2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

[ScribblyDoodle]

Undergrad Institution: Integrated Bachelors-Masters degree from VIT University (Top 20 school in India)
Major(s): Biotechnology
Minor(s):
GPA in Major:
Overall GPA: 9.2/10.0, on a 4.0 scale I think it'd be something like 3.7
Position in Class: Top 5
Type of Student: Domestic (but lived past 15 years in India), female, South Asian

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 168 (94th percentile)
V: 168 (98th percentile)
W: 5.5 (98th percentile)
B: just took, waiting for scores

TOEFL Total: 117/120

Research Experience: I worked in a lab for several months on anti-tumorigenic properties of novel synthetic compounds, but it didn't lead to any publications, my supervisor left the University a few months later and I am unable to get in touch with her for an LoR, so sticky situation here. :/

I did a two-month summer research fellowship at IIT-Madras (one of the best academic institutes in the country) and followed it up with a year's work in the same lab (ongoing) on microRNAs. The work is leading upto a second/third author paper.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Merit certificates for 90th percentile performance every year, 21st of just 100 candidates to qualify for a prestigious national-level Junior Research Fellowship (which opens up a majority of PhD opportunities in the life sciences across India).

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: My current position in the aforementioned lab is Research Associate. I also had a one-year stint (freelance part time during college) at Cactus Communications (Editage) as a scientific editor, revising manuscripts in molecular biology and pharmacology to make them publication-ready.

Special Bonus Points: My PI is very famous in India, and has connections with professors at MD Anderson, which I hope will help.

Applying to Where:

UPenn - Cancer and Molecular Biology Program
UMinnesota - Molecular, Immunology and Cancer Biology Program (this is a smaller program than the Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology and Genetics program, but the latter doesn't have many faculty with whom I would be a good fit (microRNAs, cancer, drug resistance, EMT). I've prepared for applying to both but I'm going to go with one of them ultimately and I'd love some advice on how to make the decision.)
Baylor College of Medicine - Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas - Cancer Biology
MD Anderson at UT Health Science Center Houston - Cancer Biology
University of Southern California - PIBBS Cancer Biology and Genomics/Keck School

I am aware that some papers/conferences from another year of experience would help my profile, and I may have to do that in the end. But there are some important reasons that applying this year matters so I could really use advice on how smart my choice of schools is. Another thing I'd like an opinion on is the lack of LoR from my undergraduate lab supervisor - I've tried everything to get her to respond to me but it just isn't working, since she left our University she has pretty much iced me out. How badly will it affect my application to these schools? My other LoRs are from excellent faculty at my University and my current PI.

Finally, my profile in general is a little strange because of my topsy turvy personal life. I am a US citizen who has done all her schooling and UG education in India. What aspects of the above do you think adcomms might require a little explanation for?

Thanks a lot everyone! All the answers on here are super insightful.

 

Edited November 15, 2017 by MathiT

[hopefulgradstudent999]

1 hour ago, MathiT said:

Undergrad Institution: Integrated Bachelors-Masters degree from VIT University (Top 20 school in India)
Major(s): Biotechnology
Minor(s):
GPA in Major:
Overall GPA: 9.2/10.0, on a 4.0 scale I think it'd be something like 3.7
Position in Class: Top 5
Type of Student: Domestic (but lived past 15 years in India), female, South Asian

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 168 (94th percentile)
V: 168 (98th percentile)
W: 5.5 (98th percentile)
B: just took, waiting for scores

TOEFL Total: 117/120

Research Experience: I worked in a lab for several months on anti-tumorigenic properties of novel synthetic compounds, but it didn't lead to any publications, my supervisor left the University a few months later and I am unable to get in touch with her for an LoR, so sticky situation here. :/

I did a two-month summer research fellowship at IIT-Madras (one of the best academic institutes in the country) and followed it up with a year's work in the same lab (ongoing) on microRNAs. The work is leading upto a second/third author paper.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Merit certificates for 90th percentile performance every year, 21st of just 100 candidates to qualify for a prestigious national-level Junior Research Fellowship (which opens up a majority of PhD opportunities in the life sciences across India).

