chemistry phd in US..

After much thought I was thinking of applying for a phd position in the US. Has anyone from the UK applied to the US before for grad school? I've missed the deadline to start this year so i'm hoping to apply for next year. I have so many questions and i'm hoping i could find some answers here.

1. I haven't received my final average yet, i'm hoping to finish with an MChem degree this year, and i'm hoping get a 2.1 although I think its going to be on the lower end of a 2.1, will this hold me back? I know each university has its own conversion system but converting the percentage into gpa, i think i might qualify for most programs however I imagine there will be others with higher gpa's. I