mgd71

No, you should call them. Emails can be blown off. Phone calls cannot. These people are usually very busy, and its easy for things to get lost in translation. Pick up the phone

Remember that after that fellowship runs out you will be left with that low offer.

Hey Guys, I have a quick question for you all. I know that the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) is a pretty big deal in my region. But I'm not sure how it stacks up nationally, especially against some of the giant names in chemistry (we all know what those are). Anyone have any ideas? I know that this school has extremely tight ties with industry. Do you think that someone could land a decent post doc job after attending CNSE?

As far as cold, I'm from Michigan... So I'll live lol. Both labs are doing awesome research. I think I'd have more instrumentation time with Rochester. Its a smaller group. 4 (UofR) vs 8 (UF). Which is significant. Student outcomes are tough. At Rochester the POI hasn't graduated a student yet, and at UF the POI has a student that recently was tenured (not sure where). I guess its difficult to say outcomes. phds.org says this U of R - 85% of students are employed at graduation. 78% post docing. with 15% in the private sector. UF - 55% employed at graduation. 35% still seeking. and some various other things, faculty non post doc etc. with 48% post docing and 35% in the private sector. I'm not too sure how accurate these statistics are. But thats what I could gather.

Hey, First off thank you for reading this and thank you even more if you have any input for me! i am between two schools for a PhD in (physical) chemistry. I'll try to keep this as short as possible for me. UF - Massive Department! The professor I want to work with is fairly well known in the field. H index of 20. Stipend is 22,000 (minus 1700 in fees). School is ranked 36 in US News. U of R - Smaller Department. Prof. I want to work with has an H index of approx 15, but he is quite a bit younger. US News ranking of 49. Stipend is 25,500 with a 1,000 signing bonus. No fees (which is nice). I know the the U of R is (in general) more well known than UF, atleast in general school rankings. Seems like UF, with the size of the department and all, edges out U of R when it comes to chemistry rankings. The fine print of the academics seem very similar. Classes, cumes, and entrance exams... In talking to the PIs I would definitely be put on RA much faster from the U of R than UF. As for post PhD plans I'm not exactly sure what I want to do, leaning towards industry though. I want to keep as many options open as I can. Ugh!! Please help!! I'm so torn, I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments. Thank you so much for reading this, and let me know if I can ever help you with anything.

Just an update. I know someone asked where I got in. I got into Rice University. I had my application completed in mid-October. Best of luck to everyone!

Well, just an update. I was actually accepted to a top 30 school for the spring. So I will be withdrawing all other applications. As the spring progresses if you guys have any questions about getting started in grad school let me know, I'll be happy to answer any questions for you guys! Good luck with the application process!

I have heard that the subject gre is ranked below the general gre in terms of importance. I have also heard that a score in the 75th plus percentile will help domestic students and anything above the 50th percentile wont hurt you. Its my own personal opinion that you need to not do glaringly bad on your gres. What I mean by that is that its not what score you get, its what score is bad enough to make an adcom think twice. But thats just my own opinion. Remember, your application is a package. Its research, lors, grades.... etc. Adcoms want good scientists. Not who can outscore everyone else on the gres. Do as best as you can and don't stress about it.

Tyther, I was told by a department chair that "submitted" papers are not regarded as publications, or even looked on that favorably for that matter. He told me that because of the numbers of papers getting rejected from journals that a simple submitted wouldn't count for much. But I guess that can be subjective and people should just write submitted. Can't hurt huh?

Hello all, FIrst and foremost good luck to everyone applying this season! Heres a little about me GPA - 3.3 transfer institution 3.3 chemistry/science 3.46 cum GREs Taking the General in a week and the Subject in October. I've been hovering around the 160s on practice tests though Experience 6 semesters of research at my undergrad institution. 1 REU. A few papers just getting finalized and submitted now. But as slow as the review process is, thats not going to help me. 3 very good LORs Applying to UC Irvine, UC San Diego, USC (California), UC Santa Barbara, WUSTL, The Ohio State University, Florida University, University of Maryland - College Park. Maybe a few others. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on my application chances etc? Btw I'm applying physical with a handful of theoretical.

I don't think that it would hurt your chances at all. I know a few people who have applied and been accepted to professional schools without meeting one or two of the required courses. They then had to take the class in the summer prior to matriculation or during their first semester. What I would do is start to compile a list of schools that you are interested in and do a little research on them. Find out the exact requirements for the schools that you are interested in and go from there. With that said I (and maybe my judgement is a little clouded) like to think that adcoms see upper level, notoriously difficult, classes such as pchem 2 as a good assessment of your academic standing. To be honest pchem 2 was one of my favorite classes during undergrad. Withhh that said... I think that it was one of my top classes because I have really enjoyed it. If you're looking to go into pharma or chem bio then maybe picking up an elective in a more relevant field would be more of an asset.

I never thought of analytical as a slowly dying field. I guess that I thought that it would open up the most doors for me. I thought analytical would be most practical in industry. I was thinking the that after grad school I could then apply to both academic and industrial jobs. So. I might be better off heading into the pchem realm working closely with instrumentation?

Personally, and of course I'm biased, but I think that you should take both semesters. The first semester is the typical plug and chug pchem. Finding gibbs energies, enthalpies, entropies...etc etc. The second semester is an entirely different beast. It really explains the underlying principals of chemistry and where they came from. But of course, I think that everyone in the general population should take pchem II ;-)

Thanks for the reply Eigen! I am high up on the authors of the paper. My main interest is analytical. I just find theoretical interesting. For the past 6 semesters my research has been in a pchem lab. But my contribution has been mainly on the analytical end. My REU developing methods for the quantification of a few various analytes. I know that my gpa isn't the best. But I'm from a reputable school. I don't know many people graduating from here with great grades. I feel like I know wayyy more than my gpa says. I know a few kids that got into graduate programs at fairly reputable schools with 2.9s etc. I'm just wondering what calibers schools I should be looking at. I know that I have very strong research experience and my LORs will be stellar. Ive heard, repeatedly, that research and LORs are the deciding factor. Then gpa and GREs.

Ill keep this short and sweet. I would really appreciate any insight you guys may have. I'm a bit freaked out about my grad school chances. I am currently a Junior chemistry major at a prestigious public undergrad in the SUNY system. I have a ~3.1 gpa with a 3.0 chem gpa. I have 6 semesters of research and a summer REU. My lab just submitted a paper for publication. I have VERY strong LORs. Haven't taken the GREs or Chem GREs yet. I have other little things like being in the national chem honor society...etc. I'm fascinated by chem and I really want to go to graduate school. I'm leaning towards theoretical, analytical, and quantum chem. With more emphasis on physical and quantum. Anyone have any ideas on my chances or any tips for me? Thanks in advance!! I truly appreciate it!!