Chronos Posted January 29, 2012 Posted January 29, 2012 Is anyone else concerned that they were accepted to a higher ranked school and won't be accepted into one that is lower ranked? This raises some questions, like how reliable are these ranking systems? Some Ivy League schools are ranked lower than non Ivy League schools; can they be more selective? I found this site also from USN: http://www.usnews.com/education/worlds-best-universities-rankings/best-universities-chemistry. For example, UCLA ranks #8 in this study, whereas it ranks #16 in the one across the US. It's quite interesting how ranking affects us all, and please save the response of "Oh well you shouldn't care about ranking, just focus on the research group." While this is somewhat true, we are all looking as ranking as better job prospects for our future. We also look at cities. For me, living in a big city is important (I don't know if I could live in a city like Madison, WI).
synthetichead Posted January 29, 2012 Posted January 29, 2012 I wonder the same thing. It seems like rankings don't affect selectiveness all that much. I would argue that UT Austin, for example, is less selective than say Princeton, even though Austin has a higher ranking. And in the end, which school Is going to look better on your resume? Very frustrating.
Amirhossein B Posted January 29, 2012 Posted January 29, 2012 Some one (international) has been accepted into MIT via phone today... Could he/she please share his/her stats on research experience?
ysyoon Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 Some one (international) has been accepted into MIT via phone today... Could he/she please share his/her stats on research experience? I'm the one I got an e-mail from a faculty (who I wrote on the SOP) that he wants to have an interview with me. We arranged the time and he told me at the end of the interview that I'll soon get an acceptance mail. I have one year research experience on graphene nanomaterials in Korea (this work was published), another one year research experience on nanocrystals at UC Berkeley, where I attended to as an exchange student. I'm so delighted that I'm done with the endless waiting tasks!!!
this_isnot_here Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 Is anyone else concerned that they were accepted to a higher ranked school and won't be accepted into one that is lower ranked? This raises some questions, like how reliable are these ranking systems? Some Ivy League schools are ranked lower than non Ivy League schools; can they be more selective? I found this site also from USN: http://www.usnews.co...ities-chemistry. For example, UCLA ranks #8 in this study, whereas it ranks #16 in the one across the US. It's quite interesting how ranking affects us all, and please save the response of "Oh well you shouldn't care about ranking, just focus on the research group." While this is somewhat true, we are all looking as ranking as better job prospects for our future. We also look at cities. For me, living in a big city is important (I don't know if I could live in a city like Madison, WI). IMO "ranking" systems are bogus, but valid to an extent. Being highly ranked in chemistry overall is kind of meaningless, since you may be doing org/syn as opposed theoretical, which means that some schools are better than others. MIT's inorganic is the gold standard, whereas Harvard (or is it Scripps, no clue) is the place to go for organic. So that comes into play as well. The best school for you may not be the best school overall. Take it with a grain of salt I guess haha.
