (<3.3) for Ph.D. admissions?

[adiJ]

I have a question about the influence of high-impact publications in the overall application package. Would a high-impact publication (e.g., impact factor >10) help to offset a lower GPA (<3.3) for Ph.D. admissions?

Offset is such a strange term. They wouldn't have direct relation with each other but if what you're asking is that a good pub is beneficial yes, and a lowish GPA is bad (obviously, not trying to insult your intelligence). Without seeing your entire package it would be impossible to say if your low GPA will kick you off the "yes or maybe" pile, or that your research as a whole (duration, how you conveyed it in your SOP, pub etc) will boost you up to an interview/offer. Also, competitive schools have taken 3.2, 3.1 GPA so there isn't a cutoff but you do have to make sure the rest of your applications are exceptionally strong.

[kire01]

Offset is such a strange term. They wouldn't have direct relation with each other but if what you're asking is that a good pub is beneficial yes, and a lowish GPA is bad (obviously, not trying to insult your intelligence). Without seeing your entire package it would be impossible to say if your low GPA will kick you off the "yes or maybe" pile, or that your research as a whole (duration, how you conveyed it in your SOP, pub etc) will boost you up to an interview/offer. Also, competitive schools have taken 3.2, 3.1 GPA so there isn't a cutoff but you do have to make sure the rest of your applications are exceptionally strong.

Agreed. I don't think the Journal's impact score will have any weight in getting you in or not. Publications are not the be-all-end-all, and you can have in-depth experience and knowledge without ever publishing-- I've had a failed research project or two, and they probably taught me more than the project that got me my publication. If you do have a low GPA, you need a lot of significant research experience to prove you can hack it despite sucking at taking Gen Bio exams. If your research experience is solid (as evidenced by your ability to talk about it, and your LORs) then I really doubt the name of the journal will make any difference.

[123hardasABC]

Hey here's a question for you all. How early before the due date do you submit your applications?

I submitted on October 1st because I had everything done and read my essays so many times it made me physically sick. I say just submit when you're ready. So long as everything is in before the deadline, it doesn't matter. I think only a handful of schools accept on a rolling basis so just double check on that. 

[Neuro2016]

 

My turn to post this:

Undergrad Institution: Foreign (India)
Major: Medicine
GPA in Major: N/A (70%)
Overall GPA: N/A (70%)
Position in Class:  1st
Type of Student: International male

Master's Institution: Well recognised UK university
Major: Neuroscience
GPA in Major: ? 3.6
Overall GPA: ? 3.6 (Merit)
Position in Class:  No class ranks

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q:  160
V:   163
W:  4.5
B:


TOEFL Total: 119

Research Experience: 

7 months full time student volunteer in a zebrafish behaviour lab (UK)

1 year and ongoing full time research assistant in a drosophila lab (India)

(My lab hopping was due to visa issues and doesn't reflect badly on me (I think). I should have good LORs

(All the labs I worked in are recently established, so no publication yet. Should have a first author publication ready for submission in 6 months hopefully)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

Gold Medal for Standing first in the University in my Undergrad

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

Worked as a TA for ~2 years

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Unfortunately, no

Special Bonus Points: Unfortunately, no 

Applying to Where:

Rockefeller, Harvard PiN and MCO, Columbia, NYU, Yale BBS, Caltech, UC Berkeley, UCLA, WashU, Duke, UMass Med, UMich PIBS, JHU

Not confident of my chances, so applying to a bunch of places. If I don't get in, will apply to places in Europe and see what happens !

[Edotdl]

I guess I'll post here since the Engineering forum is barren...

Anyways, EE major interested in (comp.) neuro stuff like BCIs, neuromorphic chips, cognitive computing, etc.