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: My current position in the aforementioned lab is Research Associate. I also had a one-year stint (freelance part time during college) at Cactus Communications (Editage) as a scientific editor, revising manuscripts in molecular biology and pharmacology to make them publication-ready.

Special Bonus Points: My PI is very famous in India, and has connections with professors at MD Anderson, which I hope will help.

Applying to Where:

UPenn - Cancer and Molecular Biology Program
UMinnesota - Molecular, Immunology and Cancer Biology Program (this is a smaller program than the Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology and Genetics program, but the latter doesn't have many faculty with whom I would be a good fit (microRNAs, cancer, drug resistance, EMT). I've prepared for applying to both but I'm going to go with one of them ultimately and I'd love some advice on how to make the decision.)
Baylor College of Medicine - Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas - Cancer Biology
MD Anderson at UT Health Science Center Houston - Cancer Biology
University of Southern California - PIBBS Cancer Biology and Genomics/Keck School

I am aware that some papers/conferences from another year of experience would help my profile, and I may have to do that in the end. But there are some important reasons that applying this year matters so I could really use advice on how smart my choice of schools is. Another thing I'd like an opinion on is the lack of LoR from my undergraduate lab supervisor - I've tried everything to get her to respond to me but it just isn't working, since she left our University she has pretty much iced me out. How badly will it affect my application to these schools? My other LoRs are from excellent faculty at my University and my current PI.

Finally, my profile in general is a little strange because of my topsy turvy personal life. I am a US citizen who has done all her schooling and UG education in India. What aspects of the above do you think adcomms might require a little explanation for?

Thanks a lot everyone! All the answers on here are super insightful.

 

With your stats I do not think you are going to have to do much explaining. I would even throw a few more top-10 programs onto that list assuming you have a strong match with the Pi's at said programs. 

[Bio-warrior]

5 hours ago, hirosh said:

Undergrad Institution: Tier-2 university in Japan.
Graduate Institution: Best school in Japan
Major(s): Mechanical Engineering
GPA(UG)-2.7/4.0(80-percentile), GPA(M)-4.0/4.0

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q:168/170
V:141/160
W:3.0/-
(I did not prepare at all, so I retry the GRE tmorrow.)
TOEFL Total: 99

Research Experience: (At your school or elsewhere? What field? How much time? Any publications (Mth author out of N?) or conference talks etc...)
I have 3 year research experience. undergraduate for single year and masters for 2 years. At master's course I executed 3 completely different research topics under different supervisors.
My publication as a first author are 1 journal publication that is currently under review and 4 conference papers (one of which is IEEE). 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: (Within your school or outside?)
Graduated with best research presentation award (undergrad).
Passed the qualifying exam at the highest score in the class(undegrad institution)
 
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Such as tutor, TA, SPS officer etc...)
Research assistant (RA) at Japanese version of NASA.

Special Bonus Points: (Such as connections, grad classes, famous recommenders, female or minority status etc...)
My current supervisers are really famous. 

Applying to Where: 

MIT - EECS
Stanford - Aerospace engineering
CMU - mechanical engineering
Duke - mechanical engineering
Univ. of Tokyo - EECS
Georgia Tech - aerospace engineering
Kyoto university - mechanical engieneering
UCSB - mechanical engineering
Keio university - mechanical engineering

My undegraduate GPA was low. Probably, I will be rejected by all American Universities. Fortunately, Japanese university's admission didn't care GPAs to my knowledge. I will  go for Ph.D.  in Japan, and wiil apply american university as a Post-Doc student again! 

Anybody who has really low GPA like me but has confidece about your research ability, applying Japanese university is one choice.  I think foreign student can relatively easily get the fund in Japan. 

Since you're applying to engineering programs (non-biomedical), you may want to refer to the "Applied Sciences & Mathematics" section of the forums as they can probably give you a much better outlook/feedback for your profile since many of us are applying to biological sciences programs and would not have the expertise necessary to answer many of your specific questions regarding your field. Here's a link: https://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/32-engineering/

Good luck!

