Computational Biology Schools

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>I'm a rising senior at TJHSST in northern VA (tjhsst.edu); wanted to ask how likely it is for me to get into CMU SCS, and whether it is better for me to go ED or regular?</p>

<p>Cumulative GPA: 4.27 (W)
SAT: 2160 (R: 660, M: 790, W: 710), I am planning on retaking in October to go for a higher score (above 2250 or such)
SAT II's: Math II: 800, Chem: 800, Physics: 790, Bio (M): 740</p>

<p><strong>Relevant APs</strong>:
Computer Science: 5
Calculus (AB/BC): 5/5
Physics C(M/EM): 5/5
Physics B: 5
Biology: 5
Chemistry 5:</p>

<p>Relevant Coursework:
9th Grade:
AP Calculus BC, Artificial Intelligence (post AP), Freshman Tech (mechanical, electrical engineering on a basic level)
10th Grade:
AP Biology, Multivariable Calculus/Linear Algebra, AP Chemistry
11th Grade:
DNA Science I/II, Complex Analysis/Differential Equations, Parallel Computing (post AP), Organic Chemistry (spectroscopy lab work, IUPAC Work), AP Physics C</p>

<p>I'm planning to go into Biotechnology Research Lab next year (dealing with what I've been working on this summer), as well as taking Computational Physics, Advanced Mathematical Techniques, Advanced Probability Theory, Robotics I and II, and Introductory Optics</p>

<p><strong>Extracurriculars</strong>:
Men's Basketball Program: I was a primary starter for my freshman team and I plan on returning to the varsity team this season.</p>

<p>Freshman, Intermediate, and Computer Teams: I have frequently been sent as the representatives for these teams as the competitors at various competitions like the ones at VCU, UMD, and UVA.</p>

<p>Varsity Math Team:
C-team captain my freshman and sophomore years, B-team captain this past junior year.
Captain at ARML Regionals at Penn St., went to Duke competition last year and am probably going to either Princeton/Duke/HMMT math competitions this year.</p>

<p>Physics Team participant, have taken the F = ma and almost made the cutoff (don't know how relevant this is, but might as well mention)</p>

<p><strong>Summer Programs</strong>:
2013 Summer: GMU ASSIP: worked under Dr. Iosif Vaisman in a project involving a stock-market algorithm applied to amino sequences; in short, applied linear algebra computationally to data retrieved from flu databases, with minor amounts of biological analysis involved.
2014 Summer (present): NIH/NLM/NCBI: Interning under Dr. Ivan Ovcharenko in a project involving identifying Enhancer-Silencer Jungles; work under the supervision of his associate post-docs.</p>

<p>Some schools I'm looking at are Brown, Cornell, JHU, Duke, Rice, RPI, UC Berkeley, and Duke. Just wanted to see what other schools have people found with nice comp bio programs?</p>

<p>Any response is much appreciated! Thank you so much! :)</p>

2

<p>I did a CC search, as you probably did as well, for posts on CompBio. I found one response, from @warblersrule‌ from 2005, I think. It said:</p>

<p>-Computational Biology is often found as a concentration in the biology major. I know a few: Cornell, Penn, UC San Diego, UC Santa Cruz, Carnegie Mellon, FSU, SUNY Buffalo, University of Southern California-</p>

<p>warbler is still around on CC, you could pm him or her, but it doesn’t sound like s/he knew much about it back then. Even College Board has nothing on this major.</p>

<p>For those who don’t know TJHSST is a very good public high school, one of the best in the nation, for bright students from VA who are screened for admission and who are interested in science and technology and capable of the advanced courses you see in the OP’s resumé. Despite his lower 2400 score, he probably is academically prepared for the schools he names.</p>

<p>OP, does TJ offer an unweighted GPA? I learned about CompBio on a search for neuroscience schools. So I encountered it at UPittsburgh and Harvey Mudd. The Society for Mathematical Biology has a list here:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.smb.org/resources/education/degree.shtml”>http://www.smb.org/resources/education/degree.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I think USC has such a program, as well, but I don’t know why it wouldn’t be on the list.</p>

<p>It’s an exciting field and with universal healthcare and other developments it promises to remain one for a long time.</p>

3

<p>I do plan on retaking the SAT to try and achieve a higher SAT score; there isn’t any unweighted GPA offered by the school, but I can try to calculate it; thanks for the resources, much appreciated!</p>

