Organic Chemistry Personal Statement

If you plan to pursue graduate studies, what area of study are you planning to pursue in graduate school?

I would like to pursue in organic chemistry, specifically the total synthesis of complex products. However, I am also interested to know more about physical organic chemistry after learning extended Hückel theory and perturbational molecular orbital theory in my seminar class. Personal Statement

Please tell us why you would like to participate in this program.

Currently, I am conducting an independent research on Synthesis of a bridged bicyclic nitrogen heterocycle using tropone as the key synthetic building block. Although investigating a new pathway to form a compound is challenging and time-consuming, the reward of observing correct NMR peaks is phenomenal and ecstatic. For instance, I was trying to add few functional groups on tropone. This should be relatively simple, and the procedure indicated that I should be able to make this compound with high yield and purity. However, TLC and NMR indicated that my product had a significant amount of impurity. I
My interest in chemistry grew tremendously after taking organic chemistry in sophomore year. If I have to describe organic chemistry, I would say that organic chemistry I (stereochemistry and basic reaction) was like pattern recognition for IQ test, and organic chemistry II (synthesis) was like solving a massive jigsaw puzzle. Organic chemistry came naturally to me, since I was good at visualizing molecules three-dimensionally and coming up with a systematic pattern to solve problems. After completing Organic chemistry II, we had to take a national exam, and I scored 93 percentiles. This also reassured me that I had a good grasp of organic chemistry, and I should pursue in organic chemistry related