[Flat]

Hello,

The last quarter I switched my major from biology (was thinking about studying medicine) to chemistry after realising I liked chem A LOT more than bio. With that said here are some of the general questions I have that I can't seem to find answers to.

1) GRE. When do people usualy take the GRE? For my current academic plan, I will be taking Physical Chemistry my Senior year. I know with the MCAT people usualy take it there Junior year in the Fall, so I am a little worried if this is the case with the GRE that I will not have any pchem exposure. Along with this, what is the typical GPA for admissions for graduate school?

2)Nuclear/Radio Chemistry. Does this fall under physical chemistry? We dabbled a little bit on nuclear chemistry in gen chem, but I can't seem to find any higher level course that is only nuclear chem (I attend a Large University).

3) Research. How important is research for graduate school admissions? I have the chance to research under a professor right now, but she is working on a project that I do not find interesting at all. Should I jump aboard or wait a year or two and do research I am more interested in?

Thanks in advance to replies.

[Yggdrasil]

1) GRE. When do people usualy take the GRE? For my current academic plan, I will be taking Physical Chemistry my Senior year. I know with the MCAT people usualy take it there Junior year in the Fall, so I am a little worried if this is the case with the GRE that I will not have any pchem exposure. Along with this, what is the typical GPA for admissions for graduate school?

I took the general GRE the summer before my senior year, and I took the subject test the fall of my senior year (for applying to grad school during my senior year).  I'd say it's pretty typical to take the GRE the summer before you start applying (or maybe a little eariler if you think you may want to take it multiple times).  However, most grad programs won't put too much weight on GRE scores.  For example, I know a p-chemist who knows absolutely no organic chem (he left most of the organic questions on the chemistry GRE blank) and got into Berkeley, which has one of the top p-chem programs. 

2)Nuclear/Radio Chemistry. Does this fall under physical chemistry? We dabbled a little bit on nuclear chemistry in gen chem, but I can't seem to find any higher level course that is only nuclear chem (I attend a Large University).

I'm not sure about this.

3) Research. How important is research for graduate school admissions? I have the chance to research under a professor right now, but she is working on a project that I do not find interesting at all. Should I jump aboard or wait a year or two and do research I am more interested in?

Research is VERY important for grad school admissions.  One big benefit of doing research with a professor is that the professor that supervises you will be able write you a good recommendation letter.    I would say that the most important piece of your application will be the letter from the prof who supervises your undergraduate research.

As for the professor, starting research sooner than later is always good.  Definitely start by your junior year if you plan on going to grad school.  Getting started during your sophmore year is even better. With regard to the project, maybe you can ask her if there is the possibility of working on something more relevant to your interests (or if she can recommend you to another prof who studies something more relevant to your interests).  However, you don't necessarily have to do something super exciting when you are starting out as an undergrad researcher.  As an undergrad, it is far more important to learn the relevant skills required for research than to actually get results from your research (although getting good results is a plus).

On the other hand, you shouldn't do research that is completely uninteresting to you.  If you aren't interested in the research that you are doing, you are going to be must less motivated to go to lab and put in the time required for your research.

[SM30]

So most of what yggdrasil is on the money except for the importance of letters and research and all that. Yes that stuff is important, but they first weed you out on grades and GRE score (specifically grades though). If you have something in the range of 3.0-3.3 they might just flush your application down the toilet depending on where you apply to.  If you ask someone in the system they'll tell you they "look at everything as a whole" but the reality is that's complete bulls&$#. If you pass the check for grades/GRE then the letters, research and all that jazz become important. I actually JUST went through this application process and i was denied absolutely everywhere based entirely on grades (I was told this by 3 different professors from 3 different schools). I worked with a big name professor at a big name school and published in big name journals (not first author though), got good letters of rec (saw almost all of them) and had fine GRE scores. My grades were in the 3.2 range and I was denied everywhere (applied to 10 of the top 20 schools). Things might change if you can get your PI to make a phone call for you, but beware that they weed out on scores/gpa.

[Flat]

...

Thanks for responding....you put a lot of my worries to rest (for the most part  )

My grades were in the 3.2 range and I was denied everywhere (applied to 10 of the top 20 schools). Things might change if you can get your PI to make a phone call for you, but beware that they weed out on scores/gpa.

What are you planning to do now (if you don't mind me asking)? I have a 3.5 now ending my freshman year...I'm hoping to to get to ~3.7 come admissions time. Also why were you apply to top 10 schools? Does the school you do your graduate studies in have a significant impact on employment, salary, etc?