4

<p>With this field and with the lack of info on CB, I suspect that any stats schools offer about admission rates and average GPAs and SATs are going to be statistically suspect for applicants who intend to major in CB. So I don’t think you trust that you won’t get into CMU because their average admission is 11% or something. I think it’s going to depend more on how many majors a program has now and how many they can handle down the road when you start taking the advanced courses and possibly putting a strain on their math, compsci, and bio programs. More like dance than biology or compsci or math. I suspect this, anyway.</p>

5

<p>Are you saying I’m not likely to get in through regular or that I should be skeptical of the data posted online regarding CMU SCS because it may not be representative of those who went into CB? In any case, thanks for your insight.</p>

6

<p>I’m speculating that a CB dept, given a program’s size, might have particular scores it wants to see in its admissions and that the Admissions Office will know these; this is true of engineering, for example, where a student can have 1420 but have a 620 on Math and the school will reject her. You have the high score AOs would expect going into CB at any of these schools, but do you have weaknesses in reading and comprehension, for instance? Similarly, the schools will probably know not to worry too much about your GPA because you come from TJ and you’ve been taking advanced math courses and doing well. That’s what one might expect the AOs to think, but of course your mileage may vary. In addition, there will be students with 1600s applying to some of these schools like CMU and you will be up against them. How many do the AOs have who have better CR scores than you? how many people does the dept want in its class this year? These are the things you have no control over so you don’t worry about them. </p>

<p>In addition, a school can say its median M score for admitted students was 630 last year and the GPA was 3.6, but don’t expect the admitted students in chemE or physics or math to have a median 640 or 3.6, right? </p>

<p>There is nothing simple about the admissions logarithms at 80% of the schools (the permutations have permutations), and I am making it look simple for the purposes of expediency. AOs will spend much more time worrying about your app than I ever will. Do you understand?</p>

7

<p>Yeah I think I get what you’re saying. You’ve been really helpful, thanks a lot!</p>

8

<p>Would there be any difference if I applied ED? I’ve been looking more and more into CB at CMU and I’ve found that it’s going over stuff that I’ve just started looking into in my internships and I’ve found a strong interest in, so I have been playing with the thought of trying to ED into CMU.</p>

9

<p>the differences would be individual to the schools to some extent. you can research what percentage of a school’s admissions were ED, or you can compare the ED success rate to the RD rate. </p>

<p>What you just said to me about interest at CMU is exactly what you say in an essay to a CMU AO. “I was intrigued during my internships by the phenomenon of X, and when I was looking thru the CMU description of its CB dept I saw that I could take courses in just that phenomenon.” Is there anything about the course at CMU that’s different from the course at Harvey Mudd or Cornell that you can point out as attractive to you? You’re trying to answer the question for the AO about your particular fits at CMU. Why does Johnny belong at CMU rather than Cornell?</p>

10

<p>I see. Thank you for the advice!</p>

11

<p>Good point about the component scores. The scuttlebutt is that Illinois Engineering only looks at the math/sciences/quant scores (which they’d want to be high). They’d take in someone who can barely speak English, for example. My understanding is that almost all privates care about the non-math/science/quant scores more than that.</p>

12

<p>bump</p>

13

<p>Don’t fall in love with a particular school. Fall in love with an education. So if you’ve found CB courses you like at CMU, check to see if other CB programs offer them. Apply to several of these schools.</p>

<p>I’m also suggesting that you have little to lose by taking the SAT over, endeavoring to keep your M score the same but bring up the CR and W score. You’re very strong other than that, but these privates will want to see the well-rounded person. CMU in particular advertises itself as something more than a tech school, a place like MIT and Mudd where the humanities, social sciences, and fine arts can thrive. Maybe CMU isn’t the right place for you, but you can decide that. Perhaps JHU is less concerned with breadth of interest and skill, and I think Pitt and RPI would just count their blessings to have you.</p>

<p>But do look around at Mudd, CalTech, MIT, etc. to see where the 660 falls on their middle 50% SATs. Here’s MIT’s: </p>

<p><a href=“Admissions statistics | MIT Admissions”>http://mitadmissions.org/apply/process/stats&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

14

<p>MIT is pushing their computational biology program. Course 6-7 as MIT refers to it. 6-7 is a joint program between the EECS department (Course 6) and the biology department ( Course 7). You’ll get two advisors one from EECS and one from Bio. MIT recently created the M-Eng program for 6-7 too.</p>

<p>Here’s the department website:</p>

<p><a href=“6-7: Computer Science and Molecular Biology – MIT EECS”>http://www.eecs.mit.edu/academics-admissions/undergraduate-programs/6-7-computer-science-and-molecular-biology&lt;/a&gt; </p>