2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

[cmykrgb]

9 hours ago, Bioenchilada said:

I think your GRE is good and you have plenty of research experience, so you should be able to write a good SOP.  

Your GPA is kind of on the lower side for these schools, the rest of your package might compensate for it. Does the small class professor actually know you well? 

Also, your list is pretty long. I'd recommend taking like 5 schools out. How did you come up with that list? 

yea I am well aware my gpa is low largely due to organic chemistry, not sure if that matters just a little or screwed for life. Hopefully my research experience can compensate for it. Most my bio courses are in the B to A range. All of my neuro courses are in A range tho.

cutting down the school list has been hard for me. All the schools I am interested in seems like either reach or super reach for me because of my gpa. The list is base on my interest in the program + parents' choice (they only care about names)+ trying to accomodate my gf who's applying this cycle as well.  I see Icahn as a safety choice because I currently work here. Any thoughts on how I should cut down the schools?

Edited September 14, 2016 by cmykrgb

[Bioenchilada]

40 minutes ago, cmykrgb said:

yea I am well aware my gpa is low largely due to organic chemistry, not sure if that matters just a little or screwed for life. Hopefully my research experience can compensate for it. Most my bio courses are in the B to A range. All of my neuro courses are in A range tho.

cutting down the school list has been hard for me. All the schools I am interested in seems like either reach or super reach for me because of my gpa. The list is base on my interest in the program + parents' choice (they only care about names)+ trying to accomodate my gf who's applying this cycle as well.  I see Icahn as a safety choice because I currently work here. Any thoughts on how I should cut down the schools?

Based on the schools you're applying to, you might as well apply to Harvard and MIT(etc..), since I feel that people  associate those schools with ultra competitiveness while applying to schools that are just as hard to get into for graduate school (i.e Yale, Princeton, UCSF, Columbia). In terms of how to shorten your list, you should only have schools that you would TRULY be satisfied going to, even with respect to name recognition. 

Ps: Also, the fact that you're applying to Penn State and not UPenn  

[Born-to-pipette]

Y'all I'm getting the impression that immunology programs are more competitive than cell/molecular bio programs, based on admissions rates. Has anyone else experienced / observed this trend? Or is this because I just so happen to be looking at schools with stronger immunology departments?

[Bioenchilada]

On 9/14/2016 at 11:49 PM, Born-to-pipette said:

Y'all I'm getting the impression that immunology programs are more competitive than cell/molecular bio programs, based on admissions rates . Has anyone else experienced / observed this trend? Or is this because I just so happen to be looking at schools with stronger immunology departments?

I think it depends on the strength of the program. 

[Born-to-pipette]

Oh, lovely. My dilemma/thought process when selecting immunology vs cancer bio for non-umbrella programs:

1. My primary research interest lies in cancer immunology; however, I hesitate to apply to immunology programs over cancer programs because of points 2, 3 & 4 below.

2. I'm predominantly interested in immunology within the context of cancer. I have limited interest (at least developed thus far) in other aspects of immunology research (i.e., infectious disease, etc.)

3. I'm still quite interested (albeit to a lesser extent) in other aspects of cancer research -- mainly drug resistance, metastasis, tumor microenvironmental interactions.

4. I believe I am more competitive for cancer programs than immunology programs -- both in terms of previous research experience as well as my existing grasp on the field-at-large

5. Immunology program curriculi are more appealing.

6. Some cancer/immunology programs have substantial overlap between cancer immunology faculty. For these schools, if there are additional cancer bio faculty whose work I'm interested in, I will likely apply to the cancer program.

7. In some institutions, cancer immunologists are primarily in the immunology department and not in the cell/mol bio program. In this scenario, I will likely apply to the immunology program -- although I am a little nervous about the increased stringency of admissions...

Is this a good way of approaching it?

