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Thanks. As soon as I get a decision from NYU, I should be able to make a final decision on graduate school. It is really odd that NYU has the earliest application deadline among all schools I applied to (Dec 12), but is still unable to send me a decision email. BTW, may I ask when their visitation weekends are?

Thanks. Did the email come from GSAS? Did the page on SMTS change? I am still waiting to hear from NYU to make my final decision so I am feeling a little anxiety.

Does anyone know if NYU has sent out bulk offers yet?

May I ask were you accepted into a particular research group or was it a generic email? Thanks!

Can you retake? There's still time for retake (I'm taking TOEFL on Nov 8). I mean your application is great so you don't want to be rejected simply due to a lower TOEFL score. Some departments (or, the Graduate School) might be serious about the language proficiency requirement because TA is sometimes mandatory. (Correct me if I'm wrong!) And as Applemiu said it's best to contact admissions office about this.

Hey guys. I cannot thank you enough for all your advice and encouragement! I will be sure to follow your advice and work hard on my application!

Thank you for your ideas! To answer your question, I enjoyed what I have been learning throughout my 1st and 2nd year in college and wanted to go on to further education beyond college. Yes, I agree with you, this sounds superficial. But this is honestly what I thought, I really enjoyed science and being in lab. I just did not realize that grad school emphasizes research more than anything else. And as I said, I admit that I was immature on this. While I don't mean to not concede my mistake, I want to let you know that my school is a small college and I really did my best finding research opportunity after I realize its importance, but many professors are simply unavailable because there are SO few of them, and other professors do research in subjects I was not interested in, like pchem. Unfortunately, my summer research advisor is no longer accepting students since he is preparing to go abroad. Besides, molecular biology is not something I'm really into, but I do believe some relevant experience is helpful. I will go back to the organic synthesis lab next semester. Although it'll be my last semester in college, this is better than nothing. I want you to know that I have two poster presentations, one at my school and the other at another university. I also have one year of TA experience, do you think these will help? Thanks.

Thanks Vene! I never aimed to go to a top school, and I have never been the person who cares a lot about ranking (though I do not imply it's bad to do so). I will have another semester's of organic synthesis experience, and thanks I will make sure that I mention this in my SOP. I do have one question that has been lingering, when you guys say top 10 or 20 or whatever, which ranking are you talking about? US News chemistry grad programs? Many well-known and reputable schools do not have stellar chemistry programs according to this ranking, such as Tufts, NYU, Dartmouth etc. Could I apply to these programs? Or I am better off applying to much less well known schools?

Thank you guys. I really appreciate your thoughts. I forgot to mention that I have been chemistry TA for 1 year (1 semester introductory chemistry, 1 semester organic). Will this make a perhaps small difference?

Hi! I admit, although I thought about going to grad school in my freshman year, I never realized the importance of research experience until almost the end of my sophomore year. I applied to a couple of REUs that summer, but got all rejected (most likely due to limited experience and/or international student status...?). Last semester, I worked in a professor's lab doing organic synthesis. I spent the subsequent summer working in another lab on RNA virology. So this is basically what I have so far and what will have until my application deadline, which is in like 2 months. I do, however, have well-defined research interest in grad school, which is organic synthesis/medicinal chemistry/chemical biology, as mentioned in my other thread. I am getting increasingly worried and desperate about my lack of research experience, which I know is one of the deciding factors in grad school admission. Is there still any hope for me? My gap is 3.75 and 161 verbal 164 quantitative on the GRE. I know the scores are not bad (hopefully) but neither are everyone else's. So is it possible for someone with limited experience to get into a PhD program? Does anyone have a program recommended for an applicant like me? Thank you all!!

Thank you guys!

Hi everyone! I was just wondering if a two-month (full time) summer research in RNA biology could strengthen/distinguish/hinder my application to PhD programs this fall? I am a little worried because it is not directly related to chemistry and my research experience is limited. I have done one semester organic synthesis and may work with another professor during my senior year (the incoming fall + spring semester). I'm mostly interested in organic chemistry/chemical biology. Thank you for your opinions!