<p>I’ve been pretty open with abbreviations, after stating the full name of the school I switched over to abbreviations. Well, Northwestern and Purdue weren’t too difficult as I just dropped the “University” part of the name, and University of Illinois-Chicago I abbreviated to “UIC”, a common abbreviation for the school. And then for University of Massachusetts-Amherst, I resorted to “UMass”.</p>
<p>The only one I’m iffy about and I may have made a mistake on is UW-Madison, where I just abbreviated it as Madison. I’m hoping this will be overlooked as I’m native to the area (evidenced by transcripts), and “Madison” is what we call UW-Madison to distinguish it from UW-Milwaukee.</p>
<p>We’ll see how that plays out when it comes to admissions.</p>
<p>@gonnabePhD I would highlight your strengths with regards to work. What kind of unique experiences have working in your field given you, and how can you apply your skills to researching Behavioural Neuroscience?</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s a big deal to use abbreviations that people at the school would use themselves. I think if you look on the web site and they use abbreviations on the web site, it’s probably acceptable. It’s probably not a great idea to make them up on your own, though.</p>
<p>Do you happen to know how long it should be? I figured 1 page and so far I have half a page. So far I have talked about my diverse background, as a Filipino born in Australia who immigrated to the US. I also mentioned that I am a student ambassador and I collaborate with with McNair scholars program to recruit under represented students. I became interested in science during high school when I took AP biology and participated in a number of science competitions. I guess I am just having writer’s block and I can’t think of how I can word it without sounding really cheesy, lol. Also, do you know if there is a limit for the personal statement? Mine is 2 pages.</p>
<p>Another question- on some of the applications they have a place where you can enter your publications. However, they don’t have a place where you can upload a CV or enter presentations. I have presented at a number of national conferences, but I have no publications. How should I approach this? Should I mention my presentations in the publications section?</p>
<p>Large private research university
Major: Biomedical Engineering (BME)
GPA: 3.9 (total and major)
GRE: 167 (Q), 166 (V), 4.0 (AW)
1 oral presentation at a national conference
1 poster presentation at a science competition
1 minor author on a computational bio publication
various research fundings
~2.5 years of research experience (tissue engineering, syn. bio, microfluidics+stem cell)
LOR from well known PIs</p>
<p>Harvard
MIT
BU
Tufts
Cornell
Michigan
UCLA
Duke
Penn
Brown</p>
<p>So yeah here is my stats, planning to submit the apps next week. Currently planning to apply for PhD in BME/Bioengineering. I have no idea how grad school admissions process is like - hopefully I can learn more about what to expect in the next several weeks lol. Will really appreciate it if you give me some input about where else to apply!</p>
<p>Thanks! I have no idea, they must do. I was really surprised as its not even their deadline yet but I looked through some old forums and people were invited as early as October in the past. Either that or its a mistake!!</p>
<p>i’m not sure of the length, but i think only one page each. i think your outline sounds good. yeah, i noticed that some don’t allow you to enter a cv, but in that case if you have something that you still really want to give, maybe you can email the admissions office and ask them? they might say yes.</p>
<p>[Undergrad. University] Medium size state school
[Undergrad. Major(s)] Biochemistry
[Undergrad GPA] 3.24
[Grad. Major(s)] Biomedical Science
[Grad GPA] 3.84
[Years of Research Experience] 4.5 years in biotech R&D, a patent, Red letters from the CEO, VP of R&D, Dir.of Process development, Dir. of R&D
[GRE Scores] 147V 155Q 4AW
[Prospective Graduate Program] Biomedical sciences, Stem cell and regenerative medicine, immunology
[Prospective Graduate Schools] Stanford, UW, UCSF, UCSC, USC, UCSD, UCI, UCD, UCSB ( I love CA too much!)</p>
<p>I would consider myself a minority and “disadvantage” but I find it hard to write those statements. Maybe because I’ve been living in the bay area and I don’t feel like a minority…?</p>
