so47

I sure hope I get to meet him! I certainly heard about him when I was there for Visitation Weekend! The Chem Dept is very proud (for good reason!) to have a Nobel laureate in their midst, though I'm not sure how active he is anymore. At my school chemistry majors had to take 2 language classes, but most people took just them and ran for the hills. It's mostly engineering and science though, so there is not a good emphasis on humanities. I was glad to hear at Cornell you can audit classes in other areas, I have heard stories of some schools who won't let you take anything not relevant to your degree! I'd like to take some "fun"/non-science classes to help keep my sanity too! I feel like such a little kid, I am so excited to go there next year! My parents want to take a day trip out there over my spring break (probably just an excuse to go buy themselves Cornell gear )

I have always been warned not to become too specialized, because it makes it very difficult to get jobs (as you said). That said, I'm not sure how specific "higher education" is in your field. If you had said "higher education of minorities in Ivy League institutions" then THAT sounds too specific to me. So I guess ask yourself, exactly how limiting is the "higher education" concentration? And then brand name thing, I don't think you can go wrong with either! They are both great name schools that are well known and I'm sure have lots of connections. Have you visited the programs? Don't cut out "fit." It seems minor, but for me at least the feeling I got when I visited my top 2 schools is what made the decision for me.

I'm not the only one! I also got rejected from safety schools but into my most competitive choices! I was telling people that and they couldn't believe it! Aside from that, I agree that this year was brutal, and I knew it was going to be brutal going into the process. With the economy being terrible, people are not confident that they will be able to get a job post-graduation and choose to apply to grad school so they have something to do for the next few years. So the applicant pool is that much larger, and like you said, funding is down so schools are being cautious and accepting less. The one thing I have to disagree with is that there is no way to know how long this will last. It could take years for the economy to get back to "normal"; even though it is doing better now, companies are still afraid to hire, thus people are still going to be applying to grad schools in droves until that starts to improve. Yeah, you can try to improve your application with your GRE's and SOP, but they also want to see you doing something relevant in the time between, and finding a relevant job is no easy feat these days. For those reasons, I would be very hesitant to decline your only admit. It's a huge chance to just hope things will be better next year, because I truly think it's gonna be this way for probably 2-5 more years.

For me the question is: do you like School B? Can you see yourself being happy there? If the answer is yes, if you still have no funding from School A by April 15th, I would take B's offer and run. If you like the school, you don't want to tick off the faculty and such later, because academia is a small world and you almost certainly WILL run into them again. And like sciencegal said, this is not the reason you want them to remember you. For me, I don't think I could ever consider going to school without funding, and it makes me uneasy in general when schools accept people without funding. I don't think that says good things about their program/administration. I say that coming from a school that often does the same thing for grad students, and I have heard some very strong faculty opinions on why you should never accept students and not fund them. To me it says they are more about making money than the supporting the students, which is not the best philosophy for a department.

I never paid for any meals, drinks, anything! At 2 different visitation weekends as well. I got the impression that the grad students were either being reimbursed or they had department credit cards. But, since you said you are bringing your husband, I can't speak to that, they would probably cover him as well since they invited him? I would be safe though and bring some either card/cash just because I would never want to get stuck and not have money when I need it.

Wow, quite a diverse repertoire you got there! My major is chemistry (which I am pursuing at Cornell) and I actually minored in French as well! Although most science-y people I know think I am really odd for taking so much French voluntarily, so it is nice to see someone else did the same! It's nice to get a break from science and flex a different part of my brain

I am pretty sure that legally, they have to give you until April 15th to decide. Most reputable schools are part of CGS, which requires them to give you until April 15th to make a decision. So check the next link to see if your school is a member, and if they are, call them and say that you need until the April 15th deadline List by region of schools that are in CGS http://www.cgsnet.org/Default.aspx?tabid=102 Resolution stating they have to give you until April 15th http://www.cgsnet.org/?tabid=201 Hope this helps!

It's official! I'm going to Cornell in the fall So happy!

Sent in my acceptance to Cornell's offer today! Decided to go with my gut and take the better fit. I'm very happy and glad to have the pressure off!

