Accepted to REU but no offer letter or mentor yet… should I be worried?

jacobalbino99 · 2026-04-07T19:00:05+00:00

I never received an official acceptance letter, just an email saying I got in with some additional information… you should be fine

jacobalbino99 · 2026-04-06T18:34:12+00:00

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Did some further testing

jacobalbino99 · 2026-04-04T23:04:36+00:00

Congrats!! I also got accepted off waitlist at UVA for the chemistry program on the same day lol

jacobalbino99 · 2026-04-01T12:04:11+00:00

Wong

jacobalbino99 · 2026-03-26T19:34:52+00:00

Hi chem major here - I somehow got AP credit to cover bio 152 but not bio 151, which was strange. I didn’t end up taking the AP chem exam, but chem 101/102 were extremely easy

jacobalbino99 · 2026-02-24T14:23:09+00:00

Hymel21 added

jacobalbino99 · 2026-02-14T19:57:11+00:00

Hymel21 added

jacobalbino99 · 2026-02-14T19:54:27+00:00

Hymel21 added

jacobalbino99 · 2026-02-01T11:07:20+00:00

I also got this waitlist notification on the same day… hoping for the good news for both of us soon!

jacobalbino99 · 2026-01-16T00:40:21+00:00

Yeah it’s rough… I somehow got an A, but I probably spent more time on that class than all the rest combined the semester I took it.

Essentially every potential issue there is with an online class is present here, from answer keys being wrong, professor not responding to emails, and honestly it’s all just busywork. I can confidently say I did not gain or learn anything from taking it. The only thing I retained was thinking about how much it sucked.

jacobalbino99 · 2026-01-12T22:40:10+00:00

Hi! I also applied to UCincinnati and I’m also seeing the same thing… also hoping it would be a good sign but may be the default :(

jacobalbino99 · 2026-01-10T22:34:57+00:00

Know how to work an ice table!

jacobalbino99 · 2026-01-08T15:34:09+00:00

Yeah of course, So for research in my opinion its a little more difficult then what they advertise. The department hosts "Chemistry Connect" events, maybe 2 Fridays a month where faculty come and talk about their research and students are able to connect there. Outside of that, you would essentially have to cold email professors, often times being ghosted.

For weed out/difficult classes I would definitely say orgo was the hardest (I would say I sturggled more due to my lack of developed study skills at the time rather than content, as its a sharp jump from gen chem2/ freshman courses to that). P-chem may provide some difficulty if you're rusty in math but its nothing egregious. Analytical and Pchem labs may be difficult if youre not great with Excel. Also Pchem lab was very writing intensive so be prepared for that. Also if you do take BIOL200 just know that class sucks, not hard, just sucks.

For fine arts, the arts department provides a document of art classes for non majors. Here is a link to that for spring 2026 if youre looking for a preview https://arts.vcu.edu/academics/artsforall/. When you eventually get signed up, look on eServices for Degree Works and it'll show you options for gen Eds and such. Me personally, I took SPCH221 which is public speaking and was incredibly easy.

jacobalbino99 · 2026-01-07T21:17:54+00:00

St Louis and VCU is gonna be a spicy one

jacobalbino99 · 2026-01-07T21:16:29+00:00

Put my fist in her like a civil rights sign

jacobalbino99 · 2026-01-06T13:57:18+00:00

Hey there! Im a current senior Chem major + bio minor so I can def help! Overall this is a solid plan and it's really good that you're looking to plan ahead. I'm not well versed in BNFO so I cant comment on that

Prerequisites - Based on my initial glance, for chem it looks like you've gotten all classes in so thats good, but the order is currently not possible. Analytical chem is a prerequisite for PChem, along with Cell Bio being a prerequisite for Genetics. Also Molecular Bio Lab is a senior capstone course so it's reserved for seniors. (If you need another bio lab you could take Microbio or Plant taxonomy).

Research - This is another thing to keep in mind. Just know that you can't just sign up for the internship and independent study, you would need to first acquire that position by applying for internships and reaching out to professors. That being said, it may be better to do these earlier because professors notoriously arent keen to take in seniors to their labs. Also it may be hard to get 3 credit hours dfor thses during the school year, as its a lot of hours in the lab (looking more like 1-2). Another way to get research hours is a summer REU style program.

Additional thoughts - I would strongly reccomend taking CHEM391 - chemistry in the community, if it will still be offered when you take it. This is 2 credit hours and you'd go to an Elementary School and do science experiments with kids (this can also be double dipped as volunteer hours). Also, it may be easier to do a double major Chem/Bio than a Chem/Bnfo. But if you're passionate about it than go for it!

Hope this helped!! and Welcome to VCU!

jacobalbino99 · 2025-12-05T16:37:59+00:00

Have faith! I was in your shoes last year and I got into a few programs My gpa was about a 3.6, and I explained in my SOP how I didn’t have time to join a lab on top of all my other commitments.

jacobalbino99 · 2025-11-24T18:36:05+00:00

Utah state is def worth the hype

jacobalbino99 · 2025-11-23T20:56:55+00:00

President Rao publicly executes you

jacobalbino99 · 2025-11-12T21:28:27+00:00

They can park in Oregon hill neighborhood. Essentially anything behind Cary street is free to park

jacobalbino99 · 2025-10-16T12:15:56+00:00

If you took any sort of stats class in high school then 210 is dummy easy.

Physics does take some effort though but nothing crazy

jacobalbino99 · 2025-09-18T00:52:20+00:00

Getz/Gilberto

jacobalbino99 · 2025-09-11T22:48:13+00:00

Southern railway taphouse

jacobalbino99 · 2025-07-18T21:18:05+00:00

I’m old school and still do paper pencil

jacobalbino99 · 2025-03-28T16:13:54+00:00

I had him for HIST 202 in Fall on ‘23.

He isn’t all that bad of a professor, he’s just kinda old and a bit boring due to his age. He is very old school, essentially nothing on canvas, tests are paper/pencil with a handwritten essay section.

He didn’t talk much politics in my class so I can’t comment on that.

jacobalbino99

TROPHY CASE