alkylholic

I am getting one from the prof I do research in (writer 1). Perhaps I should have elaborated on my research more. I have been doing well and working hard in research, something my PI will reflect. What I am iffy about is whether schools care about how long one has been doing research. It seems like a lot of people do at least 2 years research...

Hi! I am interested in the top organic chemistry (to do alkaloid natural product synthesis) grad schools with Scripps as my first pick. I'm concerned that my lab research stat may hold me back. My friends and colleagues say I'll be fine, but I want outsider opinions. What do you guys think? Undergraduate Stats: Schools: 2 years of community colleges, 1 year at UCI - already graduated with Chem BS Overall GPA: 3.90, Majors GPA: 3.93 Graduate Courses (at UCI): 6 total, 5 organic and 1 inorganic. I got 4 A+s and 1 A- in the organics, a B in the inorganic. Awards: -ACS POLYEd Undergraduate Award (for all the grad classes) -Outstanding Senior in Chemistry (finished at the top of my chem class) -OC Community Foundation Chemistry Scholarship (for $10k) GRE: Will take soon, but have consistently scored above the 90th percentile on practices for chem. Research: 10 months in a chem bio/organic/materials group, no pubs right now or within the timeframe of deadlines. LORs: Writer 1. PI, taught polymers (research proposal based) grad class that I got an A+ in. I don't know how good the letter will be based on lab research though. Writer 2. Taught two grad synthesis classes, knows me well and got A+s in his classes. Writer 3. Taught a spectroscopy grad class, which I got an A-, but knows me very well and thinks a lot of me. Writer 4. World famous synthetic chemist, taught one grad synthesis class with number 2 and knows well, me, but not as much as the others. I know the it's usually 3 letters, but others (and I agree) have told me a LOR from writer 4 is worth sending. Thanks!