Like the people above said, most people in the US drive automatic. The result is, when looking for a used car, it is MUCH easier to find an automatic. My boyfriend is a huge manual transmission fan, and when he was looking to buy a car, it was very difficult to get a used manual. If you were to buy a new car, a manual is slightly cheaper than an automatic though. Honestly, it's your preference. My current car is a manual because I wanted to learn how, and I am glad I did because I will never NOT be able to drive someone's car because it's stick shift. But the next car I will buy will probably be an automatic, out of convenience and the fact that although I do enjoy driving stick, they are a pain in the butt in bumper-to-bumper traffic or in hilly areas (like where I am going to grad school lol).

I think the best thing to do would be to call them ASAP. Tell them you thought you were making the most practical and logical choice, but have since had major second thoughts and realized that you would be happier in their program over the one you accepted. They may or may not still have funding for you, but try it. Just don't withdraw from School A until you find out if School B will still fund you.

Yeah, I am an organic synth/bio-organic chemist though, so it is not quite as clear cut. I am deciding between Cornell and UNC-CH. I thought I would walk out of the visitations knowing what I want, but I am confused! I really loved the feel of the department at Cornell, I liked everything from the grad students, the department philosophy, the program structure, campus and surrounding area (waterfall NEXT to the chem building = AWESOME) And they are offering a significantly higher stipend, which doesn't hurt either. But I feel like the research at UNC was much stronger for my area. The rest didn't "click" as well for me as it did at Cornell, but obviously a PhD is largely about research. There were about 3 profs I liked at Cornell, but I would have to straddle Bio-organic/Chemical Biology a bit more, and push to ensure synthesis experience. It's just there were more like 5 faculty at UNC that I liked, and they had more cutting-edge organic synth, like total synthesis, natural products and methodology. I'm just feeling conflicted, my gut is telling my Cornell because it just felt right and there is still good research there, but it's hard to just turn away from the awesome research UNC has. I also can't help but take geography into account. My family is in upstate NY, so Cornell would be much closer (~3.5 hour drive). UNC is an 11+ hour drive away, and on top of that I can't get direct flights home, and the non-direct flights are still ~$250 round trip. So I have a lot to think about!

So it seems at this point a lot of people have got responses back and are finishing Visitation Weekends shortly. Do you know where you want to go? Where are you deciding between? Post it here!

Alright, the count is in! Can finally post my battle record Accepted: Cornell, UNC-CH, RPI Rejected: Yale, Dartmouth The decision is hands down between Cornell and UNC. Did both the Visitation weekends, and currently stewing on it to consider my options I am very happy with my situation though!

The visit I went on last weekend was very casual, most of prospectives, grad students, and even profs wearing jeans (some people even wearing sweatshirts!). I was warned beforehand that this might be the case, so on Friday I wore my darkest wash of jeans (looks less casual) and a nice blouse. I brought khakis for the next day, but wound up wearing the jeans again since I felt like I would be really overdressed. The shoes I wore were Sperry's-esque "boat shoes"- super comfortable but still look very professional, and work with both jeans and dress slacks. I am probably going to wear the same to my visit this weekend, except wear the khakis for my faculty interviews. And tops, I would recommend a professional looking sweater (I wore argyle ), it looks polished but helps not to make you feel super formal.

As hard as it has to be to turn down Harvard, I would not go without funding. I just don't see the point in racking up that much debt, especially if your other options are very reputable in your field. Ivy is not everything, the people in your field will know which schools are reputable, and will probably be just as impressed as they would be with Harvard. Another thing, I would ask if there is a possibility that they will fund you later...I know someone who came to my school for a PhD and was not offered funding since he was not a very strong applicant, but they started funding him his second semester after he showed good academic progress in his first semester. They might just be waiting to see how you do before they give you funding? Pretty crappy thing to do in my opinion, but I've seen it happen. Honestly, the only plus I can see with Harvard is that bit of pride you would get telling family members or people at dinner parties, etc that you went to Harvard...but even my pride is not worth $200K in loans!

If I were you, I would go for Option #1. Yes you might have to change your research interests, but that actually shows you have much more versatility, and gives you a broad foundation, from which you can later move into more than one possible area. And you did say there are people you could see yourself working for, which leads me to believe you do have other research interests as well. And, the thing is, going to a prestigious institution helps with job placement later, not just because of the name, but it is generally thought that you get more rigorous training at the higher-ranked programs. I would avoid Option #3 like the plague. I was advised long ago that you should not go to the same institution for undergrad and grad school (I've also heard it called Academic Incest). You want a different perspective, to be around new faculty who can teach you in different things than you might have already been exposed to. I know that I feel like I have already gotten everything I can out of my department, going there for grad school it would be very hard to get a lot more knowledge out of it. And my school is one of those that has lots of "lifers" too. It may be "easier" but you get what you put in. You will probably come out a better scientist/whatnot by experiencing different things instead of going with what is already established, since you will have to uproot eventually anyway, and may not be able to get a job in that singular sub-discipline. So that's my two-cents Good luck with your decision!

