chances of acceptance?

[Jin Kim]

I am planning to apply for the following graduate programs:

-Infectious Diseases and Immunity, UC Berkeley 

-Immunology, UPenn 

-Immunology, Stanford

-Infectious Dieases and Microbiology, University of Pittsburgh

-Immunology, Washington University in St. Louis 

I have an overall GPA of 3.88, major (Biochemistry) GPA of 3.82

I have a semester's lab experience in Analytical Chemistry lab and two years lab experience in Immunology lab. I have no publications and the Immunology research team I am involved in is still going on. My GRE scores were rather bad: V 151, Q156, W 3.5, on top of my F-1 status (an international student) and my institution is called Seton Hall University.

All of the programs listed above are PhD programs in the top tier for the field of Immunology and Infectious Diseases.

What do you think are my chances of getting accepted by any of these programs? I am really confused as to whether I should even bother to apply with such records.

 

Thank you! 

 

[Neuro PolarBear]

That list of schools is quite competitive, but it looks like you have a fair amount of research experience and a decent GPA. Do you know how your LoRs will be? I bet you'll have a strong one from your Immunology lab, but I don't think DWIC letters have as much weight as those that can speak to your ability to do research. Your GRE scores also look a little low to me, but normally these aren't weighted as heavily.

Have you considered applying to a broader range of schools? Or, you could always try for those ones and see what happens. If you don't get into your top picks, you could always consider working as a technician or research assistant somewhere for a year or two before applying again.

[Crucial BBQ]

On November 1, 2015 at 11:32:58 AM, Jin Kim said:

 

What do you think are my chances of getting accepted by any of these programs? I am really confused as to whether I should even bother to apply with such records.

 

Thank you! 

 

It is impossible to tell and to be frank it is largely a crapshoot to begin with.  It will really come down to your SOP and LORs, and both need to work in conjunction.  That is, your LORs need to support topics written in the SOP.

Now, should you bother applying to your selected programs?  Yes, of course.  But instead of treating it as a roll of the dice you will increase your odds significantly by speaking to people in the program; from program directors to current students.  At one program I went down the list of current students, some 40 in total, and emailed all of them the same basic set of questions about the program.  Roughly 30 responded, with the majority of which doing so within 24 hours.  Also cold calling (or "cold emailing") faculty, program directors, department chairs, and so on is a good idea.   I have yet to find one who was not willing to discuss the program with me.  You will gain far more insights and behind the scenes knowledge about not only the program but applications, too, which of course will aid you in crafting SOPs.