Preparing for Grad School - what to do while still in undergrad

This blog in intended to give a general overview of the process of graduate school - how to prepare and apply, the interview process, survival, and what you can do once it's over. My goal with this blog is to share my personal experience in graduate school to help others make an informed decision about the process.

First, let me give you my background. I went to Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, and got my B.S. in Genetics. While I was at Purdue, I worked in a lab for two summers and three academic years. I participated in the Women in Science program, but no other official organizations. I was in the marching band for my first semester but then I wised up and quit (just like Neil Armstrong). I was a member of the Purdue swing dance club. After I graduated in 2007, I came directly to the University of Massachusetts Medical School for grad school. My research focuses on the transcriptional regulation of the Cystic Fibrosis gene. If you're interested, you can view my LinkedIn profile or follow me on Twitter @DrEmiSmith. Additionally I have a Google Helpout listing.

Ok, now for the first question: What do I do as an undergraduate to prepare for graduate school?

Classes and Grades

As far as classes go, the majority of your courses should be biology courses (duh). However, I highly recommend taking at least one programming course. This was not a requirement for me, and I never took one, and now I regret that. A lot of biology data that is generated these days is high throughput, which means that you need a computer to help you analyze results. Even basic programming knowledge is extremely helpful. If you can swing it, learn at least one programming language as an undergrad, and have some understanding of writing programs. I would suggest learning a language like Perl, C++/C, Java/Javascript, Python, R, or Shell. Once you know the syntax of one language, it’s pretty easy to pick up another.

Get good grades. If you want to get accepted into graduate programs, you’re going to need A’s and B’s in your biology courses, and A’s and B’s in your other science courses, such as chemistry and physics. I personally got C’s in calculus and physics, but I got A’s and B’s in everything else so my GPA was good (3.27/4.0). I also had semester honors twice. I think my GPA was on the low end of acceptable for graduate school, but they take other things into account as well.

Research / Experience

This should be a big part of your collegiate experience. As early as you can manage, try to get a position in a lab. If your school is a big research university, there should be plenty of opportunities. Talk to your guidance counselor and they should point you in the right direction. Alternatively, check out your school’s website. All the professors and their research summaries should be present. Pick one or two that sound interesting, and send the professor an e-mail. Ask if they have room in their lab for you, explain why you want to work there, and be patient. If you don’t get a response within a week, send them a polite reminder e-mail, including all the information from your first e-mail. Professors are super busy, and they are probably not ignoring you, they just forgot. If the reminder e-mail doesn't work, you could try to stop by their office and talk to them face to face, or contact another professor. Often you can coordinate this through your school’s administrative office or your counselor.

During the summer, you should get an internship if possible. I was able to get funding through the Howard Hughes Medical Institution to continue my lab work throughout the summer for two summers in a row. The third summer, I was able to get an internship working at a company that made 3D movies of cellular processes.

Experience is key. I believe that my lab experience tipped the scales during my grad school application process. If I would have had less experience, I don’t know that I would have gotten as many interviews … but more on that in the next blog! Here’s a word of caution: During your experiences, think critically about how you feel when you’re in the lab vs. not in the lab. Are you excited to go to the lab? Every day? Even after two years? Are you good with your hands? Are you producing results or just showing up? If you continue to be excited about lab work after a few years, and if you are producing good results, grad school looks good. If you whine and complain about going to lab, and you are doing only what it takes to get by, then grad school is not for you. Trust me.

Popular Question: Does it matter what research I do as an undergrad? Example: if I think I want to do cancer research as a career, should I only work in a lab that does cancer research?

Answer: Nope! It actually doesn't matter at all what kind of research you do as an undergraduate. The point is that you are actively doing it. I know a classmate who did research on potatoes. I did research on actin dynamics during corn fertilization. Now I do research on a human disease gene. Whatever you can do in undergrad, do it. The point is that you can hold a pipette and accurately measure stuff. Your grad school lab will teach you all the rest.

I thought that I wanted to do cancer research. When I started doing lab rotations, I discovered that I was really more interested in gene function and expression. Don’t limit yourself - do what sounds cool!

Clubs / Extracurriculars

As I stated earlier, I was in the Women in Science club at Purdue. I didn't do any other biology-related clubs, or any other official organizations (fraternity, etc). A graduate school will look at these activities, but unless you were the president of the Biology Club or something like that, it doesn't matter that much. If you’re passionate about a particular hobby, go be in that club. Do the best you can in the place you are the happiest. The graduate school wants to see that you are not a crazy person, that you have hobbies and enjoy them, and that’s about it.

What if I've already graduated and have worked for a few years in a traditional job?

Many of my classmates did not come to graduate school immediately after undergrad. Instead, they got jobs elsewhere, in industry, for a few years before they decided on grad school. For some, this was financial, and for others, it was just their next career choice. Let me explain this a little. From what I understand, one can only progress so far in industry without a PhD. Therefore, to get a high-level position within a company, a PhD is pretty much required. Also, some people find out they hate what they are doing and want to change it up. Graduate schools don’t discriminate  - in fact, having that extra experience is actually a benefit. If you worked as a technician for a few years, chances are you have a good grasp of lab life and culture, and you know your way around the lab bench. Don’t hesitate to apply to graduate school. You’ll still have to go through the same application process as an undergraduate, though, and that will be covered in the next posting.

Books

There are some books on Amazon that you might be interested in looking at. The following are specific to graduate school:

Graduate Programs in the Biological Sciences 2012 (Grad 3) (Peterson's Graduate Programs in the Biological Sciences (Book 3)) Peterson's (Author)

The Ph.D. Process: A Student's Guide to Graduate School in the Sciences Dale F. Bloom (Author), Jonathan D. Karp (Author), Nicholas Cohen (Author)

Ultimate Grad School Survival Guide [Paperback] Lesli Mitchell (Author)

I can recommend two general books about genetics that I have read (although they are a bit out of date). They are “Genome” by Matt Ridley and “Abraham Lincoln’s DNA” by Philip R. Reilly. These are not textbooks, but they cover some interesting and cool stories about genetics. Feel free to give them a read!