Biology/Biomedical Sciences Applicants 2008

<p>GeGe, I am the parent of an undergraduate student in her third year on the Columbia campus. Obviously, I feel that she is very safe there. Of course, one has to be aware of surroundings and not be foolish by doing things like walking alone late at night or through parks at night, etc. There is ample security and escort services are available if you need to go somewhere late at night. I would be more concerned, frankly, about the area around Penn, but that is supposition on my part since I have no direct experience with it.</p>

<p>GeGe, churchmusicmom:</p>

<p>The Columbia undergrad campus is in a fantastic neighborhood about 60 blocks south of the medical campus which is in a not so fantastic neighborhood (Washington Heights). Most of the grad students at the med campus didn't seem to spend much time there except for work/school and sometimes living in the housing that is directly adjacent. That said, most of New York is very safe compared to many of the other cities with great universities (i.e. Baltimore, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Chicago, etc...).</p>

<p>In terms of research, Columbia is one of, if not the top places to study pathobiology, which is the main focus of the Mechanisms of Health and Disease program. However, UPenn is one of the top places to study microbiology which is one of the main focuses of the CAMB program. Risking an overgeneralization, I'd say that the Columbia program is better for applied/medical/translational research and the UPenn program is better for basic research. FYI, I visited both of these programs and have chosen UPenn for various reasons.</p>

<p>boltdude-
don't think of my answers as final, but here's what I think:</p>

<p>1.) Working in a pharmacy and a biotech company IS experience in your chosen field and it WILL be looked on favorably during the admissions process. Don't sell yourself short on these - play them and talk about them in your application and interviews. Also, since you have another year in school, maybe there is some type of research lab you can work in at your college - ask around, and again tell of your work experience and you'll be a strong candidate. Finally, many universities and gov't agencies have programs for college graduates to get research experience before applying to grad school - if you want a sure shot at your very top choice of grad school program, you could do this for a year or 2 (they pay you!!!).</p>

<p>2.) I definitely think this PI thought is a myth. The admissions is merit based and I don't think there is any sort of corruption. Caveat: it may help you if the admissions people and department chair know who your PI is or work in a similar field. Even then, it only helps a little if at all. But I for one definitely do not believe in some sort of dynasty situation.</p>

<p>I am not sure your GPA is good enough</p>

<p>boltdude:</p>

<p>I just went through the admissions process (with surprising success!) and wanted to reassure you. I only started research in an academic lab my senior year of undergrad. I have since worked 1.5 years as an RA at UCSF (sort of comparable to biotech work). You are not in a bad position, but I would definitely advise you to seek out work where you demonstrate independent research experience. For example, if possible at your current job try to conduct your own experiments. Or find an academic lab at your institution and apply for a grant to get a paid a bit!</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>boltdude:
yep, your biotech and pharm experiences are VERY valuable. You still need self-directed, independent research work (for the PhD part of your pharmD/PhD program), but just remember that you're already half set so don't sweat it.</p>

<p>also, research pays! I did four 4-month research terms when I was an undergrad and got paid for every single one. It really helps when you can get a research scholarship and the prof only has to pay you like an extra $2/hr to subsidize your income.</p>

<p>Well there's one more week until April 15! Where did everyone get accepted and where are you headed next year? Please!! Everyone share their plans!!
I'll start:</p>

<p>I was turned down by:
-Harvard BBS-cell bio
-Yale BBS-pharmacology
-Northwestern-IBiS</p>

<p>I turned down offers from:
-UWisconsin-biochem
-UMichigan-PIBS
-Johns Hopkins-pharmacology
-Johns Hopkins-molecular medicine
-Weill/Cornell-pharmacology
-Columbia-interdisciplinary
-UMarylandCP-CBMG
-Boston University-BCMB</p>

<p>And I've decided to go to UPenn-CAMB. I picked it for its great funding, outstanding facilities, approachable faculty, happy grad students, and high stipend.</p>

<p>nickalternate,</p>

<p>How much is the stipend at UPenn? Anyway, which school (that you got offers from) had the highest stipend?</p>

<p>GeGe: yea we might have met at Penn. I have friends who live outside of Philadelphia and they ALLL tell me that New York is much safer than Philly. I'm going to Columbia next year and I'm not really too worried about it.</p>

<p>Maco - I judge stipends based on an "formula" where I divide the stipend amount by my percieved cost of living in that location (I don't use real numbers, it's just a mental thing).</p>

<p>UPenn is 28,000/yr - not bad for Philly
Weill/Cornell of course was the highest at like 31K or so, but that's stretching you think in Manhattan
Schools in small midwest college towns (ie UMich, UWisc) have low stipends, but they cover you comfortably in these low-cost areas
The worst stipend overall - U of Maryland - College Park, where it's low (23K or so) and the cost of living is very high (at least if you want a safe neighborhood in the MD suburbs or in northwest DC)</p>

