NIH Post-Bac IRTA

[peudamour]

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Thinking about applying to the NIH post-bac IRTA. I've seen lots of threads about experiences from those who've gotten in, but I don't really have a sense for what it takes to get in. Anyone wanna tell me if I have a chance? I know its like a 10% acceptance rate and that you have to apply to individual PIs...

cGPA ~3.5-3.6
sGPA ~3.55-3.65 *red flag I got a C in Gen Bio for personal reasons. all others As and Bs

I currently have about 6 months of experience in a basic science lab. I plan to apply for 2017-2018 while I am applying to medical school. No posters or pubs yet, but I will probably stay in this lab for the rest of my time and I anticipate that I will get on a couple important projects.

If, I am able raise or maintain my GPA and get a pub or two, would that be good enough? What other things would help?

 

[Judson]

Not sure if this response will mean anything a month later, but if it does I hope it encourages you to apply. I will be starting my NIH IRTA position on the 27th of this month. I got in with a 3.57 cGPA and a ~3.6 sGPA. I had one third-author publication under review and contributed to 5 posters (only one of which I was listed as first-author). I have talked with many current/accepted IRTA recipients who had no publications at the time they applied. It seems to me that the most influential factor in your acceptance to this program, aside from GPA and research experience, is your determination to find your perfect fit in a lab and mentor. This means researching, emailing, emailing, and more emailing principal investigators (PIs) of labs your are interested in being a part of. I must have emailed about 25 PIs after reading through some of their works. A big time-saving tip here is to read through the abstracts, only diving deeper if you are truly interested in what you read. Also, most advise against making an email template for PIs, but I did and modified it to fit the researcher. It worked out fine for me, but you have to be extra careful. In your emails, you should include your resume, CV, and cover letter. Don't rely on PIs to find you, they are all extremely busy and if they need a new IRTA there are plenty on the NIH database that have 4.o GPAs and publications. Do the footwork and it will pay off. I have heard of people emailing over 50 PIs. Stay diligent and always reply to requests for more info or phone interviews within 24 hours. I followed these steps and ended up at my top choice lab. You can too! 🙂

TL;DR - Email lots of PIs, know what you want, and be professional.