GCool

That makes sense. So how do I get the attention off my undergraduate GPA? Is there really nothing I can do besides do well in the community college classes I'll take, do well on the GRE, sit and cross my fingers? I probably sound like an idiot to these departments I'm emailing, saying "I have a 2.6 GPA but I think I can handle the program" (that's not exactly what I'm saying, but you know what I mean). I've heard back something besides a resounding "no" from one program - but they said they've never appealed admission for anyone below 2.7. Does going to Purdue work in my favor at all? Very reputable chemistry program, impervious to grade inflation?

Something like "Activities" would be fine. Set it apart from everything else at the end.

I'd include your extracurricular accolades if they're recent. I wouldn't necessarily mention all of your activites throughout school. Success outside of the classroom is important, but not as much on a CV as on a resume. If you feel like you can do without mentioning a 2nd place finish in your local beer league softball tournament, leave it off. Knowledge of software depends on where you became familiarized with it most, be it research or work. List it where you'll be able to talk about it at length if an interviewer says "Oh, I see you used Empower 3 when working with GC's in your research lab". If you don't have much to say about your work experience with software, why list it there? An interviewer may think you're jumping around. Hope that helps!

Not to be that guy, but have you tried Google? After 45 seconds of hardcore research, it seems UC Davis is the most reputable school that offers a PhD in [exactly named] Child Development. Edit: Obviously that isn't close to you - but you get the idea. PhD programs aren't necessarily the things you hope are conveniently next to you.

Hey Payel, I'd like to assume that like with other requirements schools might have, there may be a little wiggle room given excellent other credentials - which you definitely have! I would discuss your situation with the schools you've been applying to. Can the TOEFL be retaken? I know you're close to the deadlines, but if you offer to retake it and pass, that could easily get rid of any anxiety a professor might have for allowing you to be a TA/RA. -GCool

That's the consensus I've been gathering from my peers who graduated in chemistry. It's an emerging field that will only grow with the conglomeration of better food products. PhD work in food science is rarely for industry, at least in the short-term - but I suppose you could argue that for any field.

I did mention my GPA at the end. It's 2.6. But upon rereading what I wrote and scoping the forums a little more, I agree with you--it doesn't seem like anyone could really give me advice on my ultimate decision. I'm going to start taking prerequisites next semester and see if I can get in anywhere! When I said "transfer", I meant possibly for a PhD, in the event that the lower-tier school I went to didn't have facilities I liked or a specific research area I was interested in or something. I realize that's tough to do, but it could always be an option. Waiting a few years sounds worse every day. Thanks so much for replying!

I don't know much about art programs, so I really don't know. Maybe one of the art grad school people could get in on this at some point. It just seemed like a high number! Since it's gen eds and not major classes, though, I'm sure it could be properly explained and grad schools would be okay with it.

It's safe to assume for most (if not all) programs that 3.0 is where they want you to be. Of course, other aspects of your application profile could compensate for being < 3.0, but you're above it, so don't worry about it! A requirement could be missing explicitly for a number of reasons: 1. There isn't as much emphasis on GPA right off the bat. 2. The requirement varies by program. 3. The school would rather hear from you as a full package rather than an applicant be apprehensive about one metric. To be frank, the seven withdrawals may be a little more of a red flag than anything else. Care to explain?

I turned down 2 separate offers from my family (and one from my adviser) to take leaves of absence from undergrad because of my crippling anxiety issues. I just wanted to get through the degree and see if I'd be better in industry. Now that I've been in industry and realize that the caliber work I want to do is reserved for people with still another piece of paper saying they're proficient enough, I don't know what to do. My grades were shit, and I (along with many of my peers) know I'm better than them. The people doing the stuff I'd be doing after I get my MS don't seem leaps and bounds more intelligent than I am. I'm doing something a high schooler could do if you wrote out instructions. I completed a BS in chem in 7 semesters for this? Fuckin' A, man.

