ochemist94

I heard University of Wisconsin-Madison has a good biochemistry program, although I haven't personally looked into it. USC has a very encouraging joint chemistry/biochemistry department. To get a sense of other schools, you can always look into us news ranking for biochemistry graduate school. Don't feel too discouraged because of your GRE scores. Good luck!

The most important thing is to do keep doing research that you love. Since you can join your usual lab if you quit, I think it's okay to quit. I had a similar GPA and attended ACS meetings as well. I did not do any internship. I worked in a lab at my institution for ~4 years and was able to get into top PhD programs in chemistry. Good luck!

I'm starting grad school this fall, and my school requires entering students to take ACS Placement Exam in at least 3 disciplines. I was a biochem major as an undergrad, and I am admitted to the chemistry program. I plan on majoring in organic/chem bio in grad school. I will be taking organic ,biochem, and pchem placement exam. However, I have only taken 1 semester of pchem as an undergrad - I did not take any quantum chemistry. Has anyone taken the pchem placement exam? How much quantum chemistry is covered in the exam? I'm not sure if it's worth learning a whole new subject over this summer. I have purchased the ACS study guide, but it doesn't come with the actual practice exam. I would like to get an idea of how much I should look into quantum chemistry. As for the biochem exam, there's no available ACS study guide. If anyone has taken the biochem exam, please let me know how it was! Thank you in advance.

I've been hearing that I won't make a wrong choice wherever I go, but I am still struggling to make the decision. Seems like most schools have pros and cons. I would appreciate any feedback, especially from current grad students or other prospective students. Stanford - Research-wise, I am most interested in 2 professors at Stanford compared to the professors in other institutions. However, one of them is notorious for being very demanding and intimidating; he is known to be very moody and many of his former students refer to him as a "terror". Another professor is a superstar and she is away a lot. I heard her own grad students need to make an appointment with her 2 months in advance to talk to her... One of her grad students said it took awhile for him to be adjusted to this environment. So even though I am very interested in their research, I just don't know if they are good learning environment for me. - Chemistry facilities are surprisingly poorly managed. I heard some equipment in certain labs have been broken for 2 years. - I've done my undergrad in California and I prefer to stay in California due to the weather. It may sound silly but since my alternative is Boston, it is important. Also, my fiance is here... - Loved the campus and the grad students were easy to talk to. MIT - I am also interested in 2 professors here, but they are professors from U-Wisconsin-Madison joining MIT faculty this year. They seemed genuinely caring and nice and I would love to work for them. I just didn't get to talk to their grad students, because they are still in Wisconsin. - Other than those 2 new professors, I didn't really like MIT. The other professors were nice, but I wasn't as interested in the research. - The buildings at MIT look a bit depressing...several prospective students thought it looked like a prison. My mood is easily influenced by my surroundings (I used to live in the east coast and I feel a lot happier living in California now). - Grad students there were also not as social/welcoming. MIT Chemistry also has a lot of requirements, such as the cumulative exams, that are not required by other schools. Harvard - I am interested in only one professor in the Chemistry Department, but I am also interested in some professors at the Medical School or Dana Farber Institute. I heard CCB students do get to work outside of the department. It's just I don't really know anything about them except their research online, because I didn't get a chance to meet with them or their students. - The professors and grad students in the chemistry department were very nice. The atmosphere was very lively. - Since I am interested in the application of chemistry to medicine, having access to Harvard Medical School and Dana Farber Cancer Institute is a big plus. Given these backgrounds, does it sound like one school is more suitable for me than the others? Because right now, I don't really see it... Any feedback would be appreciated.

I did not publish 1-tier papers, but I did have 2 publications in low impact papers. One of them, I was the second author with just one grad student and my PI. I presented my research in many conferences and won an award for one of the presentations. I was admitted to Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Princeton, UCLA, UCI for organic/chem bio chemistry. Feel free to message me if you have more questions!

Always go with professors! I was given the advice to choose a professor I've taken 2 classes with over a research fellow (he has a PhD and a Postdoc) who works closely with me on my ongoing research. Also, if you believe that the other professors (not organic) know you better and will write you better letters, then go with them! I applied for organic programs this year and I've gotten letters from a P-Chem professor and 2 Chem-Bio professors. I had one Organic prof that I was thinking about, but I felt that he wouldn't write me the best letter, so I didn't end up asking him. I got into all the top universities I applied to.

I didn't really like UCSF CCB Visit. I know the school is more oriented for postdocs. They gave me a map to go find professors all over the campus in different buildings without an escort, which was pretty difficult; I was also late to every meeting with professor, because each meeting went over the time limit. On the other hand, Princeton was extremely friendly and considerate. I was always surrounded by several grad students and faculty wherever I went, and I felt very welcomed. UCI visit (individual) was okay too. Looking forward to some March visits! I think after going on a couple of visits, you'll get a sense of which school really cares about you and fits you. I thought UCSF was normal since it was my first one, but I've experienced better ones after.

I don't think those extracurricular activities matter too much for PhD programs. Research, great letters, and GPA matter the most from my experience. I wasn't in any major organizations or anything during college, but I got accepted to Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and Princeton this cycle. I did have a lot of research experience as an undergrad and a high GPA.

Hey, I got lower GRE scores than you (160V, 164Q) and I got accepted to Harvard Chemistry and Chemical Biology program this cycle. I believe GRE scores are way less important than your GPA and your research experience. Good luck! Just wondering, why are you only interested in Harvard for chemistry PhD? I am currently trying to decide among Harvard and a few other schools, so I would be interested to hear about your opinions.

Got into Harvard this morning! Can't believe it...

I really think GRE scores do not matter as much as GPA and research experience. I got 164 Q (87%), 160 V (85%) on general. I got 750 on Chem GRE (65%). I honestly thought my Chem GRE score would screw me over. I applied for organic chemistry programs for Fall 2017. Got accepted to Princeton and Stanford two days ago. Waiting for some other schools.

Also accepted to Stanford this afternoon! Organic

Just got accepted to Princeton via email!

Congrats!! Me too Maybe see you at the visit weekend!

Me too! I asked Julia (the administrator) and she said she will send out further info on Monday!