<p>Is this NIH thing only for US citizens/residents? (I’m clearly too lazy to check myself, lol).</p>
<p>I took the GRE today and got 700 verbal, 710 (or 720? there’s no print out…) quant. I like my verbal but I really want a better quant score. At this point, I think have studied as much as I can (did all the practice tests available to me (Powerprep, ETS book, Kaplans online tests, Barrons) and book prep), so I don’t know how I can improve my quant except by luck. Do I retake the test? I would hate to not get into a school because of my Q score… I have a 4.0 gpa, research, hopefully good LORs, etc. so the rest of my app should be strong.</p>
<p>Hello, a question for any Harvard Neuroscience or BBS folks… I plan on applying directly to the Neuroscience program (and will be sending it shortly!). I’m very interested in research on the neurobiology of psychiatric disease and the McLean psychiatric hospital affiliated with the program seems ideal. Most of the other programs I’m applying to only have a few researchers dispersed around their department working on this, but McLean has a whole array of faculty dedicated to the issue.</p>
<p>Anyhow, how common is it for grad students to work with faculty at the McLean hospital? I know that it is roughly a 25 minute drive from the Longwood Medical area. I don’t want to be entirely isolated from the rest of the neuroscience program, but at the same time it would be really exciting to have all of the seminars and meetings at McLean focus on an area I am so interested in.</p>
<p>Also, does anybody know why the majority of researchers at McLean (particularly in the Mailman Research Center) aren’t listed on the Neuroscience faculty directory as being affiliated with the graduate program?</p>
<p>Some of the labs at McLean are fairly large – I don’t think it’s hugely bizarre to join a lab there. And after first year and classes end, you won’t be over at Longwood much anyway. I’m in a lab at MGH, which is about as far from Longwood via shuttle as McLean is, and I don’t feel too isolated.</p>
<p>The majority of researchers at Harvard Medical aren’t affiliated with a graduate program. The medical school is a huge place, and there are tons of PIs. Many of them haven’t ever had a graduate student. But it wouldn’t be a problem to rotate in or join the lab of somebody who wasn’t affiliated with your program – my advisor is Neuroscience and I’m BBS, and it wasn’t an issue. Harvard life sciences PhD students can join any life sciences lab at Harvard.</p>
<p>Congrats on the verbal score! However, that quant score is definitely on the low side. It won’t do you any favors but I doubt it can keep you out of schools. However, I think a 150$ rewrite is worth not having to wonder if your GRE scores ****ed you. </p>
<p>Good news is that you DID NOT do all you can do to prepare. It won’t be up to luck. The books you used were ok but not enough. </p>
<p>I will keep advertising this every chance I get because I feel this strongly about it— The secret to acing the quantitative section of the GRE is Nova’s Prep Course textbook or the Nova GRE Math Bible book. Nothing comes close. The questions are trickier–the arithmetic is a bit more involved. </p>
<p>I wrote the GRE August 25th and scored a 720Q and rewrote it September 16th after having finished the Nova Prep Course book and I got a 800Q on my second try.</p>
<p>It is gold!</p>
<p>In addition, Kaplan is releasing an advanced math workbook for those aiming for the top score. It will be released October 6th so take a look at that too.</p>
<p>Thanks mastermoe for the feedback – I think I got a 720 (not 710). I am worried about spending more time on GRE prep instead of spending time on grad school search/app prep (which I really need to do more of – as preping for the GRE took up my time instead). I feel burnt out on GRE prep! But, I do want a higher Q score. Urgh.</p>
<p>hey guys, I’m a newcomer here. I’m applying to biosciences PhD programs too this year.</p>
<p>I’ll post my stats later once I’m finished with my GRE test, which is 2 weeks away from now (man, I’m so nervous).</p>
<p>I wanna ask for your advices regarding my LORs. I have been doing research in 2 different labs. So, at least, I will have two decent LORs from my PIs. However, I’m confused about the third one. I have 2 people in mind:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>A senior lecturer who taught 3 of my upper level undergrad courses (2 of them were lab classes). I used to be an officer of my departmental student organization and he’s the adviser of the organization. So, he personally knows me pretty well. Also, I once got a competitive departmental award that has him as part of the selection committee.So, he’s probably the best person who can talk about my academic record. The only thing is that he knows nothing about my research.</p></li>