Undergrad Institution: Ivy
Major(s): EE
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.8+
Overall GPA: 3.8+
Position in Class: top?
Type of Student: Asian Male

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 170 (98%)
V: 162 (90%)
W: 4.5 (80%)

Research Experience: Multiple semester long experiences in not super related areas during freshman and sophomore year. Sophomore summer did research program at Big 10 school in Neuro. Started in lab beginning Junior year in another Neuro lab at my current school (in this lab now). Amgen scholar doing Neuro research summer after junior year.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

Dean's list, GPA stuff

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

TA one semester.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: Letters from PIs that did PhD at MIT

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
Recs from the two summer programs and the lab I'm in now at my school. At least 2 are relatively famous in their fields (which is not exactly what I want to do in grad school though)
Applying to Where:
All PhD

MIT- BCS

Berkeley-UCSF- BioE

CalTech- CNS

UCSF- Neuro

JHU-BME

 

[biosci]

Is it a problem if we apply to programs for different areas of research than the undergraduate research we are doing?

[Bioenchilada]

Is it a problem if we apply to programs for different areas of research than the undergraduate research we are doing?

Typically, no. However, that might depend on how different they are.

[Bioenchilada]

I have updated my list. Can anyone provide any input?

Undergrad Institution: Big 10 School
Major(s): Double Majoring in Cell Biology and Genetics
Minor(s): Anthropology, Biotechnology 
GPA in Major: 3.91
Overall GPA: 3.96
Position in Class: Top 3%
Type of Student: Domestic Minority (Mainland Puerto Rican)

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 159 (75%)
V: 155 (67%)

W: 4 (56%)
B: N/A


Research Experience: 

6 semesters of research (3 in a pharmacology lab and 3 in cell biology)

6 semester of involvement in HHMI-sponsored research project (SEA-PHAGES). 2 of these were spent as a student (project is actually presented as a research-oriented course) and 4 have been spent peer mentoring. 

5th Annual SEA-PHAGES National Symposium Speaker and Poster Presenter 

Summer internship (SHURP) at Harvard Medical School (BBS) 

Summer internship (SUIP) at the University of Pennsylvania 

Oral Presentation (2X) at Leadership Alliance National Symposium (LANS)

Coauthor in research paper published in eLife on HHMI Phage project 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

Recipient of multiple competitive (and merit) scholarships at home institution. Recipient of 2 4-year competitive "outside" scholarships.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

Peer mentor for HHMI funded project for 4 semesters. 

Member of selective undergraduate advisory group for the school of biological sciences at home institution. 

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: 

I've taken several grad classes at home institution, made connections while doing my internships, and one of my recommenders is very famous and incredibly well-connected. I'm also Hispanic and gay, if that helps hahaha 

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Don't know (?) 

Applying to Where:

Harvard University- BBS
University of Pennsylvania - CAMB 
Cornell University School of Veterinary Medicine - Comparative Biomedical Sciences 

University of Michigan-PIBS

Dartmouth Geisel- PEMM

UChicago- Biosciences 

Stanford Biosciences

 

[xxyyxx]

unfortunately, GPA and GRE happen to matter a lot when it comes to the very top tier schools (HMS, MIT, Berkeley, Stanford, Rockefeller, UCSF, etc). Someone I know had a decent GPA (3.5 I think) and decent GRE scores, worked for 7 or so years as a tech and published three first author pubs (all impact factor >10), and was a co-author on several Nature papers. Due to his GPA he was outright rejected from the top-tier schools and was offered spots and the mid/upper tier ones

[Bioenchilada]

unfortunately, GPA and GRE happen to matter a lot when it comes to the very top tier schools (HMS, MIT, Berkeley, Stanford, Rockefeller, UCSF, etc). Someone I know had a decent GPA (3.5 I think) and decent GRE scores, worked for 7 or so years as a tech and published three first author pubs (all impact factor >10), and was a co-author on several Nature papers. Due to his GPA he was outright rejected from the top-tier schools and was offered spots and the mid/upper tier ones

I mean, a lot of "overqualified" people get rejected all the time. I also think age factors into admission, and he was probably already in his upper 20's. Regardless, are you essentially saying I have no shot at top schools? 

[xxyyxx]

I mean, a lot of "overqualified" people get rejected all the time. I also think age factors into admission, and he was probably already in his upper 20's. Regardless, are you essentially saying I have no shot at top schools? 

