I am currently an undergraduate student majoring in bioengineering, cum GPA: 3.42. I’ve done research for one year in Neurogenetics. Being involved in research made me realize that my passion is in investigating and learning about genetic interactions of diseases. I want to pursue a PhD in bioinformatics/genomics, but I’m afraid that my GPA and little research experience will not get my foot in the top graduate programs. Because of that, I will be apply to Masters and top Post Bacc research programs (UPenn, University of Chicago, Yale, Emory, UW, John Hopkins, University of Rochester). I was wondering how competitive these programs are. Has anyone gone through these programs? If so, can you comment on the competitiveness: avg GPA, research experience, etc. Also, any advice on how I should prepare my applications? Thanks in advance.
I know some people who are post-bacs at some universities. It isn’t terribly difficult, and your GPA and research experience seem to be competitive. I would also try looking into the post-bac positions provided by other research institutions like the NIH, which has a great program. Best of luck!