ladeeda6

I've received a steady amount of communication from the department already, actually. However I made it clear to them when I met with faculty and the department head that I'm moving from out of state (7+ hour drive away) and need info ASAP so I can coordinate my move with orientation and the like. But given that it's the end of the semester and commencement season, I'd wait until June to get nervous about hearing something. Can you contact your department directly and put out feelers/ask whatever questions you may have?

I'd want to be a public health analyst/advisor initially for the CDC. I was just mostly concerned by not having a research degree or a degree that allowed me to focus on the population's im most interested in.

Hi! So I graduated with an M. Ed in community health promotion back in May. My interests then and now are to work in some capacity to address (in a gov't capacity)/study/what have you how things like urban development and gentrification impact the health of the (largely) minority residents that previously lived in those areas. My masters program was not research intensive at all but I learned a great deal in identifying and working with the target populations I am most interested in. And because I am interested in urban areas and how they develop, I decided to enroll in a second master's program in urban studies with an emphasis either on policy and development or economics. This program transitions rather seamlessly into a PhD offered at the same university. I am getting feedback from family/coworkers (usually older individuals) that question going back for a second masters vs getting a PhD. At this point in my life, I don't see myself wanting to be a professor - even adjunct. My dream job (prior to the Trump era that's made me realize how fragile systems can be with crazies in office) would be to work for the CDC, HUD, etc., some type of governmental agency and I don't know how much having a PhD would help me get to that point vs a second masters in the same field so I'm just looking for opinions and additional insight. Thanks!

Confused undergrad here in need of some help. Long story short, when I was in high school, I had just really started getting into politics (I was a senior during the US 2008 Presidential Election and it was big, obviously). I wanted to go to college for something related to environmental studies and urban planning but was talked out of it and was told by a guidance counselor to major in a science instead otherwise, I'd be poor and miserable (yeah, yeah, load of bull). I majored in Chemistry initially, hated it and switched to Bio. Bio was okay, but I never wanted to be pre-med and I can't see myself stuck behind a lab bench all day everyday. So now I've gone back to the original plan circa 2009 of Environmental Science (the Environmental Studies major was recently phased out by my school) with the goal of getting a Masters in Urban Planning, Environmental Sustainability, Public Policy and the like. Now that's all well and good except the fact that my GPA has taken a bit of a hit regarding the presently unnecessary classes I've taken. I have a string of C's in my 2 Gen Chemistry lectures (As ans Bs in labs, though) and a D in ochem (I know...). I'm also presently in Cell Bio (another class I no longer need) and it's lookin' like I'll have a C in that class as well. This cluster are the weakest spots on my transcripts. Outside of these, my lowest grade is a B+ in Brit Lit/Recent American History. How poorly will these Cs, and one D, impact my chances of getting into a Masters program similar to what I mentioned above? I'm looking at a wide range of schools currently including my current institution, Northeastern, UChicago (long shot, I know), University of Illinois at Chicago, Ohio University, Indiana University - Bloomington, Purdue, and UMass Amherst. I have junior standing, by the way, but won't finish until 2014.

Effect? Affect? Whatever... Anyway, I started doing research my freshman year at Case Western Reserve University while I attended a local CC. The research was in the Chemistry department but was more biochem/biology than chemistry and a lot of it was done in the pharmacology department due to a lab their having a lot more funding/space/necessary equipment. I worked a lot with cyanobacteria and DNA and I've done more PCRs than I can count. I did that for a year. For a semester, I transferred to another school and did more biochem work that was more of the same but because I was only there for a semester and the way my schedule had really awkward spacings, I wasn't able to do much of anything. I transferred to another school back home and I will be joining another lab and I get the choice of either working with mammalian cells and how the adhere to titanium plates (like with hip replacements) and how to get them to adhere better for longer periods of time or working with adapting fresh water algae to saltwater conditions, how their DNA changes (if it changes) and extracting biofuels from it. I picked the latter because it not only involves research at my home institution, but at Case Western again to analyze the DNA and it is funded (at least in part) by NASA. It basically has a broader reach and (hopefully) large scale implications. It's a long term project so the PI has told me that if I stay on for about two+ years I stand a good chance of getting my name on some publications and going to conferences if I put in the work. Now, although I find this interesting, I don't know if I want to do this upon entering graduate school in the future. I'm a junior now (but I will probably need five years to graduate anyway) and I'm looking into programs I want to apply to in the future. So, long story short: Does research done at the undergraduate level limit the programs you are likely to get accepted into as a grad student?