SpenzK Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 (edited) I wonder the same thing. It seems like rankings don't affect selectiveness all that much. I would argue that UT Austin, for example, is less selective than say Princeton, even though Austin has a higher ranking. And in the end, which school Is going to look better on your resume? Very frustrating. If your goal is a career in chemistry, then you should be most concerned with professors and schools that are a good fit for your research interests. For example, UT Austin is hands down a better choice than Princeton, Yale, or Harvard if your interests are in materials chemistry. For analytical, you can't get much better than UNC. An institution's undergraduate reputation or selectivity does not say much about the quality of its chemistry department. I didn't apply to any Ivies, and I don't regret it. Edited January 30, 2012 by SpenzK
liveoak Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 Is anyone else concerned that they were accepted to a higher ranked school and won't be accepted into one that is lower ranked? This raises some questions, like how reliable are these ranking systems? Some Ivy League schools are ranked lower than non Ivy League schools; can they be more selective? Although ranking certainly isn't everything, schools are ranked the way they are for a reason, and there are a lot of contributing factors. Funding, reputation, and renowned faculty members certainly play into these rankings, but they don't dictate admissions. Granted, a higher ranked school will likely have a larger applicant pool, but that doesn't mean that the admissions committee is more selective. A higher ranked program may have a better funding for a larger incoming class, and therefore be able to accept more students than a lower ranked program, so a student applying to both may certainly be accepted to the higher ranked and rejected from the lower ranked. You also need to look at how the programs stack up for different specialties. Some schools may be ranked a little lower overall, but have a very highly ranked analytical chemistry program, and therefore be much more competitive for analytical than they are for organic. Also, research interests are a large factor in admissions. If you apply to a program and indicate an interest in 3 different groups, but 1 professor is retiring and another is no longer taking new students, your admissions decision may be left to the 3rd professor who may or may not find you to be a good fit. However, if all of the labs you are interested in are growing and taking new students, there is more flexibility there. So all in all, it is perfectly reasonable to get accepted to a higher ranked program and rejected from a lower ranked program. This says nothing about the accuracy or reliability of the rankings. Always fun to keep us guessing, I suppose!
Amirhossein B Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 I'm the one I got an e-mail from a faculty (who I wrote on the SOP) that he wants to have an interview with me. We arranged the time and he told me at the end of the interview that I'll soon get an acceptance mail. I have one year research experience on graphene nanomaterials in Korea (this work was published), another one year research experience on nanocrystals at UC Berkeley, where I attended to as an exchange student. I'm so delighted that I'm done with the endless waiting tasks!!! Congratulations YSYOON!!!! I hope you will have academic years full of prosperity and excellent results in your desired grad school
Groove Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 Although ranking certainly isn't everything, schools are ranked the way they are for a reason, and there are a lot of contributing factors. Funding, reputation, and renowned faculty members certainly play into these rankings, but they don't dictate admissions. Granted, a higher ranked school will likely have a larger applicant pool, but that doesn't mean that the admissions committee is more selective. A higher ranked program may have a better funding for a larger incoming class, and therefore be able to accept more students than a lower ranked program, so a student applying to both may certainly be accepted to the higher ranked and rejected from the lower ranked. You also need to look at how the programs stack up for different specialties. Some schools may be ranked a little lower overall, but have a very highly ranked analytical chemistry program, and therefore be much more competitive for analytical than they are for organic. Also, research interests are a large factor in admissions. If you apply to a program and indicate an interest in 3 different groups, but 1 professor is retiring and another is no longer taking new students, your admissions decision may be left to the 3rd professor who may or may not find you to be a good fit. However, if all of the labs you are interested in are growing and taking new students, there is more flexibility there. So all in all, it is perfectly reasonable to get accepted to a higher ranked program and rejected from a lower ranked program. This says nothing about the accuracy or reliability of the rankings. Always fun to keep us guessing, I suppose! I think they just take paper copies of all of our applications, stand at the top of the Chemistry building, and throw them. Those who hit the ground last get rejected. Now I'm all worried about the schools I applied to. In the time since applied I decided to apply to strictly organic programs, but half of the professors that I mentioned are Organic. I have no idea what to do-- a couple synthetic professors are great, but I'm still really, really nervous I'm going to end up in a lab I don't like.
NYLA Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 I think they just take paper copies of all of our applications, stand at the top of the Chemistry building, and throw them. Those who hit the ground last get rejected. Now I'm all worried about the schools I applied to. In the time since applied I decided to apply to strictly organic programs, but half of the professors that I mentioned are Organic. I have no idea what to do-- a couple synthetic professors are great, but I'm still really, really nervous I'm going to end up in a lab I don't like. Have faith! I was talking to the graduate students in my lab and they told me that it seems intimidating at first but most professors will find space to bring you in! Plus there is always faculty that are not on your radar that also may be totally wonderful! Plus if you really want to work for someone at a particular school you can do a summer rotation!
