Is it enough to apply for a PhD?

Katanaji
Wed, 18 Mar 2009 10:48:19 +0000

Hi!

I am French, I am a girl, and I study for a BSc (Hons) Natural Sciences at the University of Durham (UK).
I will probably graduate with a first class honor degree. I did a research summer internship at UC Berkeley, (went really well, the Prof. said I was the best assistant she ever had), a UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunity Placement) at the Royal Botanical Gardens and Imperial College London, and this summer I will do another research internship at Harvard. I am sponsored by the Rotary International and I received a prize for my work from the Royal British Mycological Society.

But apart from that, I am not extremely involved in my university. I play Cricket but only in the B Team, I play the Ocarina in amateur (!), I am in the Castle Chapel Choir but I am in no way a soloist, I am a Tea Researcher in the Tea and Biscuit Society (lol) , I was the yearbook editor last year, and i will be the Junior Librarian next year. No real key position. I published a few “scientific” articles and texts for children for the British Museum.

So I was wondering how my PhD application would be regarded at Stanford? Do extracurricular activities matter as much for graduate applications as it does for the undergraduate ones?

Do you know the Biology department at Stanford? Did you have a good experience in your lab? Do you enjoy your graduate studies there?

Sorry for all these questions… and many thanks :)