<p>Right now I'm a freshman at Purdue majoring in Biological Engineering (ranked #1!). I've probably asked this type of question before, but I'll ask again--what do I need to do to get into a school like Stanford or Berkeley? </p>
<p>Both of those are dream schools and I would absolutely love to go there for graduate school, likely a Phd in bioengineering or maybe even chemical engineering. Right now my GPA is 3.72, and I can probably bring it up, and I'm in orchestra and already starting to get involved in research. I also do a bit in the women in engineering program (not much though). This summer I'm taking classes, and next summer I was going to apply for research programs like the amgen scholars. What else can I do to have the best shot at getting into these schools? Thanks</p>
<p>As the poster above stated, get plenty of research experience. Take your time and look for a lab that does the kinds of things you’re interested in…</p>
<p>Then spend the next few years working in “that” lab, establishing yourself as a productive worker. All the while, building a very good relationship with the PI. Over time, you will get more and more responsibilities if you deserve it.</p>
<p>Cut down on extracurricular activities. They are useless for getting into the top programs…and they cut into research time.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say to necessarily cut EC activities, since often times they can be a real de-stresser and useful for helping you become more productive when you actually get to work.</p>
<p>But, yeah, research is king. If you can, see if any professors at your school have a position you can work in over the summer. You probably won’t make much money, but it’ll be enough to pay for food, rent, and hopefully some spending money during the school year. Unless you’re taking a completely full schedule you should be able to work in a lab at the same time as taking classes over the summer.</p>
<p>Also, just to let you know, if you wind up joining a lab you don’t like, don’t be afraid to leave it. Part of joining labs as an undergrad is to learn what sort of stuff you don’t like as well as what you do. I worked in a total of four different labs during my time as an undergrad, and it really helped narrow down my focus for what I wanted to do in grad school. Professors also understand if you feel you don’t find the subject matter as interested as you had hoped, so don’t stress about their feelings.</p>
<p>“Also, just to let you know, if you wind up joining a lab you don’t like, don’t be afraid to leave it. Part of joining labs as an undergrad is to learn what sort of stuff you don’t like as well as what you do. I worked in a total of four different labs during my time as an undergrad”</p>
<p>I wish I had taken this advice. Got a couple papers out, but not in the field I wanted to go into and thus ended up with a confusing SoP and offers for programs specializing in my undergrad research.</p>