How would you assess my chances of getting into top Chemistry PhD programs?

[Xyz12345]

Background: I am from Eastern Europe (extremely low-income family even by local standards)

Primary research area of interest: organometallic chemistry 

Languages: Russian (native), Ukrainian (native), English (fluent), German (a little).

BSc in chemistry from #1 university in my home country (almost unknown internationally)

GPA: about 92-93, which is about 4.0 on a 4-point scale I guess.

Research experience: about 6.5 years (4.5 years of affiliated research and 2 years of research done without an institutional affiliation)

Publications: 2 pubs in respected but specialized international journals (impact factors are about 1.5-2). One of them is first-author and another one is sole-author. In both cases, I am also the corresponding author. Working on a couple more.

GRE General: 164Q (83%)/167V(98%)/4.0(55%).
TOEFL iBT: 108/120 (R30 L29 S22 W27)

GRE Subject: the test was canceled (TWICE!) due to COVID-19, but I'm sure I would've gotten 99 percentile.

LoRs: ppl in my home country don't know about the culture of LoR-writing in the US, so I guess they should be good, but not as flattering as American letters usually are. Also, no LoR from my research advisor because he hates the US (yes, I know it's nuts!): he wrote a good letter but refused to submit it to American universities. None of my recommenders are known outside my home country.

I am applying to Caltech, Harvard, Berkeley, UCLA, Cornell, UChicago, Columbia and some safety schools.

I'm particularly concerned about my LoRs and about my low test scores. Taking the tests wearing a facemask was a giant clusterfuck since I have a moderate asthma and breathing through the facemask is a problem. Also, my previous university is unknown outside the post-USSR area, so my GPA probably won't help me.

What do you think?

P.S. I know that some will say it's a flex post but it's not. I've heard that there are lot of international applicants that got rejected with better scores and more publications. I'm not sure if such rumors are true though.

Edited November 22, 2020 by Xyz12345

[nęm0]

If you dont like you scores don't send it. You are chances as as good as anybody else 50/50. You get in or you don't.

I think the only thing they care about is really fit. So when you write your essay make sure you emphize on fit, yes they know how good their program are, but how do you add to it, I dont think they want all "A's" student because that does not tell me that you can think. They want a diverse cohort, people who can support each other and not just different flavors of ice cream.

Finally best of luck, leaving Europe during the pandemic might be hard but I hope you end up in a good place!

Chiao

[Xyz12345]

17 minutes ago, Number34 said:

If you dont like you scores don't send it. You are chances as as good as anybody else 50/50. You get in or you don't.

I think the only thing they care about is really fit. So when you write your essay make sure you emphize on fit, yes they know how good their program are, but how do you add to it, I dont think they want all "A's" student because that does not tell me that you can think. They want a diverse cohort, people who can support each other and not just different flavors of ice cream.

Finally best of luck, leaving Europe during the pandemic might be hard but I hope you end up in a good place!

Chiao

Thanks. Naturally, I applied to the programs that are good research fits for me.

I'm a bit perplexed about that 50:50 thing. So, you're saying that the applications' strength doesn't really matter much? 

Edited November 22, 2020 by Xyz12345

[nęm0]

No, I am saying is that there is only two outcome. You get in or you don't. Everyone has the same outcomes. There is too much "unknown" with the application strength, it depends on who they want in their program. You may think you are a good fit, or have a strong application but they may not, in the end that's all that matters. So unless you ask them directly how strong you application is, any self evaluation is wrong.