2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

[Focus]

On 11/7/2016 at 5:12 PM, hihello742 said:

** Need more mid-tier school suggestions with good Immunology/Cancer Immuno professors!! Thank you guys!

Maybe look at University Colorado Denver Immunology or Oregon Health and Science University.
OHSU just got a billion dollars for cancer research through the Knight Foundation. They're both mid-tier and have some good things going for them.

[Bioenchilada]

2 hours ago, cmykrgb said:

also in light of this past election, is it possible for grad school to take less students due to possible funding cuts?

 

17 hours ago, Franklinisajerk said:

In light of last night's election, what non-US programs are worth looking into for neuroscience? 

I really don't know if you guys are being for real or not lol

It is too early to know the impact of a Trump presidency, and I personally don't believe that moving away actually fixes the problems this country faces. I suggest you continue your lives normally and apply to the schools you were previously considering.

[gradgirl27]

Undergrad Institution: Top 20 National University (US)
Major(s):Biology
Minor(s):Public Health
GPA in Major: 3.3
Overall GPA: 3.3
Type of Student: Female, White, domestic, LGBT, First-generation college student
GRE Scores (revised):
Q: 162 (82nd)
V: 161 (88th)
W: 4.5 (82nd) 
B: Did not take


Research Experience: Three years in the same lab with three different poster symposium presentations, REU one summer

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: None 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:  Private science tutor, LGBT outreach on campus, Science education outreach in underprivileged schools in my school's community

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: 

Special Bonus Points: Internship at the CDC last summer

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

Applying to Where:

 

UCLA: Biosciences Program

Georgetown: Biology program

Harvard: Biological Science in Public Health

Vanderbilt: Interdisciplinary Graduate Program

UPenn: Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Group

Brown: Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry

Looking for possible safety schools. Let me know what you think, guys.

[cmykrgb]

On 11/10/2016 at 5:39 PM, Bioenchilada said:

 

I really don't know if you guys are being for real or not lol

It is too early to know the impact of a Trump presidency, and I personally don't believe that moving away actually fixes the problems this country faces. I suggest you continue your lives normally and apply to the schools you were previously considering.

I am actually for real. I heard NIH has raised funding threadshold by 4% already.

[Bioenchilada]

1 hour ago, cmykrgb said:

I am actually for real. I heard NIH has raised funding threadshold by 4% already.

Where did you hear this? A google search led me to find that Trump actually wants to increase science spending, Newt Gingrich called on Congress to double NIH spending.

[cmykrgb]

17 hours ago, Bioenchilada said:

Where did you hear this? A google search led me to find that Trump actually wants to increase science spending, Newt Gingrich called on Congress to double NIH spending.

A friend of mine said her PI told her. Granted there could be many other reasons than just a Trump presidency and we know that guy has very inconsistent policies.

Also I am sorry everyone. This is not what this thread intend to be.

Edited November 12, 2016 by cmykrgb

[Vidiwell]

Undergrad Institution: Top 20 Research School, Well known liberal arts college
Major(s): Biology
Minor(s): Chemistry
GPA in Major: 3.17
Overall GPA: 3.2
Position in Class: Average
Type of Student: Domestic, White, Male

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q:165(95%)
V:167(93%)
W:5(93%)
B: Not Taking




Research Experience: 2 Years of endocrinology research at my undergrad, attempted honors thesis in this lab, worked with radioimmunoassays, gel chromatography, 1 semester of genetics research at my undergrad, worked with PCR, laddering and localization assays, yeast two hybrid screens, 1 year of delineating the pathophysiology of a genetic disorder and developing novel therapies at the National Institutes of Health, run a transgenic mouse colony, conduct western blots, viral copy number analysis, cDNA/qPCR work, design and grow plasmid for use in our viral therapy, enzyme expression analysis. Will have presented at a conference, and be coauthored on two papers by the end of this fellowship with the NIH, this is all backed up in the LOR from my senior investigator there.  

