My chances of getting admitted to Stem Cell PhD program

Graduate School
1

<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<p>I am an international student from Taiwan. I obtained a Bachelor of Science in Life Science with 3.5 in average GPA and 3.8 in last 60 credits. My standardized test scores include GRE (420 (38%)/770 (88%)/3.5 (20%)) and IBT TOEFL (25/22/22/29=98). I started my research career for one year in Taiwan and then went to UMN as a research specialist for over two years. At UMN, I mainly participated in the research of cell metabolism and embryonic stem cells. This year I just had my own peer-reviewed publications in the journals Stem Cells (1st author in ESC research), FASEB Journal (3rd author in metabolism and immunology), and Cellular Signalling (2nd author in metabolism), as well as one submitted paper (2nd author in metabolism), one Chinese article (in Biomimetics) and one conference poster (1st author in metabolism) at Experimental Biology, Anaheim 2010. One of my strong recommendation letter comes from an Honorary Fellow at AAAAI, also a Harvard alumus. As for my extracurricular activities, I have served as an editor of Chinese scientific news as well as a Chinese translator in MIT OpenCourseWare. I also made the military service as an officer (second lieutenant) at Coast Guard Administration in Taiwan. However, I am not sure whether my extracurricular activities will help in my application. </p>

<p>I am now looking for stem cell-related graduate programs, which are mostly parts of the umbrella programs in many schools. As far as I know, universities in California, such as Stanford, UCI, UCSF, and UCLA, are especially outstanding in ESC research due to the strong support from California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). In eastern coast, Harvard just established the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology (SCRB) in 2007, where there are many excellent scholars, including George Daley, David Scadden, Douglas Melton, and Konrad Hochedlinger. In MIT, Rudolf Jaenisch is of course the leading expert in ESC research. And in Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, James Thomson is worldwide well-known for his contribution.</p>

<p>These experts are all top scientists around the world, and most people interested in ESC research would love to join their lab although not everyone is accepted. Here I would like to ask whether any experienced person could evaluate my chances of admissions at these prestigious dream schools as well as provide with some advice on my academic records and choosing schools.</p>

<p>Thank you for your patience!</p>

<p>PS: The schools I am considering is listed below:
Harvard: Biological and Biomedical Sciences
MIT: Biology
Yale: Biological & Biomedical Sciences
Stanford: Biosciences
Wisconsin: Cellular and molecular biology
Duke: Developmental and Stem Cell Biology Training Program
Washington at St. Louis: Developmental Biology Program / BBS
UC Irvine: Cellular & Molecular Biosciences</p>

2

<p>You have really good research experience but the fact that you’re international and have a 3.5 is some concern. I feel though you should get into most of those programs based on some of the other stats I’ve seen posted. Take a look at the international biomed thread to see where international students have gotten rejected/accepted at.</p>

3

<p>Yes, look here to see profiles for international student applicants in the biosciences:<br>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/graduate-school/1056778-us-phd-bio-biomedical-lifesciences-international-interviews-acceptances-fall-2011-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/graduate-school/1056778-us-phd-bio-biomedical-lifesciences-international-interviews-acceptances-fall-2011-a.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I don’t think a 3.5 is going to be a concern. Most countries grade more harshly than American universities, and even if they didn’t, a 3.5 is still within range. I suggest you research the programs to determine which are most international-friendly. Public universities such as Wisconsin and UC Irvine might not have a lot of funding for international students, and even some private universities might accept few international students. Larger programs such as Harvard BBS have higher acceptance rates than top programs that have spots open for only ten students a year.</p>

4

<p>Thank bobbydinero and Momwaitingfornew for your opinion!</p>

<p>Prior to this post, I have already read the biomed thread you provided here. Several accepted applicants had outstanding academic records in GPA and GRE, which might be part of my weakness. I am clear about that, but in some cases, strong research experiences, which are more important for PhD study, can compensate for the weakness in standardized exam scores. For example, the BBS website in WUSTL says, “Outstanding recommendations and higher quality research experience may make up for lower test scores, so do not let lower scores discourage you from applying.” Therefore, it is my research experience that I would like to emphasize in my application.</p>

<p>I am also clear that public schools such as UC tend to accept fewer international students due to funding issue. That is why I choose only one UC school in my list. However, I am not pretty sure about which private university is not international-friendly, because most private schools do not directly state this. In addition, umbrella programs such as Harvard BBS accept more students than specific programs, thus increasing the chance of acceptance. I therefore choose this type of program in most of my school list. </p>

<p>Please share your opinion if you have any other suggestion. </p>

<p>Thank you!</p>