St Andrews Lynx

I think $50 would be more reasonable than $100.

I don't think there will be much difference in your future job prospects if you attend a No. 7 Best Chemistry School In The Rankings vs. No. 8. Probably not much difference between No. 1 and No. 8 either. Between No. 5 and No. 20 in the rankings, maybe. Between No. 20 and 45...more likely to be a difference, but it will mostly depend on the PI and your publication record how easy it is for you to find a job.

I sent my referees a quick email telling them when I got my first acceptance. [Thought you would be pleased to hear that...][Thank you for your support and letters, it means a lot to me...] Then, once I'd received all the offers and made my decision I sent the Thank You cards with a bit more information about how the application season went. [i wanted to let you know that I have formally accepted the PhD offer from X University. Thanks to your letter of support I received x offers and y interviews. I'm pleased with the decision and looking forward to getting started in Fall 2013...] Or something along those lines. One of my profs emailed me once the card arrived to say that he was glad things had worked etc, etc (which was a nice touch). The other one I assume got the letter, but isn't as hot on emailing.

I like the Inorganic question from Jan 2013 asking how you'd determine if your roommate was a vampire! Thanks for the link.

When I had problems getting experiments to work I tried running some basic controls that had nothing to do with my research but which helped me identify what was going wrong. Could I replicate the results of an experimental procedure out of the literature? (Yes, I got 69% yield versus the 72% they reported) Could I do a more basic version of my experiment, using a "standard" substrate? (Yes, the reaction went cleanly). Those simple experiments told me firstly that the problem wasn't with my technique or lab skills, it was something to do with the substrates. Understanding why the experiment didn't work was the first step to making it work. Later on it was kinda confirmed when the experienced postdoc in the lab tried my experiment...and got exactly the same results. In previous situations where I've not been sure if I was doing an experiment right, I'd ask a postdoc/supervisor/more experienced lab member if they could watch me setting up the experiment, to double-check that I hadn't missed anything out. But hey, I know from experience: the more you get something wrong and repeat those failed experiments endlessly on loop...the more mistakes you start making, and the more frustrated you become. Take a break from Western blotting for a couple of days. Refresh yourself. Explore some side-projects.

Hey there folks, My new grad school administers the ACS placement exams to its incoming students to determine what graduate courses they should take. As an international student (and someone who has been out of school for a couple of years) I want to do well in them...but don't really know what to expect! Has anybody taken these standardised exams? How do they compare with the Chemistry GRE in terms of content/difficulty? Are the ACS official study guides any good? What other resources are useful? Any experiences & input welcomed, thanks!

I used Skyscanner as well, it was pretty straightforward. I think the trouble with coming over in the summer or fall is that it's peak holiday season for the airline companies, so all their tickets are more expensive...

It is quite common in STEM fields, but it does depend on the sub-discipline. For a "total synthesis" chemistry project you will spend 3-4 years trying to make a single target: you are more likely to publish a single article at the end of your work summarising the complete synthesis. For a "reaction methodology" project you might spend ~1 year designing a new reaction, then move on to a different reaction/target. In those instances you will be churning out papers as you go (assuming the chemistry works!). I wouldn't go so far as to say it was "the norm", though. For instance, some professors only publish infrequently (aiming for a single high-impact paper instead of lots of lower-impact communications)...

Perhaps put your cat in the (stationary) car for a couple of hours before the move, or else take them for a shorter trip, just to get them used to being in the car? A friend of mine has just taken his cat from the East to West coast. He's reported that the cat suffered from jetlag and started waking him up at crazy-early o'clock...

