HaElkoshi

Just got a rejection email. Too bad, congratulations to the winners.

I wonder if that means they haven't even given out any acceptances yet? I would guess they already contacted their first choices last week, and they're waiting to hear back from people who also won NSF/NDSEG/etc., making it potentially impossible to contact anyone on the wait list before the NDSEG deadline. Well, we can always be optimistic. The only possible benefit I see to NDSEG over CSGF is if you're in a real hurry to finish graduate school. If you don't mind the extra time taking classes and the summer internship, CSGF is definitely better for obot's reasons.

Hi All. I just finished TAing my first quarter. I had some great students who I really enjoyed, and I got reasonably good evaluations. However, the time slot this section will have next quarter isn't optimal for my schedule. I decided to switch to one that would be easier on my schedule, but now I'm having second thoughts. On the one hand, it would seem I'd grow more as a teacher if I'm exposed to a wider range of students, but on the other hand if I had a good dynamic this quarter maybe I shouldn't rock the boat. Does anyone have experience switching midyear? Did you find it a help or a hinderance?

I only started school myself recently, so I can't comment on the feasibility yet, but I can tell you that I have an almost three year old and one on the way, so I'm certainly hoping it will work out.

Thanks for the clarification. I guess I'll just have to be more frugal during graduate school.

I apologize if this has been posted elsewhere, I couldn't find the specific information I'm looking for. I've been going through my projected finances in graduate school, and even with a fairly good stipend they will be rather tight. Obviously some extra money over the summer would be a great help. I would like to know how common it is to get separate funding over the summer in chemistry (both the summer between first and second year, and subsequent summers), and what kind of funding I could realistically expect if I do get it? Additionally, how often is the funding an RA appointment from your adviser versus a TA appointment from the department? If there's already a thread discussing this, please just steer me in that direction, thanks!

I don't know anything about U Tennessee, but I can tell you that while CMU is a fine school in general, it is not even viewed as being the best chemistry school in Pittsburgh (that distinction would go to U Pitt). That said, I visited both Pitt and CMU, and I can tell you that I got much better vibes at CMU, they really seem to care about their students there, while Pitt came across as somewhat more removed. In any event, CMU is hardly a bad school in the sciences, so if you do well there I think it should open plenty of doors. If you're interested in polymers, I think the big name there is Tomek Kowalewski, http://www.chem.cmu.edu/groups/kowalewski/, check out his website and see if it's up your alley. PM me if you need more info.

(I haven't found a thread on this-please alert me if I missed one.) I have applied for chemistry PhD programs, and been accepted to one very good one (top ten or close) and one fairly good one. However, without giving away too many personal details, I was rejected from another fairly good one at a big name school in our current area. Problem is, my wife has family and a job she loves in our current area and doesn't want to move. According to big name school's own website, I have better grades and GRE's than their average matriculating student, not to mention my other admissions, so I don't think I'm flat out unqualified. If I had to guess I'd say my personal statement was to general and failed to explain why a particular adviser at that school would be a good match for me (although I believe he would be). One of the professors who wrote an LOR for me did a post-doc at that school and even coauthored a paper with the adviser I'm interested in, so I believe that he could get me a meeting at that school, either with my potential adviser or maybe someone he on the admissions committee if he knows them. My question is, if I went to such a meeting, could I explain why that school would be a good match for me and appeal my rejection? Should I try writing a letter first? Has anyone ever had experience in this area? A last point I should make is that, depending how much my wife's employer offers her for next year, it might even make sense for me to offer to forgo first year funding rather that take the risk of her not finding a new job right away in another city, although understandably I am very hesitant to do this, especially as I've already received offers of full funding elsewhere.

I just called MIT, they told me applications are still being reviewed and responses are still being sent out, and it may be a few weeks (!) before all decisions are made. I haven't seen any admittances on survey in a while, so I'm still hopeful, but not too optimistic.

Reply to above: I contacted a professor in late October to tell him I was interested in his work and ask if he planned on accepting graduate students. He replied that he did, so I applied. In mid-December he emailed me again to tell me I was in, and I received a package in the mail a few days later. Hope this helps. It's a great school, hope to see you there! On a similar note, does anyone know if MIT will be accepting anyone else, and if so when?

Getting back to the original question, one school is offering me an additional $1500, while another is offering a $10,000 "fellowship" the first year on top of the regular student stipend.

I emailed them, they told me most admission offers are sent out in January, a handful in February, and the rejections in March.

Please do post when/if she responds, I'd also like to know.

I suppose she meant that's when they make their last offers, but I was accepted there in the middle of December (email from a prof. I had corresponded with before applying). The first visiting weekend is the 16th, but there's a second in March.

Quick question; anybody heard anything from Harvard's Chemical Physics Program? All the results appear to be for Chemistry and Chemical Biology (CCB), but maybe some people don't differentiate between the two.