2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

[gaga1994]

On 10/23/2017 at 2:50 PM, abhisheks94 said:

Hi guys! I posted my profile earlier but didnt get any feedback. I have shortened up my list / gotten my actual GRE scores so I decided to repost. 

I have a psychology/neuro BSc but I would like to point out that most of my coursework is focused on biology, and I hope that my research experience in biology and bioengineering can help me in my applications to programs that ask for biological science degrees. Also, my recommendations should really emphasize my ability to conduct independent biology research.

 

Undergrad Institution: McGill University, Canada, pretty good international research reputation
Major(s): Psychology + Neuroscience (but most coursework on molecular bio/neuro... almost all classes in Faculty of Science)
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.73
Overall GPA: 3.58 (upward trend: 3.22, 3.72, 3.86, 3.73)
Position in Class: We didnt get ranks, but I have above average grades in all of my classes
Type of Student: Canadian + American dual citizen, Male

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 164
V: 164
W: 5
B:

Research Experience: (At your school or elsewhere? What field? How much time? Any publications (Mth author out of N?) or conference talks etc...)

1 year in a cognitive psychology/neuroanatomy lab at McGill, 6 hours a week, big PI but not a relevant lab experience

2.5 years in a collaborative project between a professor and an anatomy and cell biology professor at McGill, molecular biology and bioengineering project, 3 full-time summers, around 30 hours a week throughout the school year, trained many graduate students on microscopy and surface patterning techniques

6 months in computational biology lab at Imperial College London while studying abroad at UCL, 1x a week for 3-4 hours

4.5 months post-graduation in a microfluidics lab in Japan as a summer intern, I was brought in to the research group to help develop cellular applications for the platforms they were developing as the lab mainly consisted of physicists and chemists

(Current) Research technician and assistant at Columbia medical center, working full time and will have been working here for two years before joining graduate school, pathology and cell biology lab where I am working on a few projects 

Conference proceedings/Posters: First author conference proceeding and poster presentation at international conference in cell engineering and biomaterials

Third author on conference proceeding and oral presentation at international bioengineering conference

3x poster presentations at Canadian national neuroscience conferences, 3x at Montreal local conferences

Publications: First authored publication should be submitted before application (hopefully accepted) from Montreal lab

Third author and fifth author publication from Japan lab

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Deans Interdisciplinary Research Award (McGill)

Awarded 3x summer research awards/fellowships through NSERC fellowship program

Invited as an intern to Japanese institute, which included full funding for travel and living expenses

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Full time research technician at Columbia

Special Bonus Points: Took 2-3 grad level biology classes, got A's
Two LoRs are from big names in cell biology/molecular biology 
My projects at McGill were run by me independently as the PhD student I was working with left after about 2 months of work, so I stayed on for the rest of the project and just worked directly with the professor


Applying to Where:

Harvard BBS

MIT Biology

Berkeley MCB

Stanford Biosciences

University of Washington

Columbia Integrated program

MSK Gerstner grad program

BU

 David Rockefeller PhD program

 

Hey guys, any feedback? Thanks so much!

[ms123456]

Undergrad Institution: R1 Public Ranked 11 in the field
Major(s): Bioenvironemental Science
Minor(s): n/a
GPA in Major: 3.89
Overall GPA:3.54
Position in Class: I have no Idea.
Type of Student: Female/Minority

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q:151 (totally spaced leaving 7 questions left in the first section when time ran out) Practice tests were in the 160s
V:157
W:4.0


Research Experience: 

Research: 2 years plant pathology research with an independent project, currently working as a research tech at a pharmaceutical company (1.5 years)

Posters: Presented posters at two events.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Cum Laude, Undergraduate Research Scholar, BESC Undergraduate Research Fellow, Deans list, Distinguished Student, Undergraduate Honors Thesis.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: A student worker in Plant Pathology lab for 2.5 years (different from the lab I did research in).

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: Head of the department writing a LOR has worked with several of the professors I am interested in.

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

Worked full time throughout college 40-55+ hours a week holding management position for a very profitable busy fast food business while usually working minimal hours in a lab as well.

Applying to Where:

Penn State - Plant pathology PhD- Phytobiome/biocontrol/biogeochemistry
Ohio State - Plant Pathology MS/PhD - Phytobiome
Colorado State - Plant Pathology PhD - Phytobiome

Texas A&M- MS Plant Pathology MS- Biocontrol

 

I have had contact with several professors during this process that seem to be actively interested. I am hoping for decent funding even though my profile is not super strong. Not quite sure where my profile stands next to other plant biology PhDs. I am applying to 2 top 10 plant pathology programs and 2 top 20 plant pathology programs in the US. I don't have time to retake the GREs. I didn't really have time to study. I work 7 days a week currently, but I am out of undergrad.

