<p>Hello everyone,</p>
<p>I am a senior at the University of Minnesota majoring in chemistry and Spanish. I transferred here sophomore year from Northwestern University, which I found to be incredibly overrated and lame (and extremely expensive). </p>
<p>Recently I have decided that I would like to attend graduate school and pursue a PhD in chemistry. I will be graduating this semester with a BS in chemistry but have two Spanish courses left to take next Fall for the BA.</p>
<p>My research experience/industry work with chemistry includes 6 months of work in a display and graphics lab at 3M as a technical aide, as well as 6 months in an academic lab working with organic reactions. </p>
<p>I quit my position at 3M to work in the organic lab on campus. The professor under whom I worked is very well known and the position was an incredible learning experience. Unfortunately, the graduate student with whom I directly worked was a complete jerk. He made my life in the lab utterly miserable and so this semester I decided to leave the lab. </p>
<p>My resignation was discussed with the professor and I left on good terms (he told me he would definitely write me a recommendation letter). I worry now, however, about my chances at graduate school admission. All aspiring grad students in my classes are still very much involved with their lab work and some even have a publication. Now that I'm not in a lab I feel that I am lacking in this critically important area. I don't want to join another research lab this semester, though, because my course load is heavy (polymers lab, green chemistry lecture, inorganic lecture and a Spanish lecture). </p>
<p>I certainly don't have the raw intelligence of many of my chemistry peers but I am an extremely hard worker--my cumulative GPA from Minnesota and general GRE scores are 3.986 and 680 V/790 Q/4.5 AW, respectively. My Northwestern GPA (which I will definitely have to send to grad schools) was a 3.970. I have not yet taken the chemistry GRE, something I will do next Fall when I apply to schools (I'm taking a year off to live in Latin America for Spring semester 2012 and hope to enroll in grad school Fall 2013).</p>
<p>Despite my GPA and GRE is my lack of research experience going to screw me over for a top program? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Thanks,
John</p>