Chances of entering a BME program

[Omokorede]

Hello, I am a medical doctor, an international graduate! Just wrote my GRE and my scores were Q:159 and V 155. I wanted to know if i had a fair chance of entering a really good Biomedical engineering program in the US? Thanks  

[madbiochemist]

Hi! I'm currently a first year BME PhD at Johns Hopkins University and just went through the application process a few months ago. I think your experience as a medical doctor could potentially make you a good fit for JHU! Our department is very focused on interdisciplinary and translational research with our medial school (the department is jointly managed by the medical and engineering schools) and someone with a medical background could be a really good candidate. However, the international application pool is very competitive, so if you could possibly take the GRE again and raise your quantitative score 3-4 points and your verbal score 4-5 points, I think you'd have a very good chance at getting in. If not, I still think your application would be competitive here (or at other top schools) as long as you have a strong personal statement and recommendation letters. These are much more important than test scores. Test scores sometimes just serve as a cutoff, as in the school won't look at students with scores below a certain threshold. After that, it doesn't matter what your score is. Other schools look more holistically, but even there test scores rank low on the priority list. Finally, the schools you apply to depend upon the research you want to get involved with. Really try to research prospective departments and see if your interests line up, otherwise you could have a perfect resume, perfect scores, and glowing recommendation letters and still receive a rejection based upon "fit" with the department. I know there are lots of universities to look at, but if you know what research you want to do broadly (prosthetics, tissue engineering, neural interfacing, imaging, etc) it will quickly narrow down the departments you could potentially apply to. 

Good luck!

[Omokorede]

Jeezz!!! Thank you so much. I do want to apply to John Hopkins but i felt like it will be too competitive and i might not get in considering my GRE score. But John hopkins does fit in well with what i would like to do and I like the flexibility of the program, I am considering computational medicine and molecular and systems biology . I did consider taking the exams again but i was worried that taking the GRE twice might be a disadvantage plus i might not even do as well. Do you have any idea what the cut off is? What of thesis? I dont exactly have any biomedical engineering centered thesis, because there is absolutely no biomedical engineering program in my country.

Thank you!

[madbiochemist]

The only disadvantages of taking the GRE multiple times are time, cost, and money. Admissions reps will not look down on your application for trying to take it again; many people take it 2 times so it's not unusual at all. I have no clue what the cutoff is and I'm sure it varies by department. I don't think it's necessarily a hard line. In particular, my quantitative GRE score was the same as yours (considered really low here), but I had gotten some math scholarships which compensated. Admissions tend to try and take a holistic approach and consider the entire application, but when there are 500 other applicants they take some shortcuts with the score. Take some time to research departments that have really strong programs in computational medicine, explain the reason why you don't have as much bioengineering background, and really hit hard on what your experiences will bring into your program. You might also consider applying to a Masters program to get some BME research experience. 

[hahn-banach]

It's impossible to say based just on your GRE scores. Bad GRE scores can disqualify you from top programs, but good scores won't on their own get you in. How did you do in undergrad? What's your research background? How much math and other quantitative classes have you taken? (The importance of that varies from program to program, but most will want you to have a stronger quantitative background than your typical MD or bio major.)

[zipykido]

My impression is that most programs are looking away from standardized testing scores and looking at total package. I think you already having a medical degree already displays that you are a strong candidate. 

[Omokorede]

It's impossible to say based just on your GRE scores. Bad GRE scores can disqualify you from top programs, but good scores won't on their own get you in. How did you do in undergrad? What's your research background? How much math and other quantitative classes have you taken? (The importance of that varies from program to program, but most will want you to have a stronger quantitative background than your typical MD or bio major.)

[Omokorede]

Well, I do understand your point about the GRE score. I did pretty well in med school, but its med school there are no real Grade points, there s no GP or all of that stuff, you write your exams and move on to the next level. So its difficult to compare my undergraduate performance to others. I had a few schorlaships i dont know if that counts for something. However concerning the research i have only one which i first authored, and then 3 others. Another problem is that they are not biomed themed because there isnt such opportunity in my country tbh.

[Omokorede]

My impression is that most programs are looking away from standardized testing scores and looking at total package. I think you already having a medical degree already displays that you are a strong candidate. 

Thank you very much, i have applied to some biomed programs, but i will like to know about more. Preferably a fairly good and not so competitive one that will serve as afall back. Just in case i dont get into the really competitive ones i have applied too. Thanks!

[Omokorede]

Thank you very much for the info  

[themadgeneticist]

I am a student from India, I went to a private university, amongst the top 10 in India, right after the IITs and NITs.

I have completed my Bachelor of Technology in Genetic Engineering, which was an interdisciplinary program, including core course modules in Biochemistry,Cell and Molecular Biology,Microbiology,Immunology and Human Genetics as well as Bioinformatics,Biostatistics,Biosensors, two semesters of mathematics including Probability,Matrices and Calculus,one semester each of basic engineering modules in electrical, electronics, mechanical and civil engineering, some chemical engineering modules like thermodynamics,momentum transfer, bioprocess engineering, enzyme kinetics etc.I wanted to know what is my chance of getting accepted into a good BioE program.

