Applications Fall 2017

[Nvenditto]

Hey guys! I figured I would get this thread started. Feel free to post stuff about the upcoming application process and schools and groups everyone is interested in.

[Nvenditto]

To start off I am interested in organometallic catalysis groups and my top schools are Princeton, UNC, Yale, University of Washington, and BC.

I have a 3.8/4.0 GPA with a 3.9 Chemistry GPA. GRE 156 Verbal 159 Quant 4.0 Writing and 690 Chem GRE 47th Precentile

I have two publications 1 2nd author and one 4th author

I have worked in a catalysis lab at school for 3 years and interned 1 summer at an REU and 1 summer in a large pharmaceutical company doing discovery chemistry

Edited November 2, 2016 by Nvenditto

[OChemist]

Hello. 

I am applying to Ph.D. program in Chemistry as well. I'm interested in Organic Synthesis and I know admissions are highly competitive especially in the schools I'm interested.

General GRE - 162 Verbal, 159 Quantitative, 4.0 Analytical Writing

Chemistry GRE - 720. I think this is a terrible score. I should not even report it, but I'm an international applicant, so it would be hard to be considered without taking it. 

TOEFL iBT - 110

Undergrad GPA - 2.7 converting it to the US system. However, I graduated top of my class on a top-rated institution here. Not sure if my application will go through though, as there's probably a numeric cut-off for crappy GPAs like mine. It's just that my university's grading system is very different from that in the US.

Graduate (M.Sc.) GPA - 4.0

Research Experience - 1 yr undergrad research in Molecular Biology, second author and presenter of 1 poster on a national conference. 2.5 years graduate research as M.Sc., 1 publication unrelated to my thesis. 

LOR - One from a professor I was TA for, one from my undergrad advisor, one from my M.Sc. advisor (he showed me the letter after he sent it and I was pretty bummed out about it. Only two paragraphs written in terrible English…)

Very discouraging to read GPA's and GRE grades here, they are all so much better than mine. Do I stand a chance? It would be nice to have advice from people who actually entered a program. 

Edited December 12, 2016 by OChemist