Hi.
I'm a senior chemistry major at a public university with a 3.35 gpa and 3.1 major gpa. I also have a math minor. I would like to attend graduate school because I love to do research and it's my favorite way to learn--but right now I have 3 things that are holding me back currently
1. I am interested in many fields of chemistry and I am not yet set on choosing one
2. My GPA is super low but everything else about my application would be pretty good. I'm not sure which tier programs I should apply to.
3. I'm considering taking a year off to get lab-tech experience in a specific field that I'm interested in (food chemistry) and to potentially raise my GPA by the time I apply.
Here is my profile-
Research experience: (I've been actively doing research since freshman year and have continued throughout the school years)
-University funded summer fellowship: biochemistry
-Summer REU: computational chemistry
-NASA Internship: atmospheric Chemistry
-1 current internship at a space-tech start up
-I've presented research at 3 national conferences and 4 regional conferences
-1 publication (first author)
Awards/Recognition:
-2 women-in-stem scholarships
-Departmental chemistry scholarship
-University "fellow"
Other:
I was a resident advisor for a while and I am an ambassador for a women in stem group on my campus where we do a lot of outreach.
I have 3 different research mentors that I have worked very closely with and I feel like they will write fantastic letters.
I'm actively involved in my schools dance department?
I am currently a tutor.
So basically, I'm not sure what caliber programs I should apply to. Would top 10 schools be too far out of my range (Berkeley, Princeton, etc)---I'm assuming they are out range.? Are top 20 schools out of my range (UCLA, UCI)?
Would it be beneficial to just apply next year when I potentially bump my GPA up to a 3.4?
Should I take chem gre?
I'm sorry for the questions, but if you have any insight I'd be forever grateful.
Thanks