Please help me out/Genetics

Graduate School
1

<p>Stats:
-GPA: 2.66
-Psychology/Biology double major
-Small Private New England school
-No GRE's yet (preparing for them)
-No internships yet (desperately looking), no independent research yet, no publications, only volunteer experiences in high school (a lot of hours)
-Psychology research experience (conducted research with a team but got a B- in the class), 1 sem Biology lab experience from Genetics class, 1 sem Microbiology lab experience</p>

<p>-Field of interest : Genetics/Biotechnology/Genetic Engineering, or possibly combining Bio and Psych (Neuroscience? Biological Psychology?)</p>

<p>Miscellaneous:
-First-Generation
-Latino
-English my second language
-Fluent in Spanish and French
-Gay
-Transfer</p>

<p>Here's my GPA History:
Fall '11: 2.58
Spring '12: 3.18<br>
Fall '12: 2.37
Spring '13: 2.37</p>

<p>I also have taken 9 courses with a GPA of 3.59 at one institution, and 7 courses at another (forgot GPA). </p>

<p>I am in a difficult situation. Here's my story:</p>

<p>I took dual enrollment courses in High School and started as a Sophomore (I believe) at my safety school (living with parents). I was a Pre-Med student due to them wanting me to be a doctor like my father. However, I took Bio I and II, Chem I, and Pre-Cal (all C's and B's), and hated that I had to be taking all those classes. I was also having a lot of problems with my parents, and was also developing my own sense of self apart from them. I transferred from my safety school to my Small New England Private U, and my GPA was "reset."</p>

<p>I came to my new school and did a mediocre job the first semester, but then I was improving a little my second semester. However, I was diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder (had no idea; always lived in TX/Mexico) and develop symptoms from October to March (sometimes even later), which definitively affect my grades. I thought I would do better the year after that, but (very unfortunately), I was in an emotionally abusive relationship all of last year, which had me very depressed and doing a mediocre academic job. I have now cut all contact with the person.</p>

<p>TL; DR:</p>

<p>I will be a Senior next year, but I am scared of not getting accepted anywhere for grad school, especially for Genetics. I am also scared that even if I get accepted somewhere, I will not be able to get a very good job or pursue research goals, etc. I am wondering if anyone can give me any realistic suggestions of what I can do. I consider myself to be a very intelligent person (as do others), but I just do not have the grades to reflect that. I would like a Ph. D, but I am also wondering if I can be admitted for a Master's, and then transfer to a Ph. D program, or complete a Master's and then get a Ph. D shortly after that. I am delaying graduation in order to increase my GPA and prepare for the GRE's. Please help.</p>

2

<p>You definitely need to get research experience in. I’d recommend taking a couple years working as a lab tech, gaining both bench and data analysis/comp skills you’ll need for genetics. That way you can get the experience admission committees want to see while putting some money in the bank (or paying off loans). You could also go immediately to an MS program, boost your gpa and experience, then go to a phd program, but I personally think it’s smarted to just get on-the-job experience since they pay you, not the other way around, and they end up being worth about the same to adcoms.</p>

3

<p>Would a Lab technician job be the best, though? I have seen job offerings for Research Technicians, Research Associate, etc., but am not sure of the exact difference between all of these. I have also heard that admission committees tend to accept students that have just gotten out of school rather than those working. </p>

<p>Also, is it possible for me to get into an Ivy League/top program if I work and then apply (like you said), or would getting into a Master’s program prove that I can get a high GPA? I know they don’t just look at GPA, but I feel like mine might be a limiting factor,even if I obtain experience after college.</p>

4

<p>Quite frankly, you should be looking to get whatever job you can. Don’t worry about the specific title–lab technician, research technician, whatever, doesn’t really matter. Look for what you are qualified for (what could you do with only a bachelor’s degree, what lab experience does the job ask for) and what the position entails (ideally, you’d look for something where you can get the most research experience, maybe even be part of a publication, but that may not always be possible). Many, many students take a gap year or two to take a break from school, to get experience to figure out if they would really like to get a PhD, to do something to become a more competitive applicant, or some combination of the above. In your case, it may be helpful not to apply straight out of undergrad, since GPA becomes less of a factor the longer you are out of undergrad.</p>

<p>You can work or enter a master’s program, whichever you think would aid your application better. Going to a master’s program isn’t really to prove that you can get a high GPA; it’s to demonstrate that you can do graduate level work, both academically and research-wise. You can demonstrate both of these factors in different ways of course, and how you do that depends on your particular situation. To be honest, your GPA may be a limiting factor but your lack of research experience is also a major lack in your application. You also don’t seem to have a good sense of the type of research you would like to pursue–genetics and neuroscience can be very different, for example–and this may become an issue when writing your SOP or during interviews (if you’re in a field that interviews, of course).</p>

<p>You can, of course, apply straight out of undergrad, if you would prefer to. Personally, I think you would be a more competitive applicant, especially for very competitive programs, if you had more research experience and get great GRE scores. Many programs also have cutoffs at 3.0 for GPA before the department can even look at your application, which is something else to consider. But you can always apply and see what happens. We can’t predict what the schools will do.</p>

5

<p>

Quoted for emphasis. The GPA is a problem, sure, but having no research experience is a huge issue.</p>

6

<p>Thank you for both of your responses; this forum has been very helpful! I will try to get research experience ASAP while I’m still an undergrad and get good GRE scores as well.</p>

7

<p>I have another question: Will grad schools look at my GPA from both my current school and others, or just at my current school’s? Yes, I have a 2.66 at my current school, but that is with 16 attempted hours (4 semesters), while I also have a GPA of 3.59 at another school because of the 7 courses I have taken there. I would think they will look at all my transcripts, but will “GPA” mainly mean my current school’s? I still have 4 more semesters of college left, since I am delaying graduation to bring my GPA up. Thank you.</p>