[Bioenchilada]

5 minutes ago, Born-to-pipette said:

Oh, lovely. My dilemma/thought process when selecting immunology vs cancer bio for non-umbrella programs:

1. My primary research interest lies in cancer immunology; however, I hesitate to apply to immunology programs over cancer programs because of points 2, 3 & 4 below.

2. I'm predominantly interested in immunology within the context of cancer. I have limited interest (at least developed thus far) in other aspects of immunology research (i.e., infectious disease, etc.)

3. I'm still quite interested (albeit to a lesser extent) in other aspects of cancer research -- mainly drug resistance, metastasis, tumor microenvironmental interactions.

4. I believe I am more competitive for cancer programs than immunology programs -- both in terms of previous research experience as well as my existing grasp on the field-at-large

5. Immunology program curriculi are more appealing.

6. Some cancer/immunology programs have substantial overlap between cancer immunology faculty. For these schools, if there are additional cancer bio faculty whose work I'm interested in, I will likely apply to the cancer program.

7. In some institutions, cancer immunologists are primarily in the immunology department and not in the cell/mol bio program. In this scenario, I will likely apply to the immunology program -- although I am a little nervous about the increased stringency of admissions...

Is this a good way of approaching it?

I don't think the actual name of the sub-division matters much since most umbrella programs let you rotate with anyone within the overall program. So, you should check if that's possible with your programs of interest. At UPenn, at least, you can rotate with anyone with an appointment to CAMB or BGS. Also, if the faculty member doesn't have an appointment to BGS, you could even request them to be given one if the research aligns with the program's.  

(You should check if this is possible at other schools)

[biochemgirl67]

14 hours ago, Born-to-pipette said:

Oh, lovely. My dilemma/thought process when selecting immunology vs cancer bio for non-umbrella programs:

1. My primary research interest lies in cancer immunology; however, I hesitate to apply to immunology programs over cancer programs because of points 2, 3 & 4 below.

2. I'm predominantly interested in immunology within the context of cancer. I have limited interest (at least developed thus far) in other aspects of immunology research (i.e., infectious disease, etc.)

3. I'm still quite interested (albeit to a lesser extent) in other aspects of cancer research -- mainly drug resistance, metastasis, tumor microenvironmental interactions.

4. I believe I am more competitive for cancer programs than immunology programs -- both in terms of previous research experience as well as my existing grasp on the field-at-large

5. Immunology program curriculi are more appealing.

6. Some cancer/immunology programs have substantial overlap between cancer immunology faculty. For these schools, if there are additional cancer bio faculty whose work I'm interested in, I will likely apply to the cancer program.

7. In some institutions, cancer immunologists are primarily in the immunology department and not in the cell/mol bio program. In this scenario, I will likely apply to the immunology program -- although I am a little nervous about the increased stringency of admissions...

Is this a good way of approaching it?

Apply to umbrella programs!!!!!

So this is coming from a person that actually was against them during admissions because I was interested in immunology in the context of disease.  However, my ass ended up in a umbrella program because that's how life works and I did not realize how much freedom it affords until I started to rotate.  Vanderbilt IGP allows you to rotate with anyone of about 170 faculty which is great if you want to possibly try something new or if you just want that safety net.  For instance I work in a biochemistry lab that interrogates virally infected cells from the perspective of innate immunity.  Next rotation I want to do the host-cell interactions of KSHV.  I have also been thinking about trying a structural biology lab in the spring.

So you see, if I get into a subject and hate it, or more likely simply change my mind, then I can easily explore other options.  Also, a lot of times the interest subjects of entering students are fields that are incredibly saturated right now... cancer immunology and neuroscience come into mind.  What if you decide you want to work on the pharmacology of cancer treatments in leukemia?  Or in the changes of lymphocyte trafficking through infection?

Don't exclude umbrella programs one way or the other and don't exclude departmental programs.  Apply for fit and keep it in mind you probably will change your mind in grad school about what you want to do.

