Microbiology PhD chances

[kinseyd]

Hey all, so I know it's hard to quantify an application because it really changes from program to program based on your "fit", but I was wondering if my application seems promising upon quick glance? I am finding some conflicting info on the selectivity of the programs I applied to and am hoping that I seem like a promising candidate. I had some health issues sophomore year and had to drop an elective class one trimester (still finished that trimester on the Dean's List, though) and I know my quantitative GRE score is quite average, but I'm hoping the amount of research experience and strong LORs can rectify these deficiencies. I know it's probably neurotic of me to be asking at all, I just can't help but worry after spending an untold amount of time perusing this site and worrying about my app. 

Here's my run-down:

Undergrad Institution: Knox College 
Major(s):  Biology
Minor(s):  Spanish, Art History, Chemistry (unofficial, but have enough chem credits for one)
GPA in Major:  3.7

Overall GPA:  3.65 (both GPAs would be higher, had severe health problems sophomore year but still did well)
Position in Class: Guessing top 10%, my school doesn't use class positions though
Type of Student: First-generation white female

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 154 (I am worried this is too low, but I don't think QGRE scores are the most important aspect of an app.)
V:  162
W:  5.5
B:  N/A

Research Experience:

The entire summer of 2015 I worked in the Axtell lab at Penn State in plant molecular biology with a focus on the diversity of small RNAs, with a term of independent study to prepare beforehand. I was not specifically interested in plant research, I found the experience with molecular-based methods to be quite useful. Furthermore, this year (2016-2017), I am undergoing independent Honors senior research regarding bacterial CRISPR loci diversity in natural soil populations using culture-independent methods. My advisor (the same one that supervised my Penn State REU is supervising my honors thesis, he is also writing me a LOR) and I plan to publish my work if things continue to progress well. So, I will have around ~1.5 years of research experience by the time I graduate, ranging from molecular to microbiology to bioinformatics based tools.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

•  S-STEM Scholar: Received through 2014-2017, the C.O.A.S.T. program (Creating Opportunities and Access in Science and Technology) is an NSF-funded scholarship program at Knox College which gives up to $10,000 annually to six first generation or low-income college students interested in the sciences. The program additionally provides extra mentoring and opportunities to attend science lectures. 
• Dean's List for over 2 years
• Honors society member

Pertinent Activities or Jobs

• Bio lab TA for over a year.
• Art History tutor
• "Success tutor" to incoming first-gen undergrads

Special Bonus Points: 

1 LOR from my Honors and REU supervisor which I believe is strong (he seems well known in the molecular field and got his PhD from MIT), another from my formal advisor who is in charge of the NSF scholarship program I'm in, as well as a really strong LOR from my art history professor who knows me very well personally. 

Applying to Where: 

1. University of MN - Twin Cities (this is my top choice based on research interests and for financial reasons)
2. University of Iowa
3. University of Colorado - Denver
4. Loyola University
5. University of WI-Madison (this is my reach school and not expecting to get in)

[VirologyPhDinTraining]

The only thing that I would have advised against is having an art professor give you a LoR. Admission committees are most concerned about your ability to be a researcher, and an art professor may not be able to speak to that. Other than that I think your chances of getting interviews is good.

Edited December 4, 2016 by VirologyPhDinTraining

[kinseyd]

10 minutes ago, VirologyPhDinTraining said:

The only thing that I would have advised against is having an art professor give you a LoR. Admission committees are most concerned about your ability to be a researcher, and an art professor may not be able to speak to that. Other than that I think your chances of getting interviews is good.

Yeah, I was concerned about that, too. But the only real LOR regarding my research experience I got get was from my Honors/REU advisor and my academic advisor, and I am not really close with the other biology faculty at my school since they are mostly ecology/evolutionary biologists. I figured my art history prof knows me the best on a personal level and can attest to my work ethic (since he was a professor I had when I was ill sophomore year) and I've done well in all his classes. The other choice would be my previous orgo prof, but I found that class to be insanely hard and she didn't like me very much. 

