Postbac student with Low GPA interested in applying for GRFP - advice (computational/life sciences?)
Hi all! I'm currently an undergraduate senior about to graduate in the Spring. I want to do my PhD in computational biology & biomedical informatics (AI/ML in genetics & healthcare). I'm doing a 1-year postbac research fellowship at a major research institution and in bio/ML research that I'm super interested in and possibly want to do in my PhD.
Research experience:
- Computational genetics research (single-cell/multi-omics, RNA-seq), honors thesis + first-author manuscript submitted in this area
- AI & public health project with a first-author conference paper
- Two summer internships with poster presentations
- Multiple poster and oral presentations, including at national conferences
- Won a faculty award for excellence in undergrad research
Other background:
- Pretty strong/frequent leadership, mentoring, and STEM advocacy work on campus
- Strong programming & data science background (Python, R, stats & ML coursework)
- Also won a few hackathons (both local & one national)
- I would generally say my rec letters should be pretty strong. One of my PIs actually nominated me for my award and has spoken really highly of me. I have a strong relationship with my other PI as well, as well as another letter writer from my campus leadership experience who can speak really well to my character.
I kind of originally counted myself out for GRFP since it seemed too competitive, but then I felt more compelled to apply since my PIs have been super encouraging and I have a pretty strong pedigree + unique profile?? And I think my broader impacts might actually be strong because I did a lot of community service and advocacy/leadership work on campus.
Edit: lowkey it slipped my mind that my non-research (and even my public health research) is kinda DEI and that might be a walking red flag 😭😭
What do you all think? Would appreciate any honest feedback or advice!