[Ahmed Dawood]

 

What is the chances to be accepted in any of cancer genetics interested programs ? and what are the other options to apply ?

Undergrad Institution: BSc Pharmaceutical Sciences (Egypt), MSc Genomic Medicine, University of Southampton UK
Major(s): Pharmacy
Minor(s): n/a
GPA in Major: 
Overall GPA: 3
Position in Class: n/a
Type of Student: International male

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 156
V: 146
W: 3.0


TOEFL Total: 80 (may be waived, as MSc from UK)

Research Experience: 1 year bioequivalence, and bioavailability research studies in Egypt, 1 year cancer genetics in UK

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: My MSc dissertation is presented in one international conference

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 1 year laboratory research job ( analytical chemistry), 7 years hospital pharmacist, 1 year human genetics lab, in UK hospital

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: 

Special Bonus Points: All my recommendations are from University of Southampton

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I0 years of professional working in healthcare sectors in Egypt and UK, as a pharmacist, and  

Applying to Where:
 

USF, Moffitt, Cancer biology.

UCF, biomedical sciences (cancer track)

Augusta, biomedical (Genomic Medicine track)

Wright state uni, biomedical sciences

wayne state uni, Cancer biology

[lilimae]

Undergrad Institution: Big midwestern research university, super strong biochem program (if I didn't go here I'd apply for their grad program!)
Major(s): Biochemistry
Minor(s): Computer science 
GPA in Major: ~3.85
Overall GPA: 3.93
Position in Class: pretty high up there?
Type of Student: Domestic female, white/asian 

GRE Scores (revised version):
Q: 164 - 89
V: 169 - 99
W: 4.5 - 82 

Research Experience: 
-A summer at a different, less well-known university with a botany professor. I learned how to do basic lab techniques, genotyped a bunch of plants for QTL analysis, did some field work. PI and I have kept in touch on good terms
-A year and a half at a biochem lab on campus working on mycobacterial cell walls. Presented a poster on my research at the Experimental Biology conference last year. The lab moved away this summer 
-Now I'm in a microbio lab on campus, doing natural competency stuff. I don't have an assigned "research mentor" and I (stupidly) stayed in my part-time job from the summer so I've been super lost, but I'll be quitting my job to try and get some sort of data before I graduate.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: A couple departmental scholarships from my school, plus I'm in the general honors college and Phi Beta Kappa

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: volunteer tutor, high school tutor for the university's outreach program, and I'll be an undergraduate TA for a biology lab next semester (but I didn't put that on my application since it's not for sure and it's mostly for fun). 

Special Bonus Points: My previous PI is super well known in her field and just moved her lab to MIT. All of my letters are from research advisors, though I will say that my last one is from my current PI and I haven't really accomplished anything in the one semester I've been in her lab.

Applying to Where:
MIT - Biology
UWashington - Microbiology
Carnegie Mellon - Biological Sciences
Stanford - Biosciences
UCSF - TETRAD
UC Berkeley - Molecular and Cell Biology

I'm concerned I applied to too many reach schools while not applying to enough places in general. My stats are good and I have great connections, but I didn't have as much time to devote to my statements as I would've liked. I'm hoping my scores and letters can land me an interview and I can go from there. I'll be sure to update once I hear back!

[VelocityDown]

Undergrad Institution:  National University of Singapore
Major(s): Life Sciences
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 
Overall GPA: 3.52 (4.28 out of 5.00)
Position in Class: 
Type of Student: International, female

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 168 (94%)
V: 167 (98%)
W: 5.5 (98%)
B:


TOEFL Total: 116

Research Experience: 3 projects in undergrad, 1 position as an RA

Undergrad: 9-mth project in Microbiology

Summer research: 3-mth project at UNC-CH in Neurobiology

Final year thesis project: 9-mth project in a clinical dementia lab

I've been working as an RA for 1y+ at a cancer lab looking at breast cancer therapeutics, so that's what pushed me to look at cancer biology degrees. I also have a middle author pub from this lab.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Academic Director of the Life Science Society for 1y (arranged talks for the students by professors etc) 

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: 

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

Applying to Where:

Harvard - BBS

John Hopkins - Cellular and Molecular Medicine

Duke - Molecular Cancer Bio

Rockefeller - David Rockefeller Graduate program in bioscience

Vanderbilt - IGP

UNC - BBSP

Cambridge - Oncology

Oxford

UofToronto 

Honestly when I'm looking at all the other profiles here, I'm really just very worried that I've applied to too many reach schools where I'm probably not going to make a mark on the admissions. I had applied to JHU and Duke last year (Neuroscience) with similar stats (before my cancer bio job) and was rejected by the both of them so I'm not sure if this additional year is going to make a change. I am considering applying to Masters programmes instead to maybe get a better profile before I apply...

