Posted on behalf of Materials Girl
So… it has sadly been ages since I wrote a post for TSC. Finals for winter quarter are rapidly approaching, and unlike Stu, I don’t have the legitimate reason of starting up Nature Chemistry. It’s just been long hours in class/lab and late nights spent writing lab reports or essays – nevermind battling senioritis. (The latter is especially difficult these days as my peers on the semester system are preparing for graduation, while the rest of us will be in school through June).
At the beginning of my undergraduate studies, the difference in academic standards between high school and university came as an unexpected shock. It felt as though that nothing could upstage the difficulties of earning all As instead of A-minuses. Now, those gruelling undergrad o-chem labs seem trivial and writing a 10-page paper in any subject is more of an extended frustration than a hair-ripping horror (although theses still scare me). With whatever wisdom my 3.5 undergraduate years have imparted, I have: 1) discovered that constantly working hard is a given, 2) come to terms with “bad” grades, and 3) learned the importance of higher education in the sciences.
This raises a subject that has lately piqued my curiosity: It comes without saying that a majority of chemists need graduate degrees, but how important is it to have them from a top university, renowned advisor, or an especially demanding program? It’s been said that the undergraduate institution attended is of relatively little consequence, but will the name of my graduate school make a real impact on my future prospects?
“how important is it to have them from a top university, renowned advisor, or an especially demanding program? It’s been said that the undergraduate institution attended is of relatively little consequence, but will the name of my graduate school make a real impact on my future prospects?”
Depending on what you want to do, I think it matters, but only to a point. If you want to be pretty good but not the best, which I think is what most people should aspire to, you should go to a pretty good university and work for a pretty good advisor. You shouldn’t go to the best or work for the best, because the expectations are set too high and you are more likely to get stressed out and more likely to have a bad experience. Grad school is hard enough no matter where you are, and the quality of the education and research experience is just as good or better (can be whatever you make it) in a number of mid-tier groups compared to top-tier groups.
Of course, if your goals are to become one of the very best, a well-known name in the field, etc., then by all means set your sights higher. Depends where you want to end up.
My two cents, and I could very well be wrong.