<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I have a bit of an unusual educational background and because of that I am unsure what my chances are of getting into graduate school. Also, it does not help that no one in my immediate family or group of friends is very educated; so I can't ask these questions to people I know. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>I dropped out of high school the beginning of my junior year due to very, very, terrible grades the entire time I was there. I never took my SAT's. I received my GED later that year, and for the next 4 years I did nothing academic. I enrolled part time in community college at the age of 20 (almost 21). I took mostly psychology and sociology courses, and a few gen. eds.</p>
<p>Then I transferred to my local 4 year college (Rhode Island College), and became a biology major, which I soon switched to chemistry with a biological concentration (biochem, basically). The school has nothing special in the way of a reputation, however they do put a lot of money and effort into their science programs, and I am under the impression that I am getting a very decent education there.</p>
<p>I am in the second semester of my sophomore year, and I think I would like to apply to graduate school after I receive my bachelors. I am thinking either biochemistry or nuerobiology/science.</p>
<p>-My GPA is 3.8</p>
<p>-I have done 2 semesters of research in a forest ecology lab (just for lab experience) and the professor that I worked under really liked me and would probably write me a nice LOR (but not sure if that is a good idea considering his field)</p>
<p>-I am currently doing biomedical research under a professor in the chemistry department. I will likely begin independent research in the summer and that will lead to what RIC calls an "Research Honors Thesis". So If I do this, when I graduate I will get departmental honors.</p>
<p>-My school offers no classes related to nueroscience, so I will not have much education in that field when I apply to graduate school.</p>
<p>-My grandfather (dead) is an alum (math undergrad) at Brown University (got in on GI Bill, Korean War). Just figured I'd mention that because Brown is in my city and I know they are a tad more lenient about accepting locals and also children of alumni.</p>
<p>-I dropped out of high school. Just figured I'd mention that again, because I'm sure it matters a lot.</p>
<p>Well that's it. I didn't ask about specific grad programs because as I said, I know nothing about this sort of thing. Any advice or ideas where to apply not to apply, or whether biochem or nueroscience would be better for me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading</p>