[Nucleophile]

I am about to graduate, (GPA 3.2 it seems, but could get slightly lower) and I wanted to explore opportunities to get my next degrees in chemistry in the states. Will I be legible for scholarships? is it even possible? can you recommend good websites on the topic?

Thanks in advance.

[cbelover]

If you are a foreign student, is your grading system in GPA format or something else? I know a few countries where students have their scores in percentile and when they apply to grad schools in US, do some kind of conversion from percentile to GPA. I have friends from India from the IITs whose converted GPA is about 3.2 but end up with assistantships easily in US just because the school there is so competitive and tough. So, if you are coming from a well known school and have something to show then you might in all probability get aid.

If you are applying for a PhD, some schools typically have a policy of funding all students whom they accept to the program. Most schools have a cut off of 3.0 but typically they are looking at minimum GPAs between 3.2 to 3.5. Unless you have something exceptional outside the academic GPAs, I think you should choose your universities very carefully if you are seriously looking at funding.

USnews is the best place to look for the rankings of universities. If you find a university which you think you have a good chance in, you could email a faculty there to find out your chances. Many may not even reply but you are not losing anything as lots of things in the US work on contacts and if a faculty is determined to take you then everything else becomes secondary.

[constant thinker]

There is a lot of scholarships out there and grants for foreign students in the U.S. It makes me kind of jealous especialy since most university like to keep a population of foreign and minority students enrolled.

This website might help you out:
http://www.collegeboard.com/homepage?student

[Nucleophile]

yes, here it works on percentages, and my grade will be something like 80%.

I am from the Technion - the Israeli Institute of Technology. The university is ranked at one hundered and something in the world, without having almost no humanities departments. I don't know of any intl. dept. of chemistry ratings so it's hard for me to tell.

it also seems that due to my employment it will be sometime before I could go to grad school - how big a difference does that make?

[Donaldson Tan]

What is the science ranking for your university?

I think subject ranking is more important..

I don't think it's fair to compare Caltech to Cambridge, given the limited breadth of subjects offered at Caltech, compared to Cambridge, which offers subject ranging from literature to history to chemistry to bioengineering..

[Dude]

Step 1.  Find a topic you are interested in doing research in (ie polymers, analytical, organic, etc) and then go to the library and find some academic papers (JACS, etc) that you might have an interest in.

Step 2.  Note the school of the primary author and then look up the chemistry department on their website.  Find out if multiple professors are doing similar work at that university.

Step 3.  Contact the University about going to graduate school or alternatively, the actual professor.  Most students gain access to graduate school through the generic department route, however, about 20 % or so contact a professor personally and then the professor "recruits" the student into the program.

Notes:  You might be excluded from the most elitist schools (ie MIT, etc) since they want GPA's close to 4, however, you should be able to get in to the majority that you apply to.  You will also want to research the location of the school (ie crime rate, cost of living, weather) etc.  In 1995 (when I started grad school), the stipend was between $14,000 - $20,000 US / year.  I don't know the stipend rate now, but it is probably slightly higher.  Thus, a "scholarship" isn't needed (although if obtainable it does make for a better standard of living for the 4-5 years you are in school).  

[Mitch]

I don't think it's fair to compare Caltech to Cambridge, given the limited breadth of subjects offered at Caltech, compared to Cambridge, which offers subject ranging from literature to history to chemistry to bioengineering..

Caltech offers literature/history and bioengineering majors.
http://www.hss.caltech.edu/
http://www.eas.caltech.edu/

[constant thinker]

If your doing something with technology then you go to a technical institute. Most tech institutes I've looked at usually offer a variety of Chemistry majors, Physics majors, Math Majors, Computer technology majors, and Engineering majors.

My advice pick a school that offers a good program for whatever you want. This goes for anyone and anything.

[Nucleophile]

What is the science ranking for your university?

I think subject ranking is more important..

I have no idea. maybe someone can check this stuff out?

edit:

this is some sort of weird forum link that I found...

http://www.xys.org/forum/db/200/22.html


second edit:

if I get my master's at a "non elitist" school, is it possible to get a PhD in an elitist school?