<p>im trying, as many of you, to narrow down my list. im interested in bioinformatics/molecular biology and wondering how many programs i should apply. i have put all HYPSMD but not sure if that's the best tactic since i keep hearing from others that one who'd get into one of those top-tier programs would get into similar strength programs. im considering UCLA, cornell, berkley, columbia, and CMU. please help me narrowing down my list. i guess im kinda an average good applicant with an average research experience, an average GPA/GRE, and whatnot. (average for collegeconfidnetial) let me know which schools to drop, rather than to add.</p>
<p>It is probably a bad idea considering how much of a crap shoot it is to get into those schools, you should probably add 1-2 that you think will without a doubt be able to get into.</p>
<p>what's the D on the list? If you're interested in bioinformatics I would include Uwashington, and maybe washu st louis. Berkeley isn't any easier to get in than any of the others. Columbia's bioinformatics program is also quite good. You should talk to your advisor and see what they have to say.</p>
<p>Why are you applying to HYPSMD? The best tactic to take is to look at programs intensively not just for prestige, and look at departments based on your research interests and fit with the program. No matter how spectacular a student you are, a department is not going to admit you if there is no one in the department doing research that you specify you are interested in and biting at the bit to conduct in graduate school.</p>
<p>I also agree that this question is best posed to your advisor and your research supervisor(s). They will know what programs in your field are best suited to your interests and abilities.</p>
<p>juillet, i have looked into alot of programs and faculty members to match my research interest. interestingly enough (no pun intended), those schools happen to have pioneering professors in the field of my interest. </p>
<p>(i guess a practical question... is this) while i do know that i am slightly more interested in princeton than yale (again, because of available faculty members), i am not sure if i shall eliminate yale from my overwhelming list just because of that. (ie yale still has faculty members that I would love to work with)</p>
<p>to be honest, my research supervisor isnt the best help because i only work with a post-doc in his lab and he only knows me through a few superficial interactions (but i somewhat feel obligated to receive a rec from him). i have talked to him and he has agreed to write me a recommendation. i def asked him of his opinion about my un-polished list but didn't get any helpful/specific comments.</p>
<p>I'm not sure why you have to eliminated any of them. In my field, it's very common to apply to over 10 schools, especially in clinical and social psychology Ph.D programs because they are so competitive. Unless you just really don't have the money to apply to all of these schools, you might as well!</p>
<p>I would not eliminate any school that has professors you would love to work with -- more applications means a better chance of going somewhere you'd be happy at.</p>
<p>Ask the post-doc! Post-docs are in touch with the pulse of the current work in the field, often, and will know about big programs in his or her area.</p>
<p>This isn't undergrad. The value of applying to a program based on the institution's prestige is not a great. There are plenty of really crappy labs (poorly funded, lacking direction, bad PI etc) at really prestigious institutions. Also, depending on what area of molecular biology/bioinformatics you are interested in, you might find that some of the schools on your list don't even have a lab working in that area.</p>
<p>Juillet, in the life sciences (or at least the corner that molecular occupies) applying to more than 10 programs would be insane. Social psych is notoriously competitive and I am not surprised that you apply to school like this were medical school admissions.</p>
<p>Oh see, I'm not familiar with how many applications you put in to natural sciences Ph.D programs. What is a reasonable number of programs, for future reference?</p>
<p>I applied to 9 last year because I wasn't sure which one to cut. I would have cut harvard BBS, but the application was the same as another program at harvard that I was applying to, and I think that it was a joint application fee so I just kept it, although I never seriously considered it. </p>
<p>If you are not a very top student, I would apply to HYPSM, and then add a couple of extra schools. CMU would be a good choice for bioinformatics, as would columbia and uwashington (genome sciences). The Cornell bioinformatics program is a bit interesting, I would research that more before deciding on it (its partly in ithaca, and partly at weill)</p>