I graduated with my bachelors in functional biology (physiology concentration) last May. Early in my undergraduate career, my goal was to go to PA school so I focused alot more on getting experience in the healthcare field so I interned with physicians. It wasn’t until my final year that I started doing research and switched gears completely. To confirm what I thought I wanted to do, I started working in the research/biotech field working primarily on cancer research and am now finally thinking about going back to school. My GPA is not stellar (2.99) and I got a 300 on my gre. My dream is to eventually get my phD and it would be ideal to directly apply and get in but am thinking thats kind of impossible for me.
Do any of you believe it may be more beneficial to get a masters first? and then apply to phD programs? if so, what kind of masters programs should I consider?
Research is what I live and breathe now, so want to make sure I am doing everything I can.
You might want to apply to one or two Ph.D. programs but also to some Masters programs which are likely to have financial support for you. It is likely that starting with a masters will be your best route to the Ph.D. but it is worth a try at the right kind of school.
I think the decision lies on a number of factors, which are heavily dependent on your values. The nature of the program, school, associated costs, post-graduate career are just some of them. By now you should take a look on certain programs offered by certain schools. Also, you should gauge yourself right now if your credentials would allow you to competitively apply to a straight PhD, otherwise you will have to apply first in a Master’s Program. I’m not so sure about associated costs, but I’ve read from graduate program websites that straight PhD programs, usually, are the ones funded well.
“To confirm what I thought I wanted to do, I started working in the research/biotech field working primarily on cancer research and am now finally thinking about going back to school.”
PS: Cool research field. I’d love to know more about your current track.
Well, do you know of any phD programs where they would accept me as my scores and gpa are not stellar? what kind of phD programs would I even look at to begin?
I started working at a biotech company with the intention of getting research experience so I was hired with data admin responsibilities to work with clinical trial patient samples. I then moved on from there into digital imaging, so I have been developing my knowledge in scanners and microscopes.
and xraymancs, what kind of masters programs would you look at?
Give the need for funding, I would suggest programs where the Masters is the highest degree offered. Those are the most likely to offer you an assistantship for a Masters program. The schools that come to mind are some of te more research oriented California State Universities. A number of them have quite good research programs but they do not offer Ph.D.s in general. There are other universities which offer support to Masters students even if they have Ph.D. programs so you have to do some of the leg work to find them and identify the ones which offer the kind of research you are interested in.
While you are doing this research, you can also find a few Ph.D. programs to which you can apply and see if a financial support offer is available for you.
The key is to apply only to programs that you feel comfortable attending.
xraymancs, Do you feel my credentials would be enough to get me into a masters program?
Hi,
I’ve yet to try and apply for straight PhD programs, but for all I know it’s going to be a competitive admission process — since applicants usually gear up to get into such a program which is more likely funded, thus the economic burden is lower. Yes, I agree with xraymancs that you should find schools that offer terminal masters, because the usual schools that I’ve researched rarely offer a terminal masters but instead opt that you go for a PhD. If you can find a school that offers a terminal master’s degree, which is for that matter, funded — then, that would be better. Likewise, getting into a Master’s program would boost your chances of getting into a related PhD program. I’m not sure, but I’d say usual graduate applicants are with a gpa of 3.0 up, so you are very close. You have to make up for this portion of your credentials with relevant recommendation letters and outlining your graduate objectives well, since you would probably be applying to a graduate research program.
The process towards getting into a suitable graduate program will require a lot of personal researching, so, do it!
As an additional question, how long has it been since you graduated with a Bachelor’s degree? You could try and apply to a post-baccalaureate research program while you gear yourself up for graduate school applications. Yes, I think that would be nice to do while you gear yourself up.
I think you will be able to get into a Masters program. I agree with @kyubiness that a strong personal statement and letters of reference are important. Good luck!