BlakeNMR

Happy to help. I didn't have any background in bio when I started grad school, but I saw that a lot of funding is in medicine; many pure-chemistry innovations require impact in the bio realm to stay relevant and get funded. All of my grad classes have been some form of biochemistry to fill in the gaps. I'm not doing pure biology (chem with biochem concentration), and I think part of getting your PhD is learning enough of other fields to know where your research fits and how you can provide value in a collaboration that may be more high impact. Of course this varies and there are exceptions, but don't be afraid to learn it--you'll have a lot of great mentorship opportunities from people who know their stuff. In your case, for example, computational chem can include molecular dynamics simulations, which are frequently applied to elucidate interactions between biomolecules. I welcome more traditional chemists on this forum to provide a differing perspective for OP.

2nd year bio-analytical chemist here. My thoughts: - Compare stipend to cost of living. This is different than stipend amount alone. You don't want to be worrying about making ends meet in your city while in the throngs of teaching, taking classes, finding a research group, and doing research. - Fit with a research prof is most important, and if they have a big name in your field, it matters less where you go. However, even though rankings don't *really* matter, they still instill first impressions and people think they matter so they do matter. If you're not sure exactly what you want to do, going to a more highly ranked school will ensure that whoever you do end up working for is a higher impact PI. Look at the list of students who got the NSF GRFP--I'm sure there is a direct correlation between school rank and # of awards offered to school. - Be sure whatever school you go to has minimum 3 people you would be happy to work for--start talking to them now and see if you can do a rotation in one of their labs this summer to assess fit. If you only have 1-2 profs who you want to work for, and for whatever reason it doesn't work out, you get stuck in a program that doesn't match your research interests or you have to go somewhere else. - What sub discipline of theoretical/analytical are you thinking? If it's bio-related, look for a school with a strong medical program and seek a prof who applies the analytical technique to collaborations with these medical professors. I would also go with analytical over theoretical based on job prospects, but I'm biased. Without knowing your situation, I would pick UND based on my criteria. Congrats on your acceptances and good luck on your decision.

@rising_star @aberrant thank you both for the feedback and constructive criticism. To provide some context, the issue I've had in the past is actually overconfidence when it comes to this sort of stuff. That arrogance has caused me to get blindsided a few times. I've been a big fish in a small pond for a while at my college, and I've seen some intellectually comparable peers go to competitive graduate schools and have a hard time (i.e. flunk out). Part of what my post underscores is a concern that my undergraduate education hasn't prepared me well enough for this next experience. I've been doing a lot of reflecting about that, and I guess it really came out in my post. I witnessed that to some extent when I completed my assistantship last summer, and it was a good wake up call. I should add that this program isn't uncompetitive or lax... it's around 30 in US news for chem specifically but many of its collaborative projects are with top 10 programs, and its med school (which my potential PIs do research in) is always top 10. I don't know if this changes anything about your comments... I also am feeling a little weird about the JD and MPH tracks right now. i've spent a lot of time researching well ranked and funded programs, and I keep reading posts and news articles about students going in debt for degrees in these areas that they have a hard time finding jobs in. I digress...

Could an admin perhaps move this to the research section? Thanks!

Do you have any nearby research universities that are better-known schools than your small college? You could reach out to professors there and see if they need any help in their labs. Successfully completing research at a variety of places with professors who may be better known shows that you are a go-getter, can complete research to a certain standard, and network professionally. This external professor who you would theoretically work for could also right you a letter of rec and connect you with other experts in the field. You might have to work for free, but some small colleges have stipend programs for unpaid internships and research opportunities.

Hi all. Thanks in advance for reading my post. This forum has already been helpful in the two days that I've known about it. I am a current senior. I go to a small, no-name liberal arts college, and dreamt of going to a Stanford/Berkeley early in my chemistry career. I'm fortunate in my undergrad experience to do well in my undergraduate program, but I have been in a very supportive and much easier environment than a competitive research university. I chose not to apply to any top, super competitive programs for this reason. I've heard unhappy stories from students who went to or work at those schools. I didn't want to drown when I may barely be able to swim. After completing an internship for and receiving letter of recommendation from a PI at a nearby research university (ranked well and respected in all of its programs, but not specifically known for its chemistry), I applied to and received a verbal offer from this school with ~30k stipend/yr. I applied to only this program because it has felt like a good fit, size and culture wise, and it seemed like a better next step than a competitive school. My partner also needs to finish school in the area next year, so this is also convenient for both of us, and I would not want to attend any of the other local schools for a PhD. I would rather wait a year and apply to a better known program that has specific research foci that align with mine. Even though I am interested in public health and environmental policy (which are addressed specifically in the PhD program at some schools like Berkeley), I figure that I can get a PhD first from this school and then get an MPH or JD online, locally, or elsewhere. The previously mentioned PI is a sort of rock star in a specific area of research. After he verbally and loosely agreed to co-advising me (he has been flirting with retirement for the last 10 years), he recently confirmed that he would retire 2 years into my 5-year track. This means he would mentor me, but not be on my final thesis committee or an official advisor. However, having more work experience with him and receiving mentorship from him I think would be an honor. Additionally, and as much as I hate to say it, having his name as a part of my undergraduate research experience has already opened doors in networking. There is another, successful professor who is willing to co-advise with the first professor. I am excited at the prospect of this; although their research methods are not particularly interesting to me, both of their careers and collaborative projects include answering some very cool and relevant research questions. However, some of my peers are telling me that by having co-advisors with one of them retiring is basically shooting myself in the foot. They think co-advising might be messy and that I would be stranded when professor 1 retires. Now for my questions: #1: Do any of you have experience with or know of co-advising situations? How did they go? What do you think I should do? I've already read some posts about co-advising, but they weren't as unique as my situation with a PI being a big name and also retiring mid-PhD. #2: Is it a poor idea to go to a not competitive school that doesn't focus on public health or environmental policy when that is my end goal? There is a possible joint JD degree available at this school, and I know I could get a JD or MPH after completing the PhD. I just don't know if people who work in this sort of interdisciplinary field have to go to a school focused on green chemistry or public health to be competitive and effective in the job market and society, respectively. I also figured that if I don't go to a top 10 school that having an interdisciplinary approach would make me more niche and competitive (easing my concerns about not being competitive if I don't go to a Berkeley). I am hoping to use the next 5 years to gain relevant research and networking experience in fields that could relate to public health. #3: Will I be unhappy working in a lab that has research techniques that do not particularly interest me, but is using those techniques to answer research questions that I find fascinating? I haven't particularly loved FTIR, NMR, HPLC, etc, but I've always found ways to use them answer questions that interest me during my undergraduate experience. If you made it this far, thank you! I am happy to give back to this forum with advice about what made my application to this program a success.