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Howard Hughes Medical Institute research grant Freshman semester: Intramural Research Training Award, National Institutes of Health

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Organic Chemistry TA for a semester, Resident Assistant for a year, Ranger at a High adventure base for a summer, Vice President of my schools outdoors club

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: Solid letter of recommendation from well known researcher from the NIH, also generally good overall letters from my mentors at the undergrad university. 
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Visiting Seattle and will be interviewing with 2 co-directors of program from the programs I am interested there. Doing this to show my interest, ask how I can improve my application, and generally put myself on their radars before applications are due.  

Applying to Where:

U of Washington Genome Science/Molecular Medicine(unquestionably top choice) 

Columbia Genetics

Chicago Genetics

OHSU Genetics

UC Davis Genetics

Rochester Genetics

Any thoughts, specifically on U of Washington? I am banking hard on solid research experience with papers written and showing interest/enthusiasm in the faculty/school to help me out some.  

Thank for any help/advice you can give!

Edited November 13, 2016 by Vidiwell

[cosiva]

Reposting because I didn't receive any feedback the first time either.

On 18/10/2016 at 6:39 PM, cosiva said:

Undergrad Institution: University of Miami
Major(s): Neuroscience B.S.
Minor(s): Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Spanish
GPA in Major: 3.6
Overall GPA: 3.7
Position in Class: N/A
Type of Student: Domestic Male LGBTQ Hispanic

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 162 (82%)
V: 160 (80%)
W: 4.5 (82%)
B: N/A

Research Experience: 

Research in a Neuroscience lab my spring of 1st year and a summer internship at my university in that lab.

2 years in a behavioral neuroscience lab.

Summer internship at University of Michigan and University of California San Francisco, both in cell biology/biochemistry focused labs.

One manuscript in preparation for an epidemiology journal, presented my work at 3 conferences. 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: I've worked as a Peer Advisor in the Dept of Psychology for 3 years, where I've also been a TA for 5 semesters. I work in the first year dorms as a Academic Fellow for a boys' and girls' floor, 2nd year doing the job now. I'm also in my 2nd year as president of the Neuroscience Honor Society.

Special Bonus Points: My U of M recommender is the director of one of the programs in the PIBS program, my UCSF recommender is a world recognized name in cell biology, and one of my home institution recommenders is at the forefront of his field in neuroscience. I'm also Hispanic and Queer.

Applying to Where:

Univ of Michigan PIBS – Cellular and Molecular Biology

Univ of Miami PIBS – Biochemistry

MIT – Biology

Rockefeller University – Cell Biology

Columbia University – Biological Sciences

UCSF – Tetrad

UC Berkeley – Molecular and Cell Biology

Stanford University – Biosciences

 

[Bioenchilada]

13 minutes ago, cosiva said:

Reposting because I didn't receive any feedback the first time either.

You seem to have very impressive credentials, so I'd be surprised if you didn't get interview invites from most, if not all, of your schools. Your LORs also seem like they will be amazing. Just make sure to write a good SOP, this is more important than your numbers.

[DGD4L]

Hey guys, I'm applying to Ph.D. programs for the Fall 2017 semester. If you could give me some feedback on my stats and my school selections, that'd be great!

I don't know if I'm aiming too high with my school choices. A lot of professors I know pretty well have told me try it out, so let me know what you think! 

What are my chances with these institutions? Also, I'm looking for maybe one or more two programs to apply to that are a little lower than these schools, seeing as how most of them are pretty competitive. Please let me know if you have and ideas about schools with good microbiology research going on!

 

Thank you!

 

 

Undergrad Institution: Smaller Liberal arts college, R2 Research 
Major(s): Biological Sciences
Minor(s): Biochemistry
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 3.96
Position in Class: Not provided
Type of Student: Asian male, first generation college student

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 150
V: 150
W: 4.0
B: n/a

Research Experience:

3 years in a microbiology lab carrying out my own project. 

• Summer 2015 - awarded an Undergraduate Research Fellowship from the American Society for Microbiology, as well as $1,000 travel funds to go to ASM Microbe 2016 in Boston to present a poster and attend the conference.
• Summer 2016 - awarded an Undergraduate Research Fellowship from my school. 
• Took research for credit through my Junior and Senior year

I have presented at many different meetings across the US, including national and branch meetings. (about 8 poster presentations)

I will be writing and defending an honors thesis this coming spring on my work as an undergraduate.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

• Dean's List every semester
• ASM Undergraduate Fellowship 2015
• Barry M. Goldwater Scholar 2016

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

Served as a work study for biology labs as a freshman and learned how to prepare many different types of media.