I'm now on the count-down to Fall 2013. I can't be the only international forum member looking ahead and thinking "Gosh, the tough part will be getting myself into the States..." The visa application & F1 interview isn't causing me too much stress - I successfully obtained a J1 several years ago. The hidden challenges are: i. Attempting to complete the pre-immunisation requirements my school requests...only to find that my electronic immunisation medical records back in the UK have gotten lost. I've transferred GP surgeries a few times, so evidently the paperwork hasn't followed me. I'm hoping the immunisation records surface eventually. ii. Realising that I'm missing one vaccine and then panicking because you're supposed to get it in 3 instalments over 3-4 months and you barely have 3 months left in the UK (Luckily the Hep B immunisation can also be done in 21 days). iii. Going online to book your one-way flight to the USA...and finding the price is ~$900 more expensive than you were expecting/can afford. And having to hunt around online to find a cheaper flight with complex transfers that arrives at the more-distant airport (in my case JFK rather than Newark). iv. Wondering how you will afford to relocate with your current low-wage casual job, given that most of the costs will be upfront and come before my first grad student stipend kicks in. Good luck to all the other soon-to-be grad students out there! I hope your preparation is going more smoothly than mine...

Looking at management figures in the American pharma company where I completed an internship, most of them entered the company as research scientists with an M.S or B.S. They then moved into support/management roles, often gaining business qualifications along the way. I'd go as far as to say that it's easier to do that as an M.S. than a PhD (those with PhD & postdoc qualifications are almost expected to stick with research...)

I've actually gone and read a number of theses of former PhD students of the PI I'm most interested in working for. Firstly it gives me an idea of what he expects in terms of the quantity of research, secondly I am probably going to pick up researching where a previous student left off, so it makes sense to read their work as a starting point. In Chemistry a lot of journal articles are converted into thesis chapters as you plough through the grad work. I hope that happens in my case, because it's harder for advisors & thesis committees to request major changes to my nearly-finished MS when the bulk of it has already passed through peer review...

If I'm going to have what I think is going to be a difficult conversation, I usually take a couple of deep breaths beforehand. It is amazing what a difference a well-oxygenated brain makes. If you worry that your advisor is going to lose their temper...well, don't spring the news on them. Send a brief emailing saying: "I'm having difficulties with choosing a qual topic and would like to sit down with you to get some advice/assistance. When can we do this?" That way your advisor has been informed that something is wrong...but also knows that you're trying to get help & sort the problem. If you're really afraid that they're going to lose it with you...offer to bring 'em a coffee to the meeting or something.

If you have another semester to go then I think it would be acceptable to ask the instructor to give you some more detailed feedback on why you received the final grade you did. If you're taking another German or language course then you can use that feedback to improve your scores next time. Personally I wouldn't contest the grade you got. It does not sound as if you have much grounds for a successful appeal other than 'The final mark was lower than I expected'

I gelled really well with my last advisor. Advisor A was quite hands-off - he wouldn't approach me to check-up on progress or see if I had any problems, if I wanted to talk I'd need to walk into his office. But that didn't mean he was inaccessible or non-approachable, we had great discussions on a weekly basis about my research and I was never once told he was too busy to see me. As a scientist I have a huge amount of respect for him, on a personal level he's not much of a talker but I feel relaxed chatting to him. Advisor B was very hands-on and would check up on me numerous times per day. That was problematic - I didn't become very independant during my time with him - but we shared a very dry sense of humour, had a lot of mutual respect and open dialogue, and I'm still in contact with him on great terms. He came from a v. forthright culture: in the beginning some comments he made reduced me to tears, even though he meant them as neutral observations, not criticisms. After a bit I got used to that. Advisor C was a lot more hands-off than Advisor A - if a group member wanted to speak with her they'd have to schedule a 30 min appointment slot (appointments available only one afternoon per week). She also had a habit of being forthright, but again with hindsight I don't think they were meant badly.

I think it depends on which state you learn in how easy the driving test is: Pennsylvania is supposed to be pretty easy, but I don't know about California. I don't have a driver's license either...but I have cycled in the US and UK quite extensively. My guess is that the ease of the left-right driving transition will depend on your general spacial co-ordination and handed-ness: I'm quite strong with both my hands so I found it easy to switch to the other hand for signalling etc, and I never once ended up pedalling on the wrong side of the road or looking out for oncoming traffic in the wrong direction! It's really a personal thing. Lastly, if you're a nervous driver, then rushing to get a British license in 1 month might prove too stressful (if you fail the British test you won't really have time to resit).

