<p>I've come across this site a few times and decided that I would post a question about myself and receive some community feedback. I'm interested in applying to several PhD programs in either Ecology or Environmental Science (Columbia, Chicago, Berkeley, Boston U, and Duke) and I was hoping to get a better feel for my chances. About me:</p>
<ol>
<li>I am a current Master's student at the University of Michigan in the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology entering my second year and I graduated from UofM as an undergrad with the same major.</li>
<li>My undergraduate GPA was a 3.63 and my current graduate GPA is a 7.7, which is between an A and A- on a 9.0 scale.</li>
<li>During the summer between my undergrad and grad school, I did independent research under the mentorship of the acting department chair.</li>
<li>I have done a considerable amount of field research/work (2 summer and currently 1 academic year).</li>
<li>I am currently working on a Master's thesis on describing a new species, which consists of 1-2 years of research (still in progress) and I gave a poster presentation at the annual ESA conference this summer on this research.</li>
<li>Cumulative GRE score is 321 on the new scale.</li>
<li>Interned for both the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Student Conservation Association as an undegrad.</li>
<li>I have strong writing skills and will also have strong letters of recommendation.</li>
<li>I have over a year of teaching experience teaching undergraduates (I currently hold a Teaching Assistantship).</li>
<li>I've written and been awarded two research grants within my university.</li>
</ol>
<p>So, based on this, how do things look?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for the feedback.</p>