<p>I have completed a 3 yr Bachelors in Biotech,Genetics and Biochemistry (triple major) followed by a Masters in Biotechnology from India. My GPAs are not too great- I converted them from percentages and they seem to be about 3.2 in undergrad and 3.3 in masters. </p>
<p>I live near Boston with my husband and we cannot move because of his job. So, Im looking for grad schools near boston offering plant biotech or cell and mol bio. Im having trouble identifying safeties from the available schools. Can someone help me please?</p>
<p>The schools Im thinking of applying to are:</p>
<p>Reach:
Harvard
Harvard Public Health
MIT</p>
<p>Rest:
Northeastern
Boston University
Boston College
U Mass boston
U mass amherst
U mass lowell
Tufts
Suffolk Univ</p>
<p>You don’t need to be thinking about ******** “rankings.” You need to consider the best option for your personal and financial situation. Which of those schools are closest to your home or easily accessible? Are there differences in cost?</p>
<p>There is no such thing as a “safety” for funded graduate admissions. All Ph.D programs are highly competitive.</p>
<p>I can tell you that 3.2 and 3.3 GPAs are not going to be competitive at Harvard or MIT and I wouldn’t bother applying.</p>
<p>you can get into those schools with a 3.2 GPA, just not as an international. if you’re american, a few solid recommendations and publications can get you into basically any school you want.</p>
<p>The fact that you did your bachelor’s in 3 years with 3 majors suggests to me that you didn’t do (or did very little) research while your were an undergrad. For entry into grad schools, it would have been better to have 1 major with EXTENSIVE research experience over 4 or 5 years.</p>
<p>Did you do extensive research while working on your masters in India? I hope so. If not, you won’t get into Harvard or MIT by a longshot. You may not even get into a second tier school like Tufts either.</p>
<p>But go ahead and apply to all your backup schools. There’s no way of knowing which one’s you’ll get accepted to…</p>
<p>You might want to look at UMass-Worcester and Brandeis as well. If you don’t have research experience, you need to try to get some – perhaps by volunteering in a lab.</p>
<p>I had converted my percentages to GPA to arrive at 3.3. I checked my GPA with WES unofficially and it seems to be 4.0. So, I hope that gives me a better chance.</p>
<p>Although my bachelors was for 3 years, I also have a Masters degree in Biotechnology. As far as my research experience is concerned:</p>
<p>Bachelors- 4 projects but not independent research
Masters- solid masters thesis (independent research) but no publications.</p>
<p>I hope this changes things as far as my chances as an international applicant are concerned.</p>
<p>I looked into UMass Worcester and like the faculty research happening there. Iam applying to it instead of lowell. I also dropped Boston college, Harvard Public Health, UMass Boston and Suffolk.</p>
<p>I really like some areas of research happening in the schools Im applying to. Hope I get in. <em>fingers crossed</em></p>