I want to do a PhD and I'm trying to get a realistic sense of where I stand for admissions. I'm interested in programs with research in computational biology, genomics, biomedical informatics, and health AI.

Background:

• Biology & Data Science/Stats major
• Overall GPA: 3.4
• Some transcript weaknesses, including a few C/C+ grades (one in Linear Algebra, two bio classes, and orgo I & II womp womp) and two course retakes. But core data science/stats (some ML & CS classes) gpa: 3.76, and last 60 credits GPA is 3.5 and there is somewhat of an upward trend.

Research:

• Undergrad honors thesis in computational genomics -> first-author manuscript in preparation to be submitted this summer
• First-author conference paper on AI/public health
• Two summer Internships at pretty strong institutions (although my first one is wet-lab work, and my second one wasn't as computational. I'm planning to talk about them though and especially how my first one inspired me to transition to comp bio)
• Multiple poster and oral presentations, including a few national conferences
• Faculty research award recognizing undergraduate research excellence (sole recipient in entire school)
• Strong technical background in programming/AI/ML and bioinformatics
• Will be starting work in a research program in ML for bio research at a pretty strong instituiton?
• Rec letters should be strong, one of my PIs nominated me for the research award and has been very supportive of me (I've been called one of the top students out of thousands he's advised??)

Extra:

• President/VP of three clubs with extensive STEM outreach, mentorship, and community service work. I'm applying to NSF GRFP and was told my broader impacts was really good (but also somewhat DEI-heavy?).
• Won 4 hackathons, including one at a national level, not really research but some are related to work I'm interested in doing.

School list:

• George Washington University
• New York University
• University of Washington
• Rutgers University
• University of Michigan
• Boston University
• University of Pittsburgh
• Washington University in St. Louis
• Oregon Health & Sciences University
• University of Colorado Anschuntz
• Vanderbilt University
• Temple University
• Dartmouth
• Northwestern University
• Stony Brook University
• University of Delaware

I'm mainly trying to balance being ambitious with being realistic. My mentors have encouraged me to apply to some higher-ranked programs despite the GPA, but I'm not sure how much my research record offsets my transcript.

Would appreciate honest feedback from people, especially those in my field.

I want to do a PhD and I'm trying to get a realistic sense of where I stand for admissions. I'm interested in programs with research in computational biology, genomics, biomedical informatics, and health AI.

Background:

• Biology & Data Science/Stats major
• Overall GPA: 3.4
• Some transcript weaknesses, including a few C/C+ grades (one in Linear Algebra, two bio classes, and orgo I & II womp womp) and two course retakes. But core data science/stats (some ML & CS classes) gpa: 3.76, and last 60 credits GPA is 3.5 and there is somewhat of an upward trend.

Research:

• Undergrad honors thesis in computational genomics -> first-author manuscript in preparation to be submitted this summer
• First-author conference paper on AI/public health
• Two summer Internships at pretty strong institutions (although my first one is wet-lab work, and my second one wasn't as computational. I'm planning to talk about them though and especially how my first one inspired me to transition to comp bio)
• Multiple poster and oral presentations, including a few national conferences
• Faculty research award recognizing undergraduate research excellence (sole recipient in entire school)
• Strong technical background in programming/AI/ML and bioinformatics
• Will be starting work in a research program in ML for bio research at a pretty strong instituiton?
• Rec letters should be strong, one of my PIs nominated me for the research award and has been very supportive of me (I've been called one of the top students out of thousands he's advised??)

Extra:

• President/VP of three clubs with extensive STEM outreach, mentorship, and community service work. I'm applying to NSF GRFP and was told my broader impacts was really good (but also somewhat DEI-heavy?).
• Won 4 hackathons, including one at a national level, not really research but some are related to work I'm interested in doing.

School list:

• George Washington University
• New York University
• University of Washington
• Rutgers University
• University of Michigan
• Boston University
• University of Pittsburgh
• Washington University in St. Louis
• Oregon Health & Sciences University
• University of Colorado Anschuntz
• Vanderbilt University
• Temple University
• Dartmouth
• Northwestern University
• Stony Brook University
• University of Delaware

I'm mainly trying to balance being ambitious with being realistic. My mentors have encouraged me to apply to some higher-ranked programs despite the GPA, but I'm not sure how much my research record offsets my transcript.