You said be blunt, so I am going to be. I can't help but feel like your boyfriend might not be quite as invested as you are. Just the way you said that he applied to U of Chicago "In case something happened between you guys." It's just odd to think like that after being in a relationship for five years. If you guys had only been dating a year or two, fine, but that seems a bit nonchalant to me after such a long relationship. (Speaking from my own experience- my boyfriend and I just celebrated our 5th anniversary and I just can't see either of us thinking that lightly of a break up. But obviously every relationship is different so it is hard to compare) If I were you, I would do what is best for you and your career, and choose the school you love. What if you went to Michigan just to be closer to him, and it doesn't work out? You don't want to regret the reasons you choose a graduate school, because it is an investment in your future. You are obviously a career-minded woman if you are pursuing grad school, and since he is putting his school first, I would do that same. And if you guys make it another couple years long distance, it's win-win since you got the degree you want and the man. And if you don't make it long distance, at least you didn't sacrifice your dream school for it. I know it's much easier for someone on the outside of a relationship to say that, and I am sorry if it sounds harsh. I have to say I am very lucky, my boyfriend is a nurse and has the luxury of being able to find a job pretty much anywhere, which has taken a lot of pressure off me on my grad school choices. Good luck and I hope it works out for you!

Same, though I had emailed them and found out earlier this week. Glad to just finally get a decision, was so tired of waiting. I'm still waiting on a safety school which I don't care about anymore anyway. I guess I should probably email them just so I can give my final count as well

Got a rejection from Dartmouth today...which I find very amusing, since it was one of my "safety" schools, and I was accepted at my top 2 choices. I heard some stories about people getting into their top choices but not safeties, I just didn't expect it to happen! I'm wondering if I will be rejected from my other safety (RPI) at this point, since I haven't heard from them lol.

Chad Lewis. He wasn't there for the recruitment weekend, but he already has some first year grad students in his group that I talked to. From what they said, he is very young (28-29) and is the type of very hands-on guy who plans to be in the lab a lot. They seem to really like their interactions with him thus far, but they have only met with him in person a handful of times since he is still at Scripps full-time.

Just got back from visiting Cornell. I really liked it and I liked the faculty since I am more bio-organic, but a lot of people who wanted just traditional organic synth were not completely thrilled with the research available. They definitely have more bio-organic, the one prof who was more traditional organic did not get tenure so will not be taking students. They do have a new faculty member starting in May after finishing his post-doc at Scripps, who is focused on organic synth methodology and natural products. So I think it just depends what you want to do, but there were definitely people I could see myself working for.

Yes sir! Plane gets in around 3pm. I assume a certain mountain man is making an appearance there as well?

Rejected from Yale. Got a nice but short response to an email I sent to the department asking about my application status. Just glad at this point to have an answer, sick of playing the waiting game and having it over my head. Plus I think I like Cornell and UNC-CH better anyhow

It's interesting how people can go through the same experience and get such different things out of it. On my Cornell visitation weekend, a lot of prospective students were turned off by the size of Ithaca, and say they would feel isolated and have nothing to do. But I loved it, Ithaca reminds me of my hometown a lot, size-wise and with its downtown areas. And for a smaller city, there seems to be tons of different types of restaurants and such, and there are still convenient grocery stores and other shopping stuff. I asked the grad students in my program what they thought about housing, and most of them recommended living off campus, and I am still shocked that a majority of the first years show up for TA training in July without housing set up, and often find housing together with other first years in the program. I'm going to have to really think about what I want to do, because I like the idea of living with other first years in my department, since we would all be going through the same thing, but I don't know if I can stand to wait until that last minute! It was hard though, people were still so unsure as to where they were going that I didn't meet anyone this weekend who was set in their choice, and that I thought I would want to live with. Oh well, I have a lot of thinking to do about the housing dilemma!