<li><p>A staff/lecturer that directs the HHMI-funded undergraduate research program at my school. I was accepted to that program. He taught a 3 quarter weekly research class that is basically part of the whole program. He followed my research from the beginning to the end, and came to all of my poster and oral presentations. He knows me pretty well too. The thing is that I’m not so sure whether he can give me a decent LOR since I dont think I’m standing out among other people accepted into the program.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>So, which one do you think will be a better choice? For grad-school application, does great LOR need to be research-oriented? Thanks.</p>
<p>LAC operon, it is my understanding (although I may be wrong) that for the top programs in the life sciences, you just need to get over 700 in the quantitative. The only top programs that require an 800 or close to 800 are engineering and mathematics. For the life sciences, your application will be judged on more research, potential for research, grades that pertain to your field, and LORs.</p>
<p>If you look at the average GRE scores – not that you’re aiming for average – in the life sciences, you’ll see that the quantitative scores are lower than those for engineering. It follows, then, that even at the top, they will be slightly lower.</p>
<p>And I’m going to say this for the zillionth time, research and LORs will get you accepted. GRE scores will not get you rejected unless they are well below the program’s average.</p>
<p>Thanks for the McLean info molliebatmit. Now I just have to get in.</p>
<p>my advisor tells me that the quant score matters a little more (and is higher) in informatics / systems biology phd programs.</p>
<p>^^^ Yes, the scores matter more in computational biology; however, the course work is also important – that is, how high in math and computer science did you go, if you’re interested in computational biology, and what grades did you get? </p>
<p>GRE scores may be given more weight if you come from a lesser known school. For example, a 700 in Q from Yale, with As in quantitative courses, will likely be viewed differently than a 700 from Podunk U, also with As. That’s because the program will likely know about the rigor of Yale’s courses but not necessarily about those at Podunk.</p>
<p>hey jenlam, </p>
<p>I have got very similar stats as you. 3.5uGPA, 600V, 740Q and 4.5AW. I don’t have time to retake the GREs and I am just hoping for the best in this application cycle. I am applying to a broad range of schools–and some of yours are also on my list. Hopefully, schools will look beyond your scores and focus more on your research experience and LORs, as what Momwaitingfornew said. </p>
<p>Heres to everyone–lets all hope to get in where we desire to go!!
Good Luck to everyone!</p>
<p>i still find it sorta sad that biologists aren’t expected to have strong quantitative skills.</p>
<p>I tend to agree - I watched someone the other day use a calculator to multiply a list of numbers by 10. 10!!!</p>
<p>I agree MolSysBio, but I don’t think GRE measures that at all.</p>
<p>For the NIH program, you have to be a US citizen or permanent resident.</p>
<p>yaygrady, our stats are very similar, but I worry that my 4.0 on the AWA will get me weeded out in the first round. I know it seems like a small difference between a 4.0 and 4.5, but it is the difference between the 41% and the 58%. Some schools also seem to have a cutoff of 4.5, though it seems to largely be less competitive schools that follow this guideline. </p>
<p>do you think a 4.0 could preclude someone from admission at top schools? I would hope if I write a good SOP it will override that score.</p>
<p>jenlam, could you cite the source for whomever stated/written that some schools have a cutoff of 4.5? also do you know which schools these are? if this really is true, then i’m in trouble because despite my doing well in quant and verbal i also had a 4.0 writing…</p>
<p>Darmouth:
Competitive applicants to the MCB Program typically have:
GRE Standard Exam Scores (verbal and quantitative) of 1200 or over, analytical writing score of 4.5 or higher</p>
<p>Georgetown:
GRE General Test scores of 1300 (combined) or higher for the Verbal and Quantitative sections, and 4.5 or higher on the Analytical Writing section, are preferred </p>
<p>University of Missouri:
Admission Criteria</p>
<p>Fall deadline: January 15
- Minimum TOEFL score: 580 (paper)
- Minimum GRE score: V+Q=1100, A=4.5
- Minimum GPA: 3.0 in last 60 hours</p>
<p>I just searched minimum AWA score for phd biology and found these…they are not schools I am interested in at all, but I worry it is indicative of a general trend in all schools, especially since these are not very competitive programs otherwise.</p>
<p>labgod, you got a 1600 though, right? I am pretty sure that would greatly outweigh any deficiency in your awa score.</p>
<p>let’s just hope schools that we are interested in don’t have minimum writing score 
i really thought i wrote a kick-ass essay too.</p>