[Vaudevillain]

Whoof, I'm nervous- just sent in my applications. Here's my profile- anyone have any ideas on where I might be accepted or rejected?

Undergrad Institution: Highly ranked liberal arts women's college
Major(s): Biology
Minor(s): Landscape studies
GPA in Major: 4.0
 Overall GPA: 3.94
Position in Class: My school doesn't do rankings
Type of Student: Domestic Female

GRE Scores:
Q: 159 (73%)
V: 164 (94%)
W: 5.5 (98%)

Research Experience: 

1 summer of molecular bio research at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in the UK

2 independent semester-long research projects: one was forest field ecology with my current PI, the other was remote spatial GIS/LIDAR work in plant ecophysiology

A year in my current lab, started a yearlong Honors thesis at the beginning of this fall semester off the research I'd done last spring with my PI, currently also his RA

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

Dean's list every year

School award for "Outstanding Work in Botany"

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

Horticulture summer internship at my institution's botanic garden doing non-scientific research (archival research, oral histories, etc) developing botanic garden informational portals

Member of the Botanic Garden Strategic Planning Committee (BG outreach, planning 10-year trajectory)

Campus Tree Advisory Committee (educational outreach in the arboretum)

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Solid with RStudio and GIS, presented a poster for a school-wide conference showcasing student research (not very impressive but better than nothing)

Special Bonus Points: 

I should have quite strong letters of rec from at least two professors who've both had me for 2 classes each and I've done research with both, and a solid one from my lab internship in the UK. One of the reccomending profs got her PhD and postdoc in the department I'm applying to for one of the schools

I think I have pretty solid statements/essays, I've gone over them extensively with current grad students, professors, career centers, and even one or two PIs and they've all given a big thumbs-up

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

Captain of the rugby team 

Member of the Social Justice and Equity Committee (working in advancing diversity in the college and developing resources for minority students)

I've contacted at least one PI, sometimes more at every school. Their research interests align very well with mine, and we had reasonably extensive phone or Skype conversations with them, all seem excited for me to apply and most have helped me with the process and committed to sponsoring me. One PI told me that he would ask for my application to be transferred for free to be considered by another department as well since it would increase the likelihood of me being able to get in and work with him, another couple are writing me letters of sponsorship, and the other two have said they think I'm a competitive applicant and would be a good fit with them. 

I don't have any publications, and didn't take the Bio subject test, and my quantitative experience is lower than I'd like it to be. Also, my non-Honors research isn't as in-depth as I wish it was because of my liberal arts background.

Applying to Where:

Areas of interest:

 -plant biology and ecology

I'm super interested in exploring biotic interactions involving plants, esp. mutualistic ones and studying them in order to figure out how to incorporate more biotic interactions into climate change community modeling (my Honors thesis explores the potential for mycorrhizal mutualist-facilitated range shifts)

 

Applying for PhD programs in:

U of Arizona EEB

U Minnesota EEB and PMB 

MSU EEBB 

Northwestern Plant Bio and Conservation

 
U Miami Biology 

 

 

[ChallengerSwimmer23]

On 11/12/2017 at 5:04 PM, ChallengerSwimmer23 said:

Undergrad Institution: Texas A&M University (Whoop!)

Graduate Institution (Masters): A well-respected graduate school of biomedical sciences in TX...can't say where. Don't want to reveal too much of myself. lol. 

Major(s): B.S. Biology, Finishing my M.S. in Immunology
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: 3.2 (undergrad :/), ~3.5 (masters)
Overall GPA: ~3.3 when you average both undergrad and masters
Position in Class: N/A
Type of Student: Domestic Male Hispanic Graduate School Student

GRE Scores (revised/old version): Retook the GRE - scored around the same. Writing should go up though. Have other parts of my app that trumps GRE anyway and already have been tested in grad school as a master's student in my classes and research. 

Q: 155 (59%)
V: 150 (~48%)
W: 4.0 (60%) ---> 4.5 (82%) !


Research Experience: 25 full-time months of research experience (it's because I am in grad school - that's why I have so many hours and months of lab and research time). Overall, very strong research experience in both undergrad and grad school. From undergrad, got 2 publications (1 co-author and 1 first-author submitted recently). 2 projects in undergrad in which one used bacteriophages and other was a phage genomics related project. Became interested in cancer immunology research in grad school. Major project in an immunotherapy lab, about to submit my first-author publication very soon, presented my project as an oral presentation at national SACNAS Conference, co-mentored an undergrad this summer on his project (he took 4th place among all summer undergrad students), and working on my thesis to be defended next semester. Pushing for another publication next year before I leave to a Ph.D. program. Also about to present another oral presentation of my project at an upcoming local conference and hoping to present at AAI Conference in Austin this upcoming May! 

