chemkid Posted August 29, 2018 Share Posted August 29, 2018 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ketchup Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 1) Apply to a mixture. It can't hurt to aim high. 2) Your GPA is quite low. Would that be a major GPA jump from 3.1 to 3.4? If not, doesn't seem like a big jump. 3) I would take it if you think you can do well in it! The fact you have a first author paper as an undergrad should help a lot. Is there a reason your GPA is low? You/your letter writers may be able to explain it away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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