<p>Hey everyone,</p>
<p>I was wondering for some good advice. Last year, I applied to PhD programs (all Neuro minus Harvard):</p>
<p>Harvard-BBS
Penn
UofMichigan
Case Western
Jefferson
Rockefeller
Princeton
UCSF
Hopkins</p>
<p>I only got into three of them : Jefferson, Case, and UofM. I was pretty shocked actually, and my dad died while this was happening, and I was still finishing out my senior year. So, I wasn't really <em>thrilled</em> with any of them, so I decided to take a year off and re-apply. U of M though already accepted me for 09 in case I decide to go there once I'm done with all of this personal stuff.</p>
<p>So, I am going to re-apply.
Two main questions: where should I apply to? should i re-take the gre or just add the gre biochem subject test?</p>
<p>Here are my stats:
Undergrad GPA - 3.73
GRE: 750 Math/570 Verbal/6.0 Writing
Research Exp:
Summer at Los Alamos National Laboratory - computational work
Semester & Summer at Biochemistry Lab @ Muhlenberg College (my college, a small liberal arts college with a good rep for science)
Summer at Harvard Medical School - SHURP Program
Year in Neuro Lab Doing Honors Research at my college
1st Author Abstract I'll be Presenting at SfN 2008
Received honors in neuroscience for research
LoRs:
One from Harvard (not my PI, he was never around, so from SHURP director who supports me)
One from honors advisor/PI who wiill definitely write a strong, competitive letter
One from professor who was on my honors committee who will definitely write a strong letter
One possibly extra from los alamos (probably just an extra to add on, since it was so long ago (05) and he hasn't seen me in so long)</p>
<p>Not getting one from biochem PI I worked for. She is very anti-female, and we never clicked even though I worked my butt off there. She offered, and wrote me one last year, and wondering if it kept me out. My grandma died, so I took a week off once, and she gave me a B+ for research for that, which may hurt me, but I can explain on interviews, and based on how well I did everywhere else, not thinking it should matter...</p>
<p>**year now extra working at Teva Pharmaceuticals (no close universities where I live where I could do research for a year, and I'm mostly trying to save money because my finances got messed up when my dad passed away).</p>
<p>Anyway, any advice? I'm hoping to do better this year and make 2009 a better year than last for me...</p>