Advice on holistic admissions
Hello everyone!
Per the title, I am seeking advice about US PhD programs in microbiology/immunology that are less GPA focused and more research oriented.
I have several years of strong research experience in several labs (I’ll spare the details, this isn’t a CV). But my GPA is low- sub 3.0- due to some documented health issues. Attempting to go undergrad -> PhD. I’m also looking for funded master’s programs. My research focus is polyunsaturated fatty acid utilization to increase antimicrobial compound efficacy through the cell membrane of specific bacterial species (lab 1). I also have a large amount of experience in serum metabolomics, focusing on human disease (endometriosis and endometrial cancer), as well as a study on heavy metal contamination in placenta samples. I was the manager of this lab for 1.5 years!
I’m on the hunt for programs that focus on research, and the vast majority claim to. But the reality of truly holistic seems to be tricky to determine. Does anyone have any insight into programs that may fit? Did any of you achieve admission to a place while having a lower GPA? Is there a sweet spot between holistic website listings and cohort size?
If I’m missing something in my online searches please let me know! I’m not attempting to use you guys as Google. I’m new to the world of graduate academic applications.
TLDR; looking for microbiology/immunology programs with flexible GPA requirements