Computaional Chemistry PhD Chances?

[tomyum]

Hello,

I am an international student doing an undergrad from a US institution. I am planning to apply for a PhD in computational/ theoretical chemistry. Here are my stats

Major: chemistry and math

GPA: 3.93

2.5 of research which includes an honors thesis as well. did two summer researches. I think my recommendations will be strong.

I did very poorly on my standarized tests. I just received my Chem GRE score today and got only 620 on it, which really sucks and I have no time to retake it. I got 560: V, 780: Q and 4.5 AW in general GRE. I am applying to Harvard, MIT, Columbia, UW- Madison, Northwestern, Princeton, Yale and University of Minnesota. After seeing my Chem GRE score I am thinking of changing my grad school list and applying to lower ranked schools. What should i do?

[Eigen]

I think your application is pretty strong, but I would definitely add some lower tier schools to the mix.

Find some theoreticians that are well known and whose work you like at some mid-level schools, and apply there- you get the benefit of a well known/respected boss (which is what really matters), but there's a little less competition.

You're pretty much making a sweep of top 10 programs, which is good... But are you applying there because they're top 10 programs, or because you have specific people in your field that you want to work with there?

It's quite common for people to think the rep of the school is the most important thing (and don't get me wrong, it helps a lot), when really it's the rep of your boss that is the clincher. There are some top level chemists working at smaller schools, and it doesn't make them any less well known or respected within the community- and that in turn helps their students get post-docs, jobs, etc.

[tomyum]

I think your application is pretty strong, but I would definitely add some lower tier schools to the mix.

Find some theoreticians that are well known and whose work you like at some mid-level schools, and apply there- you get the benefit of a well known/respected boss (which is what really matters), but there's a little less competition.

You're pretty much making a sweep of top 10 programs, which is good... But are you applying there because they're top 10 programs, or because you have specific people in your field that you want to work with there?

It's quite common for people to think the rep of the school is the most important thing (and don't get me wrong, it helps a lot), when really it's the rep of your boss that is the clincher. There are some top level chemists working at smaller schools, and it doesn't make them any less well known or respected within the community- and that in turn helps their students get post-docs, jobs, etc.

Thank you so much Eigen. My adviser recommended me to only apply to top school as reputation matters a lot in graduate work. That is why I don't have any safety schools. But after getting my Chem GRE scores, I feel like I should add some safety schools. Is the Chem GRE score going to affect a lot?

[Eigen]

Honestly, none of the places I applied even required Chem GRE scores, so I can't answer.

Reputation matters.... But in graduate work, it's moreso the reputation of your PI than of the department or school- especially at big institutions like the ones you're looking at.

Penn State might be a good place for you to apply- I know there are a few very interesting theoretical groups there. You're applying to Northwestern, are you interested in working on theoretical modeling of DNA based systems? I know there's a large interest there. You might also look at some of the established students/post docs of the theoreticians there.... Find out where they are, and apply.

Lineages are important- even if you're working for a young PI, if they have a good lineage (PhD/Post Docs with top chemists) and still have good ties and collaborations, that's a very good thing.

Our department is going through faculty hires right now, and of the top 5 candidates, it was where they did post-doc work that really stood out (school name) moreso than their PhD institution.

I wouldn't look at anything out of the top 5 as a safety school, they might in fact be a much, much better option than you. My PI (and another young one that I've talked to) both went to large, top schools for PhD and Post-Doc... And they say if they had to do it again, they'd go to a smaller school for the PhD, and then hit the big schools for post-docs; that while a good LoR from one of the big schools was great, that it was insanely competitive to get one- that each prof would really only back one or maybe two out of 6 or 8 students graduating close together for the best post-docs, jobs, etc. Apply to your strengths- find the best theory guys working in an area that you're interested in, and apply to those schools. I guarantee they won't all be at top 5 schools.

[UnlikelyGrad]

Reputation matters.... But in graduate work, it's moreso the reputation of your PI than of the department or school- especially at big institutions like the ones you're looking at.

YES!!! This.

And as another poster said, you really have to have research interests that align with the prospective advisor's. So: what are your interests? Biochemical modeling? Materials science? Fluid properties? Astrochemistry? What sort of computational chemistry is your cup of tea: molecular dynamics? ab initio? DFT?

If you want suggestions from us on where to go, we really will need more information.

[tomyum]

Thank for your help. I am mostly interested in molecular dynamics and structure calculations.

Eigen, which schools did you apply to?

[Eigen]

I applied (and was accepted) to Vanderbilt, Penn State and Tulane, they all had strong bioorganic programs and close medical school campuses.

I remember from my visit to Penn state that they have some very good people doing biophysical modeling, but that doesn't seem as much what you're interested in. MD is an interesting field, it falls more definitely into the biophysical realm.

When you say structure modeling, what exactly do you mean? Because really, all of us organic/inorganic grad students are expected to know how to do DFT type modeling of our systems, for structure determinations or electrical configurations, respectively.

[UnlikelyGrad]

Thank for your help. I am mostly interested in molecular dynamics and structure calculations.

What sort of structures?