<p>I have quite a few question on this topic. Concerning undergrad, I am torn between Emory and Hopkins. I LOVED Hopkins when I toured, and I will be touring Emory on the 23rd. Hopkins has an actual B.S. in Molecular Bio, whereas Emory just has the B.S. in Biology-though their course requirements are pretty similar. The catch, I have a 15k scholarship to Emory;that makes it about 60k cheaper than Hopkins over the duration of four years. I will have to take out some loans for both schools either way. Which one do you think would be better for preparation for a PhD in biological sciences? While I am already on this topic, how difficult is it to get into PhD programs in the aforementioned at the top schools (i.e. Stanford, Duke, Harvard)? Is it insanely competitive like it is for medical school? Also, do graduate degrees in the sciences have the same dismal job prospects that always plague the humanities kids? haha Thanks for any info!</p>
<p>The name of the major on the degree doesn’t matter – if the courses you can take are similar, that’s all that matters.</p>
<p>To get into graduate school, you’ll need outstanding research experience as an undergraduate, plus excellent letters of recommendation from professors who know you well. You should consider those factors when choosing an undergrad school – where will it be easier for you to do significant research and get to know your professors?</p>
<p>It is not as difficult to get into top biological sciences PhD programs as it is to get into top medical schools, but it is still difficult. The top PhD programs accept about 15-20% of applicants from a very competitive pool, which clearly isn’t trivial.</p>
<p>I have two other miscellaneous questions:</p>
<p>Are PhD (even MD/PhD) programs funded?</p>
<p>Would it be difficult to get into an umbrella program for biological sciences with a B.S. in Biological Anthropology?</p>
<p>PhDs in biology are funded. I’m not sure about MD/PhD, but you can find that out easily enough by looking at the FAQs of any program you are interested in. MAs are not (typically) funded.</p>
<p>I have a friend who did a mutant physical anthro/biology BS (my undergrad had a “make your own major” option) and she got into University of Iowa’s biology umbrella program, so it is possible. But she basically double majored in anthro and biology. Bio PhD programs usually look for math and physics in addition to chem, bio, and biochem classes and I’m not sure if biological anthro requires those. Can you post the biological anthro BS requirements? Remember that you will be competing with other biology students for PhD admission. It will not be in your best interest to disadvantage yourself in terms of classes if straight up biology is what you want to do.</p>
<p>Admission rates of 15-20% are pretty generous. This year there was a pretty massive increase in applications. Both schools I interviewed at had 7-12% admission rates.</p>
<p>As for JHU vs Emory, I’d go with the cheaper option. Both are very good schools with lots of research opportunities. 60k is not a trivial amount of money and I think you’d be better served later in life by not taking on that kind of debt.</p>
<p>Yep MD/Phd programs are funded just the same as straight Phd programs.</p>
<p>Job prospects are substantially better in the biological sciences than in humanities but still not ideal. Grad school does a good job of preparing you for postdoc, but not really for any job. With a solid postdoc you could enter any number of fields including industry, academia or government. Initial salaries for the first job out of postdoc tend to be in the 60-80K range but can have significant variability. Very few Phd scientists are unemployed.</p>
<p>Where you do your undergrad won’t make that much difference to admission committees provided you get good research opportunities. I suggest you choose whichever university will make you happiest and not worry about which will appeal more to grad admission committees.</p>
<p>What is a competitive gpa and GRE score for admission to some of the best schools in the field? Also, what fields have the most promising job outlook for the biological sciences? Currently, I am wanting to pursue something along the lines of Microbiology/Immunology/Virology, albeit it is likely to change. Are certain branches of biology more competitive? I apologize for being so clueless. Haha</p>
<p>Competitive GPA and GRE scores are hard to determine as schools tend to not release those numbers. A 3.0 and a 1200 are about as low as you want to go, but that will only really get you into mid tier school. I’d say at least a 3.5 and 1250-1300, minimum. BUT, as someone said in another thread, there is no magic formula. Grad schools weigh GPA and GRE far less than letters of recommendation and research experience. If you have great scores and no research, you’re not likely to get in somewhere good, whereas some one with middling GPA and GRE and tons of research will go farther. You will hear lots of stories about kids with great stats who didn’t get in anywhere. And I know a guy who got into Mt Sinai with an 1180. Spend more time focusing on research and experience than worrying about the GRE. (Mind that most schools do have a min of 3.0 GPA, so try not to get below that).</p>
<p>As always, YMMV re:advice on scores, simply because everyone has different experiences and schools don’t give much info. </p>
<p>As to what field to study, passion will out. Do what you are interested in and you will get better grades and more enjoyment than forcing yourself into a discipline because you think it’s less competitive.</p>
<p>Micobio/immuno/viro has a TON of jobs. Outside of academia (and there are a lot of labs in academia) there are also public health labs, the NIH, CDC, USAMRIID, pharma (vaccine makers), industry, biotech startups…</p>
<p>I would pick JHU for the exposure.</p>