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Outstanding SACNAS Chapter Graduate Student Award, 2 Competitive Research Travel Scholarships in support of my trip to SACNAS Conference, Hispanic Scholarship Fund Scholar, Invited to Present Oral Presentation at 2017 SACNAS, Elected as President of SACNAS Chapter on my campus back in March

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Teaching Assistant for graduate-level biostatistics course, graduate student co-mentor of summer undergraduate research student from HBCU program, President of my SACNAS Chapter, Coordinator or among leaders of 3 major mentorship educational outreach programs geared towards increasing minority middle and high school students interested in biomedical sciences - gave a lot of presentations and coordinated mentorship activities in science outreach programs

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Violinist in University Orchestra (4 years in undergrad), host of a classical music radio show, competitive chess player, competitive Masters Swimmer (compete in butterfly and freestyle for fun against other masters swim clubs), Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (3 years), volunteer violinist at my church, Water Polo

Special Bonus Points: Both my undergrad PI and grad PI are very well-known researchers in their respective fields. I am a master's student already incorporated in a Ph.D. program - in other words, the Ph.D. admissions committee in my program already know me very well since I see them everyday - advantage for their Ph.D. program I applying to. Also connected with all Ph.D. programs at SACNAS Conference one by one to make sure they remember me on my application and learn more about specific faculty with openings (NETWORKING IS ESSENTIAL!). I am applying to Ph.D. as a Master's student, so Ph.D. programs are looking at someone who is well tested already in graduate school in both my classwork and my research. Hispanic URM from Texas. Lots of Graduate Level Classes - all A's and B's. 

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Well, GRE might be on the slightly low side for the programs I am applying to. However (the good news), from personally talking with these top Ph.D. programs at SACNAS Conference, there is a general consensus that GRE is the least important factor on the application (GRE should not be even a factor in applications to begin with - GRE doesn't predict anyone's success in grad school). Master's GPA is good, big overall trend. Struggled in undergrad because family member was being treated for cancer, so that very tough on my grades, but I worked hard and stayed focused on my goals. Rec Letters are very strong with all of them coming from all my research mentors. Strong research experience in both undergrad and grad school.

Applying to Where:

Crossing Fingers!!! Good Luck everyone!

Baylor College of Medicine

UT Southwestern

UT Health Houston - MD Anderson

University of Notre Dame

University of Michigan PIBS

University of Texas at Austin

Rice University 

University of Houston

University of North Texas Health Science Center

The Ohio State University

Vanderbilt University IGP

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill BBSP

University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston

Improved on the Analytical Writing 4.5 (82%). Happy about that to say the least. Today seems to be a general consensus deadline on applications. How's everyone doing with this? I already submitted all my apps the first 2 weeks of November and everything (LORs, transcripts, GRE scores, etc.) are in! Now I am focused on finishing my master's, defend my proposal and thesis, and hopefully travel for interviews by plane or speed in my Challenger if it's somewhere in Texas. Good luck on your applications! Maybe I'll see some of y'all at interviews. 

[minds]

Hello, everyone! Lot’s of Neuroscience folks on here, huh? I just finished applying to most of these schools. I figured someone might be able to benefit from seeing my info here. If anyone has any opinions on how my stats match up with the programs I’ve listed, or on anything that looks detrimental to my acceptance chances, I would be extremely happy to hear them. I feel pretty clueless at this point. Thanks, everybody.

Undergrad Institution: Public R1, National Rank 150-200 (US News, for what that’s worth)
Major(s): Psychology, BS
Minor(s): Biology
GPA in Major: 3.96
Overall GPA: 3.51 (Biology: 3.66)
Position in Class: At least average
Type of Student: Male, Nontraditional/Veteran, Late 20s

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 155 (59%)
V: 163 (93%)
W: 5.0 (93%)
B: NA

Research Experience: 

Honors Research Project (1 semester) – I wrote a literature review synthesizing the two topics of reward neurobiology and the physiological response to psychological stress. I gave an oral presentation of my paper at a regional undergraduate research conference.

Undergraduate Research Assistant (2 years) – Neuropsychopharmacology lab [transgenerational epigenetic behavioral outcomes in addiction; medication development for substance use and PTSD, neuroinflammatory signaling in PTSD (personal project)]. We utilized rodent models of stress states and substance use.  Approaches included animal behavior, histology/surgery, immunoassays, etc. (mostly behavior).

