hey.....help me build my future

[sheleza]

Hi all!
I am planning to do my Ph.D in molecular biology from a very good university (in Us,aus,canada or Uk;it does not matter as long as i am selected in real good uni). I request you to please help me in my uni selection according to my profile.
My profile is as under:-
GPA- 3.9/4.0 ( 1st rank in uni in both UG & PG)
GRE score:- 1440(Q760 & V 680)
TOEFL:- 270 Writing:5.5
Publications:- none
Work Experience:- none
Practical training:- 6 months at GCRI (Cancer research Institute)
At present - has enrolled for a diploma course in clinical research and is under talk with my UG professor to teach as a visiting faculty in UG.

Will get LOR (for Nov/Dec 2006 test takers) from my UG HOD (now my college principal) and from my teacher (who now is HOD of biochem dept), and from my HOD of PG course and if necessary from another teacher who is a Co-ordinator. They are willing to co-operate in every possible way in writing my LOR (for Nov/Dec 2006 test takers).

SOP (for Nov/Dec 2006 test takers)- I am confident (not over-confident) that i shall be able to draft a nice and cogent SOP (for Nov/Dec 2006 test takers).

The universities that i am aiming for are:-
UK:- Cambridge
Oxford
Imperial College.
AUSTRALIA:- UNSW
Melbourne uni
CANADA:- Uni of Toronto
SWEDEN:- Karolinska Uni
US:- Stanford uni
MIT
Uni of California (Berkeley)
John Hopkin's
Yale
Purdue uni
Uni of california- San Diego
Uni of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Duke Uni
Baylor Coll of medicine-TX)
Rockefeller uni
Guys now tell me am i aiming too high or do i have chances of being any of these uni of my choice?I knw that having no publication and no work experience is a big hurdle to get admitted in these Ivy league uni but plz let me knw wht do u think my chances are.
Also, plz tell me do i need to draft individual SOP (for Nov/Dec 2006 test takers) for all these uni to give an impact and a personalised SOP (for Nov/Dec 2006 test takers) or one common SOP (for Nov/Dec 2006 test takers) is enough?

Any help and valuable advise will be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

[peiann]

Do you have any research experience that you can write about? Your SOP should reflect that. Your SOP should of course be personalized in the sense that you need to say why you want to go to a particluar university, who you want to work with, what they are doing that seems intresting - perhaps also emphasizing things you've done in your research that may also match with the university. Your grades are good and you may get good SOPs but what the adcoms at top school want to know is if you can do research. So, if you don't have research experience I suggest you to get your LOR writers to write that you have the ability to do novel research.

For some of your top schools in the US: namely Stanford, MIT, Berkeley, Johns Hopkin's, Rockefeller and Yale - these are all a crap shoot even for US students. Being an international student doesn't make it easier so you're going to have to have an awesome SOP and LORs. You should definitely apply to these schools..but u may want to add some safety schools too.

I'm not really sure why you need to go to a "prestigious" grad school... I really think you need to find a school that's doing the research you want to do above all.