Undergrad Institution: Small & Public - you haven't heard of itMajor(s): ChemistryMinor(s): ChemistryGPA in major: 4.0Overall GPA: 3.671828 Type of Student: DomestickGRE Scores (revised version):Q: 162 (81%)V: 163 (93%)W: 4.5 (83%)S: 880 (94%)Research Experience: Two solid years; two full time summers & a lot of time during the semester (maybe a bit too much time; see overall GPA). Awards/Honors/Recognitions: A good amount of departmental awards and some small national and statewide recognition; industry funded summer research at home institution. Was hoping for an REU but go shut out - kudos to those of you who got to do chemistry cross' country Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Designed curricula and lead recitations for organic chemistry. Work as a lab assistant and got to do some cool things with the available instrumentation. Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Submitted my NSF GRFP? This was a busy semester and if there is one thing I am proud of, its coming up with an NSF proposal from scratch. I learned a lot and it was great to really dig into something, come up with an idea, and figure out how to pursue it.
Presentations: Three national conferences, five regional. Misc. Points: Did very well on ACS standardized exams (>99th percentile). Have a clear focus on what field of research I want to pursue - made that very clear in the SOPs. Any Other Info: First author publication in submission (good lord, that was that a lot of work)Applying to Where: Princeton, Caltech, Wisc. - Mad., UIUC, U Mich., Scripps (If I get in, I'm going) UCI, Columbia (Why did you have to move to Cornell, Lambert!)
Some days, I feel like I have a good shot. Other days, I'm bracing myself for the inevitable mass rejection. Anyone else feel like this?