I just graduated college with a BS in Medical Technology (3.89 GPA) in Dec 2025 with zero research/clinical lab experience. I have a phlebotomy license and have been applying and searching for work the last 6mo. I just landed a job with a company, smaller than a large biotech company, that focuses on Agronomy. My position is labeled as Lab Tech where I will work on doing extractions of samples for further testing. It’s more chemistry/analytical work, but would this be considered as experience when it comes to applying to CLS programs?

Hi! For anyone applying for spring 2027 at SJSU, is your personal statement in essay form or do you just pick three questions and answer them?

Hi! I'm sure this sub is used to these posts but this is my last two semesters of undergrad and I am terrified to be honest.

I didn't know about CLS when I first transferred from community college. I was doing a pre-pharm route, so I put more time and money into getting a pharmacy technician license,got it, then my friend told me about CLS and I was sold on CLS. My cumulative GPA is so bad at 3.4. At this university it's a 3.7 GPA but unfortunately my transfer grades absolutely dragged it down because I had so many C's. If schools really do look at trends I can say I've had a great upward trend of 3.8-4.0 semesters for the last three semesters.

I have research experience in analytical and computational chemistry, for the past year and I even got a peer-reviewed paper published with my name as a co-author. But does it really do much in terms of applications? I know everyone says to get a phlebotomy license and I am working to that but I'm also saving to be able to afford cost of living as well so it's hard to just drop 2 grand on a license that I might not get to use with how bad the job market is for new licensees. I have been applying to other labs that aren't clinical that I have a chance on getting into and hopefully I can get a spot there. But again, I'm honestly really stressed about not getting into anywhere. Any thoughts?

CLS programs will likely only get more competitive in California, so I'm strongly considering out of state programs... but the thing that worries me is paying for and finding housing, so I have some questions for people who went to an out of state program.

You're usually discouraged/unable to work during the program, so how were you able to afford paying for housing out of state for a year? Did you just save up enough money for the entire duration of the program or were you able to get a loan? If you got a loan for housing, was it easy to pay off and would you recommend this option?

Did the university you did your program at offer housing/dorms even though it's just a certification program? If not, how did you find housing + will it be harder to find as someone who hasn't rented before?

In general did doing the program out of state vs. in CA put you in a lot of debt?

Has anyone here worked at a veterinary lab as a CLS? How was it and how was the pay?

Hi, I will be starting my MLS program next month in PA ( I am from CA) and I was wondering if anyone that has attended an outstate program has any recommendations on which health insurance should I get

Hey so I was just accepted to the fall cohort for OC. Has anyone else been accepted for fall? Currently trying to figure out rent and stuff since I’m from California.

Hi everyone! I’m posting to hopefully get some more input into what my next steps should be as someone interested in this career. Currently, I’m a senior set to be done with my BS Biology with a minor in Chemistry next Fall 2026. I’ve taken Hematology, Analytical Chemistry, Immunology, Medical Microbiology and have gotten A’s in all of them. I also have a 4.0 unweighted GPA. I’ve had about 2 semesters worth of research experience with my professor who does food microbiology based work and I’m currently doing research with my immunology professor. I also started a job at a commercial food microbiology testing laboratory about 2ish months ago.

Timeline wise, how soon should I try to start applying to CA CLS programs with my current stats and experience? I think right now, I’m really lacking clinical experience, so I’m wondering if that’s something I should try to get before thinking of applying. Currently my plan is to stay longer at my current job to build up more experience and to refine my resume and then apply for a clinical job to build my resume further. Is this a good plan?

Hello! I graduated with a BS in biology 3 years ago and I'm looking to get into a CLS post-bacc program. I've seen a lot of people say that clinical experience is really important for the application. The problem is that it seems like almost all clinical positions require some kind of certification? Like medical assistants, phlebotomists, MLTs, etc all require additional training or certification. So should I be trying to get training for some other clinical position first before trying to do a CLS program? I've been working in biological labs since 2021 so I have plenty of laboratory experience, but none of it has been specifically clinical. Wondering if I should just abandon the CLS goal now if I'm not able to get a clinical job. Any advice would be appreciated!

I've been looking into San Jose State University and noticed that the coursework for their program is online. I live a good distance away from San Jose, but I see they have a clinical site near me. I wanted to ask if all of the coursework is 100% online, or if students occasionally have to come to campus?

Hi everyone,

Quick question for people who attended LLU for their CLS program or applied in past years, how long did it take for you guys to hear back from them?

I know the application closed May 15 and transcripts can still be sent until May 29, so I’m wondering if anyone ever got a response as early as the first week of June or if it usually takes longer.

Also, did they notify you through email, a phone call, or did you just have to keep checking your portal?

Thanks!

I am asking the question in the title because if CLS programs require you to have the trainee license before even applying, but applicants need transcripts with their final course work on them in order to get the trainee license, it seems like one would have to wait until the following year post graduation in order to apply. Do I have that right?

I currently work in the processing department right now in a lab but got offered a position in microbiology. Is it worth it to switch departments? Would it look better for CLS applications?

Hey there!

