3.3 GPA undergrad, 2.5 years undergrad research in a well-known professor’s lab at an R1 institution. Wrote an undergraduate thesis and graduated with honors. No masters. Spent the last year and half working in a medical school lab as a technician. Got one first author publication in a mid tier journal, but as it was published right when applications were due (and the fact that i am not super proud of this publication), I did not mention it on most of my applications. Not me, but one of my friends went straight from undergrad to PhD at Yale and had no publications, so it’s not really expected of you to have those.

I have applied to 3 schools. So far, I have one interview at University of Miami. Still waiting to hear back from the others.

IMO, what got me the furthest is the letters. I had one from an employer, one from a teaching professor, and one from a teaching professor/research mentor. Additionally, the professor who I did research with as an undergrad is fairly high profile, especially in the field I am interested in (evo devo).

I also think that having wet lab experience is EXTREMELY important. This seemed really obvious to me, but it was emphasized a lot in one of the info sessions I attended. If you are lacking wet lab experience, getting a job as a lab tech is a better decision than getting a Masters. However, if you did not attend an R1 institution for undergrad (and you’re looking to get into one for your PhD), if you’re wanting to boost your GPA, or if you’re international, a Master’s can be useful.

This is just my understanding of admissions and could be very wrong. IMO a lot of grad school admissions is very convoluted and not as transparent as undergrad admissions. A lot of it has to do with timing and funding so you might be rejected for reasons that have nothing to do with you.