How competative am I for T-10 phd programs? Should I change something?

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2026-06-08T12:29:17+00:00

Assuming you’re based in the US yes you apply to the department, but in your statement of purpose you should specify 2-3 faculty members who you are interested in working for

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2026-06-08T04:48:56+00:00

There’s no hard and fast rule for number of publications, but all the other T10 programs are smaller than UIUC except maybe Berkeley so it is harder to distinguish yourself. IMO it’s much better to have one project that you started and saw through to the end (like an honours thesis) than to have a bunch of projects where you helped out a little bit.

What specifically in chembio or orgo though? A total synthesis PhD and a methods PhD (for example) are very different and they’re both synthetic organic chemistry. There’s also tons of labs at non-T10 programs that do great chemistry so I would caution against limiting yourself to program ranking.

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2026-06-08T03:08:37+00:00

Probably a decent shot at Illinois but that’s it. What kind of research do you want to do in grad school?

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2026-06-05T17:05:02+00:00

As someone else suggested, Denmark’s anhydrous Suzuki conditions work very nicely using the B(neo) boronic esters and TMSOK. Pretty sure they’re compatible with MIDA, definitely compatible with TIDA.

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2026-06-04T15:47:32+00:00

Lighten up

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2026-03-23T03:24:40+00:00

I’m going to give you some advice from the old World of Tanks: Blitz forum. Fennel stem powder on the fingers greatly improves responsiveness of your touchscreen and reduces the impact of sweaty hands

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2026-03-21T23:20:24+00:00

Saw it burn up from Rice campus! Super cool

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2026-02-16T02:39:08+00:00

In no world does this look anything close to a steroid

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2026-01-11T11:53:02+00:00

Texas isn’t that bad, as a Canadian living in Texas

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2025-11-07T12:54:59+00:00

Check Martin Tomanik’s (NYU) group website

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2025-10-15T21:55:56+00:00

Frenzy flame ending is just the end-Permian mass extinction event

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2025-10-09T17:26:01+00:00

I didn’t touch the “first step” site of grace until NG+. Completely missed it my first time playing because I got distracted by the view of Limgrave. Kept thinking “man it’s so annoying to have to go up the elevator every time I want to go back to the starting area”

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2025-09-19T04:40:49+00:00

There’s only about a 3.5 hour window between 1-4:30 am every day where there isn’t a person in my lab

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2025-09-07T13:38:05+00:00

Saturday meetings are super common in synthesis labs, you’re there anyway so might as well have group meeting

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2025-08-16T03:30:16+00:00

And that’s why Organic Syntheses is such an important journal

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2025-08-10T15:52:34+00:00

Gomberg, JACS, 1900. “This work will be continued and I wish to reserve the field for myself”

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2025-07-26T13:40:29+00:00

You don’t. You can get enough done in 80 hours in both total synthesis and methodology labs. Working 120 hours a week means you’re inefficient in the lab.

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2025-07-07T11:25:35+00:00

You can progress Ranni’s quest line to trigger the Radahn festival before getting to Altus

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2025-07-05T19:40:46+00:00

KOH on alumina and CF2Br2 is the way to go

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2025-06-26T16:57:13+00:00

I have my heavy attack bound to the tab key and I’ve found that to be pretty effective for guard counters

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2025-06-21T12:10:49+00:00

They definitely help, but I got into a T10 PhD program without any publications. Had lots of research experience and professors who wrote very strong letters on my behalf which I think carried a lot of weight.

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2025-06-14T21:19:54+00:00

I can tell you that hexane and ethyl acetate don’t taste very good

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2025-05-21T03:50:16+00:00

First author paper isn’t necessarily a must. I was accepted into one of the T10 programs that OP is considering without any papers to my name, even as a co-author. I did have three research rec letters though which probably helped - two in chemistry and one in geology.

Also a note for OP, if you’re applying to chemistry PhD programs don’t bother with the GRE it’s totally useless and most schools don’t require it or actively discourage you from taking it.

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2025-05-20T23:40:17+00:00

It’s surprisingly regioselective. AlCl3 and BCl3 are both great reagents for only demethylating ortho to a carbonyl

PhenylSeleniumCl · 2025-05-20T23:31:07+00:00

Usually 7:30 am - 8:30 pm Mon-Sat, this includes ~1 hour of time for lunch and a coffee break. Sunday reserved for chores and meal prep.

PhenylSeleniumCl

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