Advice needed - PhD in Biology with a 3.1 GPA

Graduate School
1

<p>Hello! I could really use some help on whether I'm on the right track in my graduate school application. </p>

<p>Currently, I'm most worried about my low GPA and analytical scores, and it appears that the programs I'm most interested in - Immunology with an emphasis in Public Health 0 are at the top tier schools. Should I wait another year or apply now? If I apply now, should I throw in some lower level schools even if the programs are not exactly what I want? </p>

<p>People give me VERY mixed reviews, but these are generally individuals who haven't been in grad school for a long time or other students who I cannot tell if they're being genuine or not. Some are like - oh, you're from Berkeley, you'll be fine. Others are - my God, thats a low GPA. </p>

<p>Here are my stats:
Overall GPA: 3.1
Major GPA (BA in Public Health): 3.0
GRE: 590V/780Q/4.5A
Undergraduate: UC Berkeley
Current job: Emerging Infectious Disease Fellow at the Centers for Disease Control</p>

<p>I have quite a bit of research experience, but I haven't published any papers! I didn't have time, because I finished Berkeley in 3 years while holding down a part time job. </p>

<p>Graduate programs:
UC Berkeley
Johns Hopkins
Emory
Harvard
UMich Ann Arbor. </p>

<p>Give the unvarnished truth! I really am confused.</p>

2

<p>You should definitely be able to get into a graduate program, however you would probably have a difficult time getting into the schools you've listed. It doesn't hurt to try though but I would research another school or two that are less selective.</p>

3

<p>i would not worry about the low gpa. you have fantastic experience and show long-term dedication. anyway, cal is notorious for their grades. relax and apply to the schools that you really want to get into- you will have no problems.</p>

4

<p>
[quote]
I have quite a bit of research experience, but I haven't published any papers!

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That's okay...most successful applicants have not. Having some research experience is what matters.</p>

<p>Coming out of a school of Berkeley's caliber, your GPA is fine - it meets the magical B average line (as I used to call it as an undergrad). What matters once you're above that line is the rest of your application.</p>

<p>Your job and research are good. Your GRE is okay, but it would be nice to see the verbal and writing scores come up a bit. Your SOP and LORs will matter a lot.</p>

<p>All the schools that you're applying to are pretty competitive - I think you have a decent shot at them, but you're not assured of getting in somewhere. If you really want to ensure that you get in somewhere, you may want some less competitive programs in the mix. Make sure that you're a good research fit at any programs you apply to, and consider contacting profs at some of those schools to talk about their research.</p>

5

<p>You should cut Berkley off of your list of grad school apps. You went there for undergrad so they won't consider you for grad.</p>

6

<p>GPAs are hard to keep up in the sciences, so I wouldn't put too much stake in it. A lot of science majors also tend to get lowish verbal/writing scores but a stellar quantitative section, which you also have. And as far as publishing papers is concerned, the reality is that the majority of those who have really had nothing to do with the research beyond physically carrying it out and listening patiently while their advisor/supervising grad student explains the details. Some really exceptional students get first billing, but most get the number three "I didn't write this paper, and probably haven't even read it, but I transferred the bacterial cultures while Mr. Grad Student was busy running one of the prof's better funded and more interesting projects." :p</p>

<p>Your major GPA probably also doesn't show much (by the way, are you fluffing up that BA with minors or certificates? Most applicants to these top-tier doctoral programs will have BS's)--what counts is how you performed in the courses related to your doctoral program. How did you do in organic chemistry? Inorganic? Genetics? Physics (pref. calculus based)? If you didn't take these because they weren't required for your major, you might run into another problem: any doctoral biology program will have expected you to have a background in them, so you might have to play some first year course catch-up if accepted. Of course, I don't know how much you'll actually <i>need</i> them with your emphasis on public health, which will probably care more about your statistics and people skills than the hard-core molecular research programs I'm thinking of. Most biologists don't really need physics anyway. They just make us take it. -.-</p>

<p>In any case, it is always a good idea to add some "safeties" to the list. There's not a single program on your list that every serious bio major in the country isn't dying to get into. They're also expensive, so the fellowships you're probably hoping for will be highly competitive as well. Why not add another UC: Irvine has a public health program. Or nice Big 10 school...cost of living is cheap here ^-^</p>

7

<p>Someone please correct me if i'm wrong, but from what I understand, BA vs. BS doesn't matter as long as you're still taking courses like organic, physics, genetics, etc...</p>

8

<p>"Someone please correct me if i'm wrong, but from what I understand, BA vs. BS doesn't matter as long as you're still taking courses like organic, physics, genetics, etc..."</p>

<p>For grad school, it shouldn't matter, unless as you said the BA was lacking important courses (at my school, for example, you can flake out of the second semesters of physics, calculus, and organic). For employability without grad school, it does matter--a BS in biology will get you a science-related job after college a heck of a lot faster than a BA will. And a BA in chemistry is worthless as far as both employers and grad schools are concerned. But bio people are nicer :)</p>

9

<p>Do you have great letters of rec and have you worked with a reputable scientist? You may need both of these to rescue your app. If you want to appy this year, I would go ahead and do so but I would at least double the list of schools you apply to. I would add a lot of schools at Michigan and Emory's level vs Harvard/Berkeley (10-15 apps). Grad school apps are unpredictable, you may get all of these interviews or only a small handful. Taking a year or more off is also beneficial and its fun.</p>

<p>I know several people that applied with less than perfect apps, and they typically do not get any love from places like Berkeley, MIT, Harvard, Rockefeller, and UCSF. These people got interviews at the following excellent places: Hopkins, Duke, Michigan, Wisconsin, U Washington.</p>