I live in Cleveland (and attend CSU--Go Vikes!!) and the area there is fairly safe. It is extremely well lit because of the campus, the new dorms that are being constructed or were finished within the last year and the bars that are in the area. Personally, I wouldn't get an apartment that close to campus because of the price--they tend to be more expensive (most are lofts, actually). I'd start looking for housing a couple of blocks away, really. There's an extension of our public transit (called the RTA) called the Heathline that runs directly down Euclid Ave from a bus station in East Cleveland (which is a crap hole, honestly. East Cleveland, not the bus station) to Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic, University Hospital, Severance Hall, Cleveland State all the way to the heart of downtown, Public Square. It is very convenient. While there is ample parking at CSU (if you look for it) it is expensive. Upwards of $150 a term (that is the summer rate, spring and fall are much higher) or $6.00 at a garage. The rates off campus are much higher. I'd stick to taking the bus since CSU students ride "free" ($25 is added to your tuition bill every term. But it's cheaper than paying directly through the RTA). Like I said, I don't think the housing option are awful, especially on a student's budget. But there are a wide variety of option in Cleveland. Cleveland Heights and Lyndurhurst aren't far but the housing there is of a higher quality but significantly pricier. Plus, CSU has recently bought quite a bit of property to start constructing their own non-dormitory apartment complexes.

Thanks so much! I have started looking around at a lot of the places for possible future employment to see where I'd stand with a BS vs MS vs a PhD. I live near quite a few universities and research hospitals that hire a lot of research associates and I've seen a few positions that I'd qualify for once I graduate. I think I'll aim for one of those after I finish school with my BS to see if graduate is really what I want to do. I just sort of assumed that a MS would be a good medium between a BS and PhD for job qualifications but the more I look into it, the more I see that it isn't necessarily the case.

Yes. I can retake organic chemistry but wouldn't it be too late to retake any of the gen chem classes since they were from last spring and fall? I'm already looking to see when a retake of ochem could fit into my schedule. I just don't want D staring back at me on my transcript. Or have it make getting a MSc that more difficult. And I've also been told to take it as a sign that science and I don't mix...but I don't know what else I'd ever want to do unless I hit the next super lotto jackpot.

...the final's tomorrow and I need a miracle. I have a C (thanks to extra credit) in this class now and if I get anything lower than a 70 on the final tomorrow, I'm done. Truthfully, if the Chemistry Gods take pity on my poor, stupid self, I'd still retake the class (or audit it) before taking ochem II. My knowledge is waaaay too shaky to go any further in the sequence. It's really making me re-think, well, everything. If I can't do any better than C's in my chemistry classes, what hope do I have of getting admitted to or succeeding in graduate school? I thought I wanted a MSc in something biomed related and found a few schools that provide tuition waivers and stipends for MSc students, but I can't help but feel really defeated right now. I'm acing my bio class and I really enjoy it and microbiology but when my chem professor mentioned that those that are struggling in this class might need to rethink their career choices, my heart dropped. I mean, I've met Chemistry PhD students that didn't know/remember jack ish about Gen Chem or Organic Chemistry and weren't even able to do three-step conversions. But they did well in those classes during undergrad, so I guess it didn't matter anymore. Surely it doesn't help that I didn't take lab with this class or Gen Chem 2 because I never realized how much it helped with Gen Chem 1, but maybe I'm not cut out to be a scientist no matter how much I like biology or how much I love being in a research lab. And I really do. I even miss the smell of my first research lab (seriously). ...this is depressing. It's like finding out Santa isn't real all over again.

Thanks! The reason why I asked if it would look bad was because I had a chance to meet the head of admissions at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and she made a point of mentioning that there is sometimes a bit of in-fighting when they are reviewing applicants about whether or not they attended CC and whether or not they took upper-level science classes at a CC. She told us that she personally looks down on it, but others in the committee don't (particularly with the current state of the economy and the rising costs of tuition). I like taking courses at CC, too, because of the small class sizes. It makes for good potential LOR writers for internships and things.

