someone please evaluate me for biomedical PhD

Graduate School
1

<p>Alright. there is just too much uncertainty. I am really going crazy. </p>

<p>I am applying to mainly cancer genetics programs. For schools that dont have a separate cancer program, I am applying to their molecular biology program. Schools include Upenn, Stanford, Ann arbor, Northwestern, Yale, Dartmouth, Princeton, Duke, Hopkins.</p>

<p>My Undergrad School: Cornell
Degree: BA in Biological Sciences, Genetics and Development, (graduating with high honors, magna cum laude). I am graduating next spring.</p>

<p>GRE: 770V, 800Q, 4.5W
GPA: 3.57
Major GPA: 3.52 (Im from Cornell...will that kinda 'bump up' my GPA a bit? I heard Cornell is famous for giving low-GPA)</p>

<p>Research experience:
-1 year of employment as a research assistant with only limited amount of involvement.</p>

<p>-4 months of research in applied and clinical research. 1 paper published, for which I am the only author. 2 papers submitted (co-author).</p>

<p>-2 years of very very involved research in nematodes and I learned a wide variety of lab techniques such as cloning, IP, microarray, RNAi etc. 3 papers in preparation. And I am working on an honors thesis in this project.</p>

<p>Research grants: received two, totalling $1300. (should I indicate this amount on my CV? I am not sure if that is a lot or too little. If $1300 is too little, maybe i will hide the amount)</p>

<p>Academic Presentations: I presented my research once. Will present twice more before graduation.</p>

<p>Recommendations
1. PI that I worked with in nematodes. (very strong letter. She worked at UPenn herself, and knows one professor with whom I am interested in working and she is personalizing her UPenn letter for me. Does this help a lot?)
2. PI that I worked with in clinical research. (strong letter.)
3. Genetics Professor (not sure how strong it will be. But I am sure it will be quite positive)</p>

<p>I am really afraid having a BA and low analytical and a mediocre GPA and having a Canadian citizenship will adversely affect my application.</p>

2

<p>The only negative attribute in your profile is your citizenship. And yes of course there is a section for grants in your cv.</p>

3

<p>Not all international students are created equal. Canadians usually make up a very large portion of the internationals who do get into US schools. Nevertheless, it is still much harder for us than it is for US citizens.</p>

4

<p>What is your source for this information? I had not heard this before because, in my understanding, all internationals are created equal when it comes to funding- which is why there are so few accepted. Am I wrong on this?</p>

5

<p>hi agc, Honestly your gpa is weak but it sounds like you have significant research experience. Hopefully your LOR writers will indicate your level of dedication towards finishing those papers in their letters. So I really don't know how much your gpa will hurt you. Not too much I suspect. I would just make sure you slam home your research when asked about it at your interviews.<br>
If you have questions about people at any of those institutions you applied, feel free to look me up my "contact information" under my profile. I am familiar with some of the institutions you have applied to.</p>

6

<p>Question: most schools have some sort of questionaire for LOR writers. things like 'is your student top 1%, 5%, 10% among all students in research potential/math skills/speaking/listening' and 'how long have you known this student' etc.</p>

<p>One of my letter writers revealed to me that they even ask whether I have abilities of an undergrad, master's student, 1st year phd student, intermediate phd student or terminal year phd student.</p>

<p>Do schools pay much attention to these questions? I know many LOR writers just check off top 1% for everything and that seems very unfair to other students who have honest LOR writers.</p>

7

<p>Your GRE verbal score is godly, seriously. Also, I think being from Cornell might bump your admission chances a lot more, because the academics there are viewed as being intense.</p>

8

<p>Well, everyone has at least three letter writers. I know that one of mine just checked off the "top 1%" for everything but I would be surprised if the other two took such a mindless approach. Yeah, that does penalize individuals with more diligent letter writers but presumably this is affecting everyone equally.</p>