closetchem

I started in a biology phd program doing synthesis in a chemistry lab, I guess you could consider me a chemical biologist. I found I loved synthesis but that my program was a poor fit for me to do it for my entire PhD. So, I am taking a terminal Master's after 2 years and starting a PhD in a chemistry department in the Fall. If you want to go purely by "rankings" I did move up the latter, but not to a top program even though I applied to a few. Most importantly though, I am going to be with a respected program, a well known PI in the field, and the research fits my interests. The process of leaving with a terminal Master's wasn't too difficult, but I had clear reasons for doing it and my current PI was aware of my intentions before I officially joined the lab. My advice is to let your program (or at the very least your PI) know your intentions before you apply again. This is important because it might look bad to apply and not have a letter of recommendation from your current PI or anyone within your program. In fact, I had to have a letter from my current PI, it was a condition in many of the applications (since I wasn't a true "transfer" student, nor a true Master's student, though your situation is a little different). My suggestion: Do what's best for yourself and your goals, but try not to burn bridges. If you'll be doing research, get a publication out of it.

Congratulations to those of you who received the award. I received my second Honorable Mention, and this was the last time I could apply. VG/E, E/E, VG,E. Unfortunately, there was no explanation why those 2 VG were not E, both of the reviews had only very positive things to say included that they highly recommended me for the award. Just how it goes. Congratulations to all of you awardees again. To those who can apply again, I hope you do and that you get it. If not, its a great learning process.

It's possible that there is a "final panel". I guess their role would be to rule on applications that were borderline for the award, which is probably based on what funding the NSF will receive from the federal budget. So it wouldn't surprise me if that panel "met" a few weeks ago. The past panelists didn't mention this to me and they acted as the head of a section a few years ago.

That isn't for the GRFP. Many of my professors have sat on the panels for the GRFP and they are held either in December or January. If I remember correctly, it is all done via internet now and the professors don't travel. This was to reduce cost.

They are a good school depending on the subfield. I'm interested in organic synthesis and was really impressed by one group there, but the other organic groups didn't really pan out for me. I accepted my offer to BU because their department is stronger in my interests.

I got accepted to Rutgers and went to the visitation weekend last month. I will be declining their offer once I start the official paper work for my chosen school.

The waiting is to protect us from schools that would only accept you if you were awarded the GRFP. It would skew the interview and acceptance process.

I never interacted with Guo so unfortunately I can't help you out there. Much of ASU's chemistry and biochemistry research strength is in alternative energy, hence the Center for bioenergy and photosynthesis. There are some really good PIs and some others to stay clear of, the chemistry undergraduates are a good group of students that want to learn and go the extra mile, some of that can be said for the biochem students but you get a lot of pre-med in that group. Tempe is a relatively low cost of living, its warm and sunny all year round which is great for biking to campus, and there is a lot of things to do throughout the valley. Overall, its a fun place to be with some really interesting research but you really need to be sure you're interested in the overall research that is going on there otherwise you will not be happy.

Who are you interested in at ASU? I did my undergrad there. And I received acceptances from non-top programs before anything from top 10 programs, so I doubt that programs wait for each other to send out acceptances. My guess is it depends on what conferences/committee meetings/vacations/and classes the members have as to when they actually meet.

My current PI did both his undergrad and Ph.D at Cornell, then a post-doc at Harvard. He talks very highly of Cornell and told me that if I value my happiness and academic freedom to stay away from Harvard/MIT. That is just his account of his experiences, and he is a physical chemists/biophysics which is a different field from the OP and my PI hasn't been there for many years.

You can also see if the schools you visit/interview at will allow you to plan things so you can fly across the pond once and visit them back to back. I know people who lived on the East Coast and visited all Cali schools in this manner.

I interviewed with Harvard's Chemical Biology program two years ago. I got my notification the third week of January, so they should be coming soon.

I haven't started a family yet, but I interact daily with people in my program who do have families. How difficult it is to juggle family life with graduate school largely depends on your program, PI, and type of research. Some programs expect you to be in lab by 8 a.m. and then some courses don't start until 7 p.m. Some avenues of research require you to be at the bench until 11 p.m., others it's possible to work from home for a day when your kid is sick. Add studying, tests, TA, and research on top of that schedule and it can be a real challenge to find a balance. It's going to be rough for the first two years until you are done with classes and prelims. It's doable and many people have done it, just keep all of this in mind when choosing a program. Also talk to potential PIs and make sure they know you are dedicated to the work, but that you also need to leave space in you schedule for your family. As far as purchasing a home I'm assuming you either plan to stay in the same area as your wife's job, or that she is capable of moving. Housing prices vary greatly with location and are a lot of work to maintain. Personally, I prefer to rent during grad school. I plan to buy only after I have an established job in industry or become a professor. My undergraduate program had on campus daycare that was discounted for employees (including graduate students) and my graduate program has a discounted price established with a nearby daycare. Some of these use a lottery system though because the demand is extremely high. If they aren't discounted you are looking at spending a lot of money, it would be cheaper to have a parent live you and be the "free" daycare, which is what I intend on doing but my situation is maybe unique. Regardless, you are better off asking professors, administrators, and post-docs at your school of interests as they are likely to have families and have gone through the same process you are about to embark on.

Hello everyone, I have received an honorable mention before, but it was from a life sciences panel. I am now working on my thesis in chemistry. I synthesis dyes based on quantum mechanic calculations that are then directly applied to neuroscience research. My question is if I apply to the Chemical Synthesis panel should I show one of my proposed synthesis with all of the reaction steps? Has anyone on here applied to this panel and done this? Or is it better to show the proposed product and do a retrosynthetic analysis on it? Thanks.

You can go here: https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/grfp/AwardeeList.do?method=loadAwardeeList Then organize by field and scroll through to your field of interest. **Edit: sorry, I see now you wanted applicants. I don't think that information is released to the general public.