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someth1ngAus

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  1. Upvote
    someth1ngAus got a reaction from ninah in Fall 2018 Cycle   
    Geeeeeez, lol.
  2. Upvote
    someth1ngAus got a reaction from raul.carmo in Submit Chem GRE   
    I'd say your relative lack of research experience and low GPA is more concerning than the subject GRE. 3.6 months of full time research isn't a lot - I've had around 3 semesters of research (ie around what you have) plus two full years of research and I wouldn't even consider my application strong for your programs.
  3. Like
    someth1ngAus got a reaction from singinglupines in Fall 2018 Cycle   
    Princeton looks like they're coming out - still don't have mine...shitting bricks haha
  4. Upvote
    someth1ngAus got a reaction from rwoodward in Fall 2018 Cycle   
    Hmm, the wait for Princeton continues xD
  5. Upvote
    someth1ngAus got a reaction from NervousChemApplicant in Fall 2018 Cycle   
    Hmm, the wait for Princeton continues xD
  6. Upvote
    someth1ngAus got a reaction from rwoodward in Fall 2018 Cycle   
    Princeton does something similar - it seems to always be over the 1-3 days after MLK Day. If that's anything to go by, we should expect it out this week. Also seems to happen right before MLK day but I'm pretty sure that's not happening.
    Apparently, according to an email, "Admission decisions will be emailed on a rolling basis to all applicants between February 1 and March 15". Not sure what to believe...
  7. Upvote
    someth1ngAus got a reaction from PhilChem94 in Fall 2018 Cycle   
    Princeton does something similar - it seems to always be over the 1-3 days after MLK Day. If that's anything to go by, we should expect it out this week. Also seems to happen right before MLK day but I'm pretty sure that's not happening.
    Apparently, according to an email, "Admission decisions will be emailed on a rolling basis to all applicants between February 1 and March 15". Not sure what to believe...
  8. Upvote
    someth1ngAus got a reaction from Flyera in Fall 2018 Cycle   
    Princeton does something similar - it seems to always be over the 1-3 days after MLK Day. If that's anything to go by, we should expect it out this week. Also seems to happen right before MLK day but I'm pretty sure that's not happening.
    Apparently, according to an email, "Admission decisions will be emailed on a rolling basis to all applicants between February 1 and March 15". Not sure what to believe...
  9. Upvote
    someth1ngAus got a reaction from rwoodward in Fall 2018 Cycle   
    Yeah, I decided to look up the cost of living - it's pretty high. Comparable to cities like Sydney, Seattle, Boston, and London. But hey, it's not Switzerland, so that's good. If me being in Sydney is anything to go by, 28k USD take home should be fine.
  10. Upvote
    someth1ngAus got a reaction from hotdoglonganisa in Fall 2018 Cycle   
    Geeeeeez, lol.
  11. Upvote
    someth1ngAus got a reaction from samman1994 in Fall 2018 Applicants   
    I'd say the top 4 in Australia for chemistry would be:
    1. Monash University
    2. University of Melbourne
    3. Australian National University
    4. University of Sydney
    Realistically, any university from the Group of Eight (similar to Russell Group in the UK) will be fine .
  12. Upvote
    someth1ngAus got a reaction from Psyduck_1 in 2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results   
    That's fantastic news! UCSD is very respectable and a hard to get admitted to - so congrats! Obviously, you must've gotten some absurdly strong letters or written a great statement.
  13. Upvote
    someth1ngAus reacted to chemistkat in 2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results   
    Hi all. Was admitted to UCSD last week and I'm ecstatic since I have terrible stats. To give you an idea...
    Undergrad Institution: Top liberal arts college 
    Major(s): Chemistry
    GPA in Major: ~3.1
    Overall GPA: ~3.1
    Position in Class: for chemistry majors, at the bottom
    Type of Student: Female, low-income, US citizen but not a CA resident

    GRE Scores (revised/old version):
    Q: 153
    V: 157
    W: 4.0
    Chemistry: 29th percentile

