<p>So my record is complicated…I have a Bachelor’s (neuroscience major) with a 3.62 GPA and a Master’s in neuroscience as well. My first school turned out to be a bad fit for me and I struggled during qualifying and left with a terminal masters degree.</p>
<p>Profile summary</p>
<p>my age: 27</p>
<p>Undergrad
GPA: 3.62
Major GPA: 3.70
last 2 years GPA: 3.9</p>
<p>Grad (pass/fail): 3 honors, 2 high pass</p>
<p>research experience: undergrad thesis and 2 internships, masters degree research (2 years), 2 1/2 years working for a pharm company doing behavioral pharm</p>
<p>publications: 1 co-author (journal of neuroscience)</p>
<p>posters: 1 Society for Neuroscience, 1 Mid-Atlantic Pharm Society (both 1st author)</p>
<p>awards etc: Neuroscience thesis award, NSF fellowship winner (2005-6), 2 Sigma Xi Research grants</p>
<p>recs should be fine i have had several research advisors</p>
<p>basically i think my record is alright but i’m worried that my slip earlier in my first graduate program is going to kill me even though it happened several years ago and i have really grown since then (working in pharma).</p>
<p>i’m applying to 18 schools that are strong in whole brain imaging (MRI, pet) research studies on human cognition.</p>
<p>what do you guys think? thanks for all comments</p>
<p>Hello I am new to the thread but figured it would be a great place to get some feed back. Unfortunately most of your post have lowered my spirits since most of your statistics blow me out of the water, but I figure I would still see what people think. I am pretty much hoping that GRE is not as important as I think… :(. Here are my stats.</p>
<p>I am hoping to get into Cancer Biology, specially early cancer detection.
Nationality: USA
Undergrad: Two degrees from a state school in Florida, Molecular and Microbiology, and Biotechnology
GPA: 3.89 (cume laude)
GRE general (cringes): 500V, 670Q, 4.0AW
Research experience:2 years in molecular biology lab, received over $11,000 in research funding (including an American Cancer Society Grant), 1st author on a publication currently in review, and completed an honors in the major thesis.
Recommendations: 3 solid recommendations: 1 from my faculty mentor, 1 from a professor who I had in several classes and participating in an undergrad research organization with, and 1 from another mentor.
Extracurriculars: A ton, including research organizations, leadership organizations and starting a fraternity.</p>
<p>Obviously most worried about my GRE, and hate it so much I just dont want to re-take it.</p>
<p>I have submitted applications to the following schools:</p>
<p>Washington University at St. Louis
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Duke University
Johns Hospkins
Columbia
University of Cali San Fran
Georgetown
University of Chicago
University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Cali Irvine
University of South Carolina
George Washington University
Ohio State
Stanford (has the only research center in the world dedicated to early cancer detection)</p>
<p>I really have my heart set on Stanford, so I am trying to contact some faculty over there to get them interested in me, but don’t know if this long list are just a bunch of high hopes with my not so great GRE. </p>
<p>Let me know what you all think. Thanks for the help.</p>
<p>How do others’ stats blow yours out of the water? The only place you’re lacking is your GRE, but you’ve got an excellent GPA and research experience plus a potential first-author publication.</p>
<p>Also, I’m fairly sure no one cares about your extra-curriculars, unless they involve doing research.</p>
<p>Usually the promotion of rampart alcohol abuse. I am told that in some mythical land they were once used for good. Though I see no evidence of it (at least on my campus).</p>
<p>Geez. I am simply asking. I actually don’t know. These things don’t exist (not at all to the same extent, if it does exist) in Canada. And my only knowledge of it is from movies. Wikipedia also doesn’t do a very good job explaining it. And since I constantly see it, I am wondering what their purpose is and what the reality is.</p>
<p>Fraternities certainly carry the stigma of being a group of binge drinking [idiots]. Although most brothers live up to this stereotype, there is more to fraternities than you may think. They are required to participate in a numerous campus and community service events. If they do not, they feel the wrath of the student association. They also require members to log a certain amount of time in the library each week to ensure they study and stay in good academic standing. There are also service oriented fraternities, where unlike there social counterpart, are based more in the service realm as opposed to drinking 7 days a week.
Mind you, I would never join a fraternity. It costs something like $300 a semester. However, I do have friends in social fraternities and although they know how to have a good time, they also have a lot of responsibilities.
SafetyPin, you should really consider rephrasing your questions.</p>
<p>I’m not saying she can’t ask questions. She was just saying why would anyone want to admit that they were a binge drinker in their college application. I told her that’s not all they do. Didn’t mean to sound like a jerk. What do you care anyway?</p>
<p>Thank you peripatetic. I didn’t know they had all those other responsibilities (nor that it cost money!!). It is actually interesting to me. But it does seem weird to put on your CV anyway because it is extracurricular, not even because I associate it with crazy partying. </p>
<p>But to be fair, peripatetic, someone once told me if they had one adjective to describe me, it would be “blunt”. Meh. I just speak my mind. Mind you, things don’t often translate well on the internet.</p>
<p>Here’s a topic changer. Does anyone else dislike grad school apps as much as I do? Please rant because I’m applying alone (I’m a recent grad now living far away from my undergrad institution) and am totally stressed out.</p>
<p>I love the excitement but definitely hate the process. Now I’m so stressed out as well with my personal statement. I thought I could just make a SoP template and modify the last paragraph for diff. schools. Turned out it wasn’t as simple as that. sigh.</p>
<p>Anyway, I have a silly question, when you have this kind of question for SoP:
“The Statement of Purpose should describe succinctly your reasons for applying to the proposed program at Stanford, your preparation for this field of study, study and research interests, future career plans, and other aspects of your background and interests which may aid the admissions committee in evaluating your aptitude and motivation for graduate study”</p>
<p>Would you talk about your research experience (research topic+what I did+results)? I found “preparation for this field of study” a little bit ambiguous. There’s another part in the application where I should address my most important project. But, having been involved in 4 projects, I am kinda wondering where I should mention the other 3. Should I include them as my additional information essay or put them into my SoP?</p>
<p>I used the additional information for my CV.</p>
<p>“The Statement of Purpose should describe succinctly your reasons for applying to the proposed program at Stanford, your preparation for this field of study, study and research interests, future career plans, and other aspects of your background and interests…”</p>
<p>The answer to this question sounds to me more like a typical personal statement where you talk about your background, your courseworks in the field of your research interests, your research experiences (very concisely)…and how it shaped your interests. I had the same thing but a modified last paragraph for most of the schools except for baylor and washU where you have to discuss your research accomplishments in a separate research statement. </p>
<p>In “the most important project” I discussed about the most important (just one) of the other six or so that I had.</p>