Chemical Forums

Specialty Chemistry Forums => Chemical Education and Careers => Topic started by: abselom on July 15, 2013, 10:42:01 AM

Title: Transferring schools and major
Post by: abselom on July 15, 2013, 10:42:01 AM
Hi,

I recently transferred to University of Illinois at Urbana from the US Military Academy (class of 2015). I'm going to be a Junior. At the academy, I was an electrical engineering major, but when I transferred I didn't have enough pre-requisites so I had to go into chemistry. Most of required non-major classes transferred (except two) and so I can be expected to graduate in two year.

My GPA at the academy was a 3.1 (I know it's pretty low) and I'm working on improving my GPA at UIUC. The real downer is that because the academy is a military school, I do not have any interning experience or research experience so far. I'm planning on joining a research group at UIUC and using the last summer I have to build my resume.

I was wondering whether I have a decent shot at going to graduate school in two years or whether I should just extend my education two four more years?
Title: Re: Transferring schools and major
Post by: Corribus on July 15, 2013, 07:01:34 PM
Presuming your GREs aren't a disaster, your chances are great.  UIUC is one of the better ranked schools in the country for chemistry, 3.1 isn't a terrible GPA, you've been in the military (which is usually looked at as a desirable thing), and presumably you're American (which will also make you a desirable candidate).  I'd say the majority of applicants also don't have more than 1 or 2 summers of serious chemistry-related summer internships, so if you spend your last summer getting some work experience in a lab, you won't be far behind at all.
Title: Re: Transferring schools and major
Post by: abselom on July 16, 2013, 09:08:22 AM
Thanks!