pghbioteacher

Hey Virions-

Could you provide any insight into the different programs at Pitt (Bio Dept vs IBGP vs PIMB)?

Cheers.

Elocin

So I've decided to take Stony Brook out and replace it with Madison. I don't have much hope given my GRE scores, but the worst they'll do is say "no", right?

SMcRumble

Undergrad:Small liberal arts college
Major: Chemistry, Minor: Molecular Biology
GPA: 3.03 (Scences: 3.28)
GRE: V-166 (96%) Q-156 (68%) A-4.5 (78%)

I worked in a biochemistry lab durring my junior year of undergrad, and did an original theisis project in med chem my seinior year with no publications from either. Since I graduated in May 2010 I've worked in a neuropharm lab and have one first name publication in press, one first name under review, two first names being drafted right now, and a second name being drafted as well.

I am applying to Neuroscience programs at;

UPenn
Johns Hopkins
UT Southwestern
University of Chicago
Georgetown
Emory
Drexel

I was a little worried about my GPA being low so I took a non-degree graduate Pharmacology class and got an A, but I could only afford paying for one class.

air2147

Undergrad: state school
Major: math and did pre-med requirements
gpa: 3.4
GRE: V165 Q162 W5
Applying to molec biology/ a few systems biology programs

research experience: Nothing in college bc i didn't know what i wanted to do. Did a year and a half research in after college graduation... I have one publication in which i am 4th or 5th author in Cell reports but unfortunately it is still under revision. I did another project which i probably will be 1st or 2nd author on but unfortunately is not submitted yet.

I am sort of in a weird position because I don't feel I'm competitive for Systems biology programs because i have no background in programming or comp sci at all. And the only "science" background i have is the pre-med courses plus my research experience. So i don't feel fully qualified for either program. I am in between.... and as I had no idea i would be applying to PhD's while i was in college i feel sort of confused about the whole process or where I could be potentially admitted. And i was reading the thread from last year and there was some people admitted to top schools whose GPA's/ GRE's were not great and I couldn't help but wonder if they were minorities. i hope this doesn't come across wrong or offend anyone- i am just stating this because it clearly says on many websites that they hope to increase diversity

but heres the list so far...
columbia integrated program
weill cornell
mount sinai
nyu
bu
ucla access
rockefeller
ucsf tetrad
harvard bbs
cold spring (watson school biological sciences) / stony brook
yeshiva u- einstein
upenn ls
yale bbs
u maryland
mit
uc irvine

MicroB2012

Air2147: The schools you are applying to are extremely selective, my suggestion is to apply some more safer schools.

zotzotzot13

Biology Major
3.78
2 years research in undergrad
162V 161Q 4.5W

UNC- Chapel Hill BBSP
U texas- Austin CMB
UCLA Access
Emory GBBS
U Arizona BBS
Berkeley MCB
UC Davis BMCDB
UC Riverside CMDB
Northwestern IBIS
UMD - College Park BISI

Good luck everyone, I'm glad not to be applying to the same schools as some of you

virions

pghbioteacher: I didn't really look at the bio department, as I was more interested in molecular biology related to biomedical sciences. I did not apply to the IMB program, because the faculty that I would be interested in (who were also not at the top of my list) are also in IBGP.

The IBGP is really quite huge. As you likely know, you can rotate in any of six programs before deciding which to join for years 2 through x. So if you're at all undecided as to a particular field, or just want to rotate in another area for your own curiosity, you can do that. I feel that even within each of the individual IBGP programs, there is an impressive faculty list compared to some of the other independent programs. PIMB seems to cover most of the same research areas as IBGP (except maybe pharm), just with much fewer people.

I don't actually know anyone in PIMB. They may be more selective, but I'm not sure. I would probably only consider it if the faculty list lined up perfectly with my interests and included my top choices. Their webpage suggests that it's not uncommon for students to graduate within 4 years. The Pathology program (within IBGP) has a similar track record.

There is also IDM in the school of public health, which offers MS as well as PhD. I've met some people in this program. Seems to be a good option if your interests match up. But if I recall, there were a lot of people complaining online last season about how few students they were actually looking to take (1-2), and how little funding many of the faculty members had. These people seemed to feel misled.

Oh, and if you're into structural biology there is the joint MBSB program with CMU which allows you to do rotations at either school.

CSCmeta

Undergrad:top-50 small liberal arts college
Major: Biology & Chemistry
GPA: 3.81 (Sciences: 3.90)
GRE: Q-163 V-155 A-4.5
I'm applying to cancer/cell&molecular programs-biomed sciences. I worked in a big-name lab, strong recs, 1 first author pub, 2 years research exp.

Harvard
MIT
Stanford
UCSF
Rockefeller
Gerstner-Sloan kettering
UTSouthwestern
Baylor College of Medicine
Vanderbilt

Since my general GRE is not stellar, I took the gre biochem test with a 81% overall: 92%cell, 84%biochem, 55%molecular. Do you think whether this biochem score will help or hurt my application if I submit it? FYI: I'm an international student. Stanford is one of my top choices, and they will use gre scores to weed out applicants in the initial review.