Three other graduate schools I am interested in but forget in the OP are the University of Cincinnati, Kent State University and Ohio State University. They are all located in the state where I want to work and are very well known here (particularly Cincinnati and OSU). I have been using location as a guide more so than rankings because of areas I would want to live in for 6 years in graduate school and schools that are well known in the area where I want to work. Is this a good idea? I've spoken to students that seem to be more rankings obsessed than anything but I don't know if that's a good guide for me to follow. Also, when I take ochem 2, would it look bad to take it at a community college? I transferred from that CC to my current 4-year and I am very familiar with the professor who teaches the course because he was actively involved in the lab at CWRU where I interned and is the director of a program at the CC who facilitated my internship. I really, really want to avoid my current instructor who makes this difficult class even more so by not following any sort of textbook. He thinks they all are useless and are boring and serve little to no purpose. Because of this, he teaches what he feels is more appropriate. This would not be such a big problem if he gave sample problems that fit in with this like any textbook would, but he doesn't because he doesn't feel like it. I try to follow along with the book as much as I can, but he likes going off on tangents so it's pretty difficult. The professor at the CC is much more straightforward in his teachings and is much more willingly to give corresponding practice problems and work them out in class where my current instructor refuses. (I'm not exactly sure why, though). Sorry for the long posts. I just really have little idea where to start in this process and I don't want to fall behind.

Biochemistry is offered through the bio department and chemistry department. The one through the biology depart is required for my degree while the chemistry one is not. Should I take both? I'm just a bit worried that it'd put me behind a semester. Also, Organic Chemistry 2 isn't required for a degree in biology and it's not an explicit requirement for some graduate programs. My advisor told me that if I'm struggling so in ochem 1 and if I'm not certain I want to go to graduate school right away for a PhD, not to take the GPA hit. I'd be okay with getting a Masters now to figure out what I want to do for certain with regards to a PhD, but is it possible to get funding for a Masters?

I'm a biology major and I've had my butt handed to me every semester of chemistry I've taken. C in Gen Chem 1, C+ in Gen Chem 2 and my highest grade thus far on an organic chemistry exam in Organic Chemistry 1 has been a C. There's just something about chemistry that doesn't seem to click. (I also got a C in an intro bio class but in my current bio class, I'm sitting comfortably on an A with a 3.6 GPA all else considered). I can read the book and the notes and it clicks but come the exam, it's like "Where the hell did this come from?!" It's killing me. I breeze through labs no question. Lectures? Shoot me. Are my hopes of graduate school dashed? I have research experience for a year and a half as a sophomore and I'm hoping to join a new lab next fall. I also plan to work for a year or so between undergrad and grad school to pay off some of my student loan debt. I want to go to graduate school for immunology or pathology and I'm still torn about whether to go for an MS or PhD right off the bat. I also won't be applying to the tippity-top schools mostly because I'm completely ignorant with regards to rankings (I've been looking at Drexel, Villanova, Case -- because that's where my lab was/is, and Indiana in my early stages of searching). I don't know what to do. I'm SO good with labs and biology (particularly micro) is my passion. It registers fairly quickly, I enjoy studying it and I love it. Chemistry? Organic Chemistry? I have never felt so stupid. Aside from getting stellar GRE scores (another aspect that terrifies me, lol), do I have any chance of getting into a decent and funded program? If I do more research and get a publication or something and have amazing LoRs (my old PI was really fond of me, I just couldn't stay in his lab since I needed money and a job that pays for now), will that offset how terribly I'm doing in chemistry? Also, it offset my Chemistry-stupidity to get As in my biology classes? I feel like such a loser right now.

I guess that's all I really know about PhDs in STEM -- they teach, fill out loads of paperwork and oversee everything without having the opportunity to do reactions and experiments themselves. In industry and the like, what is it that PhDs do, then? Is it mostly the post-do position? Would the earning potential increase more significantly than just working and having put those years into just lab experience and working? I definitely wanted to go to graduate school for a long time but I'm afraid of being overqualified for positions. I've probably been reading too many cynical posts on College Confidential lately...

I've thought about getting a PhD, but I've also heard/read that it can make me over-qualified for a lot of positions. I don't want to teach at the university-level and I'd rather be more hands on in the lab than handling administrative work and leaving the bulk of the lab work to post docs and graduate students. The two PIs I've worked with spend more time in their offices writing grant proposals or teaching or in administrative meetings (granted these were professors, but still) and I would rather be in the thick of it than dealing with all the read tape. I told this to my undergrad advisor who pretty much told me if that's the route I want to take, a PhD probably wouldn't be the best fit for me, but have a Masters would/could increase my earning potential. I'm just not sure (clearly) what to do.