[kimmibeans]

On 9/14/2016 at 9:38 AM, cmykrgb said:

cutting down the school list has been hard for me. All the schools I am interested in seems like either reach or super reach for me because of my gpa. The list is base on my interest in the program + parents' choice (they only care about names)+ trying to accomodate my gf who's applying this cycle as well.  I see Icahn as a safety choice because I currently work here. Any thoughts on how I should cut down the schools?

First of all, leave your parents out of it. They aren't the ones who have to go this school, you are. This isn't undergraduate where the school name recognition means something, Now it's your PI's name that matters, not the school. Secondly, don't judge by name recognition. While yes, some higher tier schools attract professors who have better output, there are a lot of excellent PIs at "lower tier" schools because they like the environment there better.

Now that we got that out of the way, look at the list of schools you are considering. Which schools did you only look at because your parents wanted you to go to? Did you actually like those programs, or did you make yourself like them because you knew your parents would like them? If you can't find at least 2 labs with research you can see yourself being excited about and enjoying for the next 6 years, eliminate them. Do this for every school on that list. Then look at the peripherals, like student life. Do you think you will like being at that school or in that area for the next 6 years? Keep the schools where you have multiple labs with research you can honestly say you can see yourself doing and where you think you might be happy.

I'm going to be honest with you, your GPA is really low for most of those schools. When translated to a 4.0 scale, it comes out to just under a 3.0. You have a lot of good research and great test scores, but your GPA is going to hurt you. I would diversify. Don't limit yourself to just big name schools, because you are doing yourself a disservice. Actually, go to pub med, and search for the topics that you are interested in studying. What labs are producing the most papers in the highest impact journals? What labs are looking at something really novel? Ask people in your field what schools they would recommend. Talk to the PI you're working for, ask him his opinion. Don't apply to a school just for name recognition, because at this level it can only do so much for you.

[cmykrgb]

3 hours ago, kimmibeans said:

First of all, leave your parents out of it. They aren't the ones who have to go this school, you are. This isn't undergraduate where the school name recognition means something, Now it's your PI's name that matters, not the school. Secondly, don't judge by name recognition. While yes, some higher tier schools attract professors who have better output, there are a lot of excellent PIs at "lower tier" schools because they like the environment there better.

Now that we got that out of the way, look at the list of schools you are considering. Which schools did you only look at because your parents wanted you to go to? Did you actually like those programs, or did you make yourself like them because you knew your parents would like them? If you can't find at least 2 labs with research you can see yourself being excited about and enjoying for the next 6 years, eliminate them. Do this for every school on that list. Then look at the peripherals, like student life. Do you think you will like being at that school or in that area for the next 6 years? Keep the schools where you have multiple labs with research you can honestly say you can see yourself doing and where you think you might be happy.

I'm going to be honest with you, your GPA is really low for most of those schools. When translated to a 4.0 scale, it comes out to just under a 3.0. You have a lot of good research and great test scores, but your GPA is going to hurt you. I would diversify. Don't limit yourself to just big name schools, because you are doing yourself a disservice. Actually, go to pub med, and search for the topics that you are interested in studying. What labs are producing the most papers in the highest impact journals? What labs are looking at something really novel? Ask people in your field what schools they would recommend. Talk to the PI you're working for, ask him his opinion. Don't apply to a school just for name recognition, because at this level it can only do so much for you.

Thank you so much! This is exactly what I needed to hear. I have been looking through faculties and started to cross out schools based on that.

[revans]

On September 15, 2016 at 2:49 PM, Born-to-pipette said:

Oh, lovely. My dilemma/thought process when selecting immunology vs cancer bio for non-umbrella programs:

1. My primary research interest lies in cancer immunology; however, I hesitate to apply to immunology programs over cancer programs because of points 2, 3 & 4 below.

2. I'm predominantly interested in immunology within the context of cancer. I have limited interest (at least developed thus far) in other aspects of immunology research (i.e., infectious disease, etc.)

