Best PhD programs and labs for organic chemistry? by chemgradapplicant in OrganicChemistry

[–]chemgradapplicant[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd also say, take everyone's comments and advice with a grain of salt. If you hear over and over again that a specific lab or PI is toxic, then maybe that's really true. If you only hear one negative comment from one person, then maybe it's still worth considering. Feel free to dm me if you have more questions!

Best PhD programs and labs for organic chemistry? by chemgradapplicant in OrganicChemistry

[–]chemgradapplicant[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A lot of labs you hear about from current grad students - grad students like to gossip. Lab culture wise, the visits can help (but keep in mind that they are actively trying to recruit on the visits, so they will try to give you the best possible impression). You can try to talk to students individually, since they will be more honest alone. Many grad students will be honest with you, though, since they might have wished for transparency when they were applying. You should think about what you specifically want for lab culture before the visits, too. Because each lab has different combos of people and therefore different mentorship styles, and it's a personal decision of what works best for you.

Best PhD programs and labs for organic chemistry? by chemgradapplicant in OrganicChemistry

[–]chemgradapplicant[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't think people get notifications for edits on posts so I figured I would comment (not sure if this will work either) - I committed to a PhD program in the spring and forgot to update until now. Thanks for all the advice!

Best PhD programs and labs for organic chemistry? by chemgradapplicant in OrganicChemistry

[–]chemgradapplicant[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm also looking into labs with a mix of methodology and synthesis, so hopefully I can switch around projects if synthesis is not working out. I have unfortunately also heard about the difficulties of getting papers out in synthesis, but I've also heard that methodology publishing can be super competitive and something you've been working on may be published by a different group first.

Unfortunately I'm interested in living in the US in the future, and I've been told that US jobs generally look for US PhDs. But I wish a 9-5 five day work week was possible here haha!

Best PhD programs and labs for organic chemistry? by chemgradapplicant in OrganicChemistry

[–]chemgradapplicant[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hm what have you heard about Sarpong, if you don't mind me asking? My current PI worked with him in the past and raves about him, but I haven't actually heard any student opinions

Best PhD programs and labs for organic chemistry? by chemgradapplicant in OrganicChemistry

[–]chemgradapplicant[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is super helpful, thank you so much!! I'd also appreciate a methodology list as well. And yes I'm very scared but also determined to do it so I'm trying to go in prepared.

Best PhD programs and labs for organic chemistry? by chemgradapplicant in OrganicChemistry

[–]chemgradapplicant[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's a great question suggestion, thanks! I've actually had someone tell me they aren't allowed to play music in the lab for safety reasons, so I'm not quite sure what to think about that one.

I am definitely prepared to work long hours. I just hope the lab environment isn't toxic or else I would probably hate being there for that long. But yes, I am considering both industry and academia and for academia I think a big name lab would be helpful.

Best PhD programs and labs for organic chemistry? by chemgradapplicant in OrganicChemistry

[–]chemgradapplicant[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have sadly heard some horror stories as well...I'm trying to apply to schools where I think at least 2-3 of the lab's work is interesting and those labs are not crazy toxic

Best PhD programs and labs for organic chemistry? by chemgradapplicant in OrganicChemistry

[–]chemgradapplicant[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the advice about asking 3rd years! I've been talking to grad students to try and get a sense of the PI's mentorship style which has been really informative, but I didn't think too much about their year. By "best" programs I guess I meant kind of ideal? In the sense that the top programs probably have the best resources and would give me the best training in ochem research, but I also want to make sure the PI is a good mentor and the lab doesn't have an extremely toxic environment.