<p>I'm interested in applying to a PhD program in molecular biology and I need some guidance.</p>
<p>Some background:
I graduated in 2007 with a BS in Biological Sciences (Medical Biology emphasis) with a 3.2 GPA and have been working for a very large pharmaceutical company for the past 2 years. It's only been while working that I've realized that a PhD is something I really want to do. I've been studying for the GRE for a month (and still am) and want to apply this fall for 2010 matriculation.</p>
<p>My concerns were about my GPA and experience. GPA's obviously not the best. As for experience, I had about one summer's worth of undergrad lab experience and as for work will it really help since it's not in academia?</p>
<p>How should I go about applying to the programs? I've been told to pick something super specific, look up faculty at different schools, contact them and try to get some papers and see if there are openings in their labs. Is that the right way to do it?</p>
<p>I apologize if my post seems kind of rambling and disorganized. I'm just typing out my thoughts. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!</p>
<p>If it is contributing to research, yes, absolutely.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t necessarily go with super-specific - at the application level, this can hurt you, though it’s useful for fellowships - but you do want some idea of the area you want to work in.</p>
<p>When you come across papers you like, figure out what departments the authors are attached to, and whether there are other profs in that area in that department (you don’t really want a department with only one prof in your area). If you have PhD-level coworkers with ties to academia, or profs with whom you are still in contact, ask them what departments they recommend (IMPORTANT NOTE: At some workplaces it would be a TERRIBLE idea to hint that you are thinking about grad school - use your judgment before asking coworkers).</p>
<p>Contacting profs is reasonable, but be forewarned that they may not contact you back. Before asking them for papers, find out whether those papers are online, because they will be annoyed if you bothered them for something you could easily have gotten on your own. Better things to ask might be whether they are taking students next year and in what direction(s) the research in their lab is currently going.</p>
<p>I would recommend to look for a job in a lab as a lab tech in your area of interest for a couple of years before applying for PhD. It will give you some experience, as well as an inside look at life in the academia.</p>
<p>Will your company pay for a part-time masters degree? If so that provides an opportunity to raise your gpa - most programs will consider your most recent degree to be the most relevent.</p>
<p>I agree with Jessie’s post. I would further clarify that in the biological sciences, generally one applies to a department or program for admission and not to a specific professor’s lab. Students matriculate into the department or program, do a few rotations (ranging from 2 - 4 generally) during the first year and then select a research adviser.</p>
<p>I was in your position a couple of years ago. After college, I worked in biotech for a couple of years and then took an academic lab tech position for the last couple of years. If you want to go to grad school and the time is right for it now, then do it. Nobody that I talked to while I was in industry looked negatively upon people going back to grad school, it was an expected step that most bright young people would do.</p>
<p>I also had a lowish GPA (3.3) from undergrad and this means relatively little if you have been out of college for awhile. I found the my interviewers were well acquainted with what I had worked on industry yet didn’t even notice that my GPA was low. During the interview weekends, I also met a handful of other people who were working in industry and set to start their Phds this fall.</p>
<p>I also have found in my career that many PIs can appreciate the advantages that come along with somebody who has spent time in industry- better record keeping (lot numbering, batch numbering, validation techniques, notebook and IP concepts), broader exposure to science, different mentality to attacking problems, time management skills. Your time in research is very valuable even if it wasn’t in academia.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your very helpful responses.</p>
<p>I’ve done some thinking about this. I really would like to get into a PhD program right off the bat, but if I don’t I will really consider the other options (masters, university lab tech). Right now I feel I don’t have much time (I’m 24), but I guess that’s just me.</p>
<p>Again, thanks for all the replies so far. Any more input would be great.</p>
<p>I agree with previous posts that “super specific” can be a negative thing, but you probably don’t want to be too general either (e.g. biochemistry without any details on what you want to specialize in). </p>
<p>I say: show interests in 2-3 different research topics (e.g. genetics of cancer, cancer stem cell, etc) and tie it together with the specific direction in which those labs/PIs of your interest are taking - this may show your maturity and that you have done your hw.</p>
<p>In your sop, you want to exemplify why the program offers what you aim to do and why you are a good candidate to the work [the mutual fit].</p>
<p>I couldn’t agree more with the above. Be somewhat specific but don’t be so specific that you limit yourself to a specific PI. What you want to demonstrate is that overall the program offers what you want to do research in and you are a strong candidate for this type of work.</p>
<p>This is going back to my main concern of feeling underqualified with the type of experience I have. How can I really show this is what I want to do?</p>
<p>Something I did while I was in industry to maintain focus was to attend conferences and take courses at the local university. I was fortunate to have cooperative individuals as supervisors when I was in industry and this wasn’t a big deal. In fact, the company even paid for the classes. You could always do that as well, though I don’t think you need to worry so much about your research experience being the “wrong kind”.</p>
<p>As long as you have a good track record in doing bio research, you should be fine. They won’t necessarily expect you to have a lot of experience in the specific area you want to delve into in grad school. The important thing is to show that you are capable of doing good bio research, and working in a lab in college, or doing research in industry, both help with this.</p>