Biology/Biomedical Sciences Applicants 2008

<p>isnwta - I think if you wanted to go to med school and want financial aid, your best bet would be somewhere outside of the US, at least for the med school portion of your education. US med schools are extremely selective and don't take many international students, and it would be extremely difficult for you to get any financial aid. The more common path for you would be to get your medical degree outside the US, possibly get some experience in practice there too, then coming to the US, taking the Boards (MD exams) and doing a residency here. There are many many many MDs in the US that have taken this path.</p>

<p>To all those commenting on OHSU PMCB/UCSD Biochemistry, I've decided on heading off to UCSD in the fall - so thanks for all the help and advice.</p>

<p>Congrats Caldwa!</p>

<p>As another northwesterner, I know it can be tough to leave the PNW. Lots of people really love San Diego, so I am sure you will have fun. UCSD is also a great name to have on your CV (much better than OHSU). </p>

<p>I wonder if OHSU will have trouble filling their class. I know a lot of people (close to 10) from my weekend are going elsewhere. Then again they might not want as many this year, because of their financial problems.</p>

<p>@nickalternate
thanks for your advice...btw in the md programs..how selective is it for internationals asking financial aid?</p>

<p>Decided to go to Mount Sinai :) It feels good to have a final decision :)</p>

<p>Hard choice finally made...!</p>

<p>I'm joining the BCMB program at Weill Cornell. Anyone else?</p>

<p>Today Is The Day</p>

<p>isnwta,</p>

<p>I'm giving you third person observations...some of the top applicants/grad students I've met during my interviews said they originally applied for the MD/PhD program, but after hearing that they offered absolutely no financial aid, and required you to present funding for ALL FIVE YEARS right up front, they decided to opt for just the PhD. These students got some of the most prestigious fellowships with the PhD program.</p>

<p>So I guess...if you are aware of how selective it is for an international student applying for PhD programs...then you have a good idea for med programs...it is much more selective than PhD.</p>

<p>l3monkid,</p>

<p>Your information is not correct. If you look at most all MSTP programs across the country they offer a stipend that is similar to what graduate students get as well as all tuition and fees accrued for both degrees, making these positions the most competitive. I have heard of a few of these folks who merely did the joint program because they graduate without having to take on the extreme debt of medical education while living on a decent stipend.</p>

<p>Autocell you are correct about the funding for US citizens, but I think they were talking about international students. I have heard that funding is harder for international students doing MD/PhD, so they might be correct.</p>

<p>You are definately correct about the reasons many US citizens do MD/PhDs. I almost pursued this type of program. I am not so sure that I want an MD, so I decided to potentially do one after the PhD. I know ~10 people who applied to and where accepted to MD/PhD programs (many top tiers). Out of all of these, only one actually wanted to translational/basic science afterwards. Such a sad waist of US tax dollars........</p>

<p>mtlve - I am aware of this. Many schools still offer funding for internationals although most require that your undergraduate degree is from US or Canadian university. There isn't a need to mention that funding for internationals is more difficult because that is default.</p>

<p>FAQ[/url</a>] - Wash U
[url=<a href="http://www.med.upenn.edu/mstp/admission.shtml%5DPenn">http://www.med.upenn.edu/mstp/admission.shtml]Penn</a> Medicine MD-PhD Medical Scientist Training Program - Admission

International</a> Students applying MD/PhD - Student Doctor Network Forums</p>

<p>Thank you so much guys for all the informations</p>

<p>Accepted:
UChicago-molbio
UCDHSC-cellbiostuff
Duke-mol,cellbio
Yale-BBSMCDG or whatever it is</p>

<p>I opted for Yale because of specific faculty and my particular research focus. It was a better academic match for me, and the potential for great networking is looking really good. That said, I'm still jealous of all you who are going to Duke. I had the best time on their weekend, and the grad student community is awesome. Durham is lame, but you can easily buy a house (if you have some savings for a DP). Layed back, and would have been great. But alas, it wasn't the academic fit i was looking for.</p>

<p>I am graduate student in USA, I came he last fall. till now I am not satisfied witht the work here. MY gre score is 1140 and toefl is 94/120. is it advisable to re apply or to write GRE again?
plz sugggest something</p>

<p>Sree1984, unless your other credentials are amazing and you are looking to get into a top program, I would suggest giving the GREs another shot.</p>

<p>Thought some of you might be interested in this article, entitled "How to Succede in Science". It came out in Nature last month, so this link will only work really if your institution subscribes to Nature and you're on campus. Access</a> to articles : Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology </p>

<p>If the link does not work (highly possible) the title is above and the author is Jonathan Yewdell, and a quick search on Nature's site brings it up.</p>

<p>Did not work either way :-(</p>

<p>It worked for me. Very excellent article - great find! Thanks, aldo!</p>

<p>I'm applying to PhD programs in Cell Biology/ Molecular Biology. My specific topic of interest is cell death (apoptosis)/ cell cycle regulation. Some places I am applying to are BU, Dartmouth College, Princeton, Rockefeller.</p>

<p>I am currently finishing up my Masters in Microbiology at the University of Rhode Island. My GPA for my Masters isn't great, but my professors don't like to see "A"s on grad transcripts: they think that means you're not doing enough research. My GPA is above the 3.0 cutoff. It's around 3.3. I have mostly "B+"s and "A-"s and one "C". My GRE score is 1380 (V- 640, Q- 740) and my Biochem GRE is 77 percentile. I don't have any papers yet, but I know I will have about three in the next year and a half. I visited BU recently and met the prof I'm interested in working with, and she was impressed with the amount of research I had for a Masters. And I was able to demonstrate that I had read her research and thought about it to great depth. I have almost two years teaching experience (1 year as TA and almost a year as a one-on-one minority student tutor). My university is not famous, but my prof is a very famous and respected microbiologist. My LORs will be great: one from my PI, one from my teaching and one from a prof who had me as a student. </p>

<p>But I still have a bad feeling about my GPA. I think it might hold me back. </p>

<p>What do you guys think? Please. . . I'm freaking out.</p>

<p>Hi Nissle,</p>

<p>I'm also applying this cycle, from what I gathered, sometimes research carries a lot more weight than GPA and test scores. In your case, your research productivity is a fair demonstration of your abilities. References are also a bigger part than people think. So the bottom line is, you are competitive! I don't know, maybe you can retake the subject test and get a higher score to show them your mastery of undergraduate materials?</p>