Edited November 15, 2017 by Bio-warrior

[ScribblyDoodle]

11 hours ago, hopefulgradstudent999 said:

With your stats I do not think you are going to have to do much explaining. I would even throw a few more top-10 programs onto that list assuming you have a strong match with the Pi's at said programs. 

Hi,

Thanks for your feedback! That's really encouraging. How do you think I should play the lack of LoR from undergrad supervisor? To be fair my experience in her lab was limited - I could downplay or omit it. What do you think?

Edited November 16, 2017 by MathiT

[Bioenchilada]

7 hours ago, MathiT said:

Hi,

Thanks for your feedback! That's really encouraging. How do you think I should play the lack of LoR from undergrad supervisor? To be fair my experience in her lab was limited - I could downplay or omit it. What do you think?

I was not in great terms with one of my PIs back in undergrad and didn't ask them for a letter. I still wrote about the research that I did in their lab in my SOP. It won't be a thing unless you make it a thing, or unless you worked with them for a very long time and didn't get a letter. Even so, as long as you have great LORs, I doubt the adcom will care. 

[Mohamad]

Undergrad Institution: (Medical school in Egypt)
Major(s): medicine, biomedical sciences
Minor(s): 
GPA in Major: 
Overall GPA: 90.76% converted online --> 4.00
Position in Class: 2nd on class
Type of Student: International male

GRE Scores (revised/old version): Terrible! 
Q: 151 (43%)
V: 152 (56%)
W: 3 (18%)
B:

TOEFL Total: 101

Research Experience: 2 years research experience in 2 IVF labs and local University. 3 publications, 2 of them in a magazine with impact factor 4.50. A number of oral, poster,  case presentations at international conferences in Egypt, Germany and USA. 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: (1 abstract award.  Honored at national and University levels for graduating among top medical students)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Licensed physician. Assistant lecturer at School of medicine. Embryologist in 2 IVF labs.)

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: currently finishing my Master's Degree

Special Bonus Points: ( very supportive LOR,  good SOP)

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

Applying to Where:
Biological and biomedical sciences - cancer cell biology in the following schools:
Harvard
Stanford
Johns Hopkins
MIT
Pennsylvania
Baylor
-------------
I really need a little help here guys. I do not think I have a chance at top tier schools sense my Gre scores really sucks!  Should I add 2 or more lower tier schools? (lacking money actually!)
Also when I converted my GPA into US scale it turned 4.00,  is that even possible? It seems very weird, but some schools require this online conversation process.
Help!

[Bioenchilada]

58 minutes ago, Mohamad said:

Undergrad Institution: (Medical school in Egypt)
Major(s): medicine, biomedical sciences
Minor(s): 
GPA in Major: 
Overall GPA: 90.76% converted online --> 4.00
Position in Class: 2nd on class
Type of Student: International male

GRE Scores (revised/old version): Terrible! 
Q: 151 (43%)
V: 152 (56%)
W: 3 (18%)
B:

TOEFL Total: 101

Research Experience: 2 years research experience in 2 IVF labs and local University. 3 publications, 2 of them in a magazine with impact factor 4.50. A number of oral, poster,  case presentations at international conferences in Egypt, Germany and USA. 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: (1 abstract award.  Honored at national and University levels for graduating among top medical students)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Licensed physician. Assistant lecturer at School of medicine. Embryologist in 2 IVF labs.)

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: currently finishing my Master's Degree

Special Bonus Points: ( very supportive LOR,  good SOP)

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

Applying to Where:
Biological and biomedical sciences - cancer cell biology in the following schools:
Harvard
Stanford
Johns Hopkins
MIT
Pennsylvania
Baylor
-------------
I really need a little help here guys. I do not think I have a chance at top tier schools sense my Gre scores really sucks!  Should I add 2 or more lower tier schools? (lacking money actually!)
Also when I converted my GPA into US scale it turned 4.00,  is that even possible? It seems very weird, but some schools require this online conversation process.
Help!

Why are you only applying to top schools? Could you retake the GRE? Though schools don’t tend to use cutoffs, guidelines have been posted by some top schools that I consider useful. They state that a combined score below a 310 is generally a red flag, and that scores in each section should be above the 50th percentile.