4 posters (1 local, 1 regional, 1 national, 1 international)

2 oral presentations (regional)

1 second author paper in submission

1 first author paper in preparation

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

Dean’s list

Departmental scholarship (senior year)

University undergraduate research fellowship (senior year).

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

Academic Affairs Officer in international honors society

Undergraduate representative to departmental Undergraduate Education Committee

Co-founder and facilitator of departmental Undergraduate Journal Club

Physiological Psychology tutor

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: 

Semi-famous recommender in a similar to field to that which I am applying (knows a lot of people)

Strong recommendation letters from PI (who is director of graduate program at home institution) and co-PI of the lab in which I work, as well as a former mentor and a PI of another lab (who invited me to sit on the Undergraduate Education Committee)

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

Poor grades and drop-out at community college (approx. 10 yrs ago)

Withrawal from Orgo II and C’s in Chem II, Orgo I, and Biochemistry (with higher grades [B+/A-] in the lab portions of these courses)

Applying to Where (all PhD):

Emory University – GDBBS – Neuroscience

Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai – GSBS – Neuroscience

CU Boulder – Dept. of Psychology and Neuroscience – Behavioral Neuroscience

University of Houston – Dept. of Psychology – Developmental, Cognitive, & Behavioral Neuroscience

University of Maryland School of Medicine – GPLS – Neuroscience

UNC Chapel Hill – Dept. of Psychology and Neuroscience – Behavioral and Integrative Neuroscience

UNC Chapel Hill – BBSP

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston – GSBS – Neuroscience

Vanderbilt – IGP in Biomedical and Biological Sciences

Vanderbilt – Neuroscience Graduate Program (NGP)

Edited December 3, 2017 by minds
typo

[Dart123]

I'm not sure how much being an international student will affect my chances at the programs I have applied to? Have I aimed too high?

 

Undergrad Institution:  Private liberal arts ranked ~34. Very strong science program. Strong research institution
Major(s): Neuroscience; Biology
Minor(s): Chemistry
GPA in Major: Around 3.85 - 3.9
Overall GPA: 3.927
Position in Class: Top 10%
Type of Student: International, white, female

GRE Scores (revised):
Q: 163
V: 163
W: 4.5

Research Experience:  3 years at the same lab at my school (13 hours/ wk during semesters, and 40 hours/ wk over all winter and summer breaks). Neuroscience/biology. One publication - 3rd author out of  6. Three poster presentations at science events.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Reward for undergraduate research in sophomore year (awarded to 1 biology major), national society of collegiate scholars, Dean's list all semesters (6/6 so far)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Teaching assistant for 3 intro biology classes, including a lab, for the past 2 years; volunteer tutor for high school students in science and math; undergraduate departmental representative for neuroscience for the past 2 years (peer mentor who also interacts with the faculty and department to organize events, etc)

Special Bonus Points: Doing a 4 year combined BS/MS degree in Neuroscience, taken 8 graduate classes in biology and neuroscience, female, first generation college student, strong recommendations

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: International student but attending a US institution for 4 years. 

Applying to Where:
U.T. Southwestern medical center - Biological Sciences Umbrella Program

Rockefeller University - Biomedical sciences - Mechanisms of Human Disease

Duke - Cell and molecular biology

Yale - Biological and Biomedical Sciences

U. Michigan Ann Arbor - Molecular & Cellular Pathology

Harvard  - Division of medical sciences - BBS

MIT - program in biology

Northwestern University - IBiS- Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences

Columbia University - Integrated program in cellular, molecular, and biomedical studies

Tufts (Sackler)- Cell, Molecular, and developmental biology

Baylor college of medicine - Neuroscience

[Otinogonnyo]

Hi Everyone,

International student from India. Have been doing Post-Doctoral Research in Harvard for 2.5 years. Aiming for mostly HHMI's Med-in-Grad programs.

Undergrad Institution:  Government Medical College and Hospital
Major(s): 
Minor(s): 
GPA in Major: 
Overall GPA: 
Position in Class: 
Type of Student: International, brown, MD in my country

GRE Scores (revised):
Q: 157
V: 157
W: 4.0

TOEFL: 111 (R:26, L:27, S:29, W:29)

Research Experience:  2.5 years at the same lab in Harvard Affiliated Hospital/MGH as post doctoral research fellow. Multiple publications (3 Basic Science but none of them are 1st author, 19 Clinical publications but many first authorpublications), 2 Oral presentation (National conference).
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: New Investigator Travel Award in American Heart Association Conference (top 20% of all abstracts)
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Involved in clinical research during medical school(multiple International abstracts)

Special Bonus Points: Harvard Catalyst courses in 'Omics' and Translational Research.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: International student currently on J1 visa. Letters from my mentor (Associate professor in HArvard), Chair of Cardiology where I am doing my Post-doc (Full professor) and Associate professor from BIDMC/Harvard.
Applying to Where:
1. Harvard BBS (aiming for Leder Program)

2. Cornell

'3. Columbia

4. Yale

5. Upenn

6. JHU

7.University of Washington

8. Baylor College

9. UT Southwestern 

I am wondering whether I need to add a couple of more programs and whether my list looks too ambitious.

