Grad Apps II: Research Experience

Commitment to scientific research is probably the most important factor when the graduate school selects its students. This advice is self-explanatory since you need to show that you are serious about the field and are capable of pursuing a 5-7 year endeavor. However, you should not worry if you have not started conducting research during your first or second year of college.

I only joined a research lab during the summer of my second year. For the first two years of college, I did not even consider graduate school as a career option. In fact, I did not even know what major I wanted to pursue in college. I went from Environmental Studies to Psychology to Chemistry to Biology to English, and then back to Biology. The career paths I considered were: doctor, pharmacist, dentist, therapist, and journalist. Eventually, I copied a few of my friends who became involved in research projects. My advice to those who are attending small colleges: take advantage of the close-knit community that allows you to have personal attention from professors. Don't be afraid to approach professors to conduct research because most of them are happy to help students and will take you if they have space or do not have other commitments. For me, I always kept a good connection with my professors so they knew me quite well. I emailed a few professors stating my coursework, GPA, and research interest and set up a meeting with them. Although most did not have space or time, there was one professor who was willing to take me. So, you never know if you can join a lab if you haven't tried asking multiple people!

Also, don't be too picky with your project, since you won't have a variety of options. Even if you aren't 100% thrilled with your first research lab, keep in mind that the experience will still be beneficial in that it will enhance your laboratory skills and critical thinking ability. These skills give you the solid foundation to join a preferred lab at your institution or apply to more competitive programs at other colleges. The lab I joined, and ended up continuing to complete an honors thesis, was in a field I initially had no interest or knowledge in. My project aimed to investigate the role of non-muscle myosin II in heart development. However, I did give my best effort to search background information and spent the time in the lab to produce data. As a result, I was able to learn a variety of techniques and new knowledge about the heart. 

The following year, I decided to apply to programs outside of my college in order to build my research repertoire. As an international student, I was limited to a few programs (the majority were the most competitive programs in the nation). I ended up applying to NYU Sackler, Sloan-Kettering, Mayo Clinic, Rockefeller, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, University of Pittsburgh, and Penn State. I was waitlisted at Pitt and Penn State. Fortunately, I was offered a research position at Mayo Clinic to work in a DNA repair lab in the Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics department. I remember being extremely shocked and excited when I received an acceptance mid-February. I honestly thought I had no chance at most of these programs since they required a competitive GPA and only accepted 10% of applicants. For my year, Mayo accepted 130 out of 1137 applicants. Also, applications to summer programs are free so why not try your luck? You have nothing to lose!

Keep calm and PhD on :)

Lab is fun!