Also, having a medical degree might mean that you might have to pay for your PhD since you cant be funded by training grants. 

Edited November 16, 2017 by Bioenchilada

[Mohamad]

Can you suggest me lower tier schools with good cancer biology programs? 

Can not really retake the Gre, no time, no money and my scores will not rise significantly in such short period. 

Edited November 16, 2017 by Mohamad

[TheScienceHoney]

On 10/4/2017 at 2:51 PM, TheScienceHoney said:

Just recently learned about/joined GradCafe, hey everyone! Comments/criticisms welcome.

Undergrad Institution: Missouri University of Science and Technology (small, science-focused engineering school in the Midwest, growing reputation but largely unknown for Bio outside the Midwest)
Major(s): Biological Sciences (BS, not BA)
Minor(s): Chemistry, Psychology
GPA in Major: 3.8
Overall GPA: 3.45
Position in Class: Not entirely sure, Cum Laude so somewhat in the top something percent
Type of Student: Domestic, female

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 149 (yikes)
V: 160
W: 5.0

Research Experience: 3 summers/winter breaks worth of undergrad research at Washington University (St. Louis) School of Medicine 4 papers published, 2 first author. Some undergraduate research done at my home institution. Graduated semester early and have been doing a gap year of finishing research at Wash U in the lab where I did my summer research, with two more first author papers on the way. Experience mostly in microbiology and biochemistry with other skills here and there

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Cum Laude, Vice Provost's Academic Scholars List, Dean's List, multiple scholarships both from my university and third-party 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Research technician, secretary at my school's chapter of Phi Sigma Biological Honors Society??, Editor in Chief of school newspaper (not super relevant to science but I have great communication/writing skills thanks to that), hosted a Science News talk show at my college radio station 

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: 

Special Bonus Points: Female? LGBT? I've talked about that in diversity statements, kinda

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Pretty awful math/chemistry grades- started off with all Cs until I hit calculus and Orgo 2, then I got Bs, then an A in Biochem, so I guess the upward trend helps? But it definitely lowered my overall GPA. Also, graduated early

Applying to Where:

The million dollar question lol

Oregon State University - Microbiology

UC San Diego - Biological Sciences

CU Boulder - EBIO

Vanderbilt - Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences

U of Washington - Biological Sciences

Not sure if I'm gonna apply anywhere else yet. Thinking about it though. Recommendations are highly appreciated! My main research interests are in microbiology and especially microbial communities/microbiomes, so I have sought out faculty at each of these departments that are studying something I'm interested in, even though I'm not applying to the micro departments at each school. 

After chatting with a professor who I would really love to work with and is interested in working with me as well, I have switched gears and applied to UC Santa Barbara (EEMB) as my top choice instead. Dropping CU Boulder, possibly dropping Vanderbilt as well. Submitted applications to UCSB and UCSD so far, hoping to get UW application in this week.

Phew...applications are expensive!

[StemCellFan]

Interviews for the programs with rolling application reviews are starting to trickle in.  I completed my other apps, though their deadlines are Dec 1st and may not be reviewed until after that date.

2 for 7 so far!  Keeping my fingers crossed for more invites to come in in the next month or two.

Edited November 16, 2017 by StemCellFan

[ScribblyDoodle]

3 hours ago, Bioenchilada said:

I was not in great terms with one of my PIs back in undergrad and didn't ask them for a letter. I still wrote about the research that I did in their lab in my SOP. It won't be a thing unless you make it a thing, or unless you worked with them for a very long time and didn't get a letter. Even so, as long as you have great LORs, I doubt the adcom will care. 

Wow that's very heartening to hear. Thanks a lot.