Currently a TA for Intro to Microbiology lab.

President of ASM branch at my university.

Member of Tri-Beta (Biology honor society), Phi Eta Sigma (freshman honor society), and Phi Kappa Phi (national honor society).

 

Special Bonus Points:

PI did his post-doc at Harvard, knows many different professors there well. 

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
3 letters, one from PI, one from professor I had for a lab class whom I got to know very well, and one from a professor helping me write my honors thesis

Applying to Where:
University of Chicago - Microbiology - have been in contact with a professor about a project I would be interested in, he seemed pretty responsive. Also said he would be accepting students in years to come.

Harvard University - BBS

MIT - Microbiology

UPenn - not sure which program

Yale - BBS

Tufts University - Sackler Biomedical Grad program

 

Let me know what you guys think! I'm still open to looking at new programs, so let me know if you know anywhere I should look into!

I know my GRE scores are not up-to-par. I'm not a standardized test taker. I was hoping that maybe my grades, scholarship/awards and research will carry me a little.

Edited November 16, 2016 by DGD4L

[Elena25]

5 hours ago, DGD4L said:

Hey guys, I'm applying to Ph.D. programs for the Fall 2017 semester. If you could give me some feedback on my stats and my school selections, that'd be great!

I don't know if I'm aiming too high with my school choices. A lot of professors I know pretty well have told me try it out, so let me know what you think! 

What are my chances with these institutions? Also, I'm looking for maybe one or more two programs to apply to that are a little lower than these schools, seeing as how most of them are pretty competitive. Please let me know if you have and ideas about schools with good microbiology research going on!

 

Thank you!

 

 

Undergrad Institution: Smaller Liberal arts college, R2 Research 
Major(s): Biological Sciences
Minor(s): Biochemistry
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 3.96
Position in Class: Not provided
Type of Student: Asian male, first generation college student

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 150
V: 150
W: 4.0
B: n/a

Research Experience:

3 years in a microbiology lab carrying out my own project. 

• Summer 2015 - awarded an Undergraduate Research Fellowship from the American Society for Microbiology, as well as $1,000 travel funds to go to ASM Microbe 2016 in Boston to present a poster and attend the conference.
• Summer 2016 - awarded an Undergraduate Research Fellowship from my school. 
• Took research for credit through my Junior and Senior year

I have presented at many different meetings across the US, including national and branch meetings. (about 8 poster presentations)

I will be writing and defending an honors thesis this coming spring on my work as an undergraduate.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

• Dean's List every semester
• ASM Undergraduate Fellowship 2015
• Barry M. Goldwater Scholar 2016

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

Served as a work study for biology labs as a freshman and learned how to prepare many different types of media.

Currently a TA for Intro to Microbiology lab.

President of ASM branch at my university.

Member of Tri-Beta (Biology honor society), Phi Eta Sigma (freshman honor society), and Phi Kappa Phi (national honor society).

 

Special Bonus Points:

PI did his post-doc at Harvard, knows many different professors there well. 

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
3 letters, one from PI, one from professor I had for a lab class whom I got to know very well, and one from a professor helping me write my honors thesis

Applying to Where:
University of Chicago - Microbiology - have been in contact with a professor about a project I would be interested in, he seemed pretty responsive. Also said he would be accepting students in years to come.

Harvard University - BBS

MIT - Microbiology

UPenn - not sure which program

Yale - BBS

Tufts University - Sackler Biomedical Grad program

 

Let me know what you guys think! I'm still open to looking at new programs, so let me know if you know anywhere I should look into!

I know my GRE scores are not up-to-par. I'm not a standardized test taker. I was hoping that maybe my grades, scholarship/awards and research will carry me a little.

Your GPA and research are very impressive. Especially winning the Goldwater! 

