UK student applying in US

[csmith88]

Hi,

I come from the UK and grad school application is completely different from the USA. I was wondering if people could give me advice and tell me if they reckon I have a chance (and how high) of getting into Universities. I have provided some background knowledge about myself

I am a UK graduate student that in 2010 graduated with a First Class Honours degree degree in Medicinal Chemistry from The University of Glasgow.

I achieved straight A's in my 4th year and in my third year at Glasgow I won the Organic Prize from Schering Plough for having the highest mark in the year . I also received a bursary from GSK for having consistently good grades throughout my Chemistry undergraduate.

After Graduation I went travelling around Australia and South East Asia from 2010 - 2011.

Currently I am doing an MSc in Chemistry by Research in Organic Chemistry at Southampton University on a scholarship funded by the INTERREG program run by the EU.

I have sat the GRE general and received a score range : V :460 - 560 A - 650 - 750

I am applying to NYU (First Choice), Rochester, Stonybrook, Boston University,Brown and Georgetown..

What are my chances of gaining admission to these Universities?

Any help would be greatly appreciated as we dont have much info on this here!

Thanks,

Craig

[csmith88]

Anyone?

[maeisenb]

I know the UK system, but not science at all, so take this with a grain of salt. The main difference is going to be the focus that is expected of you during applications. As you know, in the UK you have to propose a specific narrow topic to get funded and then you work on that for 3 years, while in the US that's not as expected. I would guess your masters would come in handy for showing your extra credentials and research skills, so that won't hurt at all.

Like most others on this forum, your grades are good, but you should highlight any particular research you have done. All that being said, the entire process is still a crap shoot for you like it is for most others. I'm sure some POIs will see coming from the UK as a positive, while others will see it as a negative depending on with whom you worked, classes you took, etc. It seems like you have all the necessary academic requirements, but a science person can speak to how that factors in more than I can.

On a personal note, I find the UK system of financing frustrating, since only EU citizens are eligible for funding over there whereas pretty much anyone can study in the US. So in that sense you are better off for being from the UK...

[csmith88]

Hi, thanks for your response, I appreciate it.

Yeah I will highlight the research.

I am hoping that since I am currently doing an MSc in Research in organic chemistry it will place me in a better standing than some of the other applicants. I was looking on the NYU website for chemistry and a lot of the PhD students do not have a masters. So here's hoping.

But yeah I realise will be a crap shoot out but Im hoping that with my grades,masters in research ,have attended two highly ranked research universities in the UK and that I also met with some Research leaders in NYU in the summer when I was visiting New York it will enhance my chances.