Croissant Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 Has anyone gotten a response from Harvard yet? Positive or negative?
mcstev13 Posted January 30, 2012 Author Posted January 30, 2012 (edited) Has anyone gotten a response from Harvard yet? Positive or negative? Lots of people have. Just look at the results survey. An email from the person in charge of admissions said that all those who have been admitted have been notified. Edited January 30, 2012 by mcstev13
chemstudent12345 Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 That person said they were inquiring about the Chemical Biology program (not CCB). An undergrad from the lab I work in got into Harvard last year on February 15th.
Chronos Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 That person said they were inquiring about the Chemical Biology program (not CCB). An undergrad from the lab I work in got into Harvard last year on February 15th. I received the e-mail, and it was regarding the CCB program.
chemstudent12345 Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 O, alright. Just telling you what I know. I am pretty sure they do acceptances through the beginning of Feb every year (maybe just fewer of them). At least this seems to be what has happened more than once at my university.
alvanwood Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 I just called the Harvard CCB. I was rejected and the person said I should receive a mail later this week. So I guess they should send out all admission letters already.
Croissant Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 I don't like that it's taking Harvard so long to get back to the applicants and it's weird to me that they already notified some students who were accepted and rejected, but haven't notified everyone. They had one of the earliest application deadlines so I feel like they should have told everyone by now. I know someone who wasn't notified that they were rejected from Harvard until AFTER they had their visiting weekend. That's just cruel.
Pnictides Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 I know someone who wasn't notified that they were rejected from Harvard until AFTER they had their visiting weekend. That's just cruel. Why is this considered cruel? Chronos, Croissant, csmith88 and 1 other 4
ccb2 Posted January 30, 2012 Posted January 30, 2012 To all the admits from UCI, what is the source and amount of funding in 1st year? Is the funding amount mentioned on the offer letter?
jlh5639 Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 (edited) To all the admits from UCI, what is the source and amount of funding in 1st year? Is the funding amount mentioned on the offer letter? Teaching assistant for 3 quarters first year and 1 quarter second year. $26,000 after payment of fees and before taxes. $1200 plus an additional $300 provided in Fall quarter, 2012 after you begin your studies and upon completion of mandatory orientation activities. It doesn't say if health insurance is included but looking at UCI student fees page http://www.reg.uci.edu/fees/2011-2012/graduate.html you may be able to assume it does...but I'm not sure. Edited January 31, 2012 by jlh5639
Croissant Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 Why is this considered cruel? Because the person waited for months to hear a reply from Harvard and didn't get one until after the visitation weekend when she already knew she was rejected... saturation and Croissant 1 1
ccb2 Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 Teaching assistant for 3 quarters first year and 1 quarter second year. $26,000 after payment of fees and before taxes. $1200 plus an additional $300 provided in Fall quarter, 2012 after you begin your studies and upon completion of mandatory orientation activities. It doesn't say if health insurance is included but looking at UCI student fees page http://www.reg.uci.e...2/graduate.html you may be able to assume it does...but I'm not sure. What is this $1200 plus an additional $300 for? Is it included in TA? If not, what purpose is that for?
Pnictides Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 Because the person waited for months to hear a reply from Harvard and didn't get one until after the visitation weekend when she already knew she was rejected... So you are saying it would have been nicer if she had not received a rejection letter at all (since she already knew she was rejected anyways)? What if it was possible that there were more than 1 visitation weekend and that she could have gotten an acceptance later for the 2nd visitation date but didn't due to not having high statistics? zainyousaf, Chronos, contretemps and 3 others 2 4
jlh5639 Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 What is this $1200 plus an additional $300 for? Is it included in TA? If not, what purpose is that for? I think it's just kind of a bonus...so far both UCI and UCR offered a little extra for the first year. Maybe it's to unofficially help with the moving costs or something.
twb Posted January 31, 2012 Posted January 31, 2012 Hey guys - i saw on the results forum that someone got into MIT today. can that person please tell me what type of chemistry they applied for?
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