<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>I've been lurking the forum since my high school days, posting every so often. I'm a junior biology major and will be applying to Cell Bio Ph.D. programs this fall and I'm just wondering how I stack up. I would like to apply to some Top 15 schools - I know that the majority of CC'ers have insane GPAs/GRE scores and 18 papers under their belt, but any help would be appreciated :)</p>
<p>GPA: Currently a 3.56, though I will pull it up to a 3.6 this semester.</p>
<p>GRE: Haven't taken it yet, but I should be in the ballpark. What would be a good score to shoot for?</p>
<p>Research Experience: Well, I go to a liberal arts school so the opportunities of the big research institutions aren't there. BUT, I did do a small independent project on my school's confocal microscope sophomore year (yep - we're one of the few schools that let undergrads touch the damn thing!). This past summer, I did a research internship in a lab where I basically just assisted a current project. All wetbench work and original research - the fruits of that labor will be written up in a paper (the project has been going on for 3 years and its now nearing the end - not sure if I can get my name on it or not though).</p>
<p>This summer, I'll be back in the same lab as an REU student - My goal is to get a paper out of it if the results stack up. Next fall and spring I'll be doing an honors research project for my major. Not sure about a paper though, but it's possible I might be able to submit by January because it's an extension of the project I started sophomore year.</p>
<p>Letters of Rec: The letter of the PI who's lab I'll have worked in for 2 summers should be top notch. He's also the president of one of those cell bio societies, so I'm assuming he's well known in the field. The other two should be good letters from two professors at my school (one of which knows me very well and I'll be doing honors research with her, the other I attended a conferance with). </p>
<p>Personal Statement: I can articulate my points fairly well, so I'm not concerned about the PS at this point.</p>
<p>I know extracurriculars don't matter much, but I'm Vice President of my school's chapter of the Beta Beta Beta (Nat'l Biological Honor Society) and I'm also a writing mentor.</p>
<p>How is this looking? Am I a strong candidate for top 15? And what's a good GRE score to shoot for?</p>