Profile Evaluation

[gene280]

Hi guys, I am contemplating doing a PhD but I am very concerned about my profile. If you could please tell me if I have a shot at the top 20 colleges in the US and how to strengthen my profile.

Undergrad Institution: Delhi University (india)
Major(s): Biocehmistry
Minor(s): None

GPA in Major: Percentage system, 63%
Overall GPA:
Position in Class:Average

 

Masters: State university (comes undeer JNU)

Major: Biotechnology

Minor: None

Percentage:73%

Type of Student: Imternational female

GRE Scores (revised/old version): 312/340
Q: 159
V: 154
W: 4
B: NA
My GRE expired. Will be retaking

TOEFL Total: 108/120 . expired, needs retake
Research Experience: 

1 year- “APOA1 gene polymorphism in patients with Coronary Artery Disease” under the Guidance of Dr Arvind Kumar Bhatt and Prof. PC Negi, Deptt. of Cardiology, IGMC, Shimla

 

1 month- Worked as a Biotech Consortium India Limited sponsored winter trainee with Aristogene Biosciences), Bangalore on “Detecting Alu inserts in humans’ with the objective to ascertain the presence of Alu inserts at PV 92 loci in normal population under the supervision of Dr. Vasundhra B (Director)

 

1 month-Worked as a Researcher at St John’s Hospital, Bangalore, India assisting Genetic Counselor Dr. Preetha for 8 hrs a day for one month.

 

1 year- worked on “Studying drosophila genetics”  under the supervision of Dr. Sunita Joshi (University of Delhi)  and the work included Growing and maintaining Drosophila stocks, Characterizing various prevalent mutants, polytene chromosome, Isolating salivary glands  and Separation of wild eyed and Mutant pigments using Thin Layer Chromatography.

 

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

Ø   Qualified Combined Biotechnology Entrance Examination (CEEB)-2012 conducted by Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi on behalf of Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India, New Delhi in 2012,

 

Ø   Qualified UGC-NET-2013 conducted by the University Grants Commission (UGC), MHRD, GOI, New Delhi.

 

Ø   Qualified All India Level Entrance Test “Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering - GATE”- 2014 

 

Ø   Qualified  JGEEBILS-2013

 

Ø   Awarded Best Speaker for presentation on "Gene Therapy" in Biochemistry Fest 2011

 

Ø   Awarded 2nd prize in debate on "Should animal testing be allowed for scientific research?" in an inter-college competition involving 20 participants from 10 colleges

 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Currently working with Teach for India ( part of Teach to lead) as a fellow, teaching unprivileged kids.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: 2 strong recos, one from research one from teaching, 1 medium, 
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:was a professional dancer during college.


Applying to Where:

Not yet decided.

Research interest : Genetics

Session:    Fall: 2017

 1

 

Edited April 19, 2016 by gene280

[Mnera]

The best way to estimate your chances would be to look into past graduates from your school and which schools they were admitted into.

I think name recognition is an important aspect when evaluating international applicants. You might have a better chance at a very good graduate program that knows about your school rather than a relatively worse graduate program that doesn't now about your school.

Basically if a graduate program has admitted a student from your school in the past, it is usually a good idea to apply there. Of course you should still apply to other schools.

Edited April 22, 2016 by Mnera

[eternallyephemeral]

Hi! I don't know too much about applying internationally (although I did apply to a lot of top US schools from Canada), but from what I've seen/heard/experienced, it's extremely difficult to get into top schools in the US as an international student, unless you are at the very, very top of your class and unless you stand out enormously.

You've done a lot of great research, which is excellent, but your GPA and your GRE scores (esp. writing, and maybe math) are on the low side. I would definitely practice your argument writing, get some books or read some examples of essays online, and practice a bunch.

However, that doesn't mean you should give up! The top 20 schools are great, but there are many other schools where you could do good work. I would look into all schools that do the kind of research you're interested in across the US, with a specific emphasis on private, not public schools. This is because of the funding situation. Students from the US are much cheaper to support for public schools, but there is no distinction like this for private schools. If I could go back and change one thing about my application process, I would not have applied to public schools in the US as an international applicant. Many, many people advised me against it afterwards, but I didn't realize just how low my chances were at the time. So I advise you not to waste your money on those. However, there are lots and lots of private schools.

I'm sure your TOEFL score is fine, but I would do what you can to work on your vocabulary and sentence structure to really do well in the GRE. You can PM me and I can tell you more about GRE studying and what I recommend.

Good luck!

[gene280]

Hey. Thanks a lot for your reply. I never considered this private school vs public school thing.

I will PM you!!!

Definitely looking to retake GRE. Can't do much about the GP though. Do you think taking some supplementary courses or something would help?