which grad programs should i apply to?

[sweetfarthing]

i want to stay on the east coast because of family concerns...can't be more than 3-4 hours away from MD. my gre scores are average (155V, 159Q, 4.5W) and i am planning to take the chem gre in september, but not doing too well on the practice tests right now. i am interested in organic chem. currently working in a lab and i am learning about drug delivery. are they any school that focus on drug delivery or synthesis or medical stuff chemistry? organic synthesis would be nice because i might do patent law after grad school. i apologize if this sounds vague, but i really don't have specific interests as of now. i just like organic chem and think i would do well in that area.

 

i am thinking of georgetown, jhu, harvard, yale, penn state, princeton, and upenn, but almost all of these schools are so hard to get into, esp when i don't have any publications yet and probably won't by the time i graduate next year. any "safe" schools? 

Edited September 2, 2013 by sweetfarthing

[asaprocky]

look at the faculty at the schools you want to apply to, find out what they do their research in, and if it's something you like, then they can become a potential advisor. You need to do some research before you come on here. Learning about a professor's research interest is actually quite easy (their group website). Make sure you have at least 3 professors at each school who you are willing to work for.

 

Don't get caught up on your GRE scores. Research experience, LOR, and SOP are infinitely more important and if they are stunning, then you'll be surprised where you could end up. 

 

I wouldn't say a school specializes in said research areas, but I'm sure you could find professors who do research in those areas at all the schools you've mentioned. As for safety schools, that's hard to determine. Maybe talking with your advisor at school can help you find some of those.

 

Good luck!

Edited September 2, 2013 by asaprocky

[sweetfarthing]

yeah, i can do research on the professors (that's what i am doing with the other schools i listed on here). but what other schools should i look at? i don't even know which schools to look up right now

[DropTheBase]

Everything asaprocky said.

 

And here's a worthy read about safety schools by a fellow forum member: 

 

DTB

[Faraday]

As a [former] MD resident I can say for certain Boston is a lot more than 3-4 hours away from MD. If you are willing to go there then your potential area of schools has widened quite a bit.

 

You might be interested to check out University of Delaware. They have a relatively "up and coming" department of younger organic chemists doing interesting research over a wide range of topics. UD would also be quite convenient for you coming from MD.

Edited September 3, 2013 by Faraday