So I was reviewing my research this semester with my biotech professor and told her I was getting published for it in about a month. She asked me about grad school and I told her I didn't think my GPA was high enough to get in right out of undergrad (2.89) so I was going to take some time off next semester when I graduate, but she told me that if I was going to be the first author of my publication coming out that fact alone would get me into grad school no questions asked about my grades.

Anyone had any experience with this? Not sure if I want to waste my time applying and taking GRE/GMAT if it would be a waste. Also, where exactly on the grad school app would you mention that you've been published?

12/12/2005 4:27:26 PM

i would never let you in, never in a thousand years

but if you do well on the GRE they'll probably give you reasonable consideration - i've never met somebody that DIDN'T get into grad school

publishing an article isn't that big a deal, most people will view the first author thing as either 1) something that somebody else didn't want to be first on or 2) a present for your hard work

but it's nice to mention/put on your resume



[Edited on December 12, 2005 at 4:44 PM. Reason : hjk]

12/12/2005 4:40:22 PM

You make a lot of assumptions in your response. My research is quite poignant, my low GPA doesn't bother me personally because I've taken a lot of hard courses, and I'm first author because I did most of the leg work on the project.

12/12/2005 4:44:15 PM

i think it depends on your grad school. some would, some wouldn't. most "good" programs would not however unless you have really good GREs. i'd go ahead and take the GRE. if you score highly you have a much stronger shot at getting in. you have to take it anyway... better to take it while the info is still fresh in your mind.

12/12/2005 4:47:36 PM

ok, i edited the last post because i was being mean for no reason, which wasn't very fair

but then i saw this

Quote :

"Microbiology"

loloolololololololololo you've never taken a hard course, seriously though, you're fine, they will take ANYBODY for micro

[Edited on December 12, 2005 at 4:48 PM. Reason : micro bawahwahwhawhwah]

12/12/2005 4:47:38 PM

yeah so
biochem
immunology
metabolic regulation

courses like that are all a piece of cake right?

I was actually thinking of going back for MBA with the new biotech concentration program, which case I'd take the GMAT.

12/12/2005 4:51:07 PM

cake like carrot, yo, i polished off degrees in biochem and chem with a 4.0 gpa without breaking a sweat and some of those end game chem classes were no joke (biochem 451 on the other hand most people can do in their sleep)

however, when i'm not being a jackass just for the sake of being a jackass i have some pretty good advice

i would say decide on a career path first - get some industry experience in biotech and see what you think.

if you want to do that go to grad school. if you decide that it's not for you the MBA is maybe the right career track.

the thing is the MBA doesn't help you a lot (if at all) for a biotech job if you want to have anything to do with research, which it sounds like you might since you're excited about being published

the experience will just help you, whatever you decide to do

12/12/2005 5:02:42 PM

most grad school applications in the sciences have a place to list publications and/or research experience

i don't know anything about MBA programs, but i doubt being first author on a science research paper would help you out much in that area

as far as a grad program in the sciences, what programs are looking at? a lot might depend on who you want to work for and if they want you (a future advisor might be able to 'go to bat' for you, so to speak, and get an admissions committee to overlook the low gpa in favor of your research and GRE scores)

are you interested in working for/with whoever you did your published research with?

12/12/2005 5:20:53 PM

my research was over at the vet school and I don't intend on going to vet school. Options I was considering if I were to go would either be the MBA (with biotech/pharm concentration), or the Microbial Biotechnology program (which is also a 1/3 business program, if u go 3 years you get your MBA as well)

12/12/2005 5:28:33 PM

What was the duration of your research? Getting a first-author paper out of just a summer or semester doesn't carry quite as much weight as a long duration of research (aka, are you committed to research even if things aren't working/there isn't immediate payoff - will you stay in their program or quit when things get tough).

Are you looking at master's or PhD programs? That can make a difference. Most PhD programs I have looked at say that they consider 3.0 a bare minimum, but if you're not picky about where you want to go, you could find somewhere. If you haven't considered grad school before, you probably are also at a disadvantage in terms of personal statement and etc.

Figure out what you want and go from there, not based on someone else's idea of how your education ought to continue.

Also, just because the prof you worked under is at the vet school does not mean that merely DVM's are eligible to do dissertation research in that lab...ask your boss if you're interested.

For what it's worth...I don't think any one single thing will get you into grad school - I think your prof may be slightly misguided.

[Edited on December 12, 2005 at 7:43 PM. Reason : ...]

12/12/2005 7:39:51 PM

i can put you in touch with some fellow mba students that are doing the biotech major if you want some information...i'm supply chain - mba so i can't help you too much there, but it sounds like a great thing to have from what i've heard from professors and people in the industry...

12/12/2005 8:20:09 PM

I don't know about other departments at NCSU but the ECE department considers a lot more than GPA when accepting people.

My cumulative GPA was below the "bare minimum" requirement (but not by much) but my in major GPA is pretty good... but what helped me was the A+'s that I've gotten in the last few semesters and knowing the professors.

if you have done research under a professor(s) and they write you a recommendation then you should have a really really good chance of getting in... however if you want to go other places like it sounds like you do, then ya gotta kick the GRE's ass... no worries though GRE is pretty much like the SAT if you've made it through a technical major it shouldn't be a problem

12/12/2005 8:23:14 PM

yeah the GRE doesn't look like its really gonna be a problem, and i'm pretty confident my letter of recommendation would be good. my research duration for this paper will be about a year of my volunteered time, its not even my job, which is elsewhere. I'm thinkin about taking a year off just to get my finances straight and kick the GREs butt before i apply. Will also get in state residency that way, which i don't have currently.

12/12/2005 9:34:36 PM

From my experience with the program I want to get into @ NYU, they told me they look at Experience, References, Personal Statement, GPA, and GRE Scores in that order. The whole thing about experience is that is what you are going to be doing in Grad School, so it shows that you can do it. Your best bet would be to contact some folks at specific schools and ask them about it.

12/13/2005 12:13:09 AM

I'm in grad school now at UGA in crop science/genetics. I'm pretty sure that going to grad school in a field like micro would be similar to my field as far as getting in is concerned. I think the key to being accepted to any grad school is to have a professor at the grad school where you want to go be willing to take you on as a student. In most cases, if a professor wants you as their student they will get you even if a certain aspect of your application is borderline. I would suggest looking around at whatever grad schools you are considering and getting to know the profs you would want to study under by starting an email correspondence. Tell them you are interested in their research and ask them if they have any openings for grad students. They will probably be even more interested in you if you tell them you already have published work. Having a professor on your side in the department where you want to be a grad student will get you pretty far in the admissions process.

If you're gonna take some time off, consider maybe taking a grad course or two that's related to what you want to do. That will probably raise your GPA and help to prove to grad schools that you can handle graduate-level courses.

BTW, drtaylor is a pompous ass and don't listen to a word he says.

12/13/2005 12:50:18 AM