Would appreciate honest feedback from people, especially those in my field.

I've heard way too much conflicting reasoning about this so I just wanted to kind of get an honest opinion.

A lot of people recommend reaching out to potential PIs when applying to PhD programs. However, I've also heard that it's not helpful and most programs admit by committee anyway so it wouldn't matter.

Can someone please clear this up because it's confusing me a lot and I wanna make sure I'm making the right decision?

These are my predictions for the months of August to October. I'm very down for any surprises, and just wanna see if I'm accurate in my estimations here.

August

One Night Only: $9M OW, $25M DOM, $55M WW

• Hmm, idk what to think. I feel like this could court a decent audience with adult women/couples, but I'm still kind of unsure. Seems smaller to me especially buried with all the mega blockbusters out in theaters.

Super Troopers 3: $7M OW, $12M DOM, $13M WW

• The last Super troopers opened a decade after the original developed a cult following and was a good success but very frontloaded. I don't see the same appeal here and I don't think anyone's as excited for this.

The End of Oak Street: $26M OW, $85M DOM, $215M WW

• Hmm, I don't know what to think. Original films especially sci-fi (ish) are somewhat of a hard sell these days. If Jurassic World movies are anything to be believed, the people yearn for dinos. And you know, I think this might be one of those August hits that has staying power and strong critical/audience appeal.

Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie: $17M OW, $60M DOM, $180M WW

• It's paw patrol, I'm not sure if I see numbers like the last one but they should be strong with families.

Insidious: Out of the Further: $28M OW, $70M DOM, $170M WW

• The last Insidious movie (which was supposed to the final one?) came out a few years ago to some strong numbers. Idk if I see the same level of performance here but I think it could do pretty well.

The Dog Stars: $12M OW, $33M DOM, $76M WW

• Erm, I'm not sure I see this doing that high and will probably be a flop (welcome back Running Man). I don't think Ridley Scott can sell this, nor Jacob Elordi, and it just looks like it's being dumped in August.

Coyote vs. Acme: $8M OW, $25M DOM, $45M WW

• Hmm, I'm not sure what to think here. What started out as a WB tax write-off got picked up by Ketchup entertainment and has been running on viral marketing as the film "they don't want you to see". Personally..I think it'll be ketchup's highest grossing film! But that doesn't rly say anything. It's still a Looney tunes movie and being distributed by a much smaller studio, not to mention I doubt kids/families are actually gonna be the main demographic here since only a few ppl would get the joke. And considering the original budget of $70M, I just don't see this performing very well relative to that.

September

How to Rob a Bank: $11.5M OW ($14M 4-day Labor Day weekend), $33M DOM, $66M WW

• Hmm, now this looks like it could be a fun little romp. Probably nothing major but if the budget is cheaper then I think it'll turn up a success.

By Any Means: $7M OW ($9M 4-day Labor Day weekend), $18M DOM, $30M WW

• Hmm, my only point of comparison here is Operation Finale, a historical drama which also opened on Labor Day weekend 2018. If the budget is shorter this'll do well enough.

Practical Magic 2: $14M OW, $35M DOM, $75M WW

• I'm sorry this is my hot take. As reference, Practical Magic 1 came out in the 90s, was a box office bomb with poor reviews but has had a cult following over the years. And this does have Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman back. Unfortunately, I just feel like that kind of cult status won't necessarily translate to box office success and theatrical appearance. My point of comparison in terms of a box office gross is actually WB's own Dr. Sleep, the Shining sequel which also seemed to have strong box office tracking but ultimately didn't deliver. On the flipside, WB are the kings of the post-labor day weekend slot with It Chapter 1 & 2, The Nun 1 & 2, beetlejuice beetlejuice, and last year's Conjuring Last Rites, so who knows.

