rep+82

I'm trying to make a decision for Ph.D. Chemistry in Fall 2016. I've basically narrowed it down to CalTech vs. Illinois (UIUC). I'm interested in synthetic organic chemistry in the broadest sense -- mostly did synthesis in undergrad, but recently got more interested in methodology & also interested in chembio/medchem. I'm leaning towards Illinois b/c (a) more people I'm interested in (b) more variety within organic chemistry (helpful considering my currently broad interest) (c) Illinois is launching a med school, and they already have a vet school --> cool collabo opportunities (d) higher chance of getting into top choice lab (e) gut feeling But then again, CalTech is, well, CalTech... I'm interested in academia so the name does carry weight. I understand that Illinois is also a top10 school so I can't really go wrong blah blah blah, but yeah... Is it crazy to reject CalTech?

Yeah just went on my CalTech visit a week and a half ago, grad students said he's only taking joint students right now. Wouldn't count on being able to work for Grubbs for the next application cycle, and def not Grubbs alone.