Science Grad school admission and research experience

[Transcendence]

I'm going to graduate soon with a biochem BS. I did one semester worth of research in inorganic chemistry my freshman year, but besides that I have little research experience. Either I'm lazy, I spent too much time getting high, or none of the biochem professors' projects really captured my imagination. I like to believe the reason is mostly the latter, but it's probably a mix of all three. I never did any internships because they are insanely competitive nowadays. You have little chance of bagging an NSF grant unless your GPA is near perfect (like 3.8-4.0).

Even though my grades are quite good and I'll be graduating in 3 years with honors, I realize I have little chance of getting into a good graduate program because of my lack of research experience. My plan is to look for a job after graduation that incorporates lab work. I may apply to grad school after a few years if I see fit. Right now, I don't want to limit myself to a specific field of study because my interests are so varied.

My question is, do graduate committees value school research vs work research equally, or do they prefer one over the other? I know that most places require recommendation letters from professors rather than employers.

 

[Jerry Atrick]

I don't really know the answer to your main question about which type of research experience grad schools prefer.

It would be a good idea to keep in contact with your professors over the next few years in case you do need them to write letters of recommendation for you. I took off about 8 years from undergrad before applying to grad school, but I kept in touch with 3 profs and they all wrote good reco letters for me. It doesn't take much, I would just shoot them an email once or twice a year letting them know how I was doing and they remembered me as a student that whole time.

 

[Liric]

If by grad school, you mean a doctoral program, I would have a some idea what is involved in the realities of hypothesis-based research and everything that goes with it. The reason being that between the dearth of positions relative to the number of PhDs entering the field and the shitty income even in the best circumstances, you will need a strongly rationed approach to wanting to go on to grad school.

In terms of what admissions committees look for, it varies a little based on where you apply, I think research in an academic setting vs a commercial one is more relevant than whether it's done as a student or a BS. There are also post-bacc programs around, typically a year long or so, which are pretty much designed around the idea of enhancing your CV pursuant to applying for a PhD or med school or whatever. Another option might be to apply for a masters program in the school you want to go to. They tend to be less demanding in the research experience prerequisite and it is not uncommon in most places for a masters student to switch into a PhD program after a year or two.

Best thing to do would be to research the place(s) you would like to see yourself and contact the grad program director for that department and start building a relationship, ask them what would be best for someone in your situation. The most important part of your application is your interest, PhD programs are very face-based if you know what I mean and if you can effectively register a well-rationed interest in the program there are few places that will shut the door in your face outright simply on account of part of your application lacking somewhat.

 

[Bedhead]

With one more year left... I'm in the same boat as you. Right now I'm in the process of making a list of schools with the program I want and going through the faculty profiles - although I don't intend to take time off, gonna go straight into grad school if I can (Ecology/Wildlife Biology/ or Fisheries)

In regards to the work vs. school research, I don't think it really matters. Any "real" school research is usually in conjunction with another agency/organization or outside 3rd party and grant money filters its way down through the various channels and your faculty advisor (i.e. professor you're working with) gets a piece of it. So, it's more or less the same thing. I don't know if you have time or not, but if you do, absolutely do an honors project or something similar. Grad schools love to see that you can work independently, on your own, come up with something that's not half-retarded, and defend it at the end of the year. That shows them you're prepared to do a Masters thesis. My college is always pushing honors projects on kids that want to pursue grad school.

What you'll eventually end up doing is looking to land a research assistantship or teaching assistantship at the school of your choice, under your desired professor. You have to be interested in what your professor is researching and he/she has to be interested in you. You basically want them on your dick, especially if your academic record isn't anything to write home about. Most Grad School requirements are something like min GPA 3.0 and like 1000-1200 GRE scores. If the prof you want to work under is on your dick then he/she can step up to the plate during admissions and say "Hey, this kid looks really promising. His undergrad track record isn't great, but I talked to him on the phone a few times and I really think he'd be a good fit with me."

If you look through various current grad student profiles, you'll find that a number of them took time off after undergrad and worked. This is good especially if you work in a field that you wish to pursue academically - it can only help. It's no problem to take time off. Plenty of people do it for various reasons.

In regards to the GREs, I would take them now (if you haven't already). The reason being that all the algebra/stupid math/useless vocab is still fresh in your head and your brain is still in study/class mode. Your scores are good for 5 years, so there's no worry that they'll expire. Plus, if you register now or in sept I think you still get 50% off the price, which ends up being $80.

 

[TINK]

In addition you can always re-take the GRE's after a certain amount of time. At least that was the cast went I got my Bachelors.