    Research Experience: 3 labs: one for half a year (1 presentation); one for a summer REU (2 presentations); two years at currently lab for senior thesis. No publications.
    I only applied to schools in California (I'm in the northeast and am tired of the cold winter months): UCLA, UCSB, USC, Berkeley, Stanford, and of course UCSD. I started this process telling myself that all I need is one acceptance so I'm satisfied and will most likely be attending UCSD  
  14. Upvote
    someth1ngAus reacted to TakeruK in International Student - Future Goals for SOP   
    In the United States, an international graduate student could cost something like 70,000 to 100,000 USD per year after including all costs such as your stipend, paying for your benefits, your tuition and the overhead charges that professors have to pay out of their grants. So, any additional money you can bring in is very helpful, but it's unlikely to be able to make you completely "free".
    Even so, money is not the only limiting factor in terms of admissions. Another finite resource is time and efforts of a professor to mentor you and to teach classes for you. Schools want to ensure that they have enough resources (time, money and effort) to properly train their students, so being "free" doesn't really help admission. Having extra money though is usually great because 1) there is a correlation in the quality of the student and the ability to win things like the Fulbright and 2) if the extra money reduces the cost for the school, it can make you be considered more like a domestic student. However, at private schools, there is no difference in tuition/costs for an international student vs. a domestic one.
  15. Upvote
    someth1ngAus reacted to TakeruK in International Student - Future Goals for SOP   
    I understand what you mean. When we lobby our governments for science funding though, we do indeed compare ourselves with other countries and we might make statements like, "Canada should support [[telescope]] to allow Canadian astronomers to contribute to the international astronomical community". So you can consider it more like a "friendly" competition where we all encourage each other to be better. But in politics, we may want to spin it in a more competitive way in order to lobby for more funding
  16. Upvote
    someth1ngAus reacted to Nate_Chemistry in 2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results   
    Omg!!! Just heard back from Princeton!! I am so excited! 
  17. Upvote
    someth1ngAus reacted to Disselkyle in 2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results   
    Yep I am domestic and heard back by email last week. Also, just got acceptance to Princeton by email today!
  18. Upvote
    someth1ngAus reacted to sk8er determinant in 2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results   
    whoa congrats on your acceptance to princeton!!! may i ask which division you applied for, and when you submit your application?
  19. Upvote
    someth1ngAus reacted to Disselkyle in 2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results   
    Inorganic chemistry, submitted Nov. 30 (day before it was due). I did have a Skype interview with a professor a couple weeks ago.
  20. Upvote
    someth1ngAus reacted to Dibenzofulvene in 2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results   
    Congrats @Disselkyle!! I also received notification from Princeton via phone call from a POI.
  21. Upvote
    someth1ngAus reacted to Quickmick in International Student - Future Goals for SOP   
    I wouldn't think so....maybe couch it more along the lines of, "The work at OverTheRainbow U offers cutting edge blah blah blah, and I would hope to take that training and foster growth along these lines in AU--where developments are not as far along--to advance the study of JandalHandles on the trail that Dr. Suess at Rainbow has blazed."
    Just saying, you might be able to spin the lack of work in your home country into a positive.
  22. Upvote
    someth1ngAus reacted to fuzzylogician in International Student - Future Goals for SOP   
    I think it's fine, I'd just make it sound less definitive, because let's face it, you don't actually know what will happen five+ years from now. So you might just say something along the lines of what you said -- you hope to pursue a career in academia in [subfield], perhaps retuning to Australia, where [subfield] is underrepresented, to start a new lab and pursue [research]. It's also silly to think that you're competing with anyone. Whoever trains you should be someone who wants you to succeed after you graduate, including getting published, getting grants, etc. If anything, being in another country means you'll be tapping different funding sources and competing less, but again I don't think that's a useful way to think about it in the first place. Tell them what you want, but keep all doors open at this point because you just don't know how things will eventually turn out. 
    Edit: but think of this as an academic document. I couldn't help but cringe a little by reading words like "cutting edge" and "trail blazing". Be professional; you don't need to flatter the institution you're applying to. Your submitting an application there is recognition enough that you think they're good.
  23. Upvote
    someth1ngAus reacted to TakeruK in International Student - Future Goals for SOP   
    I want to second this. My advice is to just remove all the specifics of location. Say what you hope to do after your PhD, but there is no reason to specify the location. 
    I am at a US PhD program because 5 years ago, my home country (Canada) didn't have very many programs in my field at all. I didn't mention this in my application though, instead, I just focussed on the positives of the schools I'm applying to instead of the negatives/reasons for leaving Canada. You don't have to justify moving away from or moving back to Australia at all. 
    Finally, if you do have visa interviews etc., then it is totally acceptable (maybe even encouraged) to tell the visa officers about your plans/goals to move back to Australia after your degree (if it's still true). On F-1 and J-1 foreign student status, one of the criteria of the program is to have ties in your home country and that you don't have concrete plans to use this study period as a way to stay in the US forever. Of course, if you end up with an awesome US job offer, you can still take that, but at the moment of entry on F-1 or J-1, you should not already have definite/set plans to stay in the US forever. 
  24. Upvote
    someth1ngAus got a reaction from sk8er determinant in 2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results   
    I agree, I do research in catalysis (enrolled in an Australian PhD) but will be applying to go to the US (to start in 2018) since there are very little catalysis opportunities here (I'm pretty much the only person doing catalysis at my institution) - also primarily interested in Doyle. Based on experience, I would say that computational experience is a massive advantage in catalysis but wet lab skills are the most important. If you are proficient in computational chemistry but have mostly done research in wet labs, that would be highly looked upon. Doyle has some computational experience when she did organocatalysis during her PhD under Jacobsen to investigate preferred conformers and convergence of a thiourea to an intermediate. However, to my knowledge, it was pretty brief and naturally, doing catalysis, most of her work was screening and synthesis of new thiourea catalysts.
  25. Upvote
    someth1ngAus got a reaction from Dibenzofulvene in 2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results   
    I agree, I do research in catalysis (enrolled in an Australian PhD) but will be applying to go to the US (to start in 2018) since there are very little catalysis opportunities here (I'm pretty much the only person doing catalysis at my institution) - also primarily interested in Doyle. Based on experience, I would say that computational experience is a massive advantage in catalysis but wet lab skills are the most important. If you are proficient in computational chemistry but have mostly done research in wet labs, that would be highly looked upon. Doyle has some computational experience when she did organocatalysis during her PhD under Jacobsen to investigate preferred conformers and convergence of a thiourea to an intermediate. However, to my knowledge, it was pretty brief and naturally, doing catalysis, most of her work was screening and synthesis of new thiourea catalysts.
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