May I ask why your GREs are so low? I'm sure some schools could overlook the GRE like Yale doesn't even publish the averages which proves they don't care that much about it but UPenn averages are like 160 and 159. I would retake the GRE and send in scores late if I were you or apply to more backup schools (other than Tufts)

[blc073]

5 hours ago, DGD4L said:

Hey guys, I'm applying to Ph.D. programs for the Fall 2017 semester. If you could give me some feedback on my stats and my school selections, that'd be great!

I don't know if I'm aiming too high with my school choices. A lot of professors I know pretty well have told me try it out, so let me know what you think! 

What are my chances with these institutions? Also, I'm looking for maybe one or more two programs to apply to that are a little lower than these schools, seeing as how most of them are pretty competitive. Please let me know if you have and ideas about schools with good microbiology research going on!

 

Thank you!

 

 

Undergrad Institution: Smaller Liberal arts college, R2 Research 
Major(s): Biological Sciences
Minor(s): Biochemistry
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 3.96
Position in Class: Not provided
Type of Student: Asian male, first generation college student

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 150
V: 150
W: 4.0
B: n/a

Research Experience:

3 years in a microbiology lab carrying out my own project. 

• Summer 2015 - awarded an Undergraduate Research Fellowship from the American Society for Microbiology, as well as $1,000 travel funds to go to ASM Microbe 2016 in Boston to present a poster and attend the conference.
• Summer 2016 - awarded an Undergraduate Research Fellowship from my school. 
• Took research for credit through my Junior and Senior year

I have presented at many different meetings across the US, including national and branch meetings. (about 8 poster presentations)

I will be writing and defending an honors thesis this coming spring on my work as an undergraduate.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

• Dean's List every semester
• ASM Undergraduate Fellowship 2015
• Barry M. Goldwater Scholar 2016

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

Served as a work study for biology labs as a freshman and learned how to prepare many different types of media.

Currently a TA for Intro to Microbiology lab.

President of ASM branch at my university.

Member of Tri-Beta (Biology honor society), Phi Eta Sigma (freshman honor society), and Phi Kappa Phi (national honor society).

 

Special Bonus Points:

PI did his post-doc at Harvard, knows many different professors there well. 

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
3 letters, one from PI, one from professor I had for a lab class whom I got to know very well, and one from a professor helping me write my honors thesis

Applying to Where:
University of Chicago - Microbiology - have been in contact with a professor about a project I would be interested in, he seemed pretty responsive. Also said he would be accepting students in years to come.

Harvard University - BBS

MIT - Microbiology

UPenn - not sure which program

Yale - BBS

Tufts University - Sackler Biomedical Grad program

 

Let me know what you guys think! I'm still open to looking at new programs, so let me know if you know anywhere I should look into!

I know my GRE scores are not up-to-par. I'm not a standardized test taker. I was hoping that maybe my grades, scholarship/awards and research will carry me a little.

You definitely have solid research experience, so that will help you quite a bit. However, your GRE scores are too low. Research experience, strong LORs, and a high GPA can make up for some of that, but a 300 is just too low in my opinion. I would not feel comfortable applying with that number. 

I would retake the GRE and add two second-tier schools. You seem to like Boston, so maybe apply to BU? UMass might be an option as well. 

[Bioenchilada]

22 minutes ago, Elena25 said:

Your GPA and research are very impressive. Especially winning the Goldwater! 

May I ask why your GREs are so low? I'm sure some schools could overlook the GRE like Yale doesn't even publish the averages which proves they don't care that much about it but UPenn averages are like 160 and 159. I would retake the GRE and send in scores late if I were you or apply to more backup schools (other than Tufts)

I don't think that not publishing GREs is equivalent to a school not caring. Most schools just dont do this lol 

I'm certain that schools like Yale and Harvard have GREs around the same as UPenn, especially considering how much they care about numbers for undergrad. I do agree with you and @blc073 with regards to the GPA and research experience. I think that your main problem, @DGD4L, will be your GRE since it's just too low. As the other people have pointed out, adding more backup schools might be beneficial. Not saying you definitely don't have a chance in the schools you applied to though lol 

(I'm pretty sure that @blc073 has brought it up, but using Cornell's guidelines can be helpful. Typically, a score beneath a combined 308-310 is bad news.) 