Resident Evil: $36.5M OW, $102M DOM, $252M WW

• The Resident Evil movies historically have been critical poison even with strong box office returns (well internationally, domestic has been kinda floundering), up until Welcome to Raccoon City, which was a bit of a blunder. However, now we have Zack Creeger helming this new one, who blew up last year with his release of Weapons. I don't think this has the viral marketing push and mystery appeal of that film, but with enough goodwill and the promise of an actual good RE adaptation, I think this will do strong.

Forgotten Island: $23M OW, $94M DOM, $214M WW

• Not seeing Wild Robot numbers but with no kids competition and the director of Puss in Boots the last wish behind the camera (so you know it'll be good), I think this'll do well.

Heart of the Beast: $9M OW, $30M DOM, $50M WW

• Umm my weirdest comparison here is Mark Wahlberg's Arthur The King from March 2024 but Brad Pitt is a more famous actor so higher than that i guess.

October

Digger: $39.5M OW, $135M DOM, $385M WW

• I might be biased since I'm super excited for this movie. We don't have the "full trailer" to go off of yet, although if it's anything like the sizzle reel, this is definitely gonna be a film relying on Cruise's star power and the appeal of him playing a role unlike anything he's done before (enough to apparently cover his face). I can see the appeal here, and Cruise can market his films well with a wide audience base. Plus with the hype of potential awards buzz I can see this being a pretty decent original success.

Verity: $30M OW, $85M DOM, $170M WW

• This is another Colleen Hoover adaptation, but I heard the book is better and more popular. Def not on the level of It Ends with Us but I can see it doing well.

The Social Reckoning: $16M OW, $45M DOM, $100M WW

• Hmmm, this is an interesting one. A companion piece to the Social network, which did rly well financially, won a few oscars (and some say unfairly robbed of best picture), and has developed a strong following over the years. But also, Jesse Eisenberg is not back, talky thrillers haven't rly been as successful, and Aaron Sorkin as a director has had an inconsistent track record. Can see this being a drop from Social Network.

*Other Mommy: $7M OW, $17M DOM, $37M WW

• No trailer or marketing of any sort, idk if this is even a real film.

Street Fighter: $48.5M OW, $125M DOM, $325M WW

• The trailers and marketing for this have been very interesting, promising something really campy and accurate to the video games. I think compared to Mortal Kombat, street fighter definitely also has strong appeal, and especially internationally it should be stronger. Can see a pretty good gross here.

Whalefall: $16M OW, $39M DOM, $89M WW

• The trailer for this looked like a pretty tense survival thriller but also supposedly the actual movie is more of an emotional drama? Maybe I'm overprojecting but I think this could be a decent audience sell.

Clayface: $25M OW, $65M DOM, $115M WW

• The new DCU has been on a weird roll, first with Superman doing really well but now Supergirl bombing, not to mention some TV shows, and now a body horror film based on a Batman villain. However, the horror genre has been on a hot streak and the trailers do promise something nasty that could probably entice both comic fans and regular moviegoers. I think it'll do well enough for its smaller budget.

Klara and the Sun: $3.5M OW, $6.5M DOM, $18.5M WW

• Hmm, you know what this weirdly reminds me of? A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, another cheesy sappy emotional film from Columbia that bombed hard. And Taika just hasn't been on a roll, from Thor 4 and Next Goal Wins getting mixed reception (and the latter flopping). I think this is gonna also be a dud.

I want to do a PhD and I'm trying to get a realistic sense of where I stand for admissions. I'm interested in programs with research in computational biology, genomics, biomedical informatics, and health AI.

Background:

• Biology & Data Science/Stats major
• Overall GPA: 3.4
• Some transcript weaknesses, including a few C/C+ grades (one in Linear Algebra, two bio classes, and orgo I & II womp womp) and two course retakes. But core data science/stats (some ML & CS classes) gpa: 3.76, and last 60 credits GPA is 3.5 and there is somewhat of an upward trend.

Research:

• Honors thesis in computational genomics -> first-author manuscript in preparation to be submitted this summer
• First-author conference paper on AI/public health
• Summer Internships at pretty strong institutions
• Multiple poster and oral presentations, both locally and a few national conferences
• Faculty research award recognizing undergraduate research excellence (sole recipient)
• Strong technical background in programming/AI/ML and comp bio
• Rec letters should be strong, one of my PIs nominated me for the research award and has been very supportive of me (I've been called one of the top students out of thousands he's advised??)
• Applying with 1 gap year, starting a new research position in biomedical AI/ML research this summer (will only have a few months during my application time but I'm already brainstorming project ideas for when I get started).

