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Offlinelittle cap
Stranger

Registered: 07/18/11
Posts: 42
Last seen: 10 years, 2 months
should i or should i not put this on my uni statement?
    #15087638 - 09/16/11 02:10 PM (12 years, 8 months ago)

not sure if this is the right place to write this, if it needs moving to a more suitable forum please do.

basically i am going to be studying chemistry at university next year and my main choice of university is oxford, plus others.....i live in UK by the way :smile:
so i have to write a personal statement as part of the application as everybody does, not sure if its the same in US or not...but any way the main reason i got really interested in chemistry is because i have always been interested in things like drug action on mind and body, psychopharmacology and the likes and was obviously very inspired by shulgins books: pihkal and tihkal...this is what really got me interested enough to leave my job and get back into education at 23 years old. its not just this that i love i genuinely love all aspects of chemistry . my only concern is do i put the real true reason what got me first following this path about my fascination with drug design etc etc or do you think my interviewers etc will not understand where im coming from and will research the books and be disgusted (i know how closed minded  some ppl can be when the word 'drug' is brought up in that way) or do you think i should be open and honest that these are my interests and they will respect that as a genuine scientific interest? that has .....any opinions very welcome
i mean there is something that gets all potential applicants interested in that course that they can write about...just so happens mine are a little more controversial...but i feel if i dont put about this then i will be lying and kinda making up something else instead!

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OfflineEl Douche
El Douchius Maximus

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Re: should i or should i not put this on my uni statement? [Re: little cap]
    #15088904 - 09/16/11 06:55 PM (12 years, 8 months ago)

1


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I'm The Douche, Doucher, His Royal Doucheness, or El Doucherino if you are not into that whole brevity thing.

Trade List : Wanted/have edible cultures, ethobotanicals, cool plants, cacti.

Edited by El Douche (09/16/11 06:58 PM)

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OfflineChuangTzu
starvingphysicist
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Re: should i or should i not put this on my uni statement? [Re: El Douche]
    #15088959 - 09/16/11 07:07 PM (12 years, 8 months ago)

Write it, be honest.  There is nothing wrong with being interested in drug action--there is an entire field of science dedicated to it and it's a massive industry.  Don't be ashamed.

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OfflineEl Douche
El Douchius Maximus

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Re: should i or should i not put this on my uni statement? [Re: El Douche]
    #15089045 - 09/16/11 07:28 PM (12 years, 8 months ago)

Include it, but use general, and less controversial topics. There are many other chemicals, and plants with interesting chemicals that you could research about and include in you statement.

drug action on mind and body, psychopharmacology, and general pharmacology are good general points, and then include some specific examples. You could use Nutrasweet, sacharin, and roundup as examples of chemicals whose properties were accidentally discovered. You could use Shulgin, but keep it to the discovery, and not the recreational use.

I wrote my statement describing what I learned after highschool, such as auto repair, growing many types of edible and medicinal mushrooms, growing rare, endangered, and medicinal plants.... See, that was general (don't say what you grow, or how you use it). Then mention specifics, like how you are interested in the potential for plants and mushrooms to provide medicines, and the pharmacology, and drug action.

Also mentioning your interest in the chemistry of natural products (a challenging area of chemistry), and that you are also interested in making analogs (patentable+moneymaker=returned alumni donations, which they like) of the natural products, and that you want to ALSO study the pharmacology - altruistically for the betterment of humanity and to improve the human experience through healthier living (BS or not).

So, all of this implies you have a broad interest in chemistry and biology, and that you are aiming high. To actually do this type of work, you will probably need an advanced degree also, which unis like to see that you are ambitious. Psycopharmacology is a subset of pharmacology; I would mention psycopharmacology briefly, as in the anti-depressant effects of reishi mushrooms, and then stay on the topic of pharmacology. Unis do not usually feel comfortable accepting people they believe will manufacture controlled substances.

But start working in the field you want. Read more books, collect plants, grow medicinal mushrooms. These all take skills that will demonstrate your ability to independently learn, which suggests to unis that you have a higher chance of succeeding in you endeavors at their institutions.

You may PM me your statement for a critique and suggestions. I did horrible in high school, got a GED, but my statement and my hobbies got me accepted into a decent university, and learning how to learn on my own before I started helped me graduate with honors, and get into a top rated grad school.