3. I'm still quite interested (albeit to a lesser extent) in other aspects of cancer research -- mainly drug resistance, metastasis, tumor microenvironmental interactions.

4. I believe I am more competitive for cancer programs than immunology programs -- both in terms of previous research experience as well as my existing grasp on the field-at-large

5. Immunology program curriculi are more appealing.

6. Some cancer/immunology programs have substantial overlap between cancer immunology faculty. For these schools, if there are additional cancer bio faculty whose work I'm interested in, I will likely apply to the cancer program.

7. In some institutions, cancer immunologists are primarily in the immunology department and not in the cell/mol bio program. In this scenario, I will likely apply to the immunology program -- although I am a little nervous about the increased stringency of admissions...

Is this a good way of approaching it?

I was just scrolling through and noticed how you talked about cancer programs and immunology. I looked at your application and your very qualified for all the schools but I did want to throw in an idea of Roswell Park Cancer Institute's Immunology Program Partnered with the University at Buffalo. Its a phD immunology program at the actual cancer hospital, and when you apply for the roswell park track, the program is done at the actual hospital in research labs with PIs who focus just on cancer and there are PLENTY of researchers here in immunology and cancer and its a great program. Your whole program is about both immunology and cancer, so you don't really need to choose one over the other. Just a thought about maybe looking into that program!

[biotechie]

On September 15, 2016 at 1:49 PM, Born-to-pipette said:

Oh, lovely. My dilemma/thought process when selecting immunology vs cancer bio for non-umbrella programs:

1. My primary research interest lies in cancer immunology; however, I hesitate to apply to immunology programs over cancer programs because of points 2, 3 & 4 below.

2. I'm predominantly interested in immunology within the context of cancer. I have limited interest (at least developed thus far) in other aspects of immunology research (i.e., infectious disease, etc.)

3. I'm still quite interested (albeit to a lesser extent) in other aspects of cancer research -- mainly drug resistance, metastasis, tumor microenvironmental interactions.

4. I believe I am more competitive for cancer programs than immunology programs -- both in terms of previous research experience as well as my existing grasp on the field-at-large

5. Immunology program curriculi are more appealing.

6. Some cancer/immunology programs have substantial overlap between cancer immunology faculty. For these schools, if there are additional cancer bio faculty whose work I'm interested in, I will likely apply to the cancer program.

7. In some institutions, cancer immunologists are primarily in the immunology department and not in the cell/mol bio program. In this scenario, I will likely apply to the immunology program -- although I am a little nervous about the increased stringency of admissions...

Is this a good way of approaching it?

I second everyone here with the umbrella programs! I applied to half interdisciplinary programs, and then the others were molecular biology and immunology. Long story short, I ended up working on metabolism with some immunology aspects, and I love this field. I wouldn't have gotten into this if I'd joined an immunology only program, and I've had way more opportunities in this interdisciplinary program. The other ones I know about allowed us to rotate in labs of faculty across different departments, meaning you could access faculty in both immunology and cancer bio. Feel free to message me about them.

[Bioenchilada]

16 hours ago, cmykrgb said:

Thank you so much! This is exactly what I needed to hear. I have been looking through faculties and started to cross out schools based on that.

I'd say find at least 5 people you want to work with.

Edited September 17, 2016 by Bioenchilada

[as1an1nja]

On 9/7/2016 at 8:34 PM, as1an1nja said:

Undergrad Institution: Top 50 school, US
Major(s): BME
Minor(s): MATH
GPA in Major: > 3.5
Overall GPA: 3.5
Position in Class: Above average for academics, should be top for research 
Type of Student: Asian, US citizen

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 90
V: 60
W: 5
B: - NA - 


TOEFL Total:  - NA - 

Research Experience: Will not go into detail in what I did for NDA

1. Organic Chem Lab, 6 months, just doing basics, nothing significant to get published. Selected as one of two from the dept. 

