That is awesome that your D will get to rotate through several labs. I am sure that my D would be interested in looking at schools that offered an rotational option. Thank you for that info.
"The choice of thesis advisor is critical. He can be your mentor or your tor-mentor. "
Absolutely. I know I said this before, but to me, this is the #1 determining factor of your grad school experience (and subsequent success.) For some reason, there seems to be a high correlation between scientific brilliance and bullying/churlishness/harshnessâŠat least in my limited experience.
Just look at EJ Corey: renowned organic chemist and Nobel laureate. Three of his grad students committed suicide over the course of 15 years.
If your daughter can identify schools with a rotation component, I think thatâs a great option. (Thatâs what they do at the university for which I work - all first year grad students are required to do a semester-long rotation with at least 3 professors before they can choose a mentor and lab.) Thereâs no better way to evaluate the lab environment and the mentorâs personality than being immersed in it for months.
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I just wanted to give an update on my DDâs summer and her plans. DD had a very good summer overall and it gave her a better idea of what type of research interests that she has overall. The PI of the lab gave her several âtestsâ to see how she would respond (she did well) and she was given several opportunities. It looks like she will get her name on 2 published papers this fall and her final oral presentation on her main research topic went well. Overall, her PI was a phenomenal advisor and wants her to come to the institution so she can continue doing research in his lab (Analytical/Biochemistry based research lab).
DD did a lot more analytical/statistical work this summer, which she was very good at but she also wants to use more cutting edge equipment and is leaning more towards Biochemistry for her PhD. She is hoping to be able to present her summer research this fall at the Gulf Coast Undergraduate Research Symposium (GCURS) at Rice University and is looking at a couple of other Research Symposiums to attend. DD is likely to take the GRE (she has been prepping for both Chemistry subject GRE and General GRE), but it is no longer a 100% certainty since most schools are no longer requiring the tests. She has an offer to work in a research lab this fall, but it is not in an area of interest, so I am not sure if she will accept that offer or continue to look for another lab (or just continue her well paying tutorial gig in chemistry and math).
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Congratulations to her on the publications. Is she narrowing down her list? Are the northeast schools still off her list?
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She has definitely cut down her list, but I think that she may add a couple of schools. I am hoping for a little peer pressure (quite a few of her friends plan to apply and to attend schools in the Northeast), so I donât think they are completely off the table yet. International schools are out, and a couple of schools came with iffy feedback after doing more in-depth research. I am hoping that she will apply to 3-5 schools in the Northeast once she sees what those schools have to offer.
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My D just started her Chem PhD (fully funded) at one of the schools you listed above. I echo the great advice about choosing the labs/potential mentors vs just the name of the school.
Just to throw it out there, my D worked for 2 years at a well known research lab first. It helped hone her area of interest. Between work mentors and professor mentors, she was able to pare down her initial list. She is very comfortable and efficient (at least so far) in the lab. She did say she has to brush up a bit on the Chemistry. The Chem PhD is a relatively long road, so adding 2 years of practical work may not be worth it for some. Dâs BF also worked for a couple of years in a lab. What he discovered was he was not so interested in being a scientist as being in the science business, so he has opted for business school.
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Along those lines, itâs probably worth reading this. It was posted by @boneh3ad, himself an engineering PhD, and now college professor, in the engineering forum.
https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2017/08/should-you-go-grad-school
My view is that one should only pursue a PhD degree if a) itâs required, for all intents and purposes, for the career path she is on, and b) she is really a top student. Donât do it because of the prestige or the thinking that it may help careerwise.
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My DD has had a love of Chemistry for a very long time and has been thinking about Grad school for almost as long⊠Her Godmother has a PhD in Organic Chemistry, her 2 Aunts both have PhDs in an Engineering discipline and her Mom is a high school chemistry teacher so she has spent a lot of time in Chemistry labs. She would visit the lab I worked in various roles for 10 years (Manufacturing plantâs quality control lab). Besides her Mom, I have never met anyone who loves being in a lab more.
