Making the swtich...

[coletrane]

Hi Everybody,

I graduated this past June with a BS in physics, a minor in math, two plus years of materials research (I was essentially a chemist in this lab), and a low GPA (~2.3). I desperately want to go to graduate school, but I put much effort into thinking about life after my BS. In my time at my undergrad, I learned two very important things: one, I HATE classical physics with a passion, but seem to excel in modern physics; two, the time I spent in that lab was the best part of my college career. My question is this: with my God-awful grades in physics what are the chances of being able to hop into a masters program in chemistry (as a show that I was simply in the wrong branch of the sciences) before taking a run at a PhD, in P-Chem of coure?

This has been an on going internal debate for me, whether I should leave physics and try for chem or not. Any constructive criticisms and/or advice anyone could provide would be much appreciated. I do plan on taking the subject test before I apply, I'm just curious if my lack of formal chemistry education is going to be an insurmountable obstacle.

[ah233]

are the grades out of 4 (pardon I am an international student)....???

However I am a physical chemist, theoretician to be specific.....if you wanna join grad school...I would suggest you first join for M.S in chemistry...get excellent grades to compensate your low undergraduate grades....do loads of research in your institution in one or more labs...it will be so good if you do a summer research in any other university.....THEN APPLY FOR Ph.D

DOIN LOADS OF RESEARCH IS THE ONLY WAY TO COMPENSATE YOUR GRADES....

I have another thing to say....Pls pardon me if I am rude........

Physical Chemistry Profs never prefer student from physics background, as far as I know....( generally people think physics students fits well in physical chemistry group...but its generally not true)

U shud true try material science..which has certain disciplines more related to physics........

[Eigen]

are the grades out of 4 (pardon I am an international student)....???

However I am a physical chemist, theoretician to be specific.....if you wanna join grad school...I would suggest you first join for M.S in chemistry...get excellent grades to compensate your low undergraduate grades....do loads of research in your institution in one or more labs...it will be so good if you do a summer research in any other university.....THEN APPLY FOR Ph.D

DOIN LOADS OF RESEARCH IS THE ONLY WAY TO COMPENSATE YOUR GRADES....

I have another thing to say....Pls pardon me if I am rude........

Physical Chemistry Profs never prefer student from physics background, as far as I know....( generally people think physics students fits well in physical chemistry group...but its generally not true)

U shud true try material science..which has certain disciplines more related to physics........

The physics background isn't such a big deal... We have several people in our department with physics undergraduates, and even one with an ABD physics PhD that started the same year I did. They seem to fit into our physical groups really well, some on the experimental end and some on the theory end.

The grades, however, I'd worry about. And I'm not sure about the MS to bring them up, there aren't many "good" places to get an MS in the USA... Not a big focus on terminal masters programs, and very little funding for them.

You might be better off to swap to go back and take some Chem classes and work on a second major- it would let you bring your undergrad GPA up, get some more research experience, and take the relevant Chem classes for your interests. Just a suggestion. A 2.3 can be pretty hard to recover from, though, especially since a lot of schools have a pretty hard 3.0 miniumum.

[Cantorg]

Even within schools that enforce a 3.0 GPA cutoff, some are more lenient than others. USC's Chemistry Department supposedly makes no exceptions. UW Madison, on the other hand, is willing to hear your apology, granted that you have something out of the ordinary or exceptional to say. CU Boulder has a 3.0 cutoff, but I remember that a 3.25 GPA from your graduate degree supersedes it. You should check their website. However, a 2.3 GPA, is, to put it politely, quite a hurdle to surmount.

If you are serious about a PhD in either physics or chemistry, you will need significant post-undergrad activities to present a cogent case for your admission. Certainly, a MS in chemistry/physics is an option, but that is a considerable financial investment. You may want to work in the chemical industry, or find a job as a research technologist (or technician, as they call it) in an academic setting. If you choose the latter, many schools offer tuition assistance for taking graduate classes. If you are shy of one letter of recommendation, it's not such a bad idea to attend a single graduate class (about 3-4 hours a week; if you take this advice, you should ask the professor beforehand if he is willing to write you one, pending on your performance) and work your butt off for an A.

Perhaps the best thing you can do right now is to talk to your research advisor from your undergrad institution. It's best to just divulge all pertinent academic shortcomings and future goals, if you haven't done so already. You should also talk to either the physics or chemistry undergrad advisor if you haven't done so already. Quite frankly, they are more knowledgeable than anyone on this forum, and they are the best source of information.

On the positive, your two plus years of materials research is definitely an asset, and I am going to echo Eigen's opinion regarding your non-conventional formal training in chemistry: It's not going to hinder you. You should be fine with a year in Calculus (not even Real/Complex Analysis) and General Chemistry & Physics.

You have a lot of work to do, but since you were already serious about committing to a MS program, I think you're determined enough. Don't forget your GRE, Letters of Recommendation, and SOP! Good Luck.

Hi Everybody,

I graduated this past June with a BS in physics, a minor in math, two plus years of materials research (I was essentially a chemist in this lab), and a low GPA (~2.3). I desperately want to go to graduate school, but I put much effort into thinking about life after my BS. In my time at my undergrad, I learned two very important things: one, I HATE classical physics with a passion, but seem to excel in modern physics; two, the time I spent in that lab was the best part of my college career. My question is this: with my God-awful grades in physics what are the chances of being able to hop into a masters program in chemistry (as a show that I was simply in the wrong branch of the sciences) before taking a run at a PhD, in P-Chem of coure?

This has been an on going internal debate for me, whether I should leave physics and try for chem or not. Any constructive criticisms and/or advice anyone could provide would be much appreciated. I do plan on taking the subject test before I apply, I'm just curious if my lack of formal chemistry education is going to be an insurmountable obstacle.