2. BME lab, since Soph year (including 2 summers). 1 First author expected this semester along with PI (Professor + chair of graduate school in dept), Associate Professor in Statistics from another college. (Discovered two findings, planning for submission on >5 impact factor journal) (Word from PI: will be the 6th undergrad to obtain 1st author in the last 15 years). Provided figures and data for 2 successful NIH grant (one of the grant was rejected 6 times, accepted after I contributed) (total funding in the $ X00,000.00 range). 

Discoveries will amend course material in undergrad BME course and grad BME course. Will be included from next year that PI is teaching.

Presentations, all 1st author: Research Internship at my college (selected as the only one from the program to present to Associate Dean of Engineering Education and program coordinators), BMES national conference as the only undergrad from the department, also fully funded (upcoming, October) (abstract accepted after submission under general session (there is undergrad session)). Weekly meetings in the PI's office, skype meeting with the Stat prof. Collaborates data directly with Grad students. 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Reseach stuff (research scholarships), academic stuff (deans list, scholarships), nothing significant

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

Started an undergrad journal in the university, guided under dean of engineering. Weekly meetings with the Dean

Grader in in-major course (usually given to Grad students for TA (for money support from dept.), only undergrad in the pool of TAs and graders, rest are grad students )

Microbiology lab assistant (1 semester)

Math tutor (1sem)

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Average credits per semester: 19.5-ish (>19, required advisors approval)

Projects:

1. used epidemic model to predict spread of ebola virus in Africa (2014)

2. found skin's transient porosity values under ultrasound (2015)

Special Bonus Points: ?

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

Applying to Where:

Stanford

Bunch of UC schools

Princeton

CMU

Wisconsin

Florida

 

Let me know my chances and recommendations to which schools I should apply, Thank you and good luck to you all

 

 

Update: I got an offer for a one year internship from a large Industry (One of: Google, Yahoo, Intel,....) that specializes in deep learning after obtaining a degree in BME. This is a research position. 

I am in a debate because I would like to pursue PhD in Bioinformatics, and I would lack computational skills compared to CS students. However I am currently preparing a first author manuscript based on MATLAB computations. 

I was wondering if my stats are already competitive enough for elite schools. If not, will this help my stats to get into schools with a strong advisors? I am looking at Stanford, MIT, Berkeley, etc... 

Thank you

[myhairtiebroke]

Hey everyone. So I've applied to grad school twice before this season. Once as a senior in undergrad (when I was unprepared for applications), and last year (when I felt somewhat competitive.) After meeting complete rejection the last two years, I felt discouraged but I'm trying again.

 

Undergrad Institution: UC Davis (graduated summer 2014)
Major(s): Microbiology
Minor(s): Entomology, Studio Art
GPA in Major: 3.6
Overall GPA: 3.6
Position in Class: I'm not sure. Above average?
Type of Student: Domestic, male, Vietnamese

GRE Scores:
Q: 161
V: 162
W: 5


Research Experience: 3 years undergrad (one coauthor, one first author, two undergrad conferences, one professional conference, one undergrad research grant) 2 years NIH postbac (one coauthor paper (in review))

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Undergrad grant (mentioned), and a senior award recognizing my research experience.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutored for microbio labs as an undergrad. Volunteered at museum (arthropod exhibits) 2015-2016.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: No.

Special Bonus Points: No.

Applying to Where:

UW Madison  - Microbiology
Cornell - Microbiology

UC Berkeley - Microbiology

WashU - Microbiology

UCSF - TETRAD (?)

I'm mostly interested in applying for microbio programs, and I chose those programs because they have professors focusing on projects I'm interested in (host-microbe stuff.) I've reached out to professors at UW and Cornell in the past (and have talked over phone, email, Skype, etc.). I did email them again this year, to let them know that I'm reapplying, but I have yet to hear back.

