USC vs UBC: chemistry.

[Vivy]

What would you prefer? What do you know about these universities, chemistry departments, cities, quality of life and so on?

I've been admitted at USC and I've been recommended for admission by UBC 2 weeks ago, still waiting and hoping for an official admission letter. Assuming that I'm admitted also at UBC, this will be an hard decision. My main concern is to chose the best graduate program between them. What would you suggest?

I'm European, so I don't have particular preferences about Canada/US, since each of them would be a totally new environment to me!

Edited January 27, 2012 by Vivy

[Ying Chen]

Looks like a tough choice lol.

Majoring in Chemistry myself as well, I have learnt quite a few things about USC. It's one of the biggest private research institute in the US, with millions of dollar funding in the school every year. It has a strong biochemistry program. So if you are interested on the more biological side of chemistry USC is the heaven for you. But you also need to always keep in mind that competition in there is extremely intense. Think about not only getting into the school but also come out alive!

I think you should think more about which school has your dream professor than which school has the best graduate program. After all you will be working literally 4/5 of your time with this guy/gal in the next 5-6 years. It's time to sit down in front of your computer and start checking out EVERY professor in these two schools (emphasize on EVERY), That's because you may be interested in something from your past experiences, but you can always change your interest if you see an interesting project/problem (that's in my case many times). So it's best for you to know something about everyone at this stage.

Keep your mind open. And start doing homework now. Congrats to your acceptance at USC!