Orgo for days

I go to school in Chicago right now, and, building off of what gelologist said, I think you should go to UChicago! It's a burgeoning program in a great city that is pretty cold in the winter but great in all other seasons. Also, you will have easy access to all the entertainment, cuisine, culture, etc., that you could ever want! The downsides are that where UChicago is located is not nice and that the atmosphere is a bit serious; to deal with this, you should try to find the nicer places grad students live and what the environment of each lab is like. Anyways, these are just my opinions (and a few facts), best of luck on your decision!

Finally got a rejection from Berkeley!

FYI official offers from Scripps are rolling out from most recent interview weekend!

I've been on two visits now, and I think the biggest thing is enthusiasm and knowledge about the prof's research! If you're ever in doubt about getting a spot in the prof's lab, you can impress him/her by having a knowledge about what papers they've already published and by being generally high energy about what they do.

Dude, you're a top student from a top school doing research with a top professor. Academia worships pedigree, for better or for worse. Partially because of this, you're the perfect applicant from the view of someone on the acceptance committee at any school. You could very well get into all of the top 10 schools as long as you don't write terrible essays. Experience: I've got a slightly worse pedigree than you with no publications, a worse GPA, and a worse GRE score and I still got into 7/9 of the top 15 that I applied to, including Harvard and Princeton (I didn't apply to caltech). I think the bigger question would be why do you want to work for famous people whose graduate students don't publish very frequently? It would probably pay off better to work for younger, less famous people at your proposed institutions. For instance, the Knowles and Hyster lab at Princeton caught my eye, and there's a new lab at Harvard that might be of interest to you as well (coming later in 2016). But also, working for a famous person will at least guarantee a decent job upon graduation, so you'd have to weigh the pros and cons. Hope this helps!

You've got a pretty good shot at a lot of these schools. Your academic stats are eh, but your research is a lot more impressive than average, which is the most important part of your application. I think you've got a nice range of schools that you're applying to already, only widen your range if you feel like you want to do so. If you're applying for the 2019 cycle (?), I would try to get more research experience in your desired field. This would help 1.) show your continued interest and abilities in your field and 2.) help you build connections that will turn into good LoRs. That being said your application is decent as it is.

I'm definitely gonna wait till I visit to decide, right now I'm currently divided between Harvard, Stanford, and Scripps.

Thanks, @crystalettuce! Im gonna create a new list in this post, since I realized I can't edit my first post: To ask grad students: -Is the stipend received enough for the cost of living in that area? And if not, where do you have to live to account for this? -Are there any apartment complexes/neighborhoods to avoid? Is there an area of town where more graduate students typically live? To ask profs/grad students: -Typically how long are you expected to TA?

Hey all, it seems that it would be a good idea to compile a list of of good questions to ask profs/grad students on visit weekends. If anyone has any insightful questions, I invite you to share in this thread! I will edit this post sporadically to include your suggested questions. I've started by including the questions I've thought up after working as an undergrad researcher in a competitive, sometimes brutal R1 lab, and I know there are a lot more things to ask--so help us all out by sharing your own questions! To ask profs: About lab life/students: -What does an average day in the life of your grad students look like? -How do projects get initiated? -How many hours a week do your students tend to work? Who sets the expectations for work hours? -Do your students hang out outside of lab? -How many days do your grad students tend to take off from work on an annual basis? About the prof: -How do you correct your students when they make mistakes? -How do you encourage your students when their chemistry is going poorly? How do you keep your students motivated? -What motivates you about the chemistry of your lab? About the training/chemistry: -How do research projects get initiated? -How long does it take for the average student to get their PhD? What generally is required for a PhD from a research standpoint? -What kinds of problems do you think the lab will be working on in five years? -How does your lab prepare students for successful careers in industry or academia? -Does the lab have established collaborations with any groups? To ask grad students: To get the hindsight opinion on joining the school/lab: -What do you like most about your PI? Least? -What do you like most about your school? Least? -If you could make the choice again, would you attend the same uni/join the same lab? To get a sense for lab environment: -Do you feel like you're friends with the other graduate students in the program and/or lab? -Do you and the other grad students hang out outside of lab? -Do you feel like your lab members rely on you and vice versa? -What do you and the other grad students do for fun?

Hey man, I know the grad school process is stressful, but I can guarantee you that the wait is over now--you're in! The whole process is very informal, so a lot of the more "official" notices of admission tend to come after the informal acceptances. Don't worry about it, your letter will come.

Interesting to know, tho last year there were no acceptances after they started rejecting people, so you're probably right that there's probably another wave of rejections coming.

I don't know too much about Penn nor the field you want to work in, but I heard Patrick Walsh give a talk and he seemed like a really smart and kind man who helps his grad students achieve great things.

Well, just heard back from Harvard that I was recommended for admission to the graduate program in chemistry and chemical biology!

I've got an interview at Scripps for organic (username gives it away heh). I have not heard from Berkeley yet tho!

Congrats! What division did you apply for? And I sure hope you got a fellowship, it would be a crime to have to pay for a PhD in chemistry.