Should I be confident in my chances?

[Jbunker91]

Hi everyone,

I graduated at the end of 2013 with a BS in molecular biology and a 3.76 GPA. My transcript shows a lot of improvement over my 4 years as well, as I had a lot of B's in my first two years, but maintained straight A's for my junior and senior years when I began to focus more on taking more upper level biology and chemistry courses.

That's the good news, the bad news is I was pretty naïve when I was in college, I falsely assumed that as long as I focused on earning a good GPA I'll have endless potential. I didn't do any undergraduate research, and I didn't get involved with extracurricular activities. I thought I wanted to go to medical school and I took the MCAT and did pretty well on it (35) but before I was going to apply in the fall of 2013 I decided that it wasn't what I wanted to do. I spent the next years being extremely indecisive bouncing between wanting to go to pharmacy school or getting into research. In that time I tried to get a job as a research tech, but all I could get was a job as a lab services technician in a research lab where I'm responsible for washing glassware, disposing of biohazard waste, and stocking lab supplies. I've been there for almost 2.5 years now. I grew complacent and let a lot of time go to waste but I've decided I want to purse a career in molecular biology research.

So...

I have a 3.76  GPA but it's from 3 years ago, I have a lot of lab experience but no undergraduate research experience, I am confident I can get good letters of recommendation because I was a standout student in most of my biology and chemistry courses, I have not taken the GREs yet but based on my performance on practice tests I expect to score around the 90th percentile on all of the sections. I certainly have some things going for me, but I am greatly concerned about the 3 year gap and my lack of relevant research experience.

I'm planning to apply to a masters program at Umass Boston. I recently looked at the stats, and I found that around 20% of applicants for the biology masters program were accepted. Are my chances of getting accepted high, or should I be concerned? (This is assuming that I perform very well on the GRE) If I should be concerned, what else should I do? I would be willing to apply to other schools, but that's my most convenient option.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Edited May 27, 2016 by Jbunker91

[kimmibeans]

I don't think you need that much research experience for a Master's program, so I think you will be okay for getting into a Master's program, but I don't know about UMass Boston specifically (mostly because I know nothing about this school). Diversify your application and apply to a few more schools, and I think you may stand a chance. Also, when looking at stats it is more important to look at what type of applicants the accept rather than how many. They should have the class profile or FAQ with relevant information up on their website, so I recommend taking a look at that seeing what the average GPA is and how many of their accepted applicants have sustained research experience. That will give you a much better estimation of your chances than acceptance rates alone.

Edited To Add:

So I looked at the UMass Biology MS requirements, and it sounds like they don't expect you to have any research experience, just a really strong academic background. You can also contact the department and ask for the information I mentioned.

Edited May 27, 2016 by kimmibeans

[Jbunker91]

Thanks for the responses guys.

Anyways, I took the GRE and applied for the MS program for biology at Umass boston, and at URI and UConn as well, with:

GPA: 3.76

GRE Scores

Q: 164
V: 164
W: 5

I'm still waiting to hear back from Umass Boston and UConn. I got an email from URI from the graduate coordinator saying they were impressed with my application and wanted to know if I was still interested and that I should schedule a time to visit the campus to see the labs and meet some faculty. Does this mean I'm likely to get accepted there and should I treat this as an unofficial interview?
 

[MoreInformation]

Your research experience and recommendations are significantly more important than your GPA or your GRE scores. 

[Lycaon pictus]

10 hours ago, Jbunker91 said:

Thanks for the responses guys.

Anyways, I took the GRE and applied for the MS program for biology at Umass boston, and at URI and UConn as well, with:

GPA: 3.76

GRE Scores

Q: 164
V: 164
W: 5

I'm still waiting to hear back from Umass Boston and UConn. I got an email from URI from the graduate coordinator saying they were impressed with my application and wanted to know if I was still interested and that I should schedule a time to visit the campus to see the labs and meet some faculty. Does this mean I'm likely to get accepted there and should I treat this as an unofficial interview?
 

Sounds like a good sign to me! I wouldn't count my chickens before they hatch, but definitely put your best foot forward when you go (yes, it's an interview!).

Research experience and recommendations are more important than GRE and GPA, but I still think your application could be competitive for MS positions with your 2.5 years of tech experience--especially if you spun it correctly on your CV/applications. It looks like one school is interested already! They literally said they were impressed with your application!