[Hannah.Sve]

Hi Guys! I would love any feedback on my application:

Undergrad Institution: State school in Maryland - known for undergraduate research
Major(s): Biology (BS) & Psychology (BA)
GPA in Major: 4.00
Overall GPA: 4.00
Position in Class: No ranking at my school.
Type of Student: Domestic, female

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 153 - 51%(rough I know)
V: 161 - 88%
W: 4.0 - 60%

Research Experience: (1) 2.5 years Neuroscience lab - multiple projects, 2 summer grants, first author paper in progress, SfN presentations (2) 3 years Cognitive Neuroscience Lab - multiple projects, first author paper in progress (3) Month 3 so far with graduate research at prestigious university in northern Europe with a Fulbright scholarship

Awards: Fulbright Graduate Student in Northern Europe in a neuro-oncology lab (prestigious university); Biology Faculty Award (at my undergraduate institution) which is awarded to one graduating senior in Biology; Honors Thesis Prize - awarded to the best honors thesis in the years graduating class, Honors College, multiple honors societies,  Barry Goldwater honorable mention, merit-based scholarships that covered my tuition, Summa Cum Laude, Deans list every semester.  

Applicable work experience: Biology course - student laboratory manager (3.5 years) - prepped for the course bi-weekly

LOR: Three very strong letters from neuroscience PI, cognitive neuroscience PI, and Honors college dean from undergrad. 

Relevant Info: I applied and got accepted to Neuroscience PhD programs last year and got into some really awesome programs. I have accepted and deferred at one of these programs but want to reapply to test the waters for the TOP schools while I am on my grant. This is the reason why you will not see safety schools on this list of graduate schools.

Schools Applying to: 

Harvard (PIN)

UCSF (Neuroscience)

U Chicago (Neuroscience) 

Columbia (Neuroscience)

 

Edited November 17, 2017 by Hannah.Sve

[Robbinah]

Would love advice feedback on the schools I am applying to!

Undergrad Institution: Boston College
Major(s): Psychology B.S. (no neuroscience major available)
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.98
Overall GPA: 3.64 (junior year 3.7, senior year 3.8-3.9) Graduated in 3.5 years
Position in Class: cum laude, near top
Type of Student: Domestic, Hispanic, Femal

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 157 (66th)
V: 158 (80th)
W: 5.5 (93rd)
 I know these are lower than average, but I took twice studied for months and did no better, never done well with standardized testing


Research Experience: 2.5 years of research in undergraduate, behavioral neuroscience studying PTSD/ fear conditioning. Great LOR. Independent project... nothing published, never got significant results

6 months in a neurogenetics lab, working on iPSC derived neuronal lines at Harvard/MGH. 

2 years as a full time research technician in a very well known lab at Harvard Medical School. 1 second-author publication, 2 other publications in the works (I'm not 1,2, or 3rd author on these) 1 publication, AD/PD conference in Vienna, Austria. Working on independent project which hopefully will be a first author publication or at least poster. 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 3 years of awarded undergraduate research fellowships. I have just submitted my application for the NSF graduate fellowship and also applying for the National Defence Fellowship

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Mentor Scientist for Science Club for Girls

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Established protocols to isolate microglia and endothelial cells from donated human brain tissue, took over this project and have collected isolated cells from 17 cases with the MGH Alzheimers Brain Bank

Special Bonus Points: My post-doc who I work under went to WashU St. Louis and my PI is the head of Harvard Medical Schools neurology department. 

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I should have great LORS.... I am proficient in animal surgery, two-photon imaging, qPCR, and some other specialized techniques. Worked in a lab with a lot of resources to newer techniques.
Applying to Where:

Harvard-Neuroscience

WashU St. Louis- Neuroscience

Northwestern- Medical School-Neuroscience

NYU- Neural Science

Brown-NIH Partnership-Neuroscience

UCSD- Neuroscience

UNC Medical- Neuroscience

UChicago- Neurobiology

Upenn- Neuroscience

John Hopkins- Neuroscience

Tufts Sackler Institute- Neuroscience

I would really love advice about where I am applying, or if there are any places I am not considering? Do I have too many top schools?

 

Edited November 18, 2017 by Robbinah

[Neuro15]

On 11/17/2017 at 7:42 AM, Hannah.Sve said:

Relevant Info: I applied and got accepted to Neuroscience PhD programs last year and got into some really awesome programs. I have accepted and deferred at one of these programs but want to reapply to test the waters for the TOP schools while I am on my grant. This is the reason why you will not see safety schools on this list of graduate schools.