 

Last year I applied to Madison, Cornell, UCB, UCSF, and UO, and was rejected from all 5. I did make it on the waitlist at Cornell. To be honest, I thought I was a competitive applicant. My GPA wasn't fantastic, but I had a lot of research experience. I was told that my SOP was good, and I'm sure my LORs were great too. I was told that I likely faced rejection because my application pool was too small, but the rejection still feels bad. Unfortunately, my application doesn't look much different than last year's. Outside of an extra year at the NIH, and a new paper (where I'm only a coauthor) nothing has changed. Additionally, I'm unemployed (NIH postbac had 2 year limit.) I would love to get suggestions on how to make my application more competitive for this year's cycle. Maybe retake the GRE, but it seems late to start studying, and I don't think the $$$ investment would be worth the (what I'm told is negligible) boost. I was considering the NSF GRFP, but the professors I reached out to haven't gotten back to me, so I feel like I won't have a strong research proposal.

[Bioenchilada]

Your GPA and GRE are pretty good, those are not the reason. Who is writing your letters? If you are confident that the letters are great, my only suspicion would be a weak SOP, especially with the amount of experience you have. Who has given you feedback in the past? 

[myhairtiebroke]

6 minutes ago, Bioenchilada said:

Your GPA and GRE are pretty good, those are not the reason. Who is writing your letters? If you are confident that the letters are great, my only suspicion would be a weak SOP, especially with the amount of experience you have. Who has given you feedback in the past? 

My NIH PI, my undergrad PI, and another PI at the NIH (worked across the hall, involved in group meetings so he knows my research experience) wrote my letters.

I got feedback from: undergrad advisors (who had been on admissions), other professors I knew in undergrad, grad students (who were on admissions committees, not the ones I was applying to), NIH PI and NIH advisors (they have specific group of advisors for grad school apps.) Overall, I felt like I was receiving good advice, since these people had experience with admissions.

Edited September 19, 2016 by myhairtiebroke

[Bioenchilada]

8 minutes ago, myhairtiebroke said:

My NIH PI, my undergrad PI, and another PI at the NIH (worked across the hall, involved in group meetings so he knows my research experience) wrote my letters.

I got feedback from: undergrad advisors (who had been on admissions), other professors I knew in undergrad, grad students (who were on admissions committees, not the ones I was applying to), NIH PI and NIH advisors (they have specific group of advisors for grad school apps.) Overall, I felt like I was receiving good advice, since these people had experience with admissions.

I don't really know what to say then. It is unlikely that you had an unlucky draw twice, especially with your amount of research experience. I'd suggest rewriting your SOP using a different strategy or something.

[myhairtiebroke]

2 hours ago, Bioenchilada said:

I don't really know what to say then. It is unlikely that you had an unlucky draw twice, especially with your amount of research experience. I'd suggest rewriting your SOP using a different strategy or something.

Yeah, starting from scratch for the SOP sounds like a good idea. Thanks.

[Edotdl]

5 hours ago, myhairtiebroke said:

Yeah, starting from scratch for the SOP sounds like a good idea. Thanks.

I'd second bioenchilada's suggestion. My first suspect was the SOP too. Assuming your LORs and SOP were good, I'm surprised you were rejected from every program two years in a row.

[biochemgirl67]

You shouldn't do the NSF GRFP because you're not currently working under anybody.  You can do that your second year of grad school.

I mean, at this point I might go back to your letter writers and ask them to be specific and detailed with criticism of your application.  The point is two-fold... if there is something you're not seeing, they'll tell you and if they are writing sneaky bad letters, you'll get an idea.  Some professors will do that and not tell you, although if you have a good ongoing relationship with them, I think it's unlikely.

What's really weird is NIH post-baccs are highly sought after.  Maybe apply to some different schools?  It's getting to the point that you're going to have to decide if you are going to hold fast to the list of schools you want to go to or if you want to go to grad school.  I'm not saying you won't get in, just that with past history in mind, add 5 more mid-tier schools.

[ballwera]

I'd ask to see your rec. Letters from your past submissions. What you think might be a strong letter could be hurting you.