<p>All right, here's my final summary:</p>

<p>Accepted:
Yale MCDB
Indiana Biology
UWisconsin-Madison CMB
UWashington-Seattle MCB
UChicago Mol Biosciences
UC-Berkeley MCB</p>

<p>plus invites at a few more schools I elected not to interview at. I have officially declined the offers at all but UWash-MCB and UC-Berkeley. I just found out I got a Fulbright to do ChIP-chips on Hox genes in tunicates in Norway, so I'm deferring for a year to do that.</p>

<p>I've asked Berkeley for a deferral, but if they reject my request, I'll see some of you guys at UW-MCB in fall 2009!</p>

<p>Thanks everyone for your responses!</p>

<p>Bioangele, what UCSF program are you currently in? If you dont mind, may i please message you and ask you some questions?</p>

<p>I think the answer is no to this question, but I'm not sure.</p>

<p>How important is it to have experience in a research program/internship over summers (i.e. something like NIH or AMGEN) to the application?</p>

<p>Would it hurt the application in any way if I just worked in the lab I've been working in for a few semesters and never applied to those programs outside of my university?</p>

<p>ookla,</p>

<p>Are you at a big research institution? If you are, I think that you might be okay. If you are at a LAC or a place not well known for research, you might try to get a research position somewhere else. I went to a LAC and people got into grad school from my college (places like rochester, wisconsin, penn state, etc), but people tended to get into better places if they spent at least one summer away (berkeley, ucsf, duke, hopkins, etc). It is also important to get letters from your mentors off campus.</p>

<p>Accepted: OHSU, UT Southwestern, Duke, Hopkins, Baylor
Waitlisted: Yale (give me some love!)
Rejected: Wash U and Upenn (my top choices) and a few others
Attending: Duke? (scared to sign my life away!!)</p>

<p>Good luck to everyone still deciding and still waiting.</p>

<p>Ookla - I agree with mtlve, one of the best reasons to do research outside your university lab is to generate multiple recommendations from people who have worked with you in a research setting, especially PIs.</p>

<p>However, there can be something said for staying put - after all, the more time you put into a project, the more presentations/possibility for publication you will have. </p>

<p>For me, I worked in my home institution lab for two summers, after sophomore and junior year. However, I did get one outside experience - I took a semester off from school and got a SULI internship in a Dept. of Energy biology lab.</p>

<p>Rejected:
Berkeley</p>

<p>Accepted and declined:
Weill Cornell
UW Seattle
Northwestern</p>

<p>Going to:
UCLA - The students looked really happy, the weather is great, closest to home, lots and lots of faculty I'm interested in working with.</p>

<p>"However, there can be something said for staying put - after all, the more time you put into a project, the more presentations/possibility for publication you will have. </p>

<p>For me, I worked in my home institution lab for two summers, after sophomore and junior year. However, I did get one outside experience - I took a semester off from school and got a SULI internship in a Dept. of Energy biology lab."</p>

<p>I agree that staying put is a good idea. I worked in a lab at my LAC for two years, and this help me develop into an independent researcher. You also get to experience things you may not if you only do summers away (e.g. presentations, writing pubs, working on project long term).</p>

<p>On the otherhand, a letter of rec from a big name at a research orientated school can go a long way. A guy from my school got into all of the big named MCB programs (Hopkins, Berkeley, UCSF, etc) with merely a summer of research. His PI was a big named HHMI investigator. Admissions committees are composed of scientists. Scientists are more apt to pay attention to letters from big named investigators than a professor at a LAC. Very few people at my interviews were interested in research I did at my LAC. My current boss (at a big research institution) is a big name that switched fields recently. I think that I got an interview at one school because a few members of the admissions committee knew my boss and they wanted to talk to me about my boss switching fields. </p>

<p>In summary, ookla, I would continue doing a long term research project at your school. If you are at a non-research institution, I would try to go away for a semester, summer, or a year if you are aiming for top10 (or maybe top 20). If you are fine with a lower ranked program, you are fine staying at your home institution. </p>

<p>If you can get a high impact pub out of your research at a non-research school, then going away is probably not as much of a necessity.</p>

<p>thanks for all the help! I go to UCLA so I guess it won't be a big problem. I guess I'll consider doing a program for a different experience and for rec letters</p>

<p>ookla,</p>

<p>Yes you should be fine with UCLA, but you could still do a summer program if you want. REUs are a good opportunity to go learn more about a school/ area of the country that interests you. Some grad programs highly prefer their summer students, so they are also good for safeties.</p>