Hi everyone,
As said in the title, we’re in for yet another wall of text describing some random guy’s academic life so far and asking for an estimate of my chances of getting into a good grad school. I do understand that posts of that kind are already pilling up by the million and that charts of top unis’ acceptance rates are easy to find, but there are a few details in my case that make me wish for a more specific answer.
This is probably going to be a pretty boring post, so my thanks in advance to those who will take the time to read it, and hopefully come with an answer. So, let’s begin.
General Profile: European chemistry student, currently completing a Master’s in a top 5 UK university
My objective: becoming a successful researcher in chemistry - more specifically, in chemical biology and medicinal chemistry. By “successful”, I mean having achieved a good position, preferentially in the USA, UK or Canada, and a level of recognition that provides me with the means needed to conduct decent research and a not-too-broke lifestyle.
My target; Being about to finish my Master’s, I have been looking for a PhD position in the field I am interested in. Unfortunately, I recently (and way too late) came to the realisation that a crushing majority of successful academics I look up to are:
- Holding position in either the US big twelve (MIT, Harvard, Berkeley, Stanford, Princeton, Chicago, Caltech, Rockfeller, Scripps, Columbia, Yale, Northwestern) or in Oxbridge.
- Alumni of either a top-notch US grad school (as listed above, with a strong majority of Berkeley-MIT-Harvard), Oxbridge or McGill/Toronto.
Because of that point, I now realise that the next best move for my career would be to get into one of these grad schools before it is too late, as my PhD will be my last shot at becoming a proper alumnus of one of these unis.
Before proceeding any further, there’s one thing I’d really like to mention: I DO NOT want to get into these unis for the sake of glory or to prove something about myself. I actually never cared much for brands and auras, and pretty much went where I knew I could get a good education and do the research I wanted. Unfortunately, it became increasingly clear to me as I started entering academic research that this world is a highly deterministic, mob-like one, where networks and pedigree tend to outweight scientific skills when it comes to professional success. The reason I’d like to transfer to a prestigious grad school is purely strategic and, I think, does not emerge from some childish fascination for prestige.
So. To get back to my target: If you are alumni/faculty of one of these schools, or have a relevant experience of the system, I would like your opinion on my chances of getting into the chemistry grad schools of :
- Harvard
- MIT
- Berkeley
- Stanford
- Princeton
- University of Chicago
- Caltech
- Columbia
- Yale
- The Scripps
- The Rockfeller Institute
- Northwestern University
And, out of the US:
- Oxbridge
- McGill
- Uniersity of Toronto
I do understand that the list is massive, and do not expect to get a specific answer for each of these schools.The reason why I am shooting so wide is obviously to increase my chances of getting a position somewhere. Also, considering that grad schools tend to function differently from undergrad admission, with each having its preferences in terms of student background and “inbreeding”, it seems to me that a specific answer would trump a broad entry-rate based estimate.
Detailed profile:
- Education: European student. Holding two BSc in biology and physical chemistry an a MSci in chemistry from the top university of my country, all obtained with distinction. About to graduate, hopefully first of my class, from a top 5 UK university, thus obtaining a second Master's degree in organic synthesis/chemical biology. Current GPA: 4.0.
- Research achievements: Over 3 years of research experience in total in a variety of fields (computational physics, neurosciences, synthetic chemistry...). Currently finishing a 18-months long placement in the UK. The research I have done here got my name on a high impact paper, and should yield one if not two more papers before January.
- Recommendations: Can expect 3 letters of recommendation from UK academic ranging from very high profile to up-and-coming (which might help in the UK, but probably not that much in America).
- Extracurricular activities: Have worked for 2 years as a volunteer tutor and teacher in ghetto high school.
- Standardised tests: I have yet to take both the general and chemistry GRE, probably in October after a month of intensive prep. Although its looks like a lot of bother, I am not too scared of these, as I consistently scored around or above the minimal score on past papers without any preparation.
One last thing:
Because of unexpected circumstances, I will have to take a gap year between the end of my master’s and the start of my PhD, as applying in December would only allow me to start during the Fall 2016. The reason to this is infuriating: I had been offered a scholarship and a PhD position I was perfectly happy with here in the UK, only to realise later on that my residency time on British soil rules me out of the funding scheme coming with it. As a result, I lost my position way past the application deadlines for grad schools, and ended up PhD-less for the year to come. Joke’s on me: I should have checked the small prints. Anyway, I intend to use this gap year to get a job in a relevant sector (pharma, biotech…) and volunteer abroad - hopefully it will make this year look like a plus in my application.
Damn. That post was way too long.
Again, thanks to whoever had the patience to read it. The answer to the questions I’m asking here could have a significant impact on a decision I will have to take in the upcoming months.