<p>I'm in my 3rd year. The past year or so I had an illness that made me unstable, so I had to take fewer classes per semester and didn't do quite as well as I would have liked, or even what I think I can accomplish (I was just so dead and gone most of the time it was hard to do anything, really; my advisor was impressed I could maintain a "good" GPA with my condition).</p>
<p>My GPA is just barely below 3.5 (it rounds up). I'm currently taking a winter class that I'm almost certain to get an A in, which will bring it up to exactly 3.5.</p>
<p>Since I had to be low on credits I will need to take an extra year. So I still have plenty of time to bring my GPA up, which I think I can certainly do now that my health is stable. From what I calculated, the highest GPA I can attain if I get a 4.0 for the rest of the semesters I'm in undergrad is a 3.7. From what I gather, if I don't get perfect 4.0s I will at least be able to get something like a 3.6 or even 3.65 if I get a few A-s along the way.</p>
<p>From what I've heard, extracurriculars aren't as important in PhD applications. I'm president of chemistry club and participate in other clubs, and I tutor. I'm set up to do research starting next year (which will give me two years of research) and I'm thinking of taking a gap year. I was originally aiming for MD/PhD but I've discovered that I'm not at all interested in the MD program. So what I know about graduate school applications is mostly medically relevant. I don't know if gap years are frowned upon or not for pure PhD applicants, but I plan to do one so I can get more research in as well and perhaps work a bit.</p>
<p>So I suppose I'm just wondering if my chances are decent enough? Perhaps what kind of schools may be interested in taking me? (Especially if there are fully-funded programs, of course.) I go to a private school (on scholarship) that is widely respected, though not a house-hold name.</p>
<p>I’m misunderstanding your post. Are you in grad school or are you a junior?</p>
<p>And if you had a medical condition, didn’t you get accommodations? Did you get incompletes or approved excuses for absences so you could take missed tests etc?</p>
<p>And later, you say “I’m set up to do research starting next year” and that gives you two years of research how, if you are a junior? Or are you doing to only do research next year, no school, then finish school the following year?</p>
<p>Please review what you wrote, and explain it better. What is your target and what is your concern?</p>
<p>I am discussing applying to PhD programs as a junior in undergrad. I did receive some accommodations, but given the nature of my condition there’s not much they could do. It was either drudge through it on lower credits or take a year off. Taking incompletes and prolonging my undergraduate education further did not seem like a good idea to me. Whether what I actually ended up doing was a good idea or not, that is my situation.</p>
<p>Next year will be my fourth year of undergrad. As I said in my original post, I will need to take a fifth year because I was low on credits during the brunt of my illness. So that will leave me two years of undergraduate research. And I’m hoping to do some research in my gap year and the summer.</p>
<p>Is that more clear?</p>
<p>I don’t have a specific target for what school I want to attend. But the guy I will likely marry will have a job by the time I’m out of undergrad, which is not necessarily the kind of job you can take anywhere. So my location is slightly dependent on that. I would love to go to a high-tier school. I’m just wondering where my stats might allow me to apply (low-, mid-, high-tier) when the time comes.</p>
<p>So my concern would be whether or not I’m good enough to get into a high-tier program, or really at all.</p>
<p>Your stats seem very good, enough to get into many PhD programs. If you end up doing research close to what you want to study, that will help. </p>
<p>About the gap year - you seem concerned about having to go to school another year, but would take a gap year? And if you work that year, will it be a job that is a one-year term only?</p>
<p>My spouse is similar regarding a specialized career, which makes it helpful that I teach. I can move my job with him if and when I need to. But whether there is a high-tier school near where your fiance finds a job is another issue.</p>
<p>Regarding the gap year situation, that plan was mostly based on the suggestions of my advisors. I’m a chemistry major who was concerned about not being chemical engineering or chem/physics double major considering the grad work I’m interested in. My advisors essentially told me that it didn’t matter if I didn’t have the perfect background because I would learn along the way during graduate school. That a chemistry degree has many routes and it would be more worth my time to spend extra years doing grad work rather than having unnecessary extra years in undergrad (which would have been the case if I changed my major).</p>
<p>They also emphasized that taking a gap year may be a good idea to find your center, get established a bit, do extra research, work, etc. That way I could study for the GRE in a less intense environment while still moving along in my life, I suppose. I don’t know the specific details regarding my gap year just yet since it’s 2.5 years away. But I figure that can also give me some time to decide what schools I would like to apply to (of course not a whole lot if I want to get into grad school the year after my gap year) given that I will have a better idea of where my future husband will be located. Since he’ll likely be the bread-winner while I’m in school anyway.</p>
<p>I think a 3.65 GPA would be fine; even a 3.6 would be fine. Also gap years aren’t frowned upon in PhD programs; it really depends on what you do with them. If you use the time to do more research or work in a job related to chemistry research, that could actually look really good.</p>
<p>My comment is really towards the future spouse…I was seriously dating someone in college, too, and had been dating him for a while. We did eventually get married - but not until 4 years after I graduated from college. He also ended up having a job that wasn’t portable (military), but he encouraged me to make my graduate school decisions independent of his job. I did, and it worked out beautifully for us.</p>
<p>So my comment is along those lines - obviously living near your boyfriend is ideal, but you shouldn’t make your PhD location solely based on his location, especially if his job is only doable in one place. Like if you can choose anywhere near a large city - that’s different, because there are tons of great departments near large cities. But if he can only work in New York, that might be too constraining on your own aspirations. I know this sounds ridiculous on this end, but 5-6 years isn’t that long - and you’ll have more flexibility on the back end if you choose a better program.</p>
<p>A Ph.D. takes between 5-6 years and so an extra year on the front side is not a problem if you think it will help you in the long run. I agree that getting a second undergraduate degree is not a great idea but as long as you are in for a fifth year, take the kinds of additional courses that will help you prepare for graduate school. Since you are a chemistry major and are considering graduate school in physics (unless I totally misread your initial post), a more formal course in quantum mechanics and an advanced E&M course are good choices along with a mathematical physics course.</p>
<p>Since graduate schools look at the last two years of study, it is likely that if you are able to do well over the next few years, you will not be limited in your options for graduate school.</p>
<p>Finally, about moving from chemistry to physics. This is certainly possible but some programs are more willing to help a student work through this transition than others. Find out about this as you search for graduate programs.</p>