Graduate schools use several criteria for admittance into
their programs:
- undergraduate courses and grades
- letters of recommendation
- GRE (Graduate Record Exam) scores; general and biology subject test
- research experience
- other professional experience (e.g. internships, intensive summer programs)
Having an outstanding record in one area (e.g. GRE scores) may compensate
for other weaker areas of an application (e.g. course work completed), but
the following points should be kept in mind.
- Most advanced degrees are research degrees and graduate
programs would like some evidence that you know what research entails
and like doing it. Programs want some demonstration that you tackled a
problem or question and saw the project through to its completion. Students
who have not done research prior to graduate school are typically the
most likely to drop out and therefore graduate schools may be leery of
admitting them. Research can be done at the undergraduate level through
independent studies and internships, including summer research programs
at universities. Internships and research opportunities are posted on
the bulletin boards outside of the Biology Offices, Room 221 and can be
found in a file in the Biology Library in Room 224. Summer research programs
have February-March deadlines. Many graduate students worked in research
labs for several years following B.A. graduation to gain research experience
before going to graduate school.
- Graduate programs like applicants who are very focused
on what they want to accomplish. Your interests should be fairly well
defined before applying to graduate school. Knowing that you want to do
"something with animals" is not good enough. Graduate school
is not the place to spend two more years figuring out what to do with
your life.
- The range of scores on the GRE that graduate schools
find acceptable varies from program to program. You may have to check
this out by calling the programs you are interested in. The best advice
is to take the general and advanced tests on different days. To be able
to compete for graduate assistantships and fellowships, it's best to complete
the general exam for the GRE by October of the year before you plan on
starting school (i.e. October of your senior year).
- If you want to compete for graduate fellowships and
assistantships, keep in mind that most programs fund their Ph.D. students
before their Master's students. Many programs do not even accept Master's
students.
- The worst kind of letter of recommendation you can
get is the "He/she was a nice student. He/She got an A in my course."
You need to do things such as research, internships, lab assisting, assisting
with course preparations, tutoring, etc. to make you stand out to the
people that will be writing letters for you.
By all means, do not focus exclusively on biology! Develop
your knowledge and skills in the philosophy of science, chemistry, mathematics,
physics, computers, and experimental design/statistics beyond the minimum
requirements listed for a biology major. In fact, as much as is feasible,
cultivate a companion area of expertise that will allow you to make useful
connections between disciplines. This means you will be able to develop
an incisive thesis project more efficiently and complete your graduate phase
with greater recognition and career potential. It is not adequate anymore
to be just a good old middle-of-the-road bio major if you wish to get into
good graduate programs and progress well into your professional life.