I hope if you get into one of your programs this cycle you let your school know ASAP so they can fill your spot... 

[hopefulgradstudent999]

56 minutes ago, _caffeinated said:

Hey everyone! I've been reading thread for a while and finally made up my mind to post. I'd appreciate any advice or feedback on my stats/chances for programs I am applying to. 

Undergraduate Institution: Large public university in North Carolina 

Major: Public Health Studies 

GPA: 3.49/4.00

GRE Scores: 

V: 156 (73%)

Q: 157 (66%) 

A: 5.0 (93%)

Research Experience: 3.5 years in a developmental and reproductive biology lab studying endocrine disrupting chemicals. I just submitted a manuscript as first author and am working with some collaborators as second author on another manuscript. Presented at a number of conferences, fully funded. 

Awards and Honors: 

Honors College scholarship - full tuition scholarship for students who are accepted to HC  

$2000 Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Award - funded grant and stipend to conduct an independent study 

Lead Intern at a design lab - worked with the university affiliated medical school to 3-D print bronchial trees for medical education purposes 

Anything else that could add to my application: My LOR's will really work towards my favor - My PI, Chairman of Dept. of Pediatrics at the affiliated medical school, and associate dean of honors college 

I am proficient in many lab techniques such as micro-dissections, I am trained in animal-handling, histological techniques, animal dissections, tissue imaging and some other microbiology techniques. 

 

Schools that I've applied to: 

Again, any help or advice is greatly appreciated - I'm growing increasingly nervous about this application cycle! Thanks in advance!

Were all 3.5yrs of your research experience in the same undergraduate lab?

[_caffeinated]

48 minutes ago, hopefulgradstudent999 said:

Were all 3.5yrs of your research experience in the same undergraduate lab?

Yes! 

[Hannah.Sve]

On 11/20/2017 at 2:24 AM, Neuro15 said:

I hope if you get into one of your programs this cycle you let your school know ASAP so they can fill your spot... 

Of course. I was on wait-lists last year until the very last day of the acceptance deadline, and understand how frustrating it can be. I would absolutely notify ASAP. 

[hopefulgradstudent999]

18 hours ago, _caffeinated said:

Yes! 

Having gone through the process twice I am very curious to see how your application will fare. It is difficult to predict not knowing the rigor of your undergrad curriculum. That being said some of the programs seem very specifically focused e.g. immunology and I know some of them like UC Denver I applied to with stronger stats than you and did not get an interview. I also did not have any publications though so who knows; there is a lot of chance and luck to this whole process. I will be interested to see how you end up doing! Wish I could be more help! 

[Neuro15]

5 hours ago, Hannah.Sve said:

Of course. I was on wait-lists last year until the very last day of the acceptance deadline, and understand how frustrating it can be. I would absolutely notify ASAP. 

 

Just checking ; good luck this cycle! 

[eevee]

Hey folks -- I'm getting more and more worried about this year because my list is pretty much all top schools after a grad student friend advised me to only apply to schools I /really want to go to/ my first year out of college. I'd love some opinions and feedback on what my chances might be.

Undergrad Institution: Duke University
Major(s): Neuroscience, BS
Minor(s): Chinese Language, Music
GPA in Major: 3.85
Overall GPA: 3.79 (junior and senior year 4.0 so far)
Position in Class: haven't graduated yet but likely cum laude
Type of Student: Domestic, Female, White/Asian, LGBTQ

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 164 (87th)
V: 168 (98th)
W: 5.0 (93rd)
I'm kind of worried about my quant score but I REAALLLLY didn't want to spend the extra money to re-take the test

Research Experience: 3ish years of research in undergraduate:

1 year in current lab (rat behavior, just now starting to get into the histology part), working on thesis independent project. No publication yet (we might be starting work on one), presented poster about the behavior stuff at a national conference like a week ago lol

7ish months in primate neurophys., no publications, left because primate research takes too long for me to write a thesis in the lab

1 year in clinical vestibular research, one first-author publication coming out in January -- it's in an Audiology journal though, not neuroscience

