esmyra

@Colburn congrats! I also got an email from one of the profs at Berkeley, but mine was a straight "congratulations on being accepted... expect a formal admission letter soon." Hope to see you there for visit weekends or next fall perhaps. The email also mentioned I should call the prof to discuss visit options and answer questions I have about the department. Does anyone know if I should expect this to be a quasi-interview when I call? U Washington just directed me to the program coordinator for this.

Swedish meatballs

You should be perfectly fine. A 3.5 GPA isn't that bad to begin with, though it is cutting it close for some grad schools that want 3.5 as the minimum. The upward trend and extenuating medical circumstances though should be more than enough to get any school to overlook a less than optimal GPA, just make sure to explain in your essays. If you have good GRE scores to prove the upward trend, I think you might even be better off than a consistent but slightly higher GPA. The grad schools I've applied to all have an "overcoming adversity" component they want you to address, you have something to talk about for this. Go ahead and apply wherever you want, 3.5 is fine for most grad schools and your publications, research experience, and letters of recommendation will be more important for the more competitive programs.

I can confirm this. I applied to U Washington (application submitted on Dec 4) and received an email on the 12th with an attached offer. No interview required. Undergrad Institution: University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Major(s): Chemistry Minor(s): none GPA: 3.8 Position in Class: Excellent (I think?) Type of Student: Domestic, female, white GRE Scores (revised/old version): Q: 163 (92) V: 161 (79) W: 5.0 (93) Chem: 820 (83) Research Experience: 1.5 years at my university, one minor presentation in university, no publications Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's list a few times, two in university fellowships Pertinent Activities or Jobs: No TA experience, officer in a few clubs Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: not really Special Bonus Points: 4 grad level classes, top score in one of them; am a female in STEM; my advisor is kind of famous? Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: ??? Applying to Where: All Inorganic/Organic/Organometallic programs (not sure which one I want to do) University of California - Berkeley University of Wisconsin - Madison University of Washington (I got an offer!) University of Michigan - Ann Arbor