[KR Marksmen]

Is my list a little to top heavy? Am I competitive at all? I know that my GPA is a huge red flag being pretty low. However I worked 20 hours a week, did 15 hours a week of research and took 18-20 credits my last two years of undergrad so that I could finish before my scholarship ran out. Pretty much overloaded myself. However, I have done some pretty impressive research and took time off after undergrad to really situate myself and also to let the work I do in the lab speak for itself. All of my recommenders say I'm there top or top 3 student researcher they have had (and each has been in research over 20 years so it's a big sample size) Hoping my GRE and LOR's out weigh my GPA. Wondering if I should add any schools to my list? I'm interested in cancer and metabolism and want to do a PhD in Biochemistry.

Undergrad Institution: Small State School, East
Major(s): Biology
Minor(s): NA
GPA in Major: 3.1
Overall GPA: 3.3
Position in Class: 
Type of Student: Domestic, male, urm

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

Research Experience:

1 summer-Johns Hopkins SURE, 1 Year Johns Hopkins SOM Research on penile nerve degeneration after radical prostatectomy, 1.5 years research at home institution developing a triple transgenic mouse model of prostate cancer (western blots, southern blots, PCR, mouse husbandry/surgery), 1 summer developing an in vitro assay for detecting O-GlcNAc modified proteins (expressed and purified GST tagged proteins, mass spec)->one publication from this (4th author, mid tier journal), 1 year of research using CRISPR/Cas9 in P. falciparum to generate an inducible knockdown of a protein (gibson assembly, PCR, plasmid expression and purification, CRISPR/Cas9, Western blot), 2 years of using CRISPR/Cas9 to make an inducible knockdown protein and full gene deletion in C. elegans and proteomics using newly made strains (Western blot, PCR, Gibson assembly, Protein expression and purification, C. elegans injection, mass spec)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: School Honors Program and MARC Scholar. Partial tuition scholarship, INRO scholar

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutored Organic Chemistry 1 for a semester, Communications Chair in undergraduate Leadership organization, 1 publication doing scientific coverage for a conference. Worked a part time job 20 hours a week for last two years of undergrad as a gameroom manager.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

I have 150 hours volunteering in a cancer center with kids, and 100 hours of general community service at homeless shelters and with underserved inner city children doing STEM outreach

Special Bonus Points: My current PI is really well known in my field. I'm mainly applying to places with labs that do similar studies (metabolism, cancer, ptm's)

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I will have a 3 year gap since graduating undergrad where I have been doing full time research when summer 2017 comes

Applying to Where:

University of Pennsylvania (BGS/Biochemistry and Biophysics) Washu in St Louis (DBBS, Biochemistry)

University of California, Berkeley (Molecular and Cell Biology)

University of Chicago(Molecular Biosciences (Biochemistry)

Georgetown University (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology PhD Program)

University of Virginia (Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics PhD )

Arizona State University (Biochemistry/Biological Design PhD)

University of Arizona (Biochemistry PhD Program) (Biomedical Sciences (Cancer Biology))

Stanford (Biochemistry)

University of California, San Francisco (Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program)

University of California, San Diego (Biology (Salk Institute))

Georgetown University (Biochemistry)

Duke University (Biochemistry, Duke School of Medicine)

[Bioenchilada]

12 minutes ago, KR Marksmen said:

Is my list a little to top heavy? Am I competitive at all? I know that my GPA is a huge red flag being pretty low. However I worked 20 hours a week, did 15 hours a week of research and took 18-20 credits my last two years of undergrad so that I could finish before my scholarship ran out. Pretty much overloaded myself. However, I have done some pretty impressive research and took time off after undergrad to really situate myself and also to let the work I do in the lab speak for itself. All of my recommenders say I'm there top or top 3 student researcher they have had (and each has been in research over 20 years so it's a big sample size) Hoping my GRE and LOR's out weigh my GPA. Wondering if I should add any schools to my list? I'm interested in cancer and metabolism and want to do a PhD in Biochemistry.