For one class, I don't think I'd devote much (if any) space to it in your SoP. It's probably an explantion better suited for an interview situation or a discussion with a potential adviser/professor. After all, you're not attempting to explain an entire semester or year - you basically gave the whole story in a short forum post. If you devote a paragraph to it in your SoP, schools will think you're either hung up on it or unsure about your ochem skills! Just approach the question confidently if and when it comes.

Hello, I wouldn't necessarily worry about your chem GRE result given your other credentials. When writing to the Columbia professor, be cordial but don't sound desperate. I would give him your credentials including the chemistry GRE and cite reasons you think you did poorly. It's important to not go into too much detail, though; since you're a prospective student he really won't care as much as he would if you did poorly on one of his exams or something like that. For now just focus on the general GRE. A good result on that--of which it seems you'd be capable--would effectively negate a poor result on the subject test. It's easier to spin if one of those tests combined with good grades and research experience is top 10 caliber. Hope I helped!

Hello all, It's good to finally post here. I'm a long time reader of these forums - a lot of brilliant minds and eloquent writers here. I'm hoping I can get a few answers to my [hopefully not too convoluted] questions. First, a little about myself: I graduated in May '13 with a BS in chem from Purdue. My GPA is unmentionably low - I don't want to mention it because I'd like [you] to keep reading. I didn't do research while in school, at least in the traditional sense. I transferred out of Purdue and then back in upon realizing I wouldn't learn anything at the school I went to (I effectively sacrificed GPA for actually learning; I know, right?). The first time I interviewed for a research position at Purdue was halfway through freshman year. The professor laughed me out of his office upon seeing my B+ in gen chem, and I was too discouraged to ever try again. It sounds extreme, but anxiety was an issue for me throughout school. I was diagnosed with every-little-thing, practically a guinea pig for SSRI's and anti-anxiety meds, and it didn't do anything but mess with my brain. It wasn't until I moved out on my own and started a job that those issues phased out. It was never the academic pressure, per se - it was more the college environment and expectations from others looming overhead that incited agoraphobia, for the lack of better wording. I was afraid to go to class (except for lab), couldn't go out to unwind at all, and didn't know myself anymore. Upon my return to Purdue (the last two years), I completed a minor in English. It was during that time I picked up my internship--compiling a Clinical Evidence Report and other regulatory documentation for a biotechnology company--and worked in Purdue's Writing Lab for a semester. I'm not a typical chemistry student in that I have credits in many different departments, from accounting/economics to philosophy and, of course, writing. I worked in a laboratory for about 6 months and found a new job recently doing QC/QA. It's not as technical in the lab/research sense, but it still requires analytical skill. If the consensus of this discussion is I simply don't have the chops for grad school on paper, I'm going to continue what I'm doing now and pursue more technical laboratory jobs. I've been pouring over these forums and picked up a lot of useful information. Thanks to you guys, I've been looking into the Chemistry GRE as well as the regular one. I'm confident I can produce high marks on both, although I wish I could just use my 171 on the LSAT. Haha! Now I'm looking for some more specific help. I've been in contact with a number of programs (Iowa State, Auburn, Arkansas), and they've all said the same thing: my GPA is too low for a professor to want to take me on immediately. Since I'm deficient in the standard food science prereqs (i.e., I need to take micro and biochem somewhere), I've offered those as sort of a condition-for-admittance; no dice. The way I see it, I have two options right now--right now meaning post-GRE's: 1. Wait a few years until I have enough experience. Pro - don't have to worry about this stuff now. Con - pay cuts, family complications, etc. 2. Go to a lower-tier school for food science and try to get in next year. Pro - I can prove myself immediately and possibly transfer. Con - Might be sacrificing academic integrity So I'd like some answers. I know this is chem, not food science, so if you can't recommend specific schools then I understand. If you can, I'd like to know some smaller schools that offer graduate programs in this, since search engines have left me high and dry for days now. Also, if you think option 1 is better, weigh in on what I'm doing now (QC/QA) vs. a laboratory job, and whether or not that'll help/hurt/have no effect on the long run. Thanks, and I anxiously await the discussion. -2.6