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First off relax. If you're just starting the class then at least get a feel for it before you go dropping it. Sometimes having a positive attitude can be helpful in getting you to learn the material and thus achieve the 'A' you want. Will the course be helpful to your learning and/or research project? If so, it may be worth sticking out with it. Talk to your professor (or advisor) and get their thoughts. Classes that are undergrad heavy will tend to be more 'work' than the typical grad course but if you don't have that heavy of a course load, you should be able to devote more time to the material than a typical undergrad and thus be able to score an above average grade. Hopefully my rambling made some sort of sense and good luck with your grad school studies.

You get breaks (sort of). Depends on your PI but usually the major holidays (Christmas, Thanksgiving, 1-2 wks in the summer). I usually don't take off Thanksgiving (due to travel constraints). Just know that the more "breaks" you take, the longer it will take you to complete.

The rule of thumb I've been told before is to go "with the highest ranked program you can actually see yourself being successful in". If you like the research at the number 1 school (and the PIs and culture) and you can make ends meet in terms of COL, then I say go for it. P.S. This is one of the best problems to have during the application cycle. Good luck!

I had a prof like this when I was interviewing. All I can say is ignore them - this is YOUR future. They're already have their PhD. It's unfortunate when profs aren't supportive (especially when you're having a successful application cycle). I ended up getting a B+ in the class from that prof but it didn't make much of a difference when I got all my acceptances. Good luck @MusMusculus! Work hard on your school work but make sure you do well on your interviews.

In addition to the points brought up above, some schools actually like to see applicants from lesser known schools because it adds an element of diversity that could be advantageous for the program. One of the programs I interviewed at had said something along those lines to me.

pick six

@stillconfused I am not a mom but I respect every mom that pushes herself by attending grad school with young children (I have a couple of friends like that). The feelings of confusion are pretty normal for someone in your situation (and don't knock me since I am no psychologist). If you get into your program, you can use the experience to motivate your kids to keep pursuing their dreams, even if the going get tough. My father was finishing his PhD while I was young and he's honestly one of my biggest motivators in getting me to push myself academically and pursue a PhD myself. You don't want to regret not going down a certain path (that can be beneficial) because those feelings will haunt your forever. Good luck with your future endeavors!

Do you mean like going for another masters in Economics? If so, I would just ask why - it seems a bit repetitive (you could just aim at PhD at that point).

Stay calm - that small of a mistake shouldn't derail your future plans of graduate study.

I've basically changed (or better yet, refined) my fields of studies since my undergrad and I haven't run into too many issues yet. As long as you have taken the major prereqs that a typical entering grad student would have gone through - then you should be fine. Some diversity in the incoming class' training can be looked upon as favorable in many cases. Since you are aiming at more chemistry heavy programs, you'll have to demonstrate that you have a solid foundation that would allow you to excel in a chemical biology program (e.g. taking a few biochem, synthesis, or at the very least some advanced chem courses or having done research in an area that was close). For example, I was a ChE for my undergrad but I took a ton of chem classes so I got into a chem master's program doing research on DNA damage which eventually helped me get into cancer biology programs.

IMO I think that going for a master's is helpful in giving one a taste of what graduate research is like - that way you really know if you'd be to go all the way down the path. As long as you do one with a thesis option you should be fine by the time you apply for PhD programs.

I agree with what's been mentioned already but I will say that the more elite institutions tend to have the most funding which manifests in better equipment, more cutting edge research and collaborations at other similar institutes. This means that PI's at more prestigious institutes tend to have contacts at other prestigious institutes which can help one when they are looking for possible postdoctoral positions.

You could look at all the institutes that have NCI designated cancer centers

You seem like a solid applicant and a lot of the private universities in the US are more accommodating to international applicants.

evil Santa