iketike

USC has had financial package troubles and their letters are going out later than expected. I do know for a fact though, that some have already been accepted into the program.

Thank you, most likely Caltech or UCSD.

No, I believe that was the first set - two of my international friends have applied there and also have not gotten notice either. I applied very early as well.

I was accepted into all of these schools - I found out from Caltech Mid-Jan and I found out from Davis and CSU late January. Although my scores were pretty bad, I'm very proud of my personal statements. Good luck to the rest of you

I've been lurking and I'm starting to get acceptance letters so I thought I'd share. I think my background is a bit different - my standardized test scores are pretty bad, to the fault of my own. However, chemistry is a passion of mine and I have shown this through other routes. Networking was probably the most important part of my competitiveness. Every school I'm applying to has 2-3 professors that I've met in person and email occasionally. For the higher tier schools, I do not think I'd get in without this. Best of luck to you all. Undergrad Institution: Very small college (I have an A.S. degree as a transfer student) Major(s): Chemistry GPA in Major: 3.90 Overall GPA: 3.95 Position in Class: Top Type of Student: Male, learning disability, ethnic background, first gen GRE Scores (revised/old version): Q: 157 V: 154 W: 4.0 Chemistry: 670 (sigh..) Research Experience: 1 summer with my college PI, a well known research in the field, made my own project. Collaboration with a national lab for 2 weeks. Summer at a large NSF CCI, published in high impact journal Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Analytical and inorganic chemist of the year, dean's list, McNair, LSAMP Pertinent Activities or Jobs: established ACS student chapter, tutor, outreach events in the inner city Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Keynote speaker for regional conference Special Bonus Points: I networked very hard. I have a lot of connections in my field currently. I've attended 3 national conferences, 3 regional, and 6 grad preview weekends. My PI has his own network of connections that are available to me. Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Was a comm. college transfer that worked full time to pay tuition and rent. My background is extremely financially poor and I am just now getting up to speed on this whole research thing - it's fantastic. Applying to Where: UC Davis -- Atmo Sciences UCSD - Chemistry (Accepted) Caltech - Env. engineering UC Berkey - Earth and Planetary Sciences UC Boulder These aren't all chemistry, but my field of research can all be completed within these disciplines - it is still in essence "chemistry".