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chemdoc

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  1. Your situation is pretty identical to mine and I got into OSU for grad school with a 3.7 GPA in chemistry. I know it's not Top 10 but it's Top 30. Combined with my previous degree's GPA it was well under a 3.0 but they didn't care. Some friends who graduated with their 2nd degree in chemistry ended up at UW-Madison. So yeah, if you really buckle down and focus I don't believe that top competitive programs will be out of your reach.
  2. What the hell is with schools not getting back to you with a decision ever. If I pay an application fee I should at least get a timely decision. I applied to the University of Maryland-College Park about a week before the deadline. I called the week of April 15 and they said I was wait listed. I haven't heard anything since. Why should the onus be on the student to call each and every school they apply to get a status update? We pay a lot of money for application fees, what does it all go towards? This is beyond ridiculous, schools treat potential graduate students like crap before we even get there. I've already been accepted into a better program but the principle remains the same. It is outrageous that schools have the audacity to pull this BS with any sort of regularity.
  3. I had a 3.67 Chemistry Major GPA, 1270 GRE, and 2 semesters of research under my belt and I heard back within 2 weeks of the application deadline at OSU. Oh, I applied under Organic Chemistry.
  4. You have a strong undergraduate record, no doubt, but graduate school admissions just doesn't work like that. You will get past the on-paper portion of the admissions process very easily. However, graduate schools will take into account what your research interests are and how many slots of that subfield are opening up. For example, a student with a couple tenths of a point lower GPA than you might get accepted over you if their research interests match more closely to what they're looking for. This presents the problem of researching which schools in your field are known for what subfields. This would make them much more likely to have more spots for the subfield in which they are prominent, etc. To conclude, research schools well and cast a wide net.
  5. I went back at 24. I had a 2.2 GPA in my original degree and didn't like what I was doing so I went back to school. I finished with a 3.7 GPA and got into graduate school with full funding. Definitely doable and you're not too old.
  6. I got 28k my first year in Columbus. I think I'll be able to manage. After that it'll depend on my professor supporting me with an RA so we'll see if I have any luck with that.
  7. I got an acceptance today and they noted that there will be an X amount of a certain fee that cannot be waived. Why don't schools just decrease the amount of the stipend rather than pumping TD fees up and up. It's really annoying to read one paragraph and go "Neat! That's a good package" then the following paragraph reagarding fees and go "Crap! That's 12% of my stipend!"
  8. My girlfriend's brother is an MD/PHD student and bought a house last year. He took advantage of the $8,000 dollar tax credit. He alternates months with his fiance in paying the mortgage. While it is a great investment since he's going to be on campus for another 6 years, it has been a real headache for him. It is fortunate that my girlfriend has a very large number of siblings and they're from a blue collar construction background so he has been able to receive assistance in various renovation projects. They've had to redo parts of the plumbing in the house, completely redo one of the bathrooms, paint the whole place, shingle the roof, put siding and shingles on the garage that's not connected to the house, re-wire the living room, install ceiling fans and lighting, landscape the yard and put in a fence. I've helped with some of this. After seeing his experience, I will certainly not be purchasing a home while in graduate school.
  9. I recently visited/toured OSU during their visitation weekend for the dept of chemistry and I was really impressed by the research of the professors as well as their equipment/resources. Since you're interested in analytical, look at Gustafson's work at OSU, http://www.chemistry.ohio-state.edu/department/personnel/faculty/gustafso . I know a girl at OSU who passed up MIT, Berkeley, and Cornell to work with him. I don't have any experience with the other schools but I would look at: 1)fit, is there a professor researching something that you're interested/passionate toward? 2)funding, does the professor have the funding to support your research (RA), are his lab resources abundant for your work? 3)school resources, what types/how many NMRs, SEMs,etc, do they have adequate support staff for training and maintenance of the equipment? 4)environment, are the professors/administration friendly? are the grad students glad to be there? 5)location, do you like it there? I wish you the best in your decision making! I'll be at OSU if you decide to go there!
  10. The costs of living in Urbana-Champaign is very low. You can survive on $700/month including food rent and utilities. When I was there for undergrad, my apt with 3 other roommates ended only costing me $275 a month. Apt parking was $40/month. This was 2 years ago. Also don't others fool you about the campus. It's a great campus with lots of things to do.
  11. I'm at NIU right now. Stay away, very far away. They screw students on funding so bad. Tuition waiver doesn't include fees, fee's are approximately 1/3rd of your school costs. Most graduate students here in my dept are not happy to be here at all. They are bitter and take it out on the undergraduates.
  12. Currently my commute is 60-75 minutes each way. It's absolutely horrible. I lose 10-12 hours a week in the commute. I have to leave by 6:30am since I have class at 8am on Tuesday. I have lab on Tuesday evening and I don't get home till 10:30 pm. The commute is extremely tiresome for me and I can't wait till I move out next year to my graduate school where I can have a short 5-10 min bus/bike ride.
  13. Hey Lily, I know you. You live near me and we attended High School and worked at Borders together. SMALL WORLD! I was kind of in the same boat as you. At UIUC I received my BA in History. I didn't really screw up per say, I had above a 3.0 cumulative. However, I did screw up a lot of my chem and bio courses and probably had a GPA around 2ish with those classes. I went back to school for 2 years, worked my butt off and now have a 3.7 major GPA in biochem and I'll be graduating this year. I have been accepted into the chem phd program at OSU and am still waiting on decisions from 2 other schools. I think what you said CAN be done, granted you get into the Master's program.
  14. What programs are you guys in that make you say that you're getting almost no money? By my research and calculations I should have ~$700 in savings every month. I don't have a car loan though so that probably helps a lot.
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