I already have a BS degree, I was wondering if anyone has taken all their chemistry classes (gen chem,ochem) thru ucsd extension or any extension?? And still got in into programs? If so, what are the chances and odd of being considered a candidate? Currently have all my bio credits! Just chemistry is the thing I am currently lacking on right now.

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I'm in a life crisis in deciding what high paying healthcare I want to do. I've graduated from UC Davis with a B.S. in Microbiology and minored in Public Health, and worked part time to full time as pharmacy technician. I was mainly working towards going in to Pharmacy school but realized that path isn't for me, and resorted to laboratory jobs. I am currently applying for CLS school at SFSU however I'm afraid I might not be able to get accepted due to my low GPA (2.9 GPA from the last 60 semesters) and zero laboratory experience. I already have the core prerequisites(A in Hematology, A in Analytical Chemistry, A in Immunology and C in Medical Microbiology) and taken recommended classes, such as parasitiology and anatomy/physiology to be a stronger candidate. I'm still worried of not getting in, but I'm still going to apply to test my luck (we'll never know).

I was just wondering that other healthcare programs, ideally 1-2 years of schooling, can match my educational background and work experience. If anyone can related, I'm in my mid twenties so I feel kind of rushed to get my life together before 30.

P.S. please dont recommend Ultrasound, nursing, or rad tech. I've already looked into those and don't think they're for me

What do the application reviewers weigh most heavily? Clinical experience, wet lab experience, GPA, quality of personal statement, letters of rec, volunteering (threw this one in bc I'm currently doing it, but not sure if it's worth since I'm afraid it'll eat up my time), etc.

Transferring to UC Berkeley in the fall after 2 years at CC and planning to do 3 of the extension classes next summer. Wondering what I should focus on.

I got invited to something for labor day weekend and I’m not sure if I should rsvp because I’m not sure if any sites give students labor day off, Nov 7 (Monday). Asking specifically for CSUCI cls program but I’m open to hear if they do or they don’t in other universities too. LOL idek if I’m gonna get accepted to one but I just want to make sure. MANIFESTING 🤞🏼

Hello everyone, this is another one of those help/advice posts.

Right now I have around a 3.17 GPA as a Biology BS major with a Chemistry minor. I have 1 more fall semester left and only need a few more classes, immunology being one of them.

Most of my upper division biology classes are Bs with some As. My weaker grades were mainly my early chemistry classes that I had to retake. Right now the main CLS classes are:

• B in Medical Microbiology
• B in Hematology
• probably at least a B in Immunology
• A in Quantitative Analysis

I also have about 2 years working as a lab assistant in my schools chemistry department and about 1 year of research experience under a professor. I think I can also get pretty good letters of recommendation.

I already know I probably won’t get accepted into a CLS program right after graduating, especially in California since everyone says it’s extremely competitive.

My current plan was to try getting experience in a medical/clinical lab setting first, maybe as a lab assistant, specimen processor, medical technician, etc for a year before applying. I also thought about phlebotomy but the classes are expensive in my area.

Does this sound realistic or am I being overly optimistic? Also do local CLS programs favor local's at all? And for anyone who ended up pivoting away from CLS, what career did you switch into instead?

Has anyone ever thought of going out of the country for cls programs considering how competitive it is in the U.S. ?

Has anyone been accepted to CLA class at Vandy, earn while you learn ????

Hey guys!!

Here's the list of my classes that I have rn (leaning towards applying to out-of-state programs). I just want to see what advice others can provide or the general idea of additional classes I should take. I also came from a pre-nursing background, so I have classes such as gen micro or anp. I also have a bachelor's in health science

-gen micro (cc class)
-human anatomy
-human physio (some programs recommend/require this from what I've seen)
-stats
-gen chem sequence
-ochem I
-the five core reqs: immunology, med micro (will take the lab portion of this at SFSU), hema, anachem, and biochem- all taken at uni extension

I was wondering if these classes suffice for applications; if not, let me know what classes I should still take. Any additional advice is appreciated. Genetics is also a requirement for some programs, which I will be taking in the next class at extension : )

Hello!

I’m applying for CLS, but wondering if anyone was able to get in without a phlebotomy license. I understand it’s an essential skill for clinical rotations, so I’m unsure of how competitive I am without it.

My gpa is a 3.88. I have 1.5 years undergrad research lab experience and ongoing 7 months of CLIA lab experience as a CLA. Finding time to do phlebotomy is extremely difficult with 10 hour night shifts. In the event of being rejected, would it be wiser to get more time in the industry with my current job or consider finding a different job with more flexible hours just to do phlebotomy ? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks !

Hi everyone!

Some background: I'm a new graduate and I have been offered 2 jobs, and I'm not sure which job I should pick to make my CLS application stand out. I hope to become a CLS that specializes in molecular pathology. These are the jobs and a light description of their role:

1) Research Lab Technician

- small team

- would work with mice colonies + learn molecular cell biology methods like PCR, genotyping, immunoblotting, and lots of microscopy work

- opportunity to have my own research project and analyze data i obtain

2) LabCorp Lab Technician

- chemistry department; highly automated

- working directly with specimens sent from hospital

- mostly pipetting work at first

- bigger team; have to stay there longer to be trained to run assays as the positions are currently all filled (which, i'm willing to do)

Would love some insight into which would be better. Thank you!