My gre score is as follows

1)V=153

2)Q=156

3)AWA=4.5

My undergraduate gpa is about 3.2/4 and TOEFL score is 105.

I have research experience at three different labs, one in the university, one at a central research institute in India and an exchange semester at University of Zurich,Switzerland.

Could someone kindly suggest the kind of programs I can apply to?

Thanks in advance!

[madbiochemist]

I am a student from India, I went to a private university, amongst the top 10 in India, right after the IITs and NITs.

I have completed my Bachelor of Technology in Genetic Engineering, which was an interdisciplinary program, including core course modules in Biochemistry,Cell and Molecular Biology,Microbiology,Immunology and Human Genetics as well as Bioinformatics,Biostatistics,Biosensors, two semesters of mathematics including Probability,Matrices and Calculus,one semester each of basic engineering modules in electrical, electronics, mechanical and civil engineering, some chemical engineering modules like thermodynamics,momentum transfer, bioprocess engineering, enzyme kinetics etc.I wanted to know what is my chance of getting accepted into a good BioE program.

My gre score is as follows

1)V=153

2)Q=156

3)AWA=4.5

My undergraduate gpa is about 3.2/4 and TOEFL score is 105.

I have research experience at three different labs, one in the university, one at a central research institute in India and an exchange semester at University of Zurich,Switzerland.

Could someone kindly suggest the kind of programs I can apply to?

Thanks in advance!

Are you thinking about universities in the United States? PhD or masters? Staying in genetic engineering or bioinformatics? Without your publishing or presentation record it's difficult to say, but based on your GPA I would primarily apply to mid-ranked BME PhD programs or higher ranked masters programs with a 1-2 applications to top 25 ranked BME programs, because you never know unless you try. That might narrow down your search, but it's important to really understand your research interests and that will narrow it further. BME is an incredibly broad field. Also, did you take differential equations? Some programs require that. 

[Omokorede]

[Omokorede]

@madbiochemist hey! Can I run my SOP by you, pls send me your email address, if you dont mind ofcourse. Thanks!  

[Omokorede]

Would you advice I contact faculty members of the field I am interested in. Will that be too foward especially because I am entering for a masters degree first and not a doctorate straight up?

[themadgeneticist]

@madbiochemist Thanks very much for the help! I am actually looking for a Masters Program in Biomedical Engineeringin the United States.My undergraduate thesis was in neuropsychiatry and I am primarily interested in neural engineering and its associated applications.Yes, I have done the prerequisite coursework as part of my undergraduate degree including differential equations, and course modules in physics,basic electrical and electronics,momentum transfer,biochemistry,thermodynamics,enzyme kinetics, materials science, nanobiotechnology, mathematics (biostatistics,differential equations,matrices, probability and queuing theory), a course and lab in bioinformatics.I hope that will suffice for admission to a BME Master's Program.Also, I already have an admit to NYU for their Masters in Biology, but I have decided against it as I want a shift into something which is slightly interdisciplinary and has more industrial applications, like BME. I am looking at State Schools in particular, as they are more generous with aid for international students.

[madbiochemist]

On 11/1/2015, 2:45:02, Omokorede said:

Would you advice I contact faculty members of the field I am interested in. Will that be too foward especially because I am entering for a masters degree first and not a doctorate straight up?

Definitely contact people you're interested in working with. Make sure to read up on some of their latest papers and really think about how you could be a good fit and learn a lot from their lab. It would be a huge mistake to send out a generic email to a bunch of different professors. It should take 30 minutes to a couple of hours to get familiar enough with their work to craft a good email. That being said, it shouldn't be to long either. Just ask whether they are accepting Masters students next year (they may or may not know yet) and whether they would be interested in working with someone of your particular expertise.

On 10/31/2015, 9:59:58, Omokorede said:

@madbiochemist hey! Can I run my SOP by you, pls send me your email address, if you dont mind ofcourse. Thanks!  

I think it would be better if you had someone who really knows you and your accomplishments to do this. 

On 11/2/2015, 7:32:21, themadgeneticist said:

@madbiochemist Thanks very much for the help! I am actually looking for a Masters Program in Biomedical Engineeringin the United States.My undergraduate thesis was in neuropsychiatry and I am primarily interested in neural engineering and its associated applications.Yes, I have done the prerequisite coursework as part of my undergraduate degree including differential equations, and course modules in physics,basic electrical and electronics,momentum transfer,biochemistry,thermodynamics,enzyme kinetics, materials science, nanobiotechnology, mathematics (biostatistics,differential equations,matrices, probability and queuing theory), a course and lab in bioinformatics.I hope that will suffice for admission to a BME Master's Program.Also, I already have an admit to NYU for their Masters in Biology, but I have decided against it as I want a shift into something which is slightly interdisciplinary and has more industrial applications, like BME. I am looking at State Schools in particular, as they are more generous with aid for international students.

Your coursework sounds sufficient to not limit you. Your GPA is a bit low for PhD, but I think it will suffice for Masters if your research experience is rigorous. Make sure to mention your publications and presentations if your SOP. Reviewers don't really care as much about GPA as they do research experience and how well you "fit" with their program.