Reapplication?

[Biology_94]

Hello, everyone !

I graduated from university with my Bachelor's Degree in Biotechnology. My GPA was a 3.91, and my GRE  score was 308 with 3.0 in awa section;IELTS:6.5. I have great recommendations and have completed 3 research internships Here is the thing, I applied to 10 PhD programs last year, only interviewed at one, and was not given a spot at any of them. Which leads me to the next question, what did I do wrong? should I just stop applying and apply for my masters first? I don't want to disappoint anyone again with another round of rejections. Please tell me what to do nexttttt !!!! Thanks !

 

 

[rising_star]

How did you research fit into the schools and labs you applied to? How well did you explain this fit in your SOP? That's a huge factor in admissions decisions and one that isn't apparent from your test scores.

[ShogunT]

I would give additional comments.

Looking into your brief profile introduction, I would suggest that you consider retaking the GRE if you want higher chance getting into more interviews. In general, high-ranked schools use GRE to cut off the pool of candidates.

Plus, if your research internships are all relevant to your applications, then I don't think it would be a problem applying directly to PhD. However, if you are not sure what you want to do / your research topics, then working through a warming up PhD study, i.e. Master's, can be helpful. But funding for Master's is much less promising.

Instead of thinking about going to do a Master's as a warm up, you may want to consider working voluntarily in a research lab and get a publication or two, which will strengthen your application.

Edited May 15, 2016 by ShogunT

[CreamyDog69]

What kind of PhD programs did you apply to? What is the breakdown of your GRE score? Either way, it's likely too low for many competitive programs. 

[Biology_94]

On 5/16/2016 at 7:21 PM, Ignis said:

What kind of PhD programs did you apply to? What is the breakdown of your GRE score? Either way, it's likely too low for many competitive programs. 

I applied for molecular and cell biology programs; Verbal :149; quants: 159

[CreamyDog69]

On 5/19/2016 at 8:15 AM, Biology_94 said:

I applied for molecular and cell biology programs; Verbal :149; quants: 159

Can I ask which 10 programs you applied for?

[Biology_94]

15 hours ago, Ignis said:

Can I ask which 10 programs you applied for?

1. Carnegie Mellon PhD Biological sciences 2. Iowa state Universtiy (BBMB) 3. University of Rochester (biology) 5. University of Houston (Biology) 6. University of SOuth carolina( Biologicalsciences ) 7. University of North Carolina Charlotte (Biplogy) 8. University of COlorado Denver( Molecularand cell biology) 9. Northeastern univresity 10. Rennse. Polytechnic 11. University of Utah.

[CreamyDog69]

I would say the most important order of business is doing better on the GRE then. Also spend a lot of time on your personal statement, but I don't see a reason to do a master's when you'd be perfectly competitive for PhD programs with better GRE scores. I'd say aim for 70% below-ish minimum. I used Magoosh to study and I thought it was fantastic. 

[Biology_94]

On 5/22/2016 at 8:27 PM, Ignis said:

I would say the most important order of business is doing better on the GRE then. Also spend a lot of time on your personal statement, but I don't see a reason to do a master's when you'd be perfectly competitive for PhD programs with better GRE scores. I'd say aim for 70% below-ish minimum. I used Magoosh to study and I thought it was fantastic. 

SUre ! i will think about it

[Biology_94]

On 5/22/2016 at 8:27 PM, Ignis said:

I would say the most important order of business is doing better on the GRE then. Also spend a lot of time on your personal statement, but I don't see a reason to do a master's when you'd be perfectly competitive for PhD programs with better GRE scores. I'd say aim for 70% below-ish minimum. I used Magoosh to study and I thought it was fantastic. 

Sure ! I will about it I want to know how you performed in awa?

[CreamyDog69]

1 hour ago, Biology_94 said:

Sure ! I will about it I want to know how you performed in awa?

Sure thing. I scored 166/161/5.5  V/Q/AWA, but I don't think the AWA actually matters. I have several friends going to top 5 schools with AWA scores at 3.5-4.5