<p>I dont mind not getting into a top school by any means. A mediocre school is fine.
I would like to go to either the west coast (California) or stay near the easy coast (MD,PA,VA) </p>
<p>What are my chances/What should I do/Where/Who Should I apply to?
GPA: ~2.999
Major: General Bio
Experience: RA at Psych Lab
Volunteer at Hospital </p>
<p>Should I go for No-Name Graduate schools? Do those even offer biotech?</p>
<p>Are you looking for a PhD or master’s degree? You could probably find some master’s programs, but they would very likely be unfunded. If you want to get a PhD, you are likely going to need more to your application. Your best bet would probably be to get experience in the field or get a master’s degree before applying for PhD programs.</p>
<p>It is my understanding that most graduate programs (both masters and PhD) do not accept students with under a 3.0 GPA unless you have a significant amount of relevant experience, very strong statement of purpose and goals, and very strong letters of recommendation.</p>
<p>If I were you, I would spend some time getting involved in research and working in a lab before applying. I think it’s important to pursue research to be sure that you want to go to grad school in the first place.</p>
<p>OP: Why do you want a graduate degree, what specific area(s) do you want to research, and what makes you think that you are ready for graduate study?</p>
<p>You are close enough to the 3.0 line that you have at least a chance at some lower-ranked programs, but for it to be worthwhile you need to consider a lot more than just getting in.</p>
<p>Do you want a PhD? Do you want to go into academia? If either but especially if both are true, then a “mediocre school” is not fine. You want to get into a top school or at least a decent mid-ranked program with a top focus in your subfield. Honestly, even if you want to go into industry a low-ranked program isn’t going to do much for you. The goal is not just to get ANY PhD, it’s to get a PhD that will help you get a job.</p>
<p>Second of all, predicting chances is nigh impossible but even commenting on your competitiveness is difficult with the vague amount of information that you gave. You didn’t say what you want to get a degree in or what kind of degree; you didn’t say how long you’d been an RA in a psych lab (2 years? 2 months? 2 weeks?) nor is there any info on your fit with departments of interest.</p>
<p>So here are some very general tips:</p>
<p>-Generally, PhD programs want students with a 3.5+ undergrad GPA. If you have an otherwise outstanding application, a 3.2-3.4 may be accepted. It would be very unusual for an average applicant with a 2.9 to get admitted.</p>
<p>-Generally competitive PhD applicants have at least 2 years of part-time research experience as an RA in a lab. Many students have 3-4 years, and many students have some full-time post-college experience.</p>
<p>-Is your major GPA higher than your cumulative? Sometimes the cGPA can be forgiven if you have a very high major GPA and your low grades were in like gym or art.</p>
<p>-Fit with the department is very important. You could be an outstanding student but if there is no one at a particular university doing research in which you are interested, you won’t get admitted.</p>
<p>-Can you get 3 strong recommendation letters from professors who know your work? You will need at least one research letter; the other two can be from teachers.</p>