Undergrad Institution: Small State School, East
Major(s): Biology
Minor(s): NA
GPA in Major: 3.1
Overall GPA: 3.3
Position in Class: 
Type of Student: Domestic, male, urm

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

Research Experience:

1 summer-Johns Hopkins SURE, 1 Year Johns Hopkins SOM Research on penile nerve degeneration after radical prostatectomy, 1.5 years research at home institution developing a triple transgenic mouse model of prostate cancer (western blots, southern blots, PCR, mouse husbandry/surgery), 1 summer developing an in vitro assay for detecting O-GlcNAc modified proteins (expressed and purified GST tagged proteins, mass spec)->one publication from this (4th author, mid tier journal), 1 year of research using CRISPR/Cas9 in P. falciparum to generate an inducible knockdown of a protein (gibson assembly, PCR, plasmid expression and purification, CRISPR/Cas9, Western blot), 2 years of using CRISPR/Cas9 to make an inducible knockdown protein and full gene deletion in C. elegans and proteomics using newly made strains (Western blot, PCR, Gibson assembly, Protein expression and purification, C. elegans injection, mass spec)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: School Honors Program and MARC Scholar. Partial tuition scholarship, INRO scholar

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutored Organic Chemistry 1 for a semester, Communications Chair in undergraduate Leadership organization, 1 publication doing scientific coverage for a conference. Worked a part time job 20 hours a week for last two years of undergrad as a gameroom manager.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

I have 150 hours volunteering in a cancer center with kids, and 100 hours of general community service at homeless shelters and with underserved inner city children doing STEM outreach

Special Bonus Points: My current PI is really well known in my field. I'm mainly applying to places with labs that do similar studies (metabolism, cancer, ptm's)

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I will have a 3 year gap since graduating undergrad where I have been doing full time research when summer 2017 comes

Applying to Where:

University of Pennsylvania (BGS/Biochemistry and Biophysics) Washu in St Louis (DBBS, Biochemistry)

University of California, Berkeley (Molecular and Cell Biology)

University of Chicago(Molecular Biosciences (Biochemistry)

Georgetown University (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology PhD Program)

University of Virginia (Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics PhD )

Arizona State University (Biochemistry/Biological Design PhD)

University of Arizona (Biochemistry PhD Program) (Biomedical Sciences (Cancer Biology))

Stanford (Biochemistry)

University of California, San Francisco (Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program)

University of California, San Diego (Biology (Salk Institute))

Georgetown University (Biochemistry)

Duke University (Biochemistry, Duke School of Medicine)

I think you have to cut down your list to 7-8 but, besides that, your list seems pretty balanced. Your GPA is not dangerously low, so I feel that your GRE and LORs will compensate for it. Just make sure you have a great SOP in your package as well  

[VoidInColor]

On 11/5/2016 at 7:02 PM, VoidInColor said:

Undergrad Institution: Large, generic state school, not particularly highly ranked

Major(s): Biology, Biomedical Science

Minor(s): None

GPA in Major: 3.87 Biomed, 4.0 Bio

Overall GPA: 3.9

Position in Class: Not given

Type of Student: Domestic white female

GRE Scores (revised/old version):

Q: 160 (76%)

V: 164 (94%)

W: 4.0 (59%)

B: Not taking

 

I’m retaking the GRE in about 2 weeks, which should bring my quant up. Writing I have no idea, standardized test scorers have never liked my writing even when I was in elementary school. Comp and lit were fine, but I just can’t figure out standardized tests.

 

Research Experience: Not much consistent research. Two summers working on two “mini” projects each, one bacterial and the other cell/tissue oriented. They kind of need explaining, which I intend to do in the SOP. Two semesters in a neurology lab doing intracellular motility, and I’ll have a third before I graduate. I’m working on an honors thesis in that lab. 

 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Requisite dean’s list mention, National merit scholar, full ride from the state for being a national merit scholar, an “academic excellence award”

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: President of my university’s student branch of the American Society for Microbiology. A summer internship in a hospital microbiology laboratory.

 

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: So my academic history is kind of complicated. I graduated HS with my AA at the same time, so I’m finishing my dual major in three years. So I’ve been in college full time for 5 years but only 3 years post-HS, which has limited the time I had for research (especially since no one at my uni will take any students until they’ve taken the basic core major requirements).

