Prospective Graduate Schools that Match My Credentials?

Graduate School
1

Hello! I just got finished with my junior year of college, and I am getting serious about applying to doctoral programs this coming September-October.

I am a Biochemistry/Chemistry double major with a minor in Latin. I go to a small Catholic liberal arts school, and have a 3.8 GPA overall, with about a 3.9 in my major coursework. I have not yet taken the GRE, but I plan on taking it by the end of this summer along with the Biochemistry GRE. By the time I will be applying, I will have had two semester and one summer’s worth of research in a molecular biology research lab on my campus, as well as a paid summer internship as a trainee at the National Cancer Institute of NIH. I will be completing a senior honors thesis in the lab on my campus. I am part of five honors societies, two of which directly relate to my major; I am president of the Beta Beta Beta Biological Honors Society and vice president of the Gamma Sigma Epsilon Chemistry Honors Society. I also have spent a few semesters since sophomore year as a lab prep assistant for four different courses, a tutor for chemistry classes, and a supplemental instructor for a couple biology courses. I already have two research mentors who are willing to write my recommendation letters, and I hope to acquire one or two more during my time at NCI this summer. I have a definite passion for research, especially in the field of cancer biology, and I am excited to do more research during my grad school years! I am also female; I hear that this may or may not hold some weight in the fields of Biochemistry and Chemistry, which are generally male-dominated.

I have made an Excel spreadsheet (yes, I am THAT type A) of all schools in the United States that offer a Biochemistry Ph.D. program of some sort. Surprisingly, there are not as many as most would think. I have narrowed my search down to about 65 schools so far (I want to end up with about 10 eventually) based on location.

I was wondering if, given my credentials, anyone could tell me what schools would be considered safety, reach, etc. for my admission to a Ph.D. program in Biochemistry? This will help me figure out what schools might not be worth applying to.

Thank you in advance for any help!

2

It’s your mentors who can guide you. They know you, your work and interests. Have they suggested programs?

3

My main mentor/advisor actually had to take an unplanned semester off since her son had some major health complications. Unfortunately, this past year it has been difficult to communicate too much with her about graduate programs. However, she has informed me of my standing in the overall graduate applicant pool when it comes to research and GPA; we just have not discussed schools at length.

4

Since you have significant research experience, you possibly have a good idea of the type of research which appeals to you. My suggestion would be to start with that, find faculty you might wish to work with, and target those universities first. This will give you a pool from which you can select your ten applications.

After you have made this initial selection speak to your mentor and see what she thinks about your choices. She might have some additional suggestions. Finally, make sure that you are applying to a range of programs. From those which are highly selective and hard to get into to ones where you are pretty sure you will be admitted with full funding as a TA or RA.

There are lots of good programs out there from which to choose and, more importantly, lots of very good faculty, even at some less well known programs.

5

Thank you! I will definitely begin by looking through faculty research.