3ish months in a biochem lab, no publications

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: undergrad summer research fellowship, dean's list-type awards

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: member of an outreach club that does science demonstrations and provides mentorship for middle school girls in STEM

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I have a decent amount of teaching experience (developed and taught a course at Duke about LGBT stuff)

Special Bonus Points: uhhhh I met some folks from schools I'm applying to at the conference I was at but I don't know what kind of impression they got of me.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: My rec letters should be pretty good; I am originally a California resident so I'm applying to a lot of CA schools (don't know if that matters at all)

Where I'm applying:

Duke Cognitive Neuroscience Admitting Program

Stanford Neuroscience

UCLA NSIDP

NYU Neural Science

Columbia Neuroscience

UCSD Neuroscience

UC Berkeley Neuroscience

Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences Neuroscience

University of Washington Neuroscience

THANKS FRIENDS FOR ANY HELP I AM V CONCERNED
Here's a picture of a puppy looking at a microscope to help get u through the last stretch before apps are due on Dec 1 <3

[Nomad1111]

On 11/14/2017 at 2:24 PM, ZAureus said:

Hello everyone!

Would appreciate if someone could comment on whether I have a chance to be admetted to programs I'm applying to, since I have low GPA and my Q score isn't so hot as well (hope good subject compensates for that). And my research experience might not be so competitive too. Maybe I should consider some lower-ranked programs?

Undergrad Institution: some Medical University, top for medicine in Russia
Major(s): General Medicine (MD)
Minor(s): n/a
GPA in Major: 
Overall GPA: 3.21
Position in Class: n/a
Type of Student: International male

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 155 (59%)
V: 161 (88%)
W: 3.0 (18%)
B: Biology 820 (90%)


TOEFL Total: 105

Research Experience: 4 years in neurobiological lab in Moscow, Russia, with focus on cellular basis of memory. Got my own little project, but no publications so far. Oral presentations and posters at several all-russian "international" conferences.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: an award for the best oral presentation at local conference (don't know if it's worth mentioning though)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: private tutor for high school students in biology and chemistry for 3 years, also did some toturing at college level in biochemistry, histology ans pharmacology

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: 

Special Bonus Points: one of my recommenders is relatively well-known scientist (compared to other russians)

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: would recieve MD degree (don't know if this is an advantage)

Applying to Where:
Applying to Neuroscience programs

UCSD

UCLA

UC Davis

UC Riverside

Baylor

Emory

UT Southwestern

Columbia

NYU

You should check out MIT Brain and Cognitive Sciences! 

[Nomad1111]

On 11/18/2017 at 4:00 PM, Robbinah said:

Would love advice feedback on the schools I am applying to!

Undergrad Institution: Boston College
Major(s): Psychology B.S. (no neuroscience major available)
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.98
Overall GPA: 3.64 (junior year 3.7, senior year 3.8-3.9) Graduated in 3.5 years
Position in Class: cum laude, near top
Type of Student: Domestic, Hispanic, Femal

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 157 (66th)
V: 158 (80th)
W: 5.5 (93rd)
 I know these are lower than average, but I took twice studied for months and did no better, never done well with standardized testing


Research Experience: 2.5 years of research in undergraduate, behavioral neuroscience studying PTSD/ fear conditioning. Great LOR. Independent project... nothing published, never got significant results

6 months in a neurogenetics lab, working on iPSC derived neuronal lines at Harvard/MGH. 

2 years as a full time research technician in a very well known lab at Harvard Medical School. 1 second-author publication, 2 other publications in the works (I'm not 1,2, or 3rd author on these) 1 publication, AD/PD conference in Vienna, Austria. Working on independent project which hopefully will be a first author publication or at least poster. 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 3 years of awarded undergraduate research fellowships. I have just submitted my application for the NSF graduate fellowship and also applying for the National Defence Fellowship

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Mentor Scientist for Science Club for Girls

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Established protocols to isolate microglia and endothelial cells from donated human brain tissue, took over this project and have collected isolated cells from 17 cases with the MGH Alzheimers Brain Bank

Special Bonus Points: My post-doc who I work under went to WashU St. Louis and my PI is the head of Harvard Medical Schools neurology department. 