<p>I would check out places in less popular areas such as the south and the mid west, since they get fewer quality applications relative to places such as Berkeley. I would check out UT Southwestern too; they have excellent research but are ignored my many applicants.</p>

10

<p>Hey guys,
Thanks for all the encouragement and help. I clicked "submit" on both Berkeley's and Harvard's last night and the insecurities are settling in. It was great to reread the comments and reassure myself that things will work out alright. I added University of Georgia to my list but thats about it because I couldn't find any other programs I liked. </p>

<p>About the BA vs BS - in Berkeley everyone in the college of letters and sciences gets a BA, even if you're MCB or biology. I've taken all my ochem and hard science classes, so it should be just fine. </p>

<p>Good luck to everyone applying this fall!</p>

11

<p>Hi! I have a really similar situation, and really similar interests (I would LOVE to do the CDC Emerging Diseases Fellowship, a speaker from the CDC came to one of my grad classes and it sounds awesome!) I was just wondering how your grad school search has gone. I go to Notre Dame, so about the same rank as Berkeley, and I will have just above a 3.0 upon graduation. I’ve had quite a bit of research experience and taken a few grad classes. My GPA is lacking mostly because (similar to you) I’ve had to work a lot, and my father has been really sick so I’ve had to take care of him. If you have any tips on grad school applications and/or the CDC fellowship I would really appreciate it! Hope everything has gone well for you!</p>

12

<p>I applied to grad school this past cycle as a college senior, and here were my stats:
BA in biology from top 20 liberal arts college, where BS’s are not granted
3.0 overall GPA, 3.0 major GPA
GRE 710 Quant, 520 Verbal, 4.0 AW
Research experience- three summer internship programs at large research universities (my three advisers wrote my letters of recommendation) and a year-long senior thesis.</p>

<p>Like you, I thought my stats would be a deal-breaker for most universities, but was encouraged to apply to any program that interested me. People on this board seem to freak out if they under a 3.5 GPA, but my professors were incredibly supportive and emphasized that my laboratory experience was enough to put me in the running for good programs. I ended up getting interviews at Emory, NYU, Einstein, Dartmouth, University of Rochester, Tufts, and Boston University, and will be starting at Emory this fall!</p>

<p>During my interviews, I was never grilled for an explanation about my low GPA; as long as your application packet is well put together you also should have many options.</p>

<p>Also, to anyone reading: apply to any program that interests you! I got an interview at Dartmouth despite their website stating they require a 4.5 AW score, and I also got an interview at UofR while their admissions website says you need a 3.25 GPA. Again, a passionate statement of purpose and letters of recommendation go a long way.</p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

13

<p>@laffietaffie I’m not morningmist10 (obviously) but I think I know who she is and if I’m right, she got into Johns Hopkins. </p>

<p>I’m also a CDC EID fellow (I think the same class/year as morningmist10) so if you have any Qs about the program you can PM me.</p>

14

<p>hmmm, a kind of amazing thread to read.
I’m curious, whether this leniency with the GPA is only found in public health, or if it’s possible to get ahead in other areas of biology with grades like these. my GPA is just like the ones here, and I’ve been involved in “physically carrying out” research for a while, but I basically thought I was out of the running for grad school.</p>

<p>btw, if applicants like me don’t have good chances at these schools, don’t worry about saying so. I am all about back-up options and not over-planning, so I would definitely find something else to do with my degree.</p>

15

<p>I want to do a PhD in pharmacology, but my GPA is below 3.0 (in chem - biochem from UC San Diego). It’s my frosh/soph GPA that’s dragging it down though. By the time I apply next year, my junior senior GPA will be around 3.1 probably. Here’s my stats, and the schools I’m looking at.</p>

<p>For MS (Molecular Biology or Toxicology): Rutgers, U Connecticut, U Maryland
For PhD (which is what I’d rather do- in Pharmacology): Einstein College, CUNY, NYU, Columbia University</p>

<p>Obviously I’d love to go to either NYU or Columbia, but here’s my stats:</p>

<p>Current GPA (not so good one) at 2.5- hopefully be up to a 2.6 or 2.7 cumulative by the time I apply in fall. My junior/senior GPA by that time will probably be a 3.0 or 3.1. I did pretty badly in my first 2 years. I had a really hard time settling in, plus the crap that was (and still is) going on in my family didn’t really do much in helping my cause. Oh, and my best grades (A’s and some B’s) are in upper division lab classes.</p>

<p>Looking at hopefully getting GRE scores in the range of 650-800. Maybe around that on the chemistry subject test as well.</p>

<p>Lab experience- I’ve got quite a bit.
Aug 2011 - June 2012 in Dr. Alex Hoffmann’s lab doing B cell gene expression to check for oncogenes.
June 2012 - present in Dr. Simpson Joseph’s lab going protein purification for the product protein of the gene that causes Fragile X Mental Retardation. (If all goes well, I could possibly get a publication out of this one.)
***Both my PIs have mentioned before that I’m a labrat, so I can get good letters of rec from them.</p>

<p>Work Experience:
-Feb 2012 - present: administrative assistant at UCSD’s Research Ethics program</p>

<p>Extra-curriculars:
-Co-Editor-In-Chief of the Triple Helix Magazine on campus
-Financial Manager and National Liaison for Face AIDS at UCSD
-Former member of an acapella group on campus</p>

<p>Any thoughts with this? I know the GPA is reallllyyyyy damn bad, but do I even have a chance at any of the colleges I’m looking at with the rest of my stuff?</p>

16

<p>^^this is a really old thread. Suggest you start a new Chances thread.</p>

17

I know this thread is super old but I’m currently in the same shoes as you and I was wondering how it all worked out? I’m major in Microbial Biology and have a 3.3 GPA and have been quite involved in research but I’m not sure if I should be aiming for lower tier schools since I don’t a 3.5 or more