Let's get this back on track. I just got my subject scores. They are ok, but damnit I thought I did a lot better. So here is the whole package and the list of schools to which I'm applying.
Programs: Biomedical Sciences, or Cell and Molecular Biology
Focus: Cancer Biology - Signal Transduction and Immunotherapy
Major: Molecular Cellular Biology - top 20 private school (domestic applicant)
Overall GPA: 3.56 Major GPA: 3.68
GRE: Q: 790 (92%), V 560 (77%), W 5.0 (81%)
GRE Subject: Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology 640 (86%) (Comments?)
Research Experience: By the time I graduate in May, I will have three and a half years of research experience. 1 year in an Organic chemistry lab listening to a grad student and purifying reaction products. The remainder of my time has been spent in my current lab. I am currently working on an honors thesis. We don't have any graduate students in the lab. So I communicate with the PI about everything. I have been working on the same project since I came to the lab and my progress has been pretty good. I expect most if not all of my experiments will end up in a publication after I graduate, or right around April and May. I am just looking for the final details to complete the story, so to speak. No conferences, no papers, no abstracts. (
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LORs: One from the PI I listed above. He is the chair of the Bio department if that means anything. I know he thinks highly of me, so that should be good. One from a professor who has taught two of my Genetics courses. I regularly communicate with her about my research and she said not to worry about giving her a CV or any cover letter, she knew exactly what she wanted to write (I'm assuming good! haha). She seemed very positive about my chances. The third letter is from a professor whom taught a genetics course of mine, and I also TA one of his classes. He's kind of hard to read, but I know he thinks highly of me. This might be my weakest letter. But I'm not really stressed over it.
Work experience: Not sure if it matters, but I have been a TA for this semester and next. I have also been a resident adviser for what will be 3 years upon graduation.
Statement of Purpose: Describes my efforts in my current lab, and my goals for graduate study. A few of the profs on the admissions committee here helped me with it, and they thought it was outstanding. So I think I'm in good shape here.
Overall: I'm only worried about my GRE scores. However, of all things I think this is the best place to be lacking. Is my subject test score acceptable for top notch programs? Does it even matter? I only sent it to Weill Cornell, Sloan Kettering, UCSF, Rockefeller, and U Chicago. And lastly, I am trying to coordinate going to school with my long term girlfriend. She is applying to medical school, so we are applying all over the place. Hence why I am applying to 14 programs. I have completed my application at 9 of the schools. I plan to finish UCSF, Northwestern, UNC, NYU and USC over the next week or so. I need to polish a diversity statement for most of them.
Applied:
Sloan Kettering
Weill Cornell
U Penn
U Chicago
Rockefeller
NYU - Sackler (MOI)
Northwestern
Vanderbilt
UCLA
USC
Wake Forest
UCSD
UNC
UCSF
I'm not feeling overly optimistic right now. But maybe that will change later. My transcript should be alright, big upward swing in my GPA over the last 3 semesters in which I took most of my upper level bio classes.
Anyone know what admissions are like to Sloan Kettering or Weill Cornell? They are my top choices right now. Good luck guys.
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