Chemistry Applications Fall 2014

[clickclick]

How much time does SOP takes usually? I mean it ll obviously be relative, but generally how many days for a good SOP?

I have been writing mine since mid summer. But its not like I'm spending hours on it everyday, basically I just wrote a complete one in a few days over summer and then had a few ppl look at it, changed it every couple days or weeks I will come back to look at it to work on it some more. Definitely not necessary to spend that much time on it but it is necessary to have it read by friends, professors, strangers, anyone! To get a good idea of what you can improve. I think the hardest part was getting a good template/outline down. I would try and keep it under 1 page if possible.

[Faraday]

How much time does SOP takes usually? I mean it ll obviously be relative, but generally how many days for a good SOP?

Your SOP should be the culmination of several months of work. Obviously you are not spending every waking hour during that time working on it, but once you get the first draft done (the hardest part), you will likely go through many revisions before the final product. Looking back at my files I have 9 different revisions saved. Each time get feedback from peers, professors, etc. and mold your SOP into the best product it can be. Look at other sucessfull SOPs, take a day off and think about yours, and then go back and make some changes, etc. The process is more like sculpting than building something out of legos.

 

I wouldn't worry about length on your first draft. Even if you have over 2 pages (and your goal is one page) you can easily cut that down to one with good feedback from peers, professors, etc. It is easy to ramble on about something for a prargraph that can be succinctly said in a sentence or two.

Edited October 16, 2013 by Faraday

[clickclick]

Your SOP should be the culmination of several months of work. Obviously you are not spending every waking hour during that time working on it, but once you get the first draft done (the hardest part), you will likely go through many revisions before the final product. Looking back at my files I have 9 different revisions saved. Each time get feedback from peers, professors, etc. and mold your SOP into the best product it can be. Look at other sucessfull SOPs, take a day off and think about yours, and then go back and make some changes, etc. The process is more like sculpting than building something out of legos.

 

I wouldn't worry about length on your first draft. Even if you have over 2 pages (and your goal is one page) you can easily cut that down to one with good feedback from peers, professors, etc. It is easy to ramble on about something for a prargraph that can be succinctly said in a sentence or two.

Agree with this! dont worry about length till after your frist couple of drafts and some input from others.

[alkylholic]

My SOP is two pages and the profs that read it had no issue with its length, though I think 2 pages is the maximum. 

[clickclick]

My SOP is two pages and the profs that read it had no issue with its length, though I think 2 pages is the maximum. 

Yea 2 pages should be a max, and there is nothing wrong with that length, however take into consideration the number of applications that must be read by admissions committee. If you are taking 2 pages to say what you could fit in 1 page, what do you think will be more thoroughly read? For me, my 2 pages was cut down to 1 once I removed a lot of the fluff that I thought made my sop flow well, but after removing everything I have 1 page that flows well and is directly to the point. Make a separate sop and try doing it, maybe you'll like it better maybe not.

[Chemisto]

Thanks for the input. Hopefully I am not too late. I was waiting to get rid of standardized tests before writing SOP.

[DropTheBase]

Hello Applicants!

 

Applying to graduate school is one of the most stressful (academic) periods of your life! You have my deepest sympathies.

 

If you aren't feeling stressed enough, here's something maybe not all of you are aware of. I encourage all applicants to also apply for fellowships this year (NSF, NDSEG, Hertz...etc.). 

 

Pros:

 

1. Most fellowships let you apply multiple times. You have the highest chance of winning it PRIOR to entering graduate school.

 

2. You can mention that you applied for it in your SOP, and your Referees can mention that too (it gives at least one of them more to talk about). Applying for these fellowships is not easy, and to an admissions officer it shows your commitment and determination to pursue research. It's a tie-breaker (in your favor!), at the least. 

 

3. It gives you excellent experience writing proposals, which you will have to do several times during your graduate career. Also, the feedback you receive from the fellowship committees is invaluable. 

 

Cons:

 

1. The added stress might give you a heart attack.

 

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I understand your schedules are busy, but if you believe that you might have time, then I HIGHLY encourage you to apply.

 

Note: The Hertz/NSF deadlines are at the beginning of November, so it might be difficult to pull it off if you haven't started. However, the NDSEG has a deadline in late December, so that's a possibility. Sorry I didn't mention this sooner.

 

Good luck to you all!

DTB

[clickclick]

Hello Applicants!

 

Applying to graduate school is one of the most stressful (academic) periods of your life! You have my deepest sympathies.

 

If you aren't feeling stressed enough, here's something maybe not all of you are aware of. I encourage all applicants to also apply for fellowships this year (NSF, NDSEG, Hertz...etc.). 

 

Pros:

 

1. Most fellowships let you apply multiple times. You have the highest chance of winning it PRIOR to entering graduate school.

 

2. You can mention that you applied for it in your SOP, and your Referees can mention that too (it gives at least one of them more to talk about). Applying for these fellowships is not easy, and to an admissions officer it shows your commitment and determination to pursue research. It's a tie-breaker (in your favor!), at the least. 

