PhD Microbiology/Immunology

<p>I am currently a junior and have started looking into applying for PhD programs this coming fall. I am just wondering if you guys can provide me some suggestions on my chance of getting in a PhD program as well as which range of schools should I be looking at? Also, what do you guys look for when looking for programs besides finding a program where you are interested in working with a couple different professors?</p>

<p>My profile is below:
International Student
[Undergrad. University] Small Liberal Arts, Top 40.
[Undergrad. Major(s)] Biology
[Undergrad GPA] Currently 3.695 (Major GPA: 3.82) Bad grade in Orgo I
[Years of Research Experience]1 full year and 3 summer so far. Will have a paper published later this year
[GRE Scores] Not yet taken
[Prospective Graduate Program] Microbiology/Immunology</p>

<p>Chances = impossible to determine. It depends on the individual programs to which you apply, the other people applying in the same years as you, the qualitative aspects of the research experience you’ve done (it’s not just “years” that matter, it’s what you did and how much you contributed. And a paper on which you are 7th author is not nearly as impressive as a paper on which you were 3rd), and other idiosyncratic factors that are impossible to determine from this side of the table.</p>

<p>A lot of it will also depend on your research interests, your statement of purpose, and your fit with the department. Once you pass a certain threshold (probably about a 3.5 GPA and a 1200 on the old GRE, or 85th percentile on both sections, plus about 2ish years of research experience) everything is really based upon fit. A student with a 1250 and a 3.5 may get in over a student with a 1400 and a 3.8 because Student A has the precise skills and interests that Professor X needs in his lab this year, whereas Student B doesn’t really fit in with the department at all.</p>

<p>So just apply and see what happens. If you are really concerned about whether you are shooting too high, ask professors in your area.</p>

<p>Your major and cumulative GPA are competitive, and if you can get high GRE scores that would also be great. However, in the biomedical sciences field you will be competing with applicants who have 2-3 years of undergraduate experience and/or have spent 2-3 years working as full time lab technicians and possibly have MS degrees. In that aspect, your research experience is actually pretty mediocre to low. Again, range of schools is really a question to ask your professors.</p>

<p>As far as what to look for, that varies depending on student, but here’s what I think (and some of these are more relevant to selecting a program once you’ve applied):</p>

<p>Of great importance

  • Laboratory facilities
  • Resources & equipment within the department to get your work done (statistical programs, microscopes, whatever it is you need to get your research done)
  • Library resources - does the university subscribe to the journals you need?
  • Work space for graduate students - will you have a good place to get your work done?
  • Atmosphere of the department. Is everyone cutthroat and out for themselves or are people collegial and willing to help you?
  • Personality of the person who will be your mentor(s). Are they easy to get along with, or will they never make time for you?
  • Is the funding package livable in the location of the university? Will you have funding for the same amount of time that it takes you to finish? 5 years of funding is no good if it takes everyone 8 years to get out.
  • Time to degree. Do people finish in 4-5 years on average, or 8-9?
  • Attrition. Do 70% of the people who start the program burn out and drop out? Or does almost everyone finish?
  • Placement. Do people get jobs when they graduate? Where? Are they all adjuncts at Local U or do they get tenure-track positions after a few years of postdocing?
  • Publication potential. Are students publishing with faculty? Look it up on PubMed or wherever.</p>

<p>Of medium importance

  • Classes offered. Classes are only sort of important in PhD programs, but will you have the opportunity to take interesting courses to fulfill those requirements?
  • Qualifying exams. Does virtually everyone pass, or are they weed-outs that fail 1/3 of the cohort?
  • Study spaces on campus for grad students, when you don’t want to be in the lab or at home
  • Travel funds for conferences. Most departments have a pool; find out how much you can get, if anything. (This is only medium because if you are on a grant, a lot of time your advisor’s grant can pay.)
  • Do the other students look like they’re being dragged behind a bus or do they look generally happy and well-fed? Talk to some of them if you can about their experiences.
  • How many students are externally funded on things like NRSAs and NSFs? That can tell you a lot about whether the university is able to support your application to those places, and whether those granting agencies look favorably upon your school’s resources.
  • On the flip side of that, how many people are waitressing or bartending at night, or teaching 3 adjunct courses at Local CC to make ends meet? (This is less likely in a biomedical sciences program, I think.)</p>

<p>Still important, but not as important

  • Location. Is it bitingly cold when you can’t survive below 40 degrees F? Is the cost of living depressingly high? Will you even be able to afford a cardboard box in this city? Is there a sufficient number of distractions for those rare times when you won’t be working or sleeping?
  • Housing. Does nearly everyone live in the university-owned housing or will you have to find your own? And if you do have to find your own, how difficult is that?
  • Other university resources. Do they have a writing center? A statistical consulting group? Library workshops to teach you to use reference managers or database searches? A good sponsored research office?</p>

<p>Thanks a lot for your detail answer. I really appreciate it. Regarding my research experience, by the time that I graduate I will be 2 full years of research and it is likely that I will be the 2nd author (he is a new professor at my college and I am the only person in the lab who has been with him since day one). Would you say applying to graduate schools is a lot like applying to undergrad in terms of the strategy and what the committee look for ?</p>

<p>“Would you say applying to graduate schools is a lot like applying to undergrad in terms of the strategy and what the committee look for ?”</p>

<p>Not at all. Undergraduate admissions are often holistic, and care that you volunteered at a nursing home for a few months. Graduate admissions committees… well, they don’t care about grandma. They’re almost singularly interested in whether or not they believe you will be a successful scientist that fits into their training program. Did you do well in science-specific classes, especially those in the field? Do you have research experience that is relevant and that you really understand? Are you capable of designing experiments? Does the school have sufficient lab space or faculty who are working on something you’re interested in? After all that is assessed, they might also take into account your personality, to see if you’d mesh with the faculty and other students, but that’s sometimes ignored, too.</p>

<p>Since my school is small and I could not find a lab that is in the field of microbiology/immunology, is working in a lab that is not in the field my disadvantage? I have been spending a lot of time in the lab and have got some good result.</p>

<p>It’s better than no experience at all, but hopefully it’s at least somewhat related (ie biochemistry, biology). Unless you’re publishing, results aren’t as important as thoroughly understanding the experimental design, background and rationale for what you’re doing. Make sure you can effectively speak to these things to show that you have a solid base in understanding how science is done.</p>

<p>Actually it is not even in biochemistry. It is actually in evolutionary biology.</p>