Thanks a lot for your inputs.

Edited December 4, 2017 by Otinogonnyo

[CMUnate]

Undergrad Institution: Central Michigan University
Major(s): Neuroscience
Minor(s): n/a
GPA in Major: 3.5
Overall GPA: 3.3
Position in Class: n/a
Type of Student: Male, white, traditional

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 153 (51%)
V: 155 (69%)
W: 4.0 (60%)

Research Experience: 

Undergraduate Research Assistant (1 year) – at CMU, worked on several projects alongside a PhD candidate and MD candidate

NIH Postbaccalaureate Research Fellow (2 years) - National Institute on Aging worked on several projects under  lab chief and a staff scientist involving AD and novel mouse model

3 Posters Presented at NIH poster sessions

1 Abstract accepted and presented at Society for Neuroscience

1 second author paper accepted (very high impact journal)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 

NIH Intramural Training Award (2016 - Present)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

NIH Postbaccalaureate Research Fellow (2016 - Present)

Special Bonus Points: 

Strong recommendation letters from both NIH mentors and undergraduate mentor (1 NIH mentor is lab chief and is extremely well known within field of neuroscience, undergrad mentor founded Neuroscience program at my undergrad and is very well known in the regenerative neuroscience field)

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

Did varsity athletics (D1) while in undergrad and prioritized my time poorly my first 3 years, (gpa wavered between 3.0 and 3.4 during those times)

Applying to Where (all PhD):

Oregon Health and Sciences - Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology

University of Washington - M3D Pathology

University of California - Berkeley - Metabolic Biology

Vanderbilt University - Neuroscience Graduate Program

University of Michigan - Program in Biological Sciences

Dartmouth - Program in Experimental and Molecular Medicine

[LilyMira]

Undergrad Institution: R2 state school
Major(s): Microbiology and Biochemistry
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 4.0
Position in Class: Top
Type of Student: Domestic white female

GRE Scores (June 2017):
Q: 94%
V: 93%
W: 93%

Research Experience:

2.5 academic years plus one full-time summer at my university doing molecular biology, mostly

One full-time summer at the DOE in Oak Ridge (also molecular biology)

One semester in a computational biophysics lab in my university

No authorships, but have written and presented posters at 3 regional conferences and 2 local/university-run events

Wrote and received funding for three undergraduate grants, one of which funded my summer of full-time university research

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

Won an award in one of the poster presentations for best undergraduate poster

Full-ride at my university for National Merit Scholar status

(Other generic academic scholarships/Deans List but nothing too special/interesting)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

Lab TA in two lower division bio courses (intro to biology and intro to microbiology) and in one upper-division course (Biochemistry I)

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

I work in my university's Volunteer Center as an Alternative Service Break Coordinator- I've spent my three spring breaks so far volunteering in a classroom in a rural, underserved area (once) and in a minimum security prison's math classroom (twice). I was also a team leader for one of these trips

I've been an active member of the honors program- I was elected to be on the Honors Leadership Council, and I was the editor-in-chief of the literary publication. I was also an honors ambassador.

Applying to Where:

I want to do genetic engineering for value-added compound production/detoxification of environmental contaminants. I'm also interested in microbial communities, and how we can use them to better understand and take advantage of natural transformations in the environment. In all the schools below, I'm applying for the microbiology PhD program... these are my top 10 choices, they just happened to range from the spectrum of "never gonna happen" to "yeah, probably" in terms of how good a chance I stand. So I'm pretty happy with that.

1. UC Berkeley

2. MIT

3. UMass Amherst

4. Rutgers New Brunswick

5. University of Georgia

6. UMinn Twin Cities

8. Michigan State University

9. Arizona State University

10. U Wisconsin Madison

 

[MadElf]

Undergrad Institution: All womens college
Major(s): Biopsychology
Minor(s): 
GPA in Major:
Overall GPA: 3.1
Position in Class: 
Type of Student: domestic female

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 159 (73rd)
V:167 (98th)
W: 4.5 (82nd)
B: N/A

Research Experience: (At your school or elsewhere? What field? How much time? Any publications (Mth author out of N?) or conference talks etc...)