[myhairtiebroke]

10 hours ago, Edotdl said:

I'd second bioenchilada's suggestion. My first suspect was the SOP too. Assuming your LORs and SOP were good, I'm surprised you were rejected from every program two years in a row.

I should clarify: I applied 2013, 2015, and reapplying now. It wasn't two years in a row, and my 2013 was admittedly shoddy compared to 2015. I had a lower GRE score, and aside from my undergrad PI's LOR I had two professors I only knew as instructors, so those letters likely weren't that great. I also didn't have a first author publication at the time (project was ongoing during 2013 grad apps.)

4 hours ago, biochemgirl67 said:

You shouldn't do the NSF GRFP because you're not currently working under anybody.  You can do that your second year of grad school.

I mean, at this point I might go back to your letter writers and ask them to be specific and detailed with criticism of your application.  The point is two-fold... if there is something you're not seeing, they'll tell you and if they are writing sneaky bad letters, you'll get an idea.  Some professors will do that and not tell you, although if you have a good ongoing relationship with them, I think it's unlikely.

What's really weird is NIH post-baccs are highly sought after.  Maybe apply to some different schools?  It's getting to the point that you're going to have to decide if you are going to hold fast to the list of schools you want to go to or if you want to go to grad school.  I'm not saying you won't get in, just that with past history in mind, add 5 more mid-tier schools.

Point taken on the GRFP. I will be more rigorous in getting feedback on my applications this year. I will also try expanding my list of schools. My strategy (last year) for picking schools was finding professors I liked, seeing which schools they were at, and then evaluating whether programs were a good fit (mostly whether or not there were other professors in the same program I wouldn't mind working with.)

4 hours ago, ballwera said:

I'd ask to see your rec. Letters from your past submissions. What you think might be a strong letter could be hurting you.

Is that ok to do? I get that they're old letters of rec, but I'm pretty sure my LOR writers aren't going to drastically change the letters for this cycle.

[Bioenchilada]

34 minutes ago, myhairtiebroke said:

I should clarify: I applied 2013, 2015, and reapplying now. It wasn't two years in a row, and my 2013 was admittedly shoddy compared to 2015. I had a lower GRE score, and aside from my undergrad PI's LOR I had two professors I only knew as instructors, so those letters likely weren't that great. I also didn't have a first author publication at the time (project was ongoing during 2013 grad apps.)

Point taken on the GRFP. I will be more rigorous in getting feedback on my applications this year. I will also try expanding my list of schools. My strategy (last year) for picking schools was finding professors I liked, seeing which schools they were at, and then evaluating whether programs were a good fit (mostly whether or not there were other professors in the same program I wouldn't mind working with.)

Is that ok to do? I get that they're old letters of rec, but I'm pretty sure my LOR writers aren't going to drastically change the letters for this cycle.

I think @ballwera is saying that you should discuss your letters with your PIs to try to assess their strength. Was your relationship with both PIs good? Like, do you interact with them and are productive in lab? If so, then I'd say your SOP needs some reworking.

[MCF10A]

Undergrad Institution: top liberal arts college (good reputation in undergrad education, but not known in research field)

Major(s):Honors in biology

GPA in Major:3.8

Overall GPA:3.7

Position in Class: don't know exactly, should be top 10-20%ish(GPA deflation in my school)

Type of Student: international student finished college in US (how much would being international hurt my chances?)

 

GRE Scores (revised/old version):

Q:163(92%)

V:170(97%)

W:4.0(60%)

B: Still deciding. I'm pretty comfortable with my V&Q, but the W is kinda low percentile-wise. Would it be worth retaking to get a 4.5+W?

 

 

TOEFL Total: Waived

 

Research Experience:

2 years in a cancer lab @ big public research university (1 mid-author pub)

1 summer (freshmen summer) in a cancer lab @ big public research university (another mid-author pub)

2 summers in a top cancer research institute , currently work there as full-time RA finishing up my own projects (2 conference posters, 1 mid-author pub under review, plan to submit my own first author pub early next year, but will be too late for application tho)

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: (Within your school or outside?)

