hi all! i’ve seen people ask for reviews on their resume and feedback and i think i really need that right now! i am a senior completing a bsc in bio, and i want to take the next steps towards getting my phd and doing research in bacteriology. DUE to this research track, i think a phd is probably my best option. i want to study bacteria, more specifically antibiotic resistance and immune system evasion (extremely niche, i know this is where finding a lab rather than a school comes into play)
so here’s how i stack up:
GPA: 3.295 (part i’m most worried about, i have severe add and adhd and it makes test taking hard…and most stem classes are just exams). do poorly in more quantitative courses, but excel in experiment and literature based courses.
gre: i’m not taking it, and my pi told me most places don’t care if you take it anyways. my adhd doesn’t let me sit still for exams like that, so it’s best i don’t waste my time and money on something i’ll do poorly on
research experience: two research internships (one lab based the other less so), currently working for a genomics lab at a fairly major university. also work for a clinical trial irb, so i see a lot of research
i can count at least 6 letters of rec. i also do freelance writing (some academic pieces), which give me at least 50 client reviews (can I use these in my applications along with my references) and even more publications* (mostly content writing for random subjects) than that. i have my name on two pre-print papers.
schools i’m probably going to apply to, i want to be in the philly area:
-temple -phd in biomedical sciences
-jefferson - phd in microbiology and immunology
-drexel - phd in microbiology and immunology
-upenn - phd in microbiology
-harvard - phd in bacteriology
-ucsf - phd in bacteriology
-uconn phd in microbiology and immunology
-pitt phd in microbiology and immunology
-pitt - phd in infectious disease and microbiology
anyway, if you could give me some feedback that would be great, because i would really appreciate it! i think i just have really bad imposter syndrome, but i genuinely need validation and someone unbiased to tell me if i’m on track and am likely to be accepted. thank you so much!