BambooPanda

Undergrad: Private research university
Major: Biochemistry, Molecular Biology
GPA: 3.77
Research experience: 2 full years, 2 additional summers beyond that
GRE: 99th percentile
Graduate programs in biology (cancer)
[Prospective Graduate Schools]
MIT
Stanford
Duke
Harvard
Berkeley
UCSF
Northwestern
UChicago

molliebatmit

No, they were people whose application strengths were not visible in message board postings.

<--3.3 GPA, admitted to Harvard/Stanford/MIT/Berkeley/etc., not a minority

hsp104

After lurking for a bit, here goes;
International student
Undergrad: B.Pharm. (University of Mumbai) Four-year course
Undergrap GPA: 3.9

Grad: M.S. Biotechnology from an Institute of National importance in India(expected to completed in June 2013)
Grad GPA: around 3.53

GRE: 163Q(88%) 157V(77%) 4.0W
TOEFL iBT: 112

Research Experience: Working on Master's thesis since 9 months (7 more months to go) in a reputed lab in India. No publications. Presented poster in a well known national conference.
Worked for 3 months in a lab as part of my credit seminar (Master's 1st Sem)
Extensive lab experience during undergrad in Pharmacology lab, Formulations, Cosmetics, Organic chemistry
Master's course is heavily research based with entire 2nd year only consisting of laboratory research for the thesis
Strong rec's from my PI and 2 other scientists in my scientific appraisal committee
Prospective programs: Applying to interdepartmental umbrella programs where I can make a decision on my thesis lab after rotations (without program restriction). Want to gain insight into various research areas as I do not have 100% conviction on what I want to work on in the future

Harvard BBS
Rockefeller
Northwestern iBiS
UT-Houston GSBS
Washington University in St. Louis DBBS
Vanderbilt IGP
Caltech
CSHL (+Stony Brook for CSHL)
UT Southwestern
Baylor College of Medicine
UW-Madison
UMinnesota Twin cities
MIT biology
Weill-Cornell
UPenn (CAMB probably)
Toying with Stanford

A few questions: Am I applying to places out of reach? What part of my application will hurt me the most? I am an international student. Any other suggestions would be welcome

Elocin

My understanding is that experience/SOP/LORs can trump a low GPA/GRE. It's possible these people who got in wrote excellent SOPs, had great experience, and golden LORs, and they're not minorities.

Also, and I looked at Biological Sciences rankings for these, but what is considered a high tier, mid tier, and low tier school?

It appears we have a lot of people applying for Northwestern's IBiS with stellar applications. Good luck, guys.

neuroticneuron1

Midrange medium size private midwestern research university
Computational Biology / Biochemistry
GPA:3.95
GRE: 170V (99%), 169Q (98%), 4.5W(72%), biochem subject test (98%)
3 years research experience overall
2 years in my field, including 2 summer programs
One mid-author pub in the works, some poster sessions at my school and in the summer progs

Applying to molecular biology programs
WashU
UCLA
Duke
UT Southwest
UMichigan
CWRU
UCSD
UW Madison
UW Seattle
Northwestern

biophdhopefully

Undergrad: Small Midwest liberal arts college
Major: Biology & Chemistry-Health Science double major
GPA: 3.98
GRE: V-170 (99%), Q-161 (83%), A-5.0 (92%)

Research: two years independent undergrad including one summer, but will not be able to give an external presentation until April, and a paper seems unlikely now as all that I've learned is that the new methodology I was examining the feasibility of... isn't feasible.

I think the tiny school I went to and lack of papers is going to kill me, and the good stats in here make me more uncertain that my own application will be viable at this level. Also, the area I really like, evolutionary development, is completely unrelated to my undergrad research. Nonetheless, this is my list:

(Molecular Biology)

UPenn
Pitt PIMB
Case Western Reserve
Washington STL
Wisconsin-Madison
UMichigan
Northwestern
Baylor College of Medicine
Carnegie Mellon

Always happy to get advice, and good luck everyone!

biotechstudent

Here's my stats:

Major: Biotechnology
Undergrad: Large Public Top Research University
GPA: 3.80, Science: 3.75
GRE: V 155 (65%), Q 161 (83%), AW 4.5 (73%)

Research: Molecular Genetics lab for 3 years, Biochemistry lab for 1 year, One summer at Stanford doing a collaboration for my PI. I've presented my research at two national conferences, 2 university genetics conferences, and a few undergraduate symposiums. I'm working on my honors thesis and I'll eventually have a 1st or 2nd author publication, hopefully before I graduate!

Schools- mainly in molecular biology
Stanford
UC Berkeley
UC San Francisco TETRAD
UCLA ACCESS
Rockefeller
UNC Chapel Hill
Weill Cornell Medical College
Sloan-Kettering
Columbia
Duke

I'm really stressed out about applying...do you think I've got a shot? I'm mainly worried about my mediocre GRE scores. I took the Biology GRE last weekend so the official scores will be sent in a bit late but the programs I called assured me it would be fine. As for Letters of Rec I'm fairly confident they will be strong.