Chances for Stanford/MIT ChemE PhD?

[barbarr]

I'm applying to grad schools next year and I'm going to be the first in my family to pursue a PhD so this is honestly kind of nerve wracking. The reason why I am posting here is because I have good academics but mediocre research and recs.

Here's my stats:

• Major: ChemE (top 4 of ~25 students)
• GPA: 4.1/4.3
• Rank: Top ~12 out of ~240 students
• GRE: 167V/170Q/4.5W
• Research
  • No peer-reviewed publications in refereed journals.
  • Freshman year research published in school journal
  • Sophomore year research in new lab wasn't very good or productive
  • Junior year research in same lab presented at an AIChE conference
  • Working towards a publication in same lab (but I don't know whether I will be done by grad school applications)
  • Did work study in a psychology lab sophomore year as a work-study student, nothing really came of it
• Recs
  • Probably will not be great. Not sure what to do about this.
  • Freshman year research adviser expects us to write our own recs, it usually never works out for undergrads because we don't know how to write recs
  • Sophomore + Junior research adviser barely knows me, other than the research I've produced (which only recently started working out)
  • Most profs only know me from class
• Awards
  • Large institutional scholarships (financial aid)
  • Two summer research grants at university
  • Speaking prize at AIChE conference
• Orgs
  • AIChE 
  • Tau Beta Pi
• Teaching
  • Teaching assistant for two undergrad courses and one grad level course

[Neurotic_Jay]

I can only say rec letters matter A LOT so you probably want to talk with your sophomore+junior research advisor about that. It's not hard to write your own recs, just brag (no don't do that), maybe ask your freshman year advisor for a template or a previous sample rec letter? Other than that I think your profile is really strong, but there's no telling about someone's chance to schools like Stanford or MIT. Sometimes you need more than a strong profile, such as luck (PI in your area happens to need a new PhD student or something). If you are a domestic student, also try NSF GRFP. 

[barbarr]

In case someone stumbles across this in the future - I got into all the programs I applied to.

[thaibear]

@barbarr Congratulations! Where will you be attending this Fall? 

[barbarr]

@thaibear MIT

[Victorious Secret]

I was curious about your home institution...

Small ChemE class (25), very small overall class (240 students). High ChemE to overall ratio; sounds like a tech/engineering school. Your test scores are stellar. And your school has a research journal...

Is it Caltech?