A moment of thought plz

[Kari123]

I graduated on December 2014 with chemistry and biology.

I have 2 published paper (with JOC and Tetrahedron letters)

2 summer internship (Chemistry)

3 years of lab research (Chemistry)

Enough volunteer and outreach activities

My dual major ruined my GPA (its arnd 3.6) but my strong recommendations and GRE will uplift it....I guess..

 

I had been in undergrad for 4.5 yrs and was planning to take a year break..but just for back up option I applied to Purdue University (they are good with acceptance rate) and I did get accepted there and decided/planning go there..

But my friend suggested that if he had my qualification, he would wait for a year and apply to better school than purdue..I do have heard some negative remarks on that university..

So, what do you guyz think abt it? I do kno that it doesn't matter wherever i go to study..but lets get real, ranking does help..

thanks

 

[Whisky-with-a-Y]

I think the issue lies in what you are planning to study in grad school. If you are interested in analytical chemistry, there is no better school than Purdue so why wait for anything else. However, I am a little unsure of the other chemistry disciplines there. I do not think you were accepted there because they have a high acceptance rate, something I have never heard of; your application seems pretty qualified with the pubs, double major and strong LOR's; sounds to me like you earned it. I would only wait a year if I were able to get some sort of job in industry. For example, a friend of mine received a fellowship working with the government for a year, something that would make you very competative come next application cycle. I think a year off without any related work experience will definitley hurt you. Also, if there is a professor at Purdue who you really want to work with, I would absolutley choose the school. At the end of the day it is about enjoying what you are doing and having fun. If you wanted to go the professor route for your future, a better school might offer better opportunitys for post-docs, but Purude has an excellent reputation of job placement outside of academia, something that is incredibly important for a lot of students. Side note- they have difficult cumulative exams that must be passed in order to continue work towards your PhD, something a lot of schools have done away with (not sure why).What other schools would you be looking at if you waited a year?

[Kari123]

Everything u said is absolutely right...Purdue is good (#1 in analytical #21 Chemistry overall). I think I shouldn't divert my mind anymore. 

About the school that I wish I had applied for are:

Brown University (ranks around 51 but its the "tag" that lures me)

University of Michigan-Ann Harbor

University of Colorado

University of Washington etc. 

[Whisky-with-a-Y]

Yes. I knew someone who went to Brown, not a good school for chemistry, really didnt like it. It's the same thing with other ivy's like Dartmouth. Those are two outstanding schools but really lack in the chemistry department. Michigan is a great school, very difficult to get into but you have a pretty good chance. I personally think Purdue is better than Washington, but West Lafayette isnt ideal for a lot of students that want to have a huge social life. There isn't much to do there. Colorado is a decent school but very expensive cost of living and in my personal opinion not worth it. I think Purdue is the better of your choices with the exception of Michigan.

[Cookie]

Among those schools, Purdue is the better one. Do you have POIs that have matching interests at Purdue? If so, go for it.