[Yggdrasil]

I went to a large public university (UCLA) for my undergrad and I did not get any teaching experience, but I got into plenty of top-10 schools (I'm at Harvard now) based on my undergrad research (I had a publication).  But, I'm in biology so maybe things are different in chemistry.

[SM30]

haha UCLA is the school i went to for undergrad as well (although i was a chemistry major). There were many many graduate students there so undergrad TA experience was hard to come by. I'm hoping that publications come through for me as well. I've heard the phrase "golden ticket" used a lot of times when referring to pubs, but im sure theres much more to it than that.

[hmx9123]

For some reason, the UC system seems to avoid letting undergrads run a course.  They let undergrads be a 'helper', but are very careful to avoid letting undergrads teach, at least in my experience.

As for taking a year off, it's a great idea.  I wish I had.  It will let you have some time to breathe, make a bit of money, spend some time doing something new, and will be great for your resume.  I don't know if it's better or worse than teaching; I tend to think it's just different.  There are a lot of students at UCB that took a year or two off between undergrad and grad school to work.

And, enahs, don't think that big fancy schools like Berkeley are all they're cracked up to be.  I'm glad that I got the professor I did, but if I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't have gone to graduate school here.

[enahs]

And, enahs, don't think that big fancy schools like Berkeley are all they're cracked up to be.  I'm glad that I got the professor I did, but if I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't have gone to graduate school here.

Ohh, I do not. I was accepted into some fairly prestigious graduate schools.

I am still at UALR (University or Arkansas at Little Rock), as I am also doing research at UAMS (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences) as well as doing work at NCTR (National Center for Toxicological Research) through ORISE (which has also given me opportunities to do many short Interns in summers and such at other instutions).

Now, none of the stuff I am doing is in the field of research I want to go in; which sucks. But I am getting my name on stuff, making some good bank, learning tons of stuff, and am still near my family.

I think I am am just going to do a MS here at UALR. I will then probably work for a year or so and then go for my Phd somewhere as to where I can get involved in the field of study I am interested in.

[hmx9123]

That sounds like a good plan.  I kind of wish I had stuck around closer to my family for grad school.  Oh well.  Almost done now.