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I'm The Douche, Doucher, His Royal Doucheness, or El Doucherino if you are not into that whole brevity thing.

Trade List : Wanted/have edible cultures, ethobotanicals, cool plants, cacti.

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Invisiblekoraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,729
Re: should i or should i not put this on my uni statement? [Re: El Douche]
    #15094816 - 09/18/11 07:50 AM (12 years, 7 months ago)

Quote:

El Douche said:
Include it, but use general, and less controversial topics.



This. I wouldn't recommend making it too apparent in your application that it's psychedelic drugs you're interested in. If you steer a bit more towards medical applications, you'll be less controversial and therefore less dependent on the open-mindedness of the committee that will decide on your admission. The controversial route only seems a viable option to me if you know that your application will end up on the desk of someone who is open to this sort of thing hem/herself, and the way I see it, there is just no way to ascertain that.

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Offlinelittle cap
Stranger

Registered: 07/18/11
Posts: 42
Last seen: 10 years, 2 months
Re: should i or should i not put this on my uni statement? [Re: koraks]
    #15095626 - 09/18/11 12:23 PM (12 years, 7 months ago)

Yea thought about it and is just not worth it...i am still going to mention shulgin and how it was in these books where my first love of chemistry came from but everything else is totally general now....too much to lose by being slightly risky.
wouldn't mention it at all but it seems hard to write about why i love chemistry with out mentioning that at all...at least it will prob be something to talk about at the interview stages if i get that far.

thanks to all of you for your advice it is only people like you who i could even ask......it is a shame that this sort of stuff has to be 'in the shadows' all the time!.

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Invisiblekoraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,729
Re: should i or should i not put this on my uni statement? [Re: little cap]
    #15099528 - 09/19/11 05:20 AM (12 years, 7 months ago)

Let us know how it turns out! Personally, I wouldn't mention Shulgin at all - you don't have to tell them everything, and I still think it would maximize your chances if you don't put anything that is clearly associated with controversial subjects in your application. But on the other hand, I do understand your desire to be honest (at least partly), so it's really a matter of choice. Good luck!

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Offlinejizmaster

Registered: 02/04/08
Posts: 346
Last seen: 9 years, 7 months
Re: should i or should i not put this on my uni statement? [Re: koraks]
    #15105574 - 09/20/11 10:07 AM (12 years, 7 months ago)

Yeah I wouldn't mention Shulgin either. If they know who he is it's probably not going to make a good impression, and if they don't, well, you try googling Alexander Shulgin... Remember the point is simply to get yourself accepted, you can say pretty much whatever you want afterwards.

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Offlinelittle cap
Stranger

Registered: 07/18/11
Posts: 42
Last seen: 10 years, 2 months
Re: should i or should i not put this on my uni statement? [Re: jizmaster]
    #15112441 - 09/21/11 03:03 PM (12 years, 7 months ago)

yea he is officially out of my statement now  :frown:
you are right though jizmaster i thought about it myself......google-> alexander shulgin--> 'godfather of ecstacy-> :shocked: not the best impression i need to show at a top uni!
is a shame i cant tell the truth about something that isnt even a bad thing in my opinion but too much to lose to risk it!
only reason i thought of doing it is because when explaining why i got interested in chemistry that is the truth and something i feel i could talk comfortably about.....thanks again all  :thanx:

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Offlinemellowparty
legitimate researcher


Registered: 05/17/09
Posts: 18,467
Last seen: 10 years, 6 months
Re: should i or should i not put this on my uni statement? [Re: little cap]
    #15115172 - 09/22/11 12:44 AM (12 years, 7 months ago)

Talk about drugs as legit pharm crap. Say you are interested in the the relationship between structure and receptor affinity profiles, say you like cooking with a passion. Mention a few specific areas of interests and go as far as to tell them specific experimental designs you'd like to try and such. IME thats what professors really dig, if you start giving them detailed explanation of phenomena and experiments they will love you. Just make sure you don't sound like someone who has mechanically memorized a bunch of complicated facts to make a false impression. Try to sound passionate about pharmacology and drug design but in no case mention the type of drugs you really like. That will ruin it for you.


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