Hybrid

Whoops, I seem to have missed that detail. It looks like you'll have an extremely solid application. Grad admissions are really hit or miss, even with top stats. Research similarity is often a determining factor, so pinpointing your interests early on will be very helpful. Best of luck!

I was in a very similar situation last year. I, too, attended a small private university in SoCal for biochem. High-end research opportunities weren't widely available at my institution. Fortunately, I was offered an RA and TA position 2 years prior to graduation. I honestly believe my research experience and LoRs made the difference when I applied to doctoral programs. Contacting the professors 8-10 months prior to applying significantly increased my chances, since expressing interest early on keeps my student profile fresh in their minds (remember to maintain correspondence throughout the application process). Being passionate and specific about your research interests is very important as well. I made sure to draft my statement of purpose succinctly and to include the details surrounding my ambitions + academic history. This past fall I applied to 10 schools and was admitted into my first choice--a UC. It seems that your stellar GPA and forthcoming GRE scores will make you a competitive applicant and will balance out your other deficiencies. However, I will say that many schools with limited funding/lab space will primarily look at your research experience and assess its relevancy to their current projects. If you have the time, I suggest getting at least 1 semester of research under your belt. I encourage you to apply to a breadth of PhD programs of varying selectivity in addition to MS programs. It's in your best interest to seek out funded programs and to select a sub-field in chemistry. If you don't get into the schools you're interested in during this cycle, you could always take a gap year to work or volunteer in a lab before applying again. This is what more and more STEM students are doing before going off to grad school. It's always good to keep your options open, but know that you can always bolster your competitiveness by having more experience to feature on your CV.

Recently admitted into UCM. Any housing recommendations? I'm considering renting out a room in a house. Rental prices seem a bit high for apartments in close proximity to the school.

Accepted into UC Merced. Going to the visitation event in a few weeks.