2 years undergrad in developmental biology lab (1 local presentation)

1 year masters thesis cell and molecular lab

2 years technician in behavioral genetic lab (1 pub, 5 posters)

1 year statistician in clinical research lab (1st author pub, 1 poster)

1 year genetics lab, current position

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

Data Science conference scholarship; MS class representative; Undergrad merit scholarship; Undergrad biology award; Tribeta biology honors society, Sigma Xi honors society

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Such as tutor, TA, SPS officer etc...)

Tutor to urban public school students

TA in undergrad

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

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

Masters in Clinical Neuroscience, GPA 3.5; strong LORs.

[daauni]

Just submitted my last application yesterday! Wishing everyone the best of luck through the process and hope to see some of you at interviews!  

[ChallengerSwimmer23]

Just got an interview invite from Ohio State Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program! Very excited! I look forward to the interview and meeting everyone there!

[Neuro15]

1 hour ago, ChallengerSwimmer23 said:

Just got an interview invite from Ohio State Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program! Very excited! I look forward to the interview and meeting everyone there!

Wow OSU wastes no time lol. Congrats! 

 

And congrats to all who are done with their apps! Now sit back and try to relax!

[catsareme]

19 hours ago, ChallengerSwimmer23 said:

Just got an interview invite from Ohio State Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program! Very excited! I look forward to the interview and meeting everyone there!

I did my undergrad at Ohio State, it's an amazing school, atmosphere, city, and community! Good luck!

[CubismCubed]

Undergrad institution: Oregon State University
Major(s): Biochemistry & Biophysics
Minor(s): Physics, Chemistry
GPA in Major: 3.82
Overall GPA: 3.88

   - I also have a 4.00 GPA in my physics 'minor' which is closer to a major than a minor
Position in Class: idk, probably top 3 to 5 as it is a small major

GRE Scores/%ile
Q: 162 - 91st
V: 169 - 96th
W:4.0 - 60th

Research Experience: 3-ish years with a few really light terms and one summer off in a lab that does biochem/molecular bio/a little bit of comp bio, might be on a paper before I graduate as like 6th author (it was a big-ish project)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for calc based physics as a sophomore/junior

LORs

 - PI who knows me really well and thinks I'm awesome 

- Head Undergrad physics advisor, I TA'd for his general physics classes also

- Physics prof I took 3 classes from

Honors:

Scholarship for top Biochem student at uni who wants research career

a few other scholarships/departmental grants

Applying to Where:

Cornell - Biophysics

Harvard - Biophysics

JHU - Molecular Biophysics

CU Boulder - Chemistry

Add a few safety schools probably but i don't really care about those

[CubismCubed]

2 hours ago, CubismCubed said:

Undergrad institution: Oregon State University
Major(s): Biochemistry & Biophysics
Minor(s): Physics, Chemistry
GPA in Major: 3.82
Overall GPA: 3.88

   - I also have a 4.00 GPA in my physics 'minor' which is closer to a major than a minor
Position in Class: idk, probably top 3 to 5 as it is a small major

GRE Scores/%ile
V: 162 - 91st
Q: 169 - 96th
W:4.0 - 60th

Research Experience: 3-ish years with a few really light terms and one summer off in a lab that does biochem/molecular bio/a little bit of comp bio, might be on a paper before I graduate as like 6th author (it was a big-ish project)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for calc based physics as a sophomore/junior

LORs

 - PI who knows me really well and thinks I'm awesome 

- Head Undergrad physics advisor, I TA'd for his general physics classes also

- Physics prof I took 3 classes from

Honors:

Scholarship for top Biochem student at uni who wants research career

a few other scholarships/departmental grants

Applying to Where:

Cornell - Biophysics

Harvard - Biophysics

JHU - Molecular Biophysics

CU Boulder - Chemistry

Add a few safety schools probably but i don't really care about those

I accidentally switched my V and Q scores lol

[catsareme]

Got an interview invite for Washington University's DBBS program just now! (Molecular Genetics and Genomics)

[StemCellFan]

1 hour ago, alissac88 said:

Got an interview invite for Washington University's DBBS program just now! (Molecular Genetics and Genomics)

Congrats!  I'm anxiously waiting to hear back from programs before Christmas.  I hope invites start trickling in soon

[Dart123]

Just got an interview at Northwestern University - IBiS- Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences! They were super nice - did it over the phone  good luck to everyone as we continue to wait to hear back from where we applied to

[devbioboy]

Have been lurking for the past few weeks before deciding to make an account and contribute (also using this to procrastinate on studying for finals)

Undergrad Institution: Large R1 state school
Major(s): Molecular, Celluar, and Developmental Biology
Minor(s): Biotechnology, Genetics, Spanish
GPA in Major: 3.73
Overall GPA: 3.87
Position in Class: N/A
Type of Student: Domestic, underrepresented minority male