I did do a study abroad, and at a top 20 world university, if that ranking makes any difference. It’s also a university that’s known for the field I’m interested in, which is why I wanted to go there in the first place. I haven’t seen anyone mention this yet since everyone seems to be in molec bio/micro but I’m certified to work with laboratory animals already and have a lot of experience down in our vivarium.

 

Special Bonus Points: Does being female still count? I don’t think so…

 

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: More transcript weirdness. The only non-A’s I have are three B+ from my study abroad semester and a B+ from the semester right after in a film analysis class I had to take as part of my university honors requirements. I don’t know what that says about me to the adcom.

 

Applying to Where: This is a strange spread, but bear with me, I’m interested in parasitology and this is where it is. Mostly infectious disease/immunology and veterinary biomed/pathology programs.

 

Emory University

Cornell University

University of Pennsylvania

University of Georgia

Texas A&M University

University of California-Davis

Tufts University

University of Florida

Louisiana State University

Oklahoma State University

Baylor College of Medicine

Royal Veterinary College: This is actually a public health/infectious disease masters I’m applying to as part of a Fulbright application.

 

The thing I’m worried about most is my lack of research experience, and that my academics make it look like I’m someone that does nothing but study all day. In reality, I’m just good at school and very, very bad at talking to professors about things that affect my future, which makes interviewing a very daunting prospect. Any comments/advice would be appreciated. And sorry if this got too rambley, I tend to type in a very stream-of-consciousness kind of way and I have a lot of thoughts about this

 

Just adding some updates. As far as the GRE goes, the unofficial scores (because they haven't scored writing yet) are V: 170 (99%) and Q: 159 (73%). A bit disappointed I couldn't get my quant up higher, but my composite went from 324 to 329, so a net improvement I guess. As far as research goes, I'm doing a lot of data analysis right now so my name's going to be on the poster some of the grad students in the lab are presenting at ASCB in December. I'm not going, because undergrad and finals week.

 

[Bioenchilada]

16 minutes ago, VoidInColor said:

Just adding some updates. As far as the GRE goes, the unofficial scores (because they haven't scored writing yet) are V: 170 (99%) and Q: 159 (73%). A bit disappointed I couldn't get my quant up higher, but my composite went from 324 to 329, so a net improvement I guess. As far as research goes, I'm doing a lot of data analysis right now so my name's going to be on the poster some of the grad students in the lab are presenting at ASCB in December. I'm not going, because undergrad and finals week.

 

I think your GRE was more than fine the first time. If you get rejected, the GRE not be the reason. Has your list of school changed? What would you say are your top 3?

[VoidInColor]

The list hasn't changed. Obviously the Fulbright at RVC would be brilliant, but I'd say my top are UPenn, Emory, and UGA for PhD programs.

[hopefulgradstudent999]

So I was just wondering what anyone may think about my chances this application cycle of getting interviews/admits. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated!

Undergrad Institution: Top 40 Liberal Arts school, known for science & engineering 
Major(s):Biochemistry
Minor(s):
GPA in Major:N/A
Overall GPA: 3.271
Position in Class: not calculated by my school
Type of Student: Domestic male, First-gen college student

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 154 (55%)
V:159 (81%)
W: 4.5 (79%)
B:


Research Experience: 1.5 years in undergrad lab doing protein characterization work. Put together a senior thesis project over the final year and presented it at a national conference.

Worked at a startup gene therapy company in Cambridge, MA developing a recombinant viral biotherapy system. (6 months, no pubs but lots of research heavy work)

Worked at a R&D hub in Boston generating mammalian cell lines for downstream manufacturing. Very immunology heavy and lots of assay development work. (1 year)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's list junior year, Reserch honor society, National conference poster presentation

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Chem and bio club member for last 2 years

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: 1st person in family to attend college. Both parents are military veterans.


Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Transferred from State school after freshman year?

