So I’ve just recently started looking into grad schools and honestly have no idea about what kind of schools I should be applying to. I’m looking mainly at masters biological science programs (everything involved with it, so different majors depending on which school).
Since most grad schools will be looking at my stats from this upcoming semester, I’ll give my projected stats:
GPA: 3.71/4.0
Major GPA: 3.77/4.0
GRE: Not taking it, only looking into programs that are waiving the GRE requirement.
Research: About 1 semester (I’m starting it this upcoming week)
Some relevant information:
Deans List (x6).
Research project displayed at the Abrams Planetarium.
Research presented at the Lyman Briggs research symposium (x2).
Volunteer at Sparrow hospital for 2 semesters (damn you corona).
Have had a part-time job for 3 years during the school year, and another part-time job during each summer.
My 3 letters of rec I need I plan to get from my physics professor, my french professor, and my research coordinator.
Some of the universities/programs I was looking at:
Boston University/Biology
Tufts University/Biology
NYU/General Biology
UCLA/Biology
UCSF/Clinical Research MAS
UCSB/Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
University of Washington/Health Metrics
The City College of New York/Biotechnology
Temple University/Biotechnology
Drexel University/Biology
And then some schools in London:
University College London/Biosciences MRes
Imperial College London/Biomedical Research MRes
King’s College London/Biomedical and Molecular Sciences MSc
My original plan was to go to med school, but due to complications I would have during my planned gap year and some serious thought, I decided getting a masters was a better option for me.
For a lot of jobs in my area of interest, grad school is almost a must if you want to make any kind of money, so going to grad school is gonna open up a lot of doors for me.
Unsuccessful premed bio majors are everywhere. Even with a MS, the pay is low.; Bio grads are the lowest paid in STEM. Suggest you look to a quant major, such as applied math such as statistics. Big Data analysis is in high demand and since quant is hard, it can pay well.
Remember that graduate school is a means to an end. You wanted to go to med school to become a doctor, presumably. I’d encourage you to think about graduate programs the same way: You get a graduate degree because you want to do something that requires that graduate degree, or a graduate degree.
Bluebayou asked you what your career goals were - what you wanted to do. Your response was that this was a change in plans, which is fine - but you didn’t address the question of what you actually want to do, which is what should guide your grad program decision (not simply a vague sense that a master’s degree might “open some doors.” It might. But it may also close some doors - and the doors it opens may not be doors you’re ultimately interested in.) You don’t have to go to graduate school just because your original plan also involved school after college.
SO…what do you want to do? What are your career goals?