GRE Scores (revised/old version):
Q: 164 (87%)
V: 162 (91%)
W: 5.0 (93%)

Research Experience: 

5 month high school research experience in cell biology/pharmacology - 1 local and 1 national conference presentation

1 summer research experience in zebrafish fin development - 1 local and 2 national conference presentations

2+ year research experience at home institution in cardiac left-right asymmetry in frog - 5 local and 3 national conference presentations, 1 honors thesis

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

Recipient of university's top 4-year merit scholarship 

Invited to departmental honors program (requires honors thesis and 8 hours of honors biology-related coursework)

Several leadership and research awards from different offices on campus

Honorable mention for Barry Goldwater Scholarship

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

Teaching assistant for introductory biology (twice) and introductory freshman seminar (4 times)

Student ambassador for College of Sciences (volunteer)

Tutored elementary school students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds in math and reading for 1.5 years (volunteer)

Officer for organization for multicultural students in STEM
 

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: 

Peer mentored numerous students through scholarship program and college's diversity office

Special Bonus Points: 

Underrepresented minority male

Made connections with faculty members from schools I was interested in at a national meeting this past summer and have maintained contact with them

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:  come from socioeconomically disadvantaged background and first member of family to pursue an advanced degree

Applying to Where:

Baylor College of Medicine - Developmental Biology

Duke - Developmental and Stem Cell Biology (invited to interview Dec 4)

Harvard - BBS (Developmental and Regenerative Biology)

Pitt School of Medicine - IBGP (Molecular Genetics and Developmental Biology)

Princeton - Molecular Biology

UC San Francisco - Developmental and Stem Cell Biology

University of Cincinnati - Molecular and Developmental Biology

Vanderbilt - IGP (Developmental Biology)

Washington University in St. Louis - DBBS (Developmental, Regenerative, and Stem Cell Biology)

Edited December 8, 2017 by devbioboy

[/mu/tant runner]

Might as well post my profile as I constantly check my email

Undergrad Institution: Oregon State University
Major(s): Biochemistry and Biophysics
Minor(s): Computer Science
GPA in Major: 3.68
Overall GPA: 3.75
Position in Class: N/A
Type of Student: Domestic, white male

GRE Scores :
Q: 163 (84%)
V: 161 (88%)
W: 4.5 (93%)

Research Experience: 

~3 years in computational biology / biophysics lab in research area very related to what I want to study in grad school. 1 submitted publication, a presentation. Honors thesis in progress

1 summer in a cancer research lab at large research hospital doing genomics type work. Asked to continue working remotely after the program had ended.

Awards / Honors

Departmental scholarships 2/4 years (soph + junior)

Research funding awards from biochem department

University Honors College

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

Biochemistry club volunteer coordinator - not really pertinent. No TAing

Special Bonus Points: 

Professor from 2 schools I applied to seemed enthusiastic when I email-ed them

Research experience (almost) directly in the areas I wish study in grad school

Letters of Rec

From PI in my long-term lab.  I was one of the first undergrads in the lab, have made a couple pretty valuable contributions over the years. Thinks I am a good person

PI from summer lab. Pretty well-known and was impressed by me this summer

Academic advisor who knows me pretty well. Did very well in her biochemistry course.

Applying to Where:

Yale - BBS - Biochemistry, Quantitative Bio, Structural Biology, and Biophysics track

Stanford - Biochemistry

Berkeley - Molecular and Cell Bio

UCLA - Bioinformatics

UW - Genome Science

CU Boulder - Biochemistry

Watson School of Biological Science

Johns Hopkins - CMDB

 

 

Good luck to everyone!

[2pai]

Undergrad Institution: Large, private school (~60 on USNWR)
Major(s): Molecular Biology
Minor(s): Math, Computer Science
GPA in Major: 3.92
Overall GPA: 3.93
Position in Class: ?
Type of Student: Domestic, white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 170 (97%)
V: 166 (97%)
W: 6.0 (99%)

B: 830 (91%)

Research Experience: 

3 years in epigenetics lab

2 summers in cancer biology lab at a competitive summer research program

2 semesters of microbiology research

Awards/Honors:

Recipient of university's highest merit-based scholarship

National Merit Scholar
 

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 

Teaching assistant for 2 years

 

Miscellaneous:

Extensive volunteer and leadership experience

Only one mid-author publication, but I imagine I'll be on several when results finally get published

Studied abroad and speak a few foreign languages

One of my LOR is from a non-science professor who knows me quite well

Applying to Where:

Stanford - Genetics

Duke - UPGG

Harvard - BBS

Penn - CAMB (G&E)

UCSF - TETRAD

WUSTL - DBBS

Utah - Molecular Biology

UCSD - BMS

UW - Genome Sciences