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Department of ChemistryUpdate…You have been immensely helpful. I have copied your posts and texted them to her. She was very excited to have such a well thought out/helpful advice. Thank you!As I said, have her focus on the research topics and the personality of the professors whose topics she's interested in. For a PhD in the hard sciences you're selecting a professor and research topic area as much as you are selecting a university. She'll be working with her advisor for the next 4-6 years so that relationship is critical. Once she has a short list, she should ask for descriptions of the upcoming research topics she'd likely work on and the name of at least 1 current PhD student, preferably one that came directly from undergrad and not from industry, and one that has 3 or more years in the program. Then she should set up a phone call with that student to understand the program and professor and what the lab is like. She should ask that student for the name of another student or try to find one on FB or LinkedIn. Getting multiple perspectives about a potential advisor is crucial. Picking a good one that is supportive and not terrible might be the most important aspect of doing a PhD in the hard sciences. The other is staying motivated on the topic area throughout the 4-6 years of work that lie ahead. Lots of life to be had and learned between 22 and 27.
“Massachusetts Institute of Technology
April 12, 2023
Dear Piper,
This letter is to confirm that we have received your acceptance regarding our offer of admission. Congratulations on your admission! We look forward to seeing you soon.
Best,
MIT Graduate Admissions”
She was initially somewhat intimidated by the professors she wants to work with as one is currently on the space station and the other is a MacArthur grant recipient.
Congrats! Which department?
Although she is eligible to take classes in other disciplines/may take classes in other disciplines through the interdisciplinary doctoral program. She has mentioned interest in AI/ machine learning.
Dear Piper,
I am writing to congratulate you on your success in gaining admission
to the graduate program in MIT's Department of Chemistry, and to ad
my congratulations on your admission to the interdepartment
Program in Polymers and Soft Matter.
We were happy to learn of your interest in the Program in Polymers
and Soft Matter (PPSM) which is MIT's interdisciplinary doctoral
program in soft matter that involves the teaching and research activities
of more than thirty faculty members across the Institute. Five
departments (Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering,
Materials Science and Engineering, Biological Engineering, and
Chemistry) cede to PPM faculty the responsibility of qualifying
carefully-selected students for doctoral candidacy. These qualifying examinations, both oral and written, are given in May of each year,and they are based on the core PPSM curriculum comprising foundational subjects in soft matter, polymer science and engineering
This interdisciplinary path to doctoral candidacy provides an
opportunity for immediate graduate-level focus on polymers and soft
matter for those students who have developed an interest in the field in
their undergraduate years. Disciplinary overlap with the curricular
experience of graduate students in the home department (in your case
Chemistry) is obtained in the second year of residence in PPSM
through the department-centered minor requirement. More details
appear on the PPM website [http://polymerscience.mit.edu].
I am the current faculty director of PPSM, and among my
responsibilities is the oversight of the PPM review of folders of
accepted students who have expressed interest in the Program. I am
very pleased to inform you that this review process is now complete
and that you are now accepted into PPSM. For planning purposes,
please contact Gregory Sands by email (gsands@mit.edu) by Friday
April 14'* to accept or decline the offer to join the program this fall.
Congratulations again on your outstanding record of accomplishment at
Virginia Tech, and on your success in the highly competitive MIT
graduate admissions process. I will look forward to the possibility
of welcoming you to MIT for this new chapter in your academic
journey in the Fall.
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