Best undergrad poster award in a national conference

Several awards/scholarships/Dean Lists in my school

 

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

TA for 3 courses, Hospital volunteer(100+ hours, used to be pre-med), leadership position in several school clubs, co-founder of a startup

 

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

 

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

I should be able to get 3 very solid letters (1 college prof who knows me really well, 2 research mentors both well-known in cancer field)

 

Applying to Where:

 

(A giant list right now, plan to pick up 8-10 to apply out of this)

MIT Biology

Harvard BBS

Sloan Kettering

Yale BMS

Stanford Cancer Bio

Weill Cornell

Rockefeller

Penn BGS

Uchicago Cancer Bio

Duke Molecular Cancer Bio

NYU Sackler

Berkeley MCB/UCSF BMS/UCSD BMS (I heard that those UC schools are not friendly to intl students, should I even bother trying?)

 

All my previous research experience is in cancer research and I like this field so far. But I don't mind trying out new fields in grad school tho, and that's why I think big umbrella programs are ideal. For those schools do not have an umbrella program, I will apply to cancer bio programs. Also I really want to go to school in urban settings.

 

I would really appreciate any advices/inputs on finalizing my school list. Also please let me know if any program on my list is particularly friendly/unfriendly to intl students. Thanks a lot!

Edited September 21, 2016 by MCF10A

[blc073]

17 minutes ago, MCF10A said:

Undergrad Institution: top liberal arts college (good reputation in undergrad education, but not known in research field)

Major(s):Honors in biology

GPA in Major:3.8

Overall GPA:3.7

Position in Class: don't know exactly, should be top 10-20%ish(GPA deflation in my school)

Type of Student: international student finished college in US (how much would being international hurt my chances?)

 

GRE Scores (revised/old version):

Q:163(92%)

V:170(97%)

W:4.0(60%)

B: Still deciding. I'm pretty comfortable with my V&Q, but the W is kinda low percentile-wise. Would it be worth retaking to get a 4.5+W?

 

 

TOEFL Total: Waived

 

Research Experience:

2 years in a cancer lab @ big public research university (1 mid-author pub)

1 summer (freshmen summer) in a cancer lab @ big public research university (another mid-author pub)

2 summers in a top cancer research institute , currently work there as full-time RA finishing up my own projects (2 conference posters, 1 mid-author pub under review, plan to submit my own first author pub early next year, but will be too late for application tho)

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: (Within your school or outside?)

Best undergrad poster award in a national conference

Several awards/scholarships/Dean Lists in my school

 

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

TA for 3 courses, Hospital volunteer(100+ hours, used to be pre-med), leadership position in several school clubs, co-founder of a startup

 

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

 

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

I should be able to get 3 very solid SOPs (1 college prof who knows me really well, 2 research mentors both well-known in cancer field)

 

Applying to Where:

 

(A giant list right now, plan to pick up 8-10 to apply out of this)

MIT Biology

Harvard BBS

Sloan Kettering

Yale BMS

Stanford Cancer Bio

Weill Cornell

Rockefeller

Penn BGS

Uchicago Cancer Bio

Duke Molecular Cancer Bio

NYU Sackler

Berkeley MCB/UCSF BMS/UCSD BMS (I heard that those UC schools are not friendly to intl students, should I even bother trying?)

 

All my previous research experience is in cancer research and I like this field so far. But I don't mind trying out new fields in grad school tho, and that's why I think big umbrella programs are ideal. For those schools do not have an umbrella program, I will apply to cancer bio programs. Also I really want to go to school in urban settings.

 

I would really appreciate any advices/inputs on finalizing my school list. Also please let me know if any program on my list is particularly friendly/unfriendly to intl students. Thanks a lot!

On paper, you look look great. Your success will depend on your LORs and your SOP. Harvard BBS treats international students the same as domestic students.