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Most that I see get around 70% but obviously, every program will give different results.

I got 880 (95%) at the same time. Definitely gives a confidence boost since I'd be an international. It's really weird how the US students do poorly on the chem GRE - when I went on exchange there, their chemistry program seemed tough (UW-Madison vs Sydney).

I guess I'll be applying there.

Summary: don't be a dick. But yeah, based on my experience (undergrad research), make sure you turn up when you're supposed to turn up.

So I'm starting research soon but need some literature review but I find it pretty hard to understand the papers that I'm reading. Any advice? It's in chiral pi-conjugated polymers.

Yes, that's what I meant by looking at professors - if I cannot find a suitable professor, I won't apply to those schools. They are just the current preference and will change accordingly. I will also be applying to some Australian universities (ANU/UniMelb). Personally, I'd like to find reputable universities as well as a suitable professor to make going over there worth it.

Yeah, considering I have at least another two and a half years to go (one of those years is full time research for honours and is effectively compulsory), I should have a decent amount of experience when I graduate (I might also take a year off to work in industry), and there's still a lot to learn (almost half of the units in my degree are chemistry units). How high should my GRE be if I'm aiming for a top program? Stanford is the dream but I understand that it is quite a stretch - I'm also considering Princeton, UChicago, and Duke (that is, if I can find a couple of professors at these universities which I will do later - they could change anyway).

I'm by no means a writing superstar but "Yet I believe" turns this into a subjective piece and it's rather pointless to say "I believe" because it's a bit obvious - you wouldn't be justifying a stance if you didn't believe it.

I did one of the GRE chemistry practice exams to try it out and I can see why grad schools don't put much weight into it...lol...lots of questions seem very random. Got 96/130 correct (no preparation) - there was quite a lot of stuff that I havent covered at uni but I think I'm still on track. Though, based on that exam, I should take a course in quantum chemistry lol.

Well, Australian universities don't use the same letter grades (not A/B/C/D/F), we use High Distinction, Distinction, Credit, Pass and Fail. My conversions were based on this: http://www.wes.org/gradeconversionguide/index.asp (Australia, of course!) I think when applying, I just include the Australian transcript - the universities should know how they rate compared to their own degrees (hopefully). But yeah, when I start getting the applications together, I'll get that done. I still have 2.5 years of undergrad left to go so I have a fair bit of time but it's always good to prepare. Cheers for the advice

Ah of course lol. Yeah, Australia has a pretty different system. In particular, we have absolutely no grade inflation so at most universities, the mark you get in the exam and assessments (weighted) is your final mark - no adjustments made. The low marks I got were from courses called "Introduction to History of Science: The Birth of Modern Science" (58) and "Earth, Environment and Society" (64). Quite irrelevant to my major, lol. But yeah, hopefully those marks won't adversely affect my applications, I'd be quite disappointed if they did.

Yeah, that's interesting. Out of curiosity, where is this? The thing about Australia and that essays are marked pretty hard - average is typically around 65%. In fact, that average is what it is for every subject (or at least, what it's supposed to be). Basically, in Australia, you get High Distinction (Best), Distinction, Credit, and Pass (worst excluding Fail) and only ~3% get HD, ~15% get D, 35% get C and the rest get P or F so it's pretty competitive.

Hmm...I would imagine so. The only reason I ask is that my overall GPA went down a bit, for this semester, I did poorly in one subject ("History of Science", C, 58%), got A+ in two chemistry units (86%, 87%), and a B in a geoscience unit. There's no grade inflation at this university - so those are basically raw marks.

Which is more important, overall GPA or major GPA?

Hmmm, not sure what mine counts as - it wasn't a class thing, it was a research program for "high achievers" and my talk was a part of 20 or so others from mine and other years. It was university level though.

Yeah, I think you're right - I'll probably be there for some time. It really can't be that bad - there hasn't really been anything in chemistry that I haven't enjoyed, yet - probably why it's hard for me to determine what I like. I've always wondered, when people say they have given a talk/presentation, what makes it count as a "talk"? Is it at some conference or can it just be a talk given to several academics?

Paris. If you really have a strong relationship as you say you do, you can make it work between London and Paris - seriously, you're not on opposite sides on the world.

You have nothing to lose, there's no embarrassment if they don't reply - it's not like the whole world is going to see. I would recommend giving them a short reminder on who you are what when you worked with them.

The first time I went to meet my supervisor for a major project (semester long) during my first year, I pretty much wore ordinary university student clothing - nothing fancy. Most of the talk way very relaxing and was just to know each other better and to get a better grasp of what each of you do, would like to do, and possibly your timetable. When I met the research group after the first short meeting, I had a look at their research and their results. I found interesting things and designed my own experiment along a different path which was different to the original project but it worked out well. You don't need to worry too much, they know that you're a university student and they are fully aware of what you need to do so they usually understand.

Thanks for your suggestions, I might have two professors willing to take me on: one in physical organic chemistry (chirality, organic solar cells) and one in organic synthesis (catalysis, organic synthesis) except the latter is on a research sabbatical until next year. I guess the best thing to do is take on the physical organic chemistry and see if I like it? I am interested in it and I do consider it a potential pathway, perhaps I might even like it. Currently, I do have a preference for organic synthesis so I will definitely contact the second professor if I don't like physical organic chemistry so much. Something I'd like to ask is, how long should I stay in a lab to determine whether it is something I like?

Hey guys, I'm pretty keen on going to graduate school after my degree (BScAdv) in Australia (University of Sydney) - currently in second year (three year degree+full year honours by research). I was wondering what would make my application competitive at top tier universities in the US. Currently, I have about a semester of research but it wasn't in chemistry (physics education research) - better than nothing, I guess. Right now, I'm trying to get a position in a lab as a volunteer at my school (hopefully, I can fit in 3 semesters of research) and also applying for study abroad, year in industry (where you work for a lab for a whole year - the degree effectively pauses), and summer research scholarships (6 weeks only though but I might be able to volunteer after the 6 weeks). Based on WES conversions, my GPA (converted to US) would be about 3.48 overall but my chemistry GPA would be 4.0 (all A+ equivalent, apparently). Do you think I will be competitive if I got a couple of years of research experience?