Extra:

• Outside of research, I was also President/VP of three clubs with extensive STEM outreach, mentorship, and community service work. I'm applying to NSF GRFP and my school's office has been surprisingly supportive about it?
• I won four hackathons, including a national one too, and some other ones including for leadership/advocacy. Probably not as much of a boost on my application but especially within STEM I'm really passionate about representation and creating safe spaces so it's somewhat related??

I'm mainly trying to balance being ambitious with being realistic. My mentors have encouraged me to apply to some higher-ranked programs despite the GPA, but I'm not sure how much my research record offsets my transcript.

Would appreciate honest feedback from people, especially those in my field.

I want to do a PhD and I'm trying to get a realistic sense of where I stand for admissions. I'm interested in programs with research in computational biology, genomics, biomedical informatics, and health AI.

Background:

• Biology & Data Science/Stats major
• Overall GPA: 3.4
• Some transcript weaknesses, including a few C/C+ grades (one in Linear Algebra, two bio classes, and orgo I & II womp womp) and two course retakes. But core data science/stats (some ML & CS classes) gpa: 3.76, and last 60 credits GPA is 3.5 and there is somewhat of an upward trend.

Research:

• Honors thesis in computational genomics -> first-author manuscript in preparation to be submitted this summer
• First-author conference paper on AI/public health
• Summer Internships at pretty strong institutions
• Multiple poster and oral presentations, including a few national conferences
• Faculty research award recognizing undergraduate research excellence (sole recipient)
• Strong technical background in programming/AI/ML and comp bio
• Rec letters should be strong, one of my PIs nominated me for the research award and has been very supportive of me (I've been called one of the top students out of thousands he's advised??)

Outside of research, I was also President/VP of three clubs with extensive STEM outreach, mentorship, and community service work. I'm applying to NSF GRFP and my school's office has been surprisingly supportive about it?

I'm mainly trying to balance being ambitious with being realistic. My mentors have encouraged me to apply to some higher-ranked programs despite the GPA, but I'm not sure how much my research record offsets my transcript.

Would appreciate honest feedback from people, especially those in my field.

I'm brainstorming my research proposal, and I have a decent idea that I've outlined.

I'm wondering how you all were able to write the proposal, and what kind of resources you seeked out. I want to make sure my proposal scientifically makes sense (I'm worried it's too ambitious?), and my PIs could help but a) I'm not sure they know that much about GRFP (one of them explicitly said this) and b) some of them aren't as knowledgable in the research that I'm proposing.

I'm applying to PhD programs in the fall, and I have 2 rec letters that I am definitely locked into. However, I'm struggling to figure out the third one.

I have two different options to choose one:

1. PI from my gap year research position I'm starting end of the summer
2. The supervisor from my first summer research internship (freshman -> sophomore year)

For Letter #1, it would be more recent and speak to experience in my research field of interest. However, it would be fairly new and not able to speak on all the experiences I've had there.

For Letter #2, I've already used it for summer/gap year research programs before so I know it's reputable, and I have read it before (my PI asked me to modify it) so I know it's good. But it is also fairly early, and the research is not the same (it's a wet lab but I'm applying for comp bio programs).

Which letter should I use?

I want to do a PhD and I'm trying to get a realistic sense of where I stand for admissions. I'm interested in programs with research in computational biology, genomics, biomedical informatics, and health AI.

Background:

• Biology & Data Science/CS major

* core data science/CS gpa: 3.76

• Some transcript weaknesses, including a few C/C+ grades (one in Linear Algebra, two bio classes, and orgo I & II womp womp) and two course retakes

. But last 60 credits GPA is 3.5 and there is somewhat of an upward trend.

Research:

• Honors thesis in computational genomics -> first-author manuscript in preparation to be submitted this summer
• First-author conference paper on AI/public health
• Summer Internships at pretty strong institutions
• Multiple poster and oral presentations, including national conferences
• Faculty research award recognizing undergraduate research excellence
• Strong technical background in programming/AI/ML and comp bio
• Rec letters should be strong, one of my PIs nominated me for the research award and has been very supportive of me (I've been called one of the top students out of thousands he's advised??)