 

3. It gives you excellent experience writing proposals, which you will have to do several times during your graduate career. Also, the feedback you receive from the fellowship committees is invaluable. 

 

Cons:

 

1. The added stress might give you a heart attack.

 

---

 

I understand your schedules are busy, but if you believe that you might have time, then I HIGHLY encourage you to apply.

 

Note: The Hertz/NSF deadlines are at the beginning of November, so it might be difficult to pull it off if you haven't started. However, the NDSEG has a deadline in late December, so that's a possibility. Sorry I didn't mention this sooner.

 

Good luck to you all!

DTB

Thanks for this! I intended on applying to these but was wondering of other external fellowships available. Could you list several others you are aware of? Also do you think GPA and GRE scores are the most heavily weighted in this application or could a great personal statement really overcome these areas similar to grad apps?

[DropTheBase]

As far as the sciences go, those are the big three. I believe there's also the computational DOE CSGF and the Ford fellowship (might have to be an underrepresented ethnicity for this one). Sorry, I wish I knew more (I'd apply to them myself!).

 

NSF doesn't take GRE, but I believe NDSEG does. 

 

Unlike grad school apps, fellowships are better thought of as competitions. As a result, you are judged on more superficial terms, such as GPA/GRE. Also, if you ever read winning essays, they almost make you want to vomit because of how egotistical they make the applicant seem (I enlightened inner-city minority children, I spearheaded this project/organization....) Don't let that put you off! I know many fellowship winners and they too are upset with how inflated they needed to make their personal statements sound.

 

(Have a look at some winning essays here: http://www.alexhunterlang.com/nsf-fellowship if you want a good idea of what I'm talking about.)

 

But this still depends on each individual fellowship. NSF, for example, cares more about "Broader Impacts", whereas the NDSEG focuses more on the research. 

 

To answer your question, I know quite a few fellowship winners who did not have a stunning GPA/GRE. But these questions are best asked/answered in "The Bank."

 

DTB

[Chemisto]

So how was Chem GRE?? Found it too overloaded with inorganic.

[Chemwag]

It was alright I guess, I think I skipped around 12, man I was shooting for 90th percentile range.... Forget that.

[Chemisto]

Hahaha...I had similar plans before the test...but v reduced my expectation by about 10 percentile... 

[DropTheBase]

If it makes you guys feel any better, the Chem GRE is by far the least important part of your application.

 

DTB

[Chemwag]

I had a quick question, does the institution where you received your bachelor take into account. I heard that it doesn't matter, but it feels like my GPA lacks a lot comparing to students from smaller schools, not saying that education from smaller schools is a lot easier. I was just curious. 

[Chemisto]

If it makes you guys feel any better, the Chem GRE is by far the least important part of your application.

 

DTB

Well that may not be true for internationals espicially when applying from a not so known school.In fact From what I have seen, it is the single biggest deciding factor for internationals and can compensate for low GPA/research experience.

[Chemwag]

I'm international too. However, I did all my undergraduate education here in the U.S. My status as an international student concerns me the most. (I lived in the US for over 10 yrs....) 

[prolixity]

Fellow anteater?

 

Cycloisomerizations and similar ring closing chemistry have always appealed to me and was what I was thinking of going into after the PhD. I still need to do more digging, but right now I really like what the Zhang group (UCSB) and Ferreira group (Colorado State) are doing. 

 

I'm also interested in C-H activation and is partly why I'm interested in the Du Bois group at Stanford, though I'm mainly interested in the types of complex molecules they tend to target. 

 

Could you clarify what you mean by "don't limit yourself to what you think you can achieve?" Where did you apply to? 

 

Yeah, fellow anteater.  I ended up at Harvard.  I'm saying that a lot of us shoot ourselves down before we even apply:  "I only went to UC Irvine.. I'll never get in to Stanford, Berkeley, MIT, etc.".. and this isn't the case.  

 

While my cohort IS mainly Berkeley, Stanford, Ivy's, and private institutions, there were quite a few from LACs I'd never heard of and a few random state schools.  Just find the advisors you want to work for, ensure that there are others at the institution for whom you'd like to work if that doesn't work out, and apply.  In your personal statement, explicitly state for whom you would like to work and why you would be a good match (suggest an experiment, etc.).  

 

Good luck!

[DropTheBase]

Well that may not be true for internationals espicially when applying from a not so known school.In fact From what I have seen, it is the single biggest deciding factor for internationals and can compensate for low GPA/research experience.

 

Yes, excellent point! For international students, GRE scores in general are relatively MUCH more important. Thank you for this correction.

 

DTB

[Chemwag]

"Prolixity" I was wondering what is the case for the other way around. I did graduate from Berkeley, but I feel like my GPA isn't competitive enough, it's really depressing to see others with GPAs like 3.8+..... 

[alkylholic]

Yeah, fellow anteater.  I ended up at Harvard.  I'm saying that a lot of us shoot ourselves down before we even apply:  "I only went to UC Irvine.. I'll never get in to Stanford, Berkeley, MIT, etc.".. and this isn't the case.  

