<p>So I graduated last year from college and I am taking time off before grad school. I am applying to schools for PhD programs in biomedical sciences this coming fall for next year's admissions. </p>
<p>I am still in contact with one of the professors who agreed he will write a good letter for me. My previous NIH mentor also agreed to write me one. As for my current job, its a non-profit foundation, but it works like industry and I am not sure if their LoR will be of much value, since it is not from the academia. I will be ask our group head if she would be willing to write me a good LoR. Do schools even consider industry letters as valuable? Does anyone have any experience working in the industry and then applying to schools with their LoRs? If so, how do you think they rated these LoR's compared to academic letters? Should I start finding another professor from my previous school whose letter is worth more? What do you think?? </p>
<p>Also, I am kind of in a dilemma, because I applied to schools for masters programs last year before I got my current job as a backup plan to do something in the year off, and I got accepted into Boston University School of Medicine's master program in medical sciences. Now my question is should I take up this offer and quit my job and then still apply to schools for next year, or should I forego this program and continue my job while applying? I know I will be saving up money, but do you think masters will help my application for PhD programs? Its a 2-year program, but one can finish it in a year. </p>
<p>What are your suggestions and/or advice? </p>
<p>Thanks a lot for reading my rather long post and for all your help!!</p>
<p>On Industry LOR’s: I applied using one reference from a research manager at my employer, and it did not hurt me at all. Remember that they are looking for your LOR’s to provide an opinion on your quality as a researcher, student, and person. A non-professor cannot really talk credibly about your quality as a student, nor can a non-researcher speak with any authority about your abilities as a researcher. However, even a basic manager can discuss things like dependability, reliability, work-ethic, the kind of work you have done, etc. Combine that with other references talking about academics and research and you are fine. The only real danger is if you skip over academics or research entirely in your LOR’s - then what do they go on? I would always take a single strong work reference over a single weak academic reference, provided I still have a couple of academic LOR’s.</p>
<p>On the masters: how strong a PhD candidate are you? In general, the only reasons I see for a PhD aspirant to get a seperate masters are if (a) they need to boost their resume before PhD apps, if (b) they want to “test drive” higher academics and/or a field, or (c) they want a combined course of study which requires splitting time between two schools. The reason I do not suggest it is because masters are almost never funded, so why shell out the cash if you do not need to?</p>
<p>In your case you do not seem to be “thinking” about a PhD, you seem set. There is certainly little diversity between the masters and the PhD. The only good reason left is if you feel your resume is weak. Since you have not mentioned it … I would generally say no.</p>
<p>Hi cosmicfish, </p>
<p>Thanks for your reply. I guess I am an average applicant for PhD. I have a 3.5 undergrad GPA from one of the top public university(UMD College Park). I have research experience (~1.5 years), a year in a faculty lab, and a summer internship at NIH, and currently I am working in a research lab at a non-profit company (no publications though). I will have two strong letters from my reserach mentor at NIH and one from my current job. I will have one academic letter from a professor with whom I took a class with. Should I ask another professor for an additional academic letter just to balance out? </p>
<p>And yes, you are right–The masters program I got into does not provide any type of funding, so I was reluctant to go there since I dont want to shell out money where I might be saving some if I get into PhD program by next year. The only thing I was worried about is the fact that it might be hard to get into school this year due to the current economy and I initially thought that the masters might give me an edge for the PhD programs. Should I direct my application to more mid-tier and few reach programs just to make sure I could get in somewhere? I have yet to take my GRE’s so I cant provide a concrete score yet, but I am taking it pretty soon! </p>
<p>Based on my credentials, should I even bother to apply to any top programs? I am really confused…please guide…</p>
<p>Thanks a lot and I really appreciate your comments!</p>
<p>Looking at your credentials I would try to ace the GRE, find a stronger 3rd LOR (getting an A in the class is a weak basis), and really try to find some good fits with professors. That 3rd LOR should be from academia, but it is not crucial. Was any of your research published?</p>
<p>I would skip the current masters offer, for the reasons I already mentioned. I would however apply to a couple of masters programs this year, so that if you do not get a happy PhD offer you can boost the resume with the masters and try again.</p>
<p>As far as schools, I would probably say top-10 is a reach, top-25 is competitive, and top-50 is pretty safe. But I am not sure if that is true for your field…</p>