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I should have great LORS.... I am proficient in animal surgery, two-photon imaging, qPCR, and some other specialized techniques. Worked in a lab with a lot of resources to newer techniques.
Applying to Where:

Harvard-Neuroscience

WashU St. Louis- Neuroscience

Northwestern- Medical School-Neuroscience

NYU- Neural Science

Brown-NIH Partnership-Neuroscience

UCSD- Neuroscience

UNC Medical- Neuroscience

UChicago- Neurobiology

Upenn- Neuroscience

John Hopkins- Neuroscience

Tufts Sackler Institute- Neuroscience

I would really love advice about where I am applying, or if there are any places I am not considering? Do I have too many top schools?

 

You stats look awesome! Have you thought about Columbia for neuro? They have a strong program and incredible reputation/PIs  

[Robbinah]

6 hours ago, Nomad1111 said:

You stats look awesome! Have you thought about Columbia for neuro? They have a strong program and incredible reputation/PIs  

You don't think my list is already too top heavy? I was debating Columbia if I still have money after I submit everything... 

[Saman Abbaspoor]

Undergrad Institution: Ferdowsi University of Mashhad – Iran

Major(s): Cell and Molecular Biology
Overall GPA: 18.35/20 (3.91/4.0 based on WES)
Position in Class: Ranked among TOP 3

Type of Student: International Male

GRE Scores (revised):
Q: 159 (73%)
V: 153 (61%)
W: 4.0 (60%)

TOEFL Total: 110 (R:30 – L:28 – S:24 – W:28)

Research Experience: Over Two years

VisuoMotor Laboratory, Rayan Center for Neuroscience and Behavior, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran, September 2016 - Present (50 hours a week on average - took a whole year off)

The role of superior colliculus and cholinergic nuclei of tegmentum in saccade target selection in primates (Macaques and Marmosets), under supervision of Dr. Ali Asadollahi

Neurophysiology Lab, Medical University of Mashhad, Mashhad, IRAN, June 2015 - September 2016 (30 hours a week on average)

Cardiovascular Effects of GABAergic system in pedunculopontine Tegmental nucleus, under supervision of Dr. Mohammad Naser Shafei

 
Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

1- Honored at University level for graduating among top students.

2- Awarded a position in NODET organization after an entrance exam. NODET (National Organization for Development of Exceptional Talents) is a state-run organization for Gifted Education

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

Matlab Programming: Instructed a 25-hours course on fundamentals of programming with MATLAB for undergraduate students at our school (officially certified)

 
Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
My main recommender had a research position at STANFORD university for 8 years and is now a research member of neuroscience lab at the University of Texas Houston.

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

Participated in a summer school Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands

Applying to Where:

University of Chicago (Neurobiology program- Ph.D.)

University of Pennsylvania (Neuroscience Program – Ph.D.)

Cornell University (Neurobiology program – Ph.D.)

NewYork University (Neuroscience program-PhD)

The University of Texas at Austin (Neuroscience program-PhD)

Boston University (Systems Neuroscience program - Ph.D.)

Vanderbilt University (Neuroscience Program – Ph.D.)

University of Pittsburg (Neuroscience Program – Ph.D.)

University of Rochester (Neuroscience Program – Ph.D.)

Dartmouth College (Neuroscience Program – Ph.D.)

Please let me know if you have any other considerations or suggestions.

 

[PhD_hopeful_]

Undergrad institution: Foreign
Major(s): Biology
Minor(s):Chemistry
GPA in Major:3.65
Overall GPA:3.77
Position in Class: 

Student: International female


GRE Scores (revised/old version): Not available
Q:
V:
W:
B:



Research Experience: 2 years biotechnology research, 1 first author publication, 1 other publication (2nd author)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Forensic Laboratory 


Applying to Where:

FIU- Chemistry PhD - Forensic Science
UCF- Chemistry PhD- Forensic Science
UF - Chemistry PhD- Forensic Science

University at Albany- Chemistry PhD- Forensic Science

West Virginia University - Forensic Science PhD

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