 

While my cohort IS mainly Berkeley, Stanford, Ivy's, and private institutions, there were quite a few from LACs I'd never heard of and a few random state schools.  Just find the advisors you want to work for, ensure that there are others at the institution for whom you'd like to work if that doesn't work out, and apply.  In your personal statement, explicitly state for whom you would like to work and why you would be a good match (suggest an experiment, etc.).  

 

Good luck!

 

Thanks! I'll keep that it mind. I met with profs at Scripps and they didn't make a big deal about my nearly 1 year of experience given my other stats, but it can be demoralizing when comparing how much research others have done. On the other hand, it's something I can rectify as opposed to grades which are more set in stone.

 

I have a solid direction for graduate school and strong knowledge of the field, including the profs who do it and I'd want to work for, which I'll certainly include in my statement. I've met with profs at Stanford and Berkeley in person too and along with the research they do, I'd love to work with them. I plan on meeting those in the east coast soon.  

Edited October 21, 2013 by alkylholic

[loginofpscl]

Yes, excellent point! For international students, GRE scores in general are relatively MUCH more important. Thank you for this correction.

 

DTB

 

You mentioned earlier that Chem GRE is the least important part-- would you say that a higher cGRE helps in offsetting an average GPA, or does it matter at all?

[DropTheBase]

You mentioned earlier that Chem GRE is the least important part-- would you say that a higher cGRE helps in offsetting an average GPA, or does it matter at all?

 

The Chem GRE is just a dumbed-down test of everything you learned. In order to get a good distribution of scores, they put extremely random questions (like geochemistry) on there, which defeats the whole purpose. I have faith in professors on adcoms to realize this. That's why so many schools expect a minimum score of 50% on the chem GRE! (I got something very close to that!)

 

When I asked a professor on the admissions committee from my school about this, I was told that your score on the GREs (US only) is nothing more than an indication that you "cared" about taking the test.

 

When I asked a different professor on the admissions committee, he said that as far as GRE goes, he liked seeing a decent Quantitative score, and a slightly higher Verbal score. They want students who know how to write. As for the analytical writing score, I think it's safe to say they're well-aware that all it does is test your ability to write garbage in 30 minutes. 

 

Another professor told me the GRE was only skimmed for red flags rather than used as a deciding factor.

 

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@Chemwag

 

(Go Bears!  ) Don't worry about the low GPA (mine was low). Here's another paraphrase from someone on the admissions committee:

 

If you're at a public school, 3.6 is impressive. If you went to a private school, 3.6 is "not so great". (Sorry if that offends anyone here, not my opinion).

 

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Research experience (letters of recommendation) and personal statement will almost always outweigh GPA and especially GRE scores. Keep in mind that you're being evaluated on your potential to do research.

 

DTB

[asaprocky]

Organic synthesis/methodology

 

GPA: 3.92 overall, 3.96 chemistry; will have completed 4 graduate courses by enrollment

GRE: 157 (73%), 164 (89%), 5.0 (93%) [V,Q,A]
Chem GRE: 830 (83%)

Research:
- Have been performing research in undergraduate lab since second semester of freshman year (synthesis, photochemistry)

- 2 summers at pharmaceutical company; first summer was synthesis, second summer was organometallics

- will be sending out publication for review by November 

- 4 poster presentations

- Research from one summer presented at ACS nationals

 

Other experience:

- TA organic chemistry lab (1 year)

- TA physical chemistry class (2 years)

- organic chemistry tutor (3 years)

- President of ACS student affiliates

 

Recognitions:

- Goldwater scholar

- Dean's list every semester (I know this doesn't say much)

 

Schools: Harvard, Princeton, Wisconsin, Berkeley, Caltech, Stanford, Scripps

 

Good luck to everyone this year!! I just want this all to be over with and be in a school already...

 

 

 

 

[Chemisto]

Best of Luck to everyone who is getting GRE Chem scores tomorrow...do share...

[clickclick]

Organic synthesis/methodology

 

GPA: 3.92 overall, 3.96 chemistry; will have completed 4 graduate courses by enrollment

GRE: 157 (73%), 164 (89%), 5.0 (93%) [V,Q,A]

Chem GRE: 830 (83%)

Research:

- Have been performing research in undergraduate lab since second semester of freshman year (synthesis, photochemistry)

- 2 summers at pharmaceutical company; first summer was synthesis, second summer was organometallics

- will be sending out publication for review by November 

- 4 poster presentations

- Research from one summer presented at ACS nationals

 

Other experience:

- TA organic chemistry lab (1 year)

- TA physical chemistry class (2 years)

- organic chemistry tutor (3 years)

- President of ACS student affiliates

 

Recognitions:

- Goldwater scholar

- Dean's list every semester (I know this doesn't say much)

 

Schools: Harvard, Princeton, Wisconsin, Berkeley, Caltech, Stanford, Scripps

 

Good luck to everyone this year!! I just want this all to be over with and be in a school already...

From what I have been told, Goldwater scholarship almost guarantees acceptance anywhere, plus you have much longer experience than most people do if you have been in school for 4 years.