Thanks a lot for your input!  Do you know if U of MN is considered a competitive program? I can't find admission stats on their website. 

[VirologyPhDinTraining]

1 minute ago, kinseyd said:

Yeah, I was concerned about that, too. But the only real LOR regarding my research experience I got get was from my Honors/REU advisor and my academic advisor, and I am not really close with the other biology faculty at my school since they are mostly ecology/evolutionary biologists. I figured my art history prof knows me the best on a personal level and can attest to my work ethic (since he was a professor I had when I was ill sophomore year) and I've done well in all his classes. The other choice would be my previous orgo prof, but I found that class to be insanely hard and she didn't like me very much. 

Thanks a lot for your input!  Do you know if U of MN is considered a competitive program? I can't find admission stats on their website. 

It's competitive, but you are also a competitive candidate. But you might want to add a couple more schools, because it never hurts to have more options.

[kinseyd]

5 minutes ago, VirologyPhDinTraining said:

It's competitive, but you are also a competitive candidate. But you might want to add a couple more schools, because it never hurts to have more options.

Is 5 considered too few schools? I mainly applied to schools in the midwest due to family reasons and affordability (I was considering U of Chicago in addition to Loyola but my undergrad is in Illinois and don't wish to spend the next 5+ years there ) and I avoided the Ivy leagues due to the fact I don't believe my app is competitive enough in the amount of research experience I have. 

[VirologyPhDinTraining]

1 minute ago, kinseyd said:

Is 5 considered too few schools? I mainly applied to schools in the midwest due to family reasons and affordability (I was considering U of Chicago in addition to Loyola but my undergrad is in Illinois and don't wish to spend the next 5+ years there ) and I avoided the Ivy leagues due to the fact I don't believe my app is competitive enough in the amount of research experience I have. 

It's definitely hard to make a long move (I moved from midwest to the southwest), but, there are definitely some good programs in the south and southwest that support their students well, that are good programs, and you'd be a very good candidate for.

[kinseyd]

2 minutes ago, VirologyPhDinTraining said:

It's definitely hard to make a long move (I moved from midwest to the southwest), but, there are definitely some good programs in the south and southwest that support their students well, that are good programs, and you'd be a very good candidate for.

Yes, and definitely it would be difficult to adjust to the climate of the south compared to Minnesota haha. I will continue to take a look at some other programs. I really appreciate your input, it helped assuage some of my worries for the time being. 

[VirologyPhDinTraining]

Just now, kinseyd said:

Yes, and definitely it would be difficult to adjust to the climate of the south compared to Minnesota haha. I will continue to take a look at some other programs. I really appreciate your input, it helped assuage some of my worries for the time being. 

No problem, it's part of the process. Your worries will be more assuaged when you start getting emails from programs inviting you to interview.

[kinseyd]

Just now, VirologyPhDinTraining said:

No problem, it's part of the process. Your worries will be more assuaged when you start getting emails from programs inviting you to interview.

True, I will be checking my email constantly for the next few weeks, it seems. I see that you're already attending a program, how rigorous were your interviews? I'm usually very good with them and I love talking about research but it's hard not to be super nervous about everything.

[blc073]

I received an invitation to interview at UMN-TC on 12/10/15 during the work day. 

I received an invitation to interview at UC-Denver on 12/21/15 during the work day. 

These programs typically have very small incoming classes each year, so if you get an interview, remember that you are fighting for one of five or so spots. 

[biochemgirl67]

Having moved from the Midwest to the South, it's not as much of an adjustment as you would think.  I really like it.  The weather's a good shift and it's similar in terms of the people and the overall feel.  I would recommend looking into Southern schools if you want to expand your list.  You could also apply to Purdue as it has a fairly good reputation in microbiology.

[Bioenchilada]

I think your numbers are good, but I agree with the people above with respect to adding more schools and the utility of the art professor's LOR. Though I think you should at least get 1 interview, I think that you really don't have a lot of research experience-- a summer of full time and 4 months of part time prior to submitting your apps. Nevertheless, as I said above, you should be fine with the schools you applied to as long as you wrote a good SOP. 

