Thinking about grad school for Biochemistry/MCB

Graduate School
1

<p>I'm a sophomore at UC Berkeley right now and I just declared a double major in MCB (Biochemistry Track) and Economics. I'm leaning towards going to grad school for Biochem right now and would just like some advice on which colleges to aim for.</p>

<p>My GPA right now is around 3.79 and I just got a research position at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab for the summer and will hopefully continue with it into the school year. I also want to do the MCB honors program here. </p>

<p>Do grad schools consider the fact that Berkeley does not inflate grades at all? Like would a 3.7 at Berkeley beat a 4.0 at USC/UC Davis? And what are the acceptance rates like for graduate programs in top schools? And do most people apply to grad school during their senior year or is it better to wait a year?</p>

<p>Thanks to anyone who can answer any of these!</p>

2

<p>Graduate schools don’t generally put too much weight on GPA. They are more concerned with your research experiences, letters of req, and also its important to do well in core courses (for example biochemistry). GPA and GRE scores are generally used as a screening method to narrow down the list of applicants. </p>

<p>If you get sufficient experience as an undergrad that its okay to apply as a senior. You will find about a 50/50 split between students coming straight from college and students have spent a year or two teching in a lab. </p>

<p>Its hard to come up with a number for acceptance rates. Completely depends on the size of the program and number of applicants but generally they will interview 2-3 times the number of students that they expect to enroll. PM me if you want any more advice</p>