[DGD4L]

On 11/16/2016 at 2:32 PM, Bioenchilada said:

I don't think that not publishing GREs is equivalent to a school not caring. Most schools just dont do this lol 

I'm certain that schools like Yale and Harvard have GREs around the same as UPenn, especially considering how much they care about numbers for undergrad. I do agree with you and @blc073 with regards to the GPA and research experience. I think that your main problem, @DGD4L, will be your GRE since it's just too low. As the other people have pointed out, adding more backup schools might be beneficial. Not saying you definitely don't have a chance in the schools you applied to though lol 

(I'm pretty sure that @blc073 has brought it up, but using Cornell's guidelines can be helpful. Typically, a score beneath a combined 308-310 is bad news.) 

Thanks for the feedback guys, I appreciate it! 

As for my GRE scores, I'm just not a standardized test taker. I studied a little for it and I just think retaking it at this point will be a hassle for a marginally better score. I took some practice exams and did worse than my actual exam! I'm not sure why I can't perform on those types of tests. 

I've talked to a few professors (ones that have served on admission comittees) and they said it definitely isn't my best perk in my application, but they don't think it will hinder me by much seeing as how most people don't think the test score carries much weight.

 

 

[Neuro15]

Just to add to the "not posting GREs equates to not caring" conversation, yeah that's definitely not the case. I was at SFN this past week and went to the grad fair. The Yale professor there (from BBS) told me that they want above 80 percentile across the board. 

Edited November 18, 2016 by Neuro15

[VirologyPhDinTraining]

Your GPA and GRE are too low for a lot of your list. Especially your quant score. The lowish GPA and low Q score will be major red flags. If you are married to these programs I would suggest getting a masters degree first. This would give you time to retake the GRE, get a couple pubs, and show you can cut it in grad school. If not, I would consider some 'middle' tier programs. 

[Bioenchilada]

12 hours ago, VirologyPhDinTraining said:

 

Your GPA and GRE are too low for a lot of your list. Especially your quant score. The lowish GPA and low Q score will be major red flags. If you are married to these programs I would suggest getting a masters degree first. This would give you time to retake the GRE, get a couple pubs, and show you can cut it in grad school. If not, I would consider some 'middle' tier programs. 

I honestly think that this person covered their based with the schools they intend to apply to. Their GPA is not bad enough to warrant a 50k+ investment on a Master's, and they seem to have good research experience. 

Edited November 18, 2016 by Bioenchilada

[VirologyPhDinTraining]

6 hours ago, Bioenchilada said:

I honestly think that this person covered their based with the schools they intend to apply to. Their GPA is not bad enough to warrant a 50k+ investment on a Master's, and they seem to have good research experience. 

I mean, if you think so, but they don't have any first author pubs. Being in research for 3 years without a first author pub isn't what I would call good research experience. It's a lot better than nothing, but top programs, when you have deficiencies in your packet, want proof that you will both be committed and productive. They have shown the former, but not the latter. As I said, if I were them, I would cut a few of the top schools and would add a few middle tier institutions, especially if they want to do a PhD asap. Also I would still suggest retaking the GRE, a low quant score is a massive red flag for viro/immune programs.

As for your comment about 50k+ on a masters? I have a masters and spent 0 for it. The only people I know who paid for masters were pre-meds who want to pad their GPA. Funded MS programs definitely exist, and can make an okay candidate into a top candidate.

[Bioenchilada]

14 minutes ago, VirologyPhDinTraining said:

I mean, if you think so, but they don't have any first author pubs. Being in research for 3 years without a first author pub isn't what I would call good research experience. It's a lot better than nothing, but top programs, when you have deficiencies in your packet, want proof that you will both be committed and productive. They have shown the former, but not the latter. As I said, if I were them, I would cut a few of the top schools and would add a few middle tier institutions, especially if they want to do a PhD asap. Also I would still suggest retaking the GRE, a low quant score is a massive red flag for viro/immune programs.

As for your comment about 50k+ on a masters? I have a masters and spent 0 for it. The only people I know who paid for masters were pre-meds who want to pad their GPA. Funded MS programs definitely exist, and can make an okay candidate into a top candidate.

Lol do you honestly think that most people at top schools have first author pubs? I think rec letters are enough proof of a candidate being committed and productive.