Good luck! I booked my F1 interview today for early June. Embarrassingly, while filling out my DS-120 I had to email my parents to ask what year they were born in...for I had no idea! The online visa application form is going to be the death of me - it was timing out every ~2 min when I first started filling it out, then after logging out it hadn't saved a whole chunk of my form! Filling out the paperwork correctly is definitely more harrowing than the interview itself will be (I've obtained a J1 before)...

I don't have my CV in anywhere public (and the British CV is less of an "achievement list" and more of a fixed 2-page summary), so I don't intend to update it until I need to apply for something science-y. The LinkedIn profile will get updated around the time when I start the program, I think. Just in case my visa gets denied or something...

I'd advise trying to get some experience in an inorganic/physical lab before applying to grad school, even if it's just a couple of months over the summer after you graduate helping out at your undergrad institution. When it comes to reviewing your application, the Admissions Committees will wonder why want to switch from Biochem to Inorg/Physical. If you don't have any Inorg/Physical research experience they will question (a) how serious you are about researching in that discipline/doing a PhD in general ( if you know what you're letting yourself in for! It would also be v. useful if you're applying to Inorg programs to have a LOR from an Inorganic professor. AdComms prefer letters from high-ranking faculty that are well-respected & known in the field - Inorg/Physical members of the AdComm who read your LOR won't necessarily be familiar with the professors who wrote your letters if they come from a different discipline, and therefore find it harder to "calibrate" the strength of their recommendation. Additionally, an Inorganic professor saying in your LOR that you will do well at Inorganic PhD research will carry more weight than a Biochem professor saying you'll do well at an Inorganic PhD, etc. Are you more likely to be accepted into Cornell than MIT? Well, I don't know. But remember: the vast majority of applicants to UNC, Cornell, MIT, Columbia, Berkeley, any institution will have research experience in the relevant discipline to their application...and you will be competing against them.

For my PhD interviews at Oxford I met with faculty individually for ~30 mins and spoke to them about a recent research project I'd completed. They typically asked questions about the background theory of what I was talking about, or more tangential 'what if...'. I really enjoyed the interview: the project was an interesting, challenging one that I liked talking about, and I had some really intelligent discussions with the PIs that day. It's perfectly OK to say "I don't know" or "Can you repeat the question?" in these types of interviews. The professors will usually try to guide you towards the right answer, either by rephrasing the question or asking it in a different way. When I was faced with a question I couldn't immediately work out, I told the faculty what was going through my head ("Well I first thought it could be explained by the Theory of Y, but then I realised a, b & c don't fit with that..."). At least that way they knew that I was thinking something! My interview day wasn't tied to a particular studentship, but I'd still recommend thinking of a research project that you could talk about if asked, and revise the mechanisms, underlying theories, etc that accompany it. Good luck, I hope that helps!

Congratulations! I'm glad that jerk didn't ruin it for you.

I applied for graduate housing on-campus. An email came round advising prospective students to apply now before all the places filled up, so I hope that applying now means I'll get somewhere to stay. I'd rather do without roommates, but can suck it up for one year before finding a place entirely of my own. Solo apartment hunting is just one stress too many for me in the grad school application process...

It depends how far away your home country is, I guess. From what I've heard the students in my future research group that come from India & China go home once every two years. Since I'm from Europe I will probably go home once a year in the summer for a couple of weeks.

I applied for 5 US PhD programs and 3 in the UK. In Chemistry I think 5-7 (American) schools is average, especially if you're applying to competitive programs. With hindsight I would probably have applied to more places, even though I'm happy with the choice I made.

My only advice would be to discuss the pregnancy with your advisors & committee in the professional, diligent and competent way that they've come to expect from you. Come up with a new timeline for dissertation writing & thesis defense to lay out during the same discussion: hopefuly that will iterate your desire to (a) continue working hard ( finish promptly. Congratulations & good luck!