▲ 2 r/GradSchool+1 crossposts

What are my chance for a top tier phD programs in biology or bichem?

Hello, I am in a quite unique situation so I wanna ask opinions from other ppl to see what my chance is and not wasting my application fee. I plan to start applying to grad school this september in US. I'm currently in Canada so I will be international students.

During Covid, I graduated and got a 3 year BSc in General Science degree with an abyssmal low grade (like 1.5-2.0 gpa). I did not fair well with Covid.

After graduation, I went on and worked in the biotech industry for the last 4 years (mainly lab work).

In the last 2 years, I went back to a local uni (different school, lower tier) and about to get a BSc in Biology Honour with gpa around 3.5 (4.0 scale conversion). I was studying and working full time as well.

In my previous university, I was also working for an academic lab part-time as well. One of my work (bioinformatic, co-first author) is coming out, and it was submitted to a Q1 peer-reviewed journal a few days ago (currently in preprint). I am also currently working on my honor thesis project (bioinformatic). It will likely be published as well, but it might not be until 2028.

I am planning to apply to about 6-10 different programs in US in cell bio or biochem. What are my chances for top-tier programs in like Ivy Leagues? Just want to hear some opinions so I dont waste thousands of dollars of my application fee

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u/bake3011 — 3 days ago
▲ 12 r/labrats+1 crossposts

Lab with no grad student

I am currently applying to this lab for a MSc position (biochem, X-ray crystography) starting Jan 2027. The lab currently has one single MSc student that will graduate July 2026. The PI is a full professor. It looks like he used to have quite active lab before 2015. However, between 2015 and 2024, there is only undergraduates and volunteers in the lab. The prof still published pretty frequently with collaborators the last 4 years (~1-2 papers/year). Is it a big concern/red flag? What should I ask during the interview to know if the PI will be a good mentor or not?

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u/bake3011 — 1 month ago