[kinseyd]

2 hours ago, Bioenchilada said:

I think your numbers are good, but I agree with the people above with respect to adding more schools and the utility of the art professor's LOR. Though I think you should at least get 1 interview, I think that you really don't have a lot of research experience-- a summer of full time and 4 months of part time prior to submitting your apps. Nevertheless, as I said above, you should be fine with the schools you applied to as long as you wrote a good SOP. 

Thanks for your input! I forgot to mention, I'm on trimesters currently so we are on winter break from Thanksgiving to New Years (great, I know!) so it is really hard to get in contact with my recommenders. Especially since 2 out the 3 are hard to reach under normal circumstances, anyway, let alone on a deadline. So I feel kind of shut out from applying to more programs at the moment. Do you think, if I don't get accepted anywhere, applying for a PREP post-bacc program would be most influential in making my application stronger? This would add another year of research experience. 

[VirologyPhDinTraining]

28 minutes ago, kinseyd said:

Thanks for your input! I forgot to mention, I'm on trimesters currently so we are on winter break from Thanksgiving to New Years (great, I know!) so it is really hard to get in contact with my recommenders. Especially since 2 out the 3 are hard to reach under normal circumstances, anyway, let alone on a deadline. So I feel kind of shut out from applying to more programs at the moment. Do you think, if I don't get accepted anywhere, applying for a PREP post-bacc program would be most influential in making my application stronger? This would add another year of research experience. 

 

If you don't get into a program doing a post-bacc is always a good idea. It definitely will help you get a third strong recommendation, research experience and maybe even a pub or two. Those are always great things to have. 

[kinseyd]

28 minutes ago, VirologyPhDinTraining said:

 

If you don't get into a program doing a post-bacc is always a good idea. It definitely will help you get a third strong recommendation, research experience and maybe even a pub or two. Those are always great things to have. 

Yes, I've been looking into some today and it definitely seems a plausible option if I'm not admitted to a program. There's even one at the Mayo clinic focusing on immunology/virology which would be great. Glad to know there's another option if I'm rejected. 

[Bioenchilada]

1 hour ago, kinseyd said:

Thanks for your input! I forgot to mention, I'm on trimesters currently so we are on winter break from Thanksgiving to New Years (great, I know!) so it is really hard to get in contact with my recommenders. Especially since 2 out the 3 are hard to reach under normal circumstances, anyway, let alone on a deadline. So I feel kind of shut out from applying to more programs at the moment. Do you think, if I don't get accepted anywhere, applying for a PREP post-bacc program would be most influential in making my application stronger? This would add another year of research experience. 

I definitely think a PREP program will help you out a lot, if you don't get in. An NIH job would also work! You have to keep in mind that a lot of PREP programs are for underrepresented minorities though

Edit: Actually, I think all the PREP programs through the NIH are for minorities.

Edited December 5, 2016 by Bioenchilada

[kinseyd]

12 minutes ago, Bioenchilada said:

I definitely think a PREP program will help you out a lot, if you don't get in. An NIH job would also work! You have to keep in mind that a lot of PREP programs are for underrepresented minorities though

Edit: Actually, I think all the PREP programs through the NIH are for minorities.

I'm a first-generation college student so I think that means I'm eligible to apply, at least at the ones I've quickly glanced at (Mayo, Baylor, U of Iowa). It's nice to have a back-up if things don't work out  Though, I assume PREP programs are pretty competitive as well since there are so few spots. Maybe I need a plan C, in addition. 

[cmykrgb]

23 minutes ago, kinseyd said:

I'm a first-generation college student so I think that means I'm eligible to apply, at least at the ones I've quickly glanced at (Mayo, Baylor, U of Iowa). It's nice to have a back-up if things don't work out  Though, I assume PREP programs are pretty competitive as well since there are so few spots. Maybe I need a plan C, in addition. 

I think you probably won't end up needing all the plan B and C's but other things you can do is find a research tech job, which is what I have been doing to boost my chance. I will find out how that works out for me in the spring next year.