Let’s say that you’re a junior or senior in college, and you’ve pretty much decided that you’re heading to graduate school for chemistry after you finish your studies.That means it’s time to consider where to apply and what your application package will look like.
In contrast to applying to colleges, applications for graduate schools are much more straightforward (no agonizing over penning the perfect personal statement!), and in some cases, deciding where to apply is just as hard as actually applying.
So before we dive into the gradaute school application itself, let’s look at a couple of factors to consider when narrowing down your list.
Know which schools are the best at what you do, i.e. Chemistry!
Remember that during the course of your Ph. D. studies, you’re going to become an expert in a very narrow field (and if your field is narrow enough, you may even be the expert). So at this point, university rankings like “Top 50 Universities Worldwide” are essentially useless in terms of guiding your decision. While top-name schools will always attract applications, they may not necessarily be the best choice for your research. If you’ve been involved in research in your field (and want to continue on in the same field, of course), you should know who and where the big players are. And if you’re not sure, ask! Most professors have extensive networks in their research areas, and are more than willing to share their thoughts with you. Of course, this can also include (sometimes extreme) personal biases, so it doesn’t hurt to talk to more than a couple of people about your options. Similarly, if you know people with careers in areas that interest you, ask them where their companies go to recruit. Oftentimes you’ll find that various companies have strong relationships with specific universities – these are the schools you should be adding to your list.
Don’t limit yourself to a single professor.
Perhaps you know (or at least, think you know) exactly what it is you want to study, and who you want to study under. It’s still best to leave your options open. Remember, you’ll be spending the better part of roughly 5 years in your chosen lab, and to make such a huge decision without experiencing a lab firsthand is somewhat reckless. While you may be deeply interested in what the professor studies, you may find that they are contemplating a new research direction. Or you may not like the atmosphere in the working space itself. Or, you may love the professor and the lab, but you can’t see yourself living in a big city. The point is, there are a number of scenarios to consider, and if you tie yourself to a single professor before you’re applications are in, you may miss out on other, equally exciting opportunities. It’s easy to look at your pile of acceptance letters and decide where you’ll be going and what you’ll do, but try to go into the visits with an open mind. You may find yourself surprised by certain schools, or even disappointed by what you thought was your first choice. Even if you love everything about a professor and their lab, keep in mind that they may not be taking students in a given year, and you may end up at a school with little else that excites you. So as a general rule, apply to the school, not the chemistry lab.
Make use of your visits to graduate schools.
One of the best parts of the grad school application process is that most schools that accept you will have a recruiting weekend. They’ll pay for your trip to visit the school, allowing you to experience (at least briefly) the atmosphere of the school and its location, meet with current students and post-docs, and talk to professors about their research. So dive in – don’t just go through the motions. It’s the best opportunity you’ll have to contact current students to ask about their own work, what motivates them, how happy they are, and other similar questions that most professors/administrators can’t really address. It’s also the one time where top professors will be going out of their way to sell themselves to you, so enjoy it!
Don’t ignore the rest of your life.
Seriously. While the better part of your graduate school years will be spent in the lab, or working on problem sets, or preparing talks, don’t forget that these are also among the best years of your life! So make sure that you’ll be in an environment where you can also thrive as a person outside of lab. This may mean narrowing your list down to a certain area, or only schools with active opera groups, or only places where you can surf on the weekends, but whatever it is, make sure that you’ll enjoy living outside of school. Again, the visits will be a huge help in figuring out what is most important to you. Grad school is a long process and can certainly be trying at times, so make sure that you’ll have enough ways to recharge when things aren’t going as well as you’d hoped. Don’t be afraid to make a subjective decision based on the vibes you’re getting from a particular school.
If you have a strong application package, chances are that you’ll be choosing between several great programs. With that in mind, it’s impossible to make a “wrong” decision.
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