[macman104]

SM30, while what you say is true, it doesn't negate the fact that the research and such is going to be what separates you from the others.  The people being admitted are all going to have the same types of grades generally, obviously a certain grade-cutoff is usually in place, but that doesn't make the research and everything else less important.

[SM30]

SM30, while what you say is true, it doesn't negate the fact that the research and such is going to be what separates you from the others.  The people being admitted are all going to have the same types of grades generally, obviously a certain grade-cutoff is usually in place, but that doesn't make the research and everything else less important.

haha well thats the thing, doesn't it make the other things a little less important? If you know that there's a hard grade cutoff and it's the first thing they look at, then you better make sure you have that first requirement satisfied (probably making it the most important). You have to be in the applicant pool to actually be separated from it. I agree that the other things are still very important, but that's with the assumption that the grades/scores are "competitive." (by their standards). Now that we know Flat's grades are competitive, the research becomes the next most important thing.

...

Thanks for responding....you put a lot of my worries to rest (for the most part  )

My grades were in the 3.2 range and I was denied everywhere (applied to 10 of the top 20 schools). Things might change if you can get your PI to make a phone call for you, but beware that they weed out on scores/gpa.

What are you planning to do now (if you don't mind me asking)? I have a 3.5 now ending my freshman year...I'm hoping to to get to ~3.7 come admissions time. Also why were you apply to top 10 schools? Does the school you do your graduate studies in have a significant impact on employment, salary, etc?

I applied 3 months late to a different program (out of the top 20 or even 50 i think) and they accepted me. I may try to transfer out to a top 10, but a lot must be done before I consider that.

Why was I applying to the top 10? because I thought I could get in (due to the aforementioned research experience, letters of rec, etc). The research at those schools also fit what I wanted to do.

The reality is the name of the school you go to does matter. It matters the most if you want to become a serious professor. Go look up where most of your professors went to grad school and cross reference with the rankings, you'll see what I'm talking about. It's not necessarily a requirement, but it does make a difference. In the industry it's less important, but the top schools have many professors that work as consultants for large companies and they have the influence to get you a job. Their names, in general, carry weight as well. Once you have that job though, where you come from doesnt mean a damn thing. Don't expect a promotion because you worked in so and so's lab. People will laugh in your face.

With all that being said, will going to a top 10 school make you a better chemist? I don't think so at all. The only thing that dictates how good of a chemist you'll be is yourself and your desire to be good. I've been in labs for the past 5 years doing research and I've worked with people from many different backgrounds. I've seen people from great schools be terrible and I've seen people from nowhere be great. How good you are doesn't always (or even usually) correlate to job success or salary though so don't expect that either.

[TheRainbowFalcon]

2)Nuclear/Radio Chemistry. Does this fall under physical chemistry? We dabbled a little bit on nuclear chemistry in gen chem, but I can't seem to find any higher level course that is only nuclear chem (I attend a Large University).

Nuclear decay is a quantum phenomenon, which never is covered beyond general chemistry. Even physics majors have to wait until they learn quantum field theory (a year or two into graduate school) to learn more than the basics you have already covered. I'm sorry in advance if you really enjoyed the topic.

[enahs]

The reality is the name of the school you go to does matter. It matters the most if you want to become a serious professor. Go look up where most of your professors went to grad school and cross reference with the rankings, you'll see what I'm talking about. It's not necessarily a requirement, but it does make a difference.

This is the old way though. Times change. With the sharing of information and ideas so easy now (and done more) people are accepting the fact that people from all over the world, even not so prestigious places are really smart and talented. Some of the best research coming our right now are not from people who went to the top schools.

[Flat]

2)Nuclear/Radio Chemistry. Does this fall under physical chemistry? We dabbled a little bit on nuclear chemistry in gen chem, but I can't seem to find any higher level course that is only nuclear chem (I attend a Large University).

Nuclear decay is a quantum phenomenon, which never is covered beyond general chemistry. Even physics majors have to wait until they learn quantum field theory (a year or two into graduate school) to learn more than the basics you have already covered. I'm sorry in advance if you really enjoyed the topic.

Thanks for being brutaly honest with me  . It is a topic that I am definately interested in but I do not know enough of it to decide if I want to persue it. I have only came across a handful of schools that offer graduate studies in nuclear chemistry. Does this mean that there is not much of a demand (or rather not many industry opportunities compared to the other areas of chemistry?

[Mitch]

I'm a nuclear chemist. There is demand and it is a very fun field.