She 1st told me of her goal to get a PhD at an age that I believed to be too young to understand the commitment (at age 13 after her Auntâs wedding/reception where she saw over 100 African-Americans with Masters degrees, PhDs, MDs, and MD/PhD in STEM disciplines). I still remember fondly the giddy excitement that she had when she 1st balanced a set of chemical equations and her volunteering to setup high school labs for her Mom for years. DD has been able to do quite a bit of undergraduate research so far and I have not sensed a wavering in her overarching goal, but she is also applying to a couple of post-baccalaureate programs just in case she had a question about the type of research she wants to do.
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My DD is a part of her universityâs top scholarship program whose main goal is to send students to graduate school to obtain PhDs and MD/PhDs and she is a top student in her program, department, and at her university. I agree that it is important to choose a PhD for the right reason and for her, it is all about doing research that can make the world a better place, in a subject that she âin loveâ with. She still has a âromanticâ view of grad school that has always made me nervous, but she has heard the good and bad of getting a terminal degree from a lot of smart people and yet it still remains.
I just wanted to give an update and say thank you for all of the expert advice (@eyemgh, @BKsquared, @Scout59, @Momprof9904, @MITPhysicsAlum, @tdy123, @collegemom3717, etc.) given on this thread.
My kid ended up applying to a American Chemical Society (ACS) Bridge program for under-represented minority students in Chemistry/Biochemistry/Chemical Engineering that has over 30 schools involved and the completed application sent her information to all of the schools attached to the program. My student ended up being asked to interview for 15 of the schools and was offered a spot into 10 of the programs along with applying, interviewing and being accepted to 2 other outside Bridge programs that had similar timelines.
Most of the programs were similar in that they offered a fully funded Masters with an opportunity to continue towards a PhD, a couple of programs were just Post-Bacs with a opportunity to continue or apply to other PhD programs the following year, and some were for PhD programs only. My kid was offered immediate acceptance into some of the programs as a PhD student instead of the Postbac or Master degree programs
She was accepted into ACS Bridge Programs at:
Georgia Tech, UC San Diego, Northeastern, Ohio State, University of Wisconsin (Madison), University of Indiana (Bloomington), Florida State, Villanova, University of Rochester, and UT Southwestern Medical Center, along with outside programs at the LSU Medical Center in New Orleans and a Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters to PhD program.
I am thankful for her unbelievable results and that most of her interviews went very well. I am also thankful for her recommendations, including 1 from a mentor whose recommendation carried much more weight than she understood before applying as multiple interviewers mentioned her mentor by name during the interview process. Some of the schools also gave âenhancedâ offers which were very flattering.
My scholar ended up choosing to go to Grad school at a USNWR top 25 Graduate Chemistry department that is doing âsuper interestingâ cutting edge research and has multiple labs and PIs that have been very generous with their time and answering her questions, along with providing a generous stipend and support.
For Students - American Chemical Society(ACS,and%20diversity%20in%20graduate%20education.
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Congratulations!
It has been wonderful to follow your daughterâs journey on CC from when she was first looking at undergrad admissions several years ago to her success now.
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Congratulations to you both!!
What a great set of choices for her. Itâs a long & winding road, but really worthwhile.
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Congrats!
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I did have one last questionâŠ
- What is the biggest adjustment you had to make or have seen needed in 1st year graduate students?
Lifestyle-wise, I have told both my kids, including the one in grad school, that they were off the payroll. The one in grad school was working for 2 years and her BF was also working, so they could live in decent comfort back then. They are both in grad school now, so I get the sense that the budget is tighter, more meals at home and brown bag lunches.
Academically, while she still has some courses to take, the primary focus is on her research projects in her lab.
The biggest change are her TA duties, and dealing with sometimes very needful and unfortunately unprepared undergrads.
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Grad School update: My wife and I are now back at home after flying out to visit our 1st year grad student. I am shocked at the luxury of her on-campus apartment (fully furnished with 12 foot ceilings and up to date modern stainless steel appliances), and the beauty of her new campus. We ended up spending some money during our stay to fill her refrigerator and get her some necessities after finding out that her 1st stipend payment may not be until November 1st.
She has met with her advisors, the new cohort of grad students, selected her classes for the Fall quarter and has selected her Masterâs degree concentration (Biochemistry/Molecular Biophysics). Due to being a part of an ACS program, she will be treated like a PhD and go through 3 lab rotations and TA training during her 1st quarter in school. Classes have not started yet, but she has been going into some of the labs and has already gotten some early training out of the way. She has never been happier.
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