Urgent Help pleeeeeeeeeeassssseeeeeeee

[Ahmed Kamal]

Hi Everyone

Please, I need some really urgent help becasue the deadlines are nearing by

I need help making a list of universities i could apply for (approx. 10 universities) MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY

My gpa is 3.3 (86%),

GRE 305----> Q156, V149, AW 3

TOEFL ibt 109 with speaking score of 26

I made this list but i am not sure if is ok or not ?!

please i need your help becasue some of this universties deadlines are the 15th of dec.

and feel free to add other suggestions

University of Kentucky

University of Connecticut

University of Florida; Gainesville

University of Illinois at Chicago

Rutgers, State Univ of NJ, New Brunswick

University of Pittsburgh

University of Iowa

University of Utah

University of Kansas

University of Mississippi

University of Maryland--Baltimore

Virginia Commonwealth University

University of Colorado--Denver

thansk in advacne

[Quantum Buckyball]

University of Louisville

University of North Carolina at Greensboro

[bio0930]

It depends what area you want to be involved in. Ohio State University has a decent Medicinal Chemistry & Pharmacognosy (natural products) department.

Here is a list of schools to check out,

http://www.pharmacognosy.us/pharmacognosy-graduate-programs/

[adidasattack04]

This is a hard question because medicinal chemsitry programs have a broad range of concentrations. Do you want a bio heavy program, or a chem heavy program? Vanderbilt has a good program. So does UNC, Chapel Hill. The California school are also well known. For example, San Fransico (UCSF). University of Minnesota is where J. Med. Chem is currently located. Kansas University has a well known program, but also extremely high drop out rates.

Some Med Chem programs have also been absorbed into chemistry programs that do drug discovery. Some go under the name of pharmacuetical sciences or pharmacognosy (as stated above). University of Wisconsin, for example, is a pharm sci program. You may also want to check out chemical biology programs. And depending on your interests a molecular biology program. Purdue's medchem and molecular biology programs are linked.

[Ahmed Kamal]

Thanks a lot guys but iwhar i really need is not a good program first !!!

i need to know which universties i could get into then look at the programs and choose whts bst for me

@adidasattack04 i want something more chemically priented realted to drug discovery, also i guess minnesota is out of my reach ?!

@bio0930 i am not that interested in natural products !

So, i want your suggestions about universties that would accept me offering a med chem program !!

[ZacharyObama]

Thanks a lot guys but iwhar i really need is not a good program first !!!

i need to know which universties i could get into then look at the programs and choose whts bst for me

DUUUUUUUUUDDDDEEEE IIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTT DOOOOOOOESSSSNNNNTTTTT REALLLY WORK THAT WAY

[Ahmed Kamal]

@zacharyObama Okay i am waiting for u to enlighten me

[Quantum Buckyball]

DUUUUUUUUUDDDDEEEE IIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTT DOOOOOOOESSSSNNNNTTTTT REALLLY WORK THAT WAY

It does.

It's best to apply a wide range of schools in term of ranking. It's good to aim high but it's also important to be practical. The ultimate goal of getting a PhD is that so you can get a job upon graduation. If you plan to go into industry, then a school's ranking doesn't really matter.

There is another thing to think about. When I was applying for graduate schools last year, the first thing on my concern list was the location of the school. Safety and location should always comes before a school's ranking.

Also, you want to go to a school that you know there is a higher chance for you to pass and complete your preliminary exam/research plan/thesis proposal/thesis defense/exit exam on time. do not bite off more than you can chew. Try to avoid schools that take in 50+ students each year because they also get rid of a lot of students during their second or third years and you don't want that.

[ZacharyObama]

@zacharyObama Okay i am waiting for u to enlighten me

You won't know what universities you can get into until you actually get into them first! People can make suggestions, but it's largely bullshit. Also, if you're just starting your hunt from a program this Fall for programs with deadlines that are in just 4 days. Well, good luck with that.

[Ahmed Kamal]

@Quantum Buckyball:

I was just wondering if u ahve some suggggestions for universities that would fit my profile mentioned above

And thansk a lot all of you

you have been so helpful

[adidasattack04]

I agree with ZacharyObama. If you are just starting your goose hunt now, it may lead you dwon the wrong path. There is no way of telling which graduate school will or will not accept you. Grad schools are different in that they are not just looking for the best on paper applicants (like med schools more or less), they are looking for the best fit for their faculty. Let say, for example, that someone is better than you on paper, but they have interest in and have done all their reseach in cancer and yours is in obesity. If a school needs someone willing to research obesity, they will pick you. All you can do is apply with that in mind.

When I was applying I remember going through each department's faculty and making sure there was at least 2 which I could see myself working for. I read the faculties papers. Sent out emails, ect. I then catered each of my applicatoins to the program which I was appling.

My suggestion to you is to find a job, take a year off, do things to boost your application, and do your research on programs properly. Don't make a rushed decision. If you are truely cut out for grad school, you will still be ready for it next year.

[Ahmed Kamal]

thanks addidasattack for your advice

[juilletmercredi]

Safety and location should always comes before a school's ranking.

I disagree with this on principle. Of course you don't want to be somewhere unsafe, and you don't want to be anywhere you would be absolutely miserable. But aside from that, I don't think you should turn down a top-ranked program just because it's not in your first-choice city or something, and I certainly don't think you should take location into account before program ranking. Sacrificing a little comfort now will give you more flexibility down the line.

[Quantum Buckyball]

It does.

It's best to apply a wide range of schools in term of ranking. It's good to aim high but it's also important to be practical. The ultimate goal of getting a PhD is that so you can get a job upon graduation. If you plan to go into industry, then a school's ranking doesn't really matter.

There is another thing to think about. When I was applying for graduate schools last year, the first thing on my concern list was the location of the school. Safety and location should always comes before a school's ranking.

Also, you want to go to a school that you know there is a higher chance for you to pass and complete your preliminary exam/research plan/thesis proposal/thesis defense/exit exam on time. do not bite off more than you can chew. Try to avoid schools that take in 50+ students each year because they also get rid of a lot of students during their second or third years and you don't want that.

So I have confirmed this with my advisor this afternoon, he graduated from a very top-ranked program (top 5). He mentioned that it is very common for top-ranked schools to accept more students each year just so they have enough of TAs to teach lab and recitation sections.

Then, the department will make it extraordinarily difficult for you to pass your PhD candidacy exams in your third year, a lot of students had to leave the program because of that, It's pretty crazy I know .

[clintoncerejo]

that's good man.

[kglad]

Some (not all) universities have admissions statistics online. Check around in the university websites and see what you can find. The info is sometimes very tricky to find, though. You can always contact the graduate school admin person and ask.

 

University of Minnesota, for example, has statistics about grad student admissions here. Select the program in the menu and select "Program Statistics."

 

Duke University posts PhD admission statistics here. A little more comprehensive than the U of MN, Duke also includes completion, time to completion, and placement statistics.

 

Individual programs and departments have special requirements, too, like a minimum TOEFL scores for Teaching Assistantships vs Research Assistantships and so forth, which are usually on the department or program website somewhere. Again, you can always contact the department to inquire about the information or to ask where the information is located on the website.

 

Best of luck on your application progress-

 

Kiera