Outside of research, I was also President/VP of three clubs with extensive STEM outreach, mentorship, and community service work. I'm applying to NSF GRFP and my school's office has been surprsingly supportive about it?

I'm mainly trying to balance being ambitious with being realistic. My mentors have encouraged me to apply to some higher-ranked programs despite the GPA, but I'm not sure how much my research record offsets my transcript.

Would appreciate honest feedback from people, especially those in my field.

Ok so on face value, this sounds kinda crazy. Yes, horror has had a resurgence at the oscars, especially last year with Sinners, Frankenstein and Amy Madigan's win for Weapons. But at the same time, the genre definitely struggles with the Academy and is tough to crack in.

On paper, Obsession doesn't seem like an Oscars' or awards contender whatsoever. Despite this, the critical & audience reception, not to box office insanity this movie is pulling just cannot be ignored. Like, we have never seen a movie on this scale INCREASE from its opening weekend multiple times, especially in the summer no less. And when all's said and done, it's definitely gonna reach $200-250M+ domestic with a pretty good sum worldwide too, performing as Focus Features' highest grossing film of all time. For an <$1M horror movie made by a Youtuber, this is pretty amazing.

Now, obviously box office doesn't really mean much, but we have seen in the past that it can be a huge factor for surprise hits, like Sinners last year, and Get Out, another horror film. And with Focus being a pretty big campaigner in the awards' races, it honestly wouldn't surprise me if they tried to get Obsession for some awards buzz too.

To what extent? I'm kind of unsure?? A lot of talk has been said about Inde Navarrette's performance, and while I think it would be cool, it'd definitely an uphill battle. Sure, Amy madigan won but she was an older veteran actress in a weaker category with no real frontrunner. I think this also all depends on if they campaign Inde in lead vs. supporting. I think right now, she's a pretty solid contender for something like Indy spirit awards rather than the oscars, or maybe even some critics groups. Oscar's, we'll have to see.

Otherwise, I think Picture, Director and Original Screenplay are all in play too, and maybe casting. I think it might play it's hand in the Screenplay category, since the Oscars have a tendency to nominate more genre films in these categories. The others...I'm not so sure of. I think it'll just depend on what Focus campaigns and how the rest of the year goes.

What do y'all think?

I just graduated and most recently decided I want to do a PhD in biomedical informatics (specifically interested in AI/ML in genetics & healthcare) so I want to gauge my chances and any advice or recommendations.

Research experience:

• Computational biology research (single-cell/multi-omics, RNA-seq), honors thesis + first-author manuscript submitted in this area
• unique AI & public health project with a first-author conference paper
• Two summer internships with poster presentations
• Multiple poster and oral presentations for all my experiences, including at national conferences
• Won a prestigious honor at my university for excellence in undergrad research.

Other background:

• Undergrad degree in Biology + Data Science/Stats
• Strong programming & data science background (Python, R, stats & ML coursework)
• Also won a few hackathons (both local & one national)
• GPA: 3.4/4.0, including having to retake two classes, but upward trend after an early dip??? Definitely my biggest weakness. At one point I was pre-med so I stuck those out for a while and I regret doing that.
• I would generally say my rec letters should be pretty strong. One of my PIs actually nominated me for my award and has spoken really highly of me. I have a strong relationship with my other PI as well, as well as another letter writer from my campus leadership experience who can speak really well to my character.
• I do not want to do a masters, but I'm conflicted because I do want to go a good school in my field, at least one that is good enough for future prospects & advising as well as research in my specific field of interest. The issue is that most of the schools that do really strong research in my field are places like Harvard and Stanford where I know I won't get in, so I want to make sure the school I get into has a good enough pedigree to help me in my career. I'm considering taking the GRE this summer to potentially offset my GPA but I also know some schools will not care about it.
  • Schools on my list right now include: Stony Brook, UBuffalo, UW, WashU, Columbia, Dartmouth, Northwestern, etc.
• Similarly, I'm doing a 1-year research fellowship at a major research institution and in bio/ML research that I'm super interested in and possibly want to do in my PhD. My PI also has a pretty strong pedigree/connections?