I didn't quote you, so I wasn't directing my comment towards your or anyone else. I was just making a comment

And I can't see any conceivable reason why someone in their upper 20s would be a poorer PhD candidate than someone in their early 20s

[Bioenchilada]

I didn't quote you, so I wasn't directing my comment towards your or anyone else. I was just making a comment

And I can't see any conceivable reason why someone in their upper 20s would be a poorer PhD candidate than someone in their early 20s

What would you say a good GRE/GPA is for top programs?

I mean, you could argue that someone that's younger will be able to get more out of their degree because they'll likely spend more time in the workforce. Also, taking a 7-year gap from school, although spent doing research, is still rather unusual. Not by any means a bad thing, but I've heard from many people that the older you get, the lower your chances. 

Of course, that doesn't mean it's impossible for someone older to get in, as your friend showed. 

[xxyyxx]

What would you say a good GRE/GPA is for top programs?

I mean, you could argue that someone that's younger will be able to get more out of their degree because they'll likely spend more time in the workforce. Also, taking a 7-year gap from school, although spent doing research, is still rather unusual. Not by any means a bad thing, but I've heard from many people that the older you get, the lower your chances. 

Of course, that doesn't mean it's impossible for someone older to get in, as your friend showed. 

Your GPA is a 3.9. Why you buggin tho? 

 

[Bioenchilada]

Your GPA is a 3.9. Why you buggin tho? 

 

LOL that picture killed me. I'm mainly concerned about my GRE haha

[gs1992]

unfortunately, GPA and GRE happen to matter a lot when it comes to the very top tier schools (HMS, MIT, Berkeley, Stanford, Rockefeller, UCSF, etc). Someone I know had a decent GPA (3.5 I think) and decent GRE scores, worked for 7 or so years as a tech and published three first author pubs (all impact factor >10), and was a co-author on several Nature papers. Due to his GPA he was outright rejected from the top-tier schools and was offered spots and the mid/upper tier ones

I'm sorry for calling you out, but this is total garbage.  This seems extremely unlikely and I have not heard similar experiences at all. I know several people who got accepted to the schools you mentioned (particularly Harvard and MIT) with subpar GREs on math and verbal (<65%) or subpar GPAs (<3.2).  I've also spoken with adcom members at these schools who have reiterated the same things.  There are several things that could have gone wrong with your friend's application process and there's obviously no way to know that it was his GPA.  The things that differentiate highly qualified applicants almost always has to do with how you fit with that particular university and if they just generally like you at the interviews.  You could look like the second coming of jesus on paper, but if you seem like a prick at the interview then you're not going to get in. 

I was originally very discouraged when I first started reading through gradcafe, but the more I learned the more I realized that this forum is no where near a fair representation of the applicant pool and that a lot of people on here actually have no idea what they're talking about.  So, for those who feel discouraged, don't listen to junk like this and get back to working on your application, as I will right now.

  

[Bioenchilada]

I'm sorry for calling you out, but this is total garbage.  This seems extremely unlikely and I have not heard similar experiences at all. I know several people who got accepted to the schools you mentioned (particularly Harvard and MIT) with subpar GREs on math and verbal (<65%) or subpar GPAs (<3.2).  I've also spoken with adcom members at these schools who have reiterated the same things.  There are several things that could have gone wrong with your friend's application process and there's obviously no way to know that it was his GPA.  The things that differentiate highly qualified applicants almost always has to do with how you fit with that particular university and if they just generally like you at the interviews.  You could look like the second coming of jesus on paper, but if you seem like a prick at the interview then you're not going to get in. 

I was originally very discouraged when I first started reading through gradcafe, but the more I learned the more I realized that this forum is no where near a fair representation of the applicant pool and that a lot of people on here actually have no idea what they're talking about.  So, for those who feel discouraged, don't listen to junk like this and get back to working on your application, as I will right now.

  

Preach it.

[biosci]

Typically, no. However, that might depend on how different they are.

The research I am currently doing is protein biochemistry, but I did some work with genetics last summer, and am applying to genetics/genomics programs.