What do you all think? Any schools or programs you'd recommend? Would appreciate any honest feedback or advice!

I'm interested in PhD programs in Biomedical Informatics and I'm really unsure if I should apply under Life Sciences or CIS instead. My worry is that my research proposal isn't "pure CS" but also might not be "pure bio" either. My research experience is also in both directions, with research experience in data science/ML but also comp bio & genomics too.

I'm a recent graduate who is already planning to take a gap year and apply this fall. However, I'm starting to wonder if I should delay my application until the next year (so two gap years).

For reference, I have a 3.4 GPA, but pretty good? research experience: 1 first-author publication, another first-author preprint/honors thesis, a couple of poster & oral presentations at local & a few national conferences, and a department award for excellence in research. I may/may not have 2 additional publications coming as well (depends on timeframe since my PI is kind of busy lately and I haven't been able to start myself).

I would generally say my rec letters should be pretty strong. I work in two labs, and one of my PIs actually nominated me for my award and has spoken really highly of me. I have a strong relationship with my other PI as well, as well as another letter writer from my campus leadership experience who can speak really well to my character. I also have some strong leadership experience and plan to apply for NSF GRFP.

For my gap year, I'm doing a research fellowship at a major research institution and in research that I'm super interested in. My new PI also has a pretty strong pedigree/connections? He said that one or two is fine, and my term is for one year so I'd have to renew it for a second year. At bare minimum, I'd have a poster presentation and maybe a conference or two, and I'd probably have a first-author paper as well.

I was already planning to apply to 20+ schools and I've even been drafting personal statements, but the thing is, a lot of them are not as high-ranked and I'm not sure if they would be able to support me in the type of research I want to do. Most of the more high-ranked/top programs have proper funding & research that I would really want to pursue, but I also acknowledge they are harder to get into.

The conflict I'm having is that obviously, my GPA is low, and also that I would probably need more publications & experience in order to get to a more top-ranked school in my field (I want to do biomedical/health informatics or comp bio, and do research in ML for biomedicine/health data). My research experience in my two labs is also pretty different from each other (one is more applied data science, the other is traditional comp bio) so I'm worried that I'm risking looking too scattered. I did plan to write in my personal statement about how both my experiences shaped my research vision and I want to do work that intersects both of them but I'm not sure if this would make sense. As such, I feel like I'm not sure if one gap year is enough, especially coming from a newer lab. I do want to use my new PI for a rec letter but I'm not sure I'd have enough experience for them to write anything substantial. But at the same time, I want to start early/as soon as possible and I feel like waiting too long is gonna be an issue.

What do you think? Is one gap year ok? Or should I take another year?

I have a good amount of research experience and output, but at the same time, I also had a lot of leadership & advocacy/volunteering involvement during my undergrad (both STEM & non-STEM). I'm even planning to get a rec letter from my student activities advisor who offered to write a letter and can probably provide a character reference.

I'm wondering how PhD admissions look at these kinds of activities that aren't really research-related. I talked to a current PhD student who said that often, these kinds of activities can be seen as differentiators, but also some programs don't really seem to care from what I've seen.

I'm applying to PhD programs this fall. My undergrad GPA was around 3.4, and I want to get into a decent program in my field (biomedical/health informatics).

I'm doing a 1-year research fellowship, but I'm also thinking if I should do a part-time MS degree (prob online) to help make up for my GPA? I'm also planning to take GRE this summer.

Research-wise, in undergrad I had a first-author pub, another first-author paper we're submitting soon, conference presentations, and other strong leadership experiences & awards. My rec letters should be very good (I won a faculty honor in research my PI nominated me for). I'm not really worried about the research aspect, moreso just the GPA part.

Hi all! I just graduated and most recently decided I want to do a PhD in computational biology/biomedical informatics (specifically interested in AI/ML in genetics & healthcare) so I want to gauge my chances and any advice or recommendations.

Research experience:

• Computational genetics research (single-cell/multi-omics, RNA-seq), honors thesis + first-author manuscript submitted in this area
• AI & public health project with a first-author conference paper
• Two summer internships with poster presentations
• Multiple poster and oral presentations, including at national conferences
• Won a faculty award for excellence in undergrad research. My award is pretty prestigious and many recipients have gone onto PhD programs at top universities and won NSF GRFP (not sure if this helps???)

Other background:

• Pretty strong/frequent leadership, mentoring, and STEM advocacy work on campus
• Strong programming & data science background (Python, R, stats & ML coursework)
• Also won a few hackathons (both local & one national)
• GPA: 3.4/4.0, including having to retake two classes, but upward trend after an early dip??? Definitely my biggest weakness. At one point I was pre-med so I stuck those out for a while and I regret doing that.
• I would generally say my rec letters should be pretty strong. One of my PIs actually nominated me for my award and has spoken really highly of me. I have a strong relationship with my other PI as well, as well as another letter writer from my campus leadership experience who can speak really well to my character.
• I do not want to do a masters, but I'm conflicted because I do want to go a good school in my field, at least one that is good enough for future prospects & advising as well as research in my specific field of interest. The issue is that most of the schools that do really strong research in my field are places like Harvard and Stanford where I know I won't get in, so I want to make sure the school I get into has a good enough pedigree to help me in my career. I'm considering taking the GRE this summer to potentially offset my GPA but I also know some schools will not care about it.
  • Schools on my list right now include: Stony Brook, UBuffalo, GW, NYU, UW, WashU, Columbia, Dartmouth, UDelaware, BU, etc.
  • I'm tryna have a mix of schools that may be more feasible to get into, but also some reaches. I didn't really wanna do reaches because I know I probably won't get in, but my mentors keep encouraging me to try even after telling them my GPA.
• Similarly, I'm doing a 1-year research fellowship at a major research institution and in bio/ML research that I'm super interested in and possibly want to do in my PhD. My PI also has a pretty strong pedigree/connections?
• Finally, I am applying for NSF GRFP too, cuz I might as well try, and I think my leadership should help in broader impacts.

What do you all think? Any schools or programs you'd recommend? Would appreciate any honest feedback or advice!

Hi all! I just graduated and most recently decided I want to do a PhD in computational biology/biomedical informatics (specifically interested in AI/ML in genetics & healthcare) so I want to gauge my chances and any advice or recommendations.

Research experience:

• Computational genetics research (single-cell/multi-omics, RNA-seq), honors thesis + first-author manuscript submitted in this area
• AI & public health project with a first-author conference paper
• Two summer internships with poster presentations
• Multiple poster and oral presentations, including at national conferences
• Won a faculty award for excellence in undergrad research

Other background:

• Pretty strong/frequent leadership, mentoring, and STEM advocacy work on campus
• Strong programming & data science background (Python, R, stats & ML coursework)
• Also won a few hackathons (both local & one national)
• GPA: 3.4/4.0, including having to retake two classes, but upward trend after an early dip??? Definitely my biggest weakness. At one point I was pre-med so I stuck those out for a while and I regret doing that.
• I would generally say my rec letters should be pretty strong. One of my PIs actually nominated me for my award and has spoken really highly of me. I have a strong relationship with my other PI as well, as well as another letter writer from my campus leadership experience who can speak really well to my character.
• I do not want to do a masters, but I'm conflicted because I do want to go a good school in my field, at least one that is good enough for future prospects & advising as well as research in my specific field of interest. The issue is that most of the schools that do really strong research in my field are places like Harvard and Stanford where I know I won't get in, so I want to make sure the school I get into has a good enough pedigree to help me in my career. I'm considering taking the GRE this summer to potentially offset my GPA but I also know some schools will not care about it.
  • Schools on my list right now include: Stony Brook, UBuffalo, GW, NYU, UW, WashU, Columbia, Dartmouth, UDelaware, BU, etc.
  • I'm tryna have a mix of schools that may be more feasible to get into, but also some reaches. I didn't really wanna do reaches because I know I probably won't get in, but my mentors keep encouraging me to try even after telling them my GPA. I know one of my PIs was actually a postdoc at a top university and I'm hoping I can use his connections, does this work???
• Similarly, I'm doing a 1-year research fellowship at a major research institution and in bio/ML research that I'm super interested in and possibly want to do in my PhD. My PI also has a pretty strong pedigree/connections?

What do you all think? Any schools or programs you'd recommend? Would appreciate any honest feedback or advice!

I wanna apply, but all the DEI censorship is kinda scaring me away. A big part of my leadership/advocacy is that I was in this group that did a lot of work for LGBTQ+ individuals in STEM and it was a really enriching experience and community that inspired me a lot to help increase representation for queer students in science and research. But now I’m worried bringing this up is going to be a huge detriment.

Are there any lgbtq+ people who won the fellowship recently? Do you still even recommend applying or talking about it?

Hi all! I'm currently an undergraduate senior about to graduate in the Spring. I want to do my PhD in computational biology & biomedical informatics (AI/ML in genetics & healthcare). I'm doing a 1-year postbac research fellowship at a major research institution and in bio/ML research that I'm super interested in and possibly want to do in my PhD.

Research experience:

• Computational genetics research (single-cell/multi-omics, RNA-seq), honors thesis + first-author manuscript submitted in this area
• AI & public health project with a first-author conference paper
• Two summer internships with poster presentations
• Multiple poster and oral presentations, including at national conferences
• Won a faculty award for excellence in undergrad research

Other background:

• Pretty strong/frequent leadership, mentoring, and STEM advocacy work on campus
• Strong programming & data science background (Python, R, stats & ML coursework)
• Also won a few hackathons (both local & one national)
• I would generally say my rec letters should be pretty strong. One of my PIs actually nominated me for my award and has spoken really highly of me. I have a strong relationship with my other PI as well, as well as another letter writer from my campus leadership experience who can speak really well to my character.

I kind of originally counted myself out for GRFP since it seemed too competitive, but then I felt more compelled to apply since my PIs have been super encouraging and I have a pretty strong pedigree + unique profile?? And I think my broader impacts might actually be strong because I did a lot of community service and advocacy/leadership work on campus.

Edit: lowkey it slipped my mind that my non-research (and even my public health research) is kinda DEI and that might be a walking red flag 😭😭

What do you all think? Would appreciate any honest feedback or advice!

Hi all! I'm currently an undergraduate senior about to graduate in the Spring, and I most recently decided I want to do a PhD in computational biology/biomedical informatics (specifically interested in AI/ML in genetics & healthcare) so I want to gauge my chances and any advice or recommendations.

Research experience:

• Computational genetics research (single-cell/multi-omics, RNA-seq), honors thesis + first-author manuscript submitted in this area
• AI & public health project with a first-author conference paper
• Two summer internships with poster presentations
• Multiple poster and oral presentations, including at national conferences
• Won a faculty award for excellence in undergrad research

Other background:

• Pretty strong/frequent leadership, mentoring, and STEM advocacy work on campus
• Strong programming & data science background (Python, R, stats & ML coursework)
• Also won a few hackathons (both local & one national)
• GPA: 3.42, including having to retake two classes, but upward trend after an early dip??? Definitely my biggest weakness. At one point I was pre-med so I stuck those out for a while and I regret doing that.
• I would generally say my rec letters should be pretty strong. One of my PIs actually nominated me for my award and has spoken really highly of me. I have a strong relationship with my other PI as well, as well as another letter writer from my campus leadership experience who can speak really well to my character.
• I do not want to do a masters, but I'm conflicted because I do want to go a good school in my field, at least one that is good enough for future prospects & advising as well as research in my specific field of interest. The issue is that most of the schools that do really strong research in my field are places like Harvard and Stanford where I know I won't get in, so I want to make sure the school I get into has a good enough pedigree to help me in my career. I'm considering taking the GRE this summer to potentially offset my GPA but I also know some schools will not care about it.
• Similarly, I'm doing a 1-year research fellowship at a major research institution and in bio/ML research that I'm super interested in and possibly want to do in my PhD. My PI also has a pretty strong pedigree/connections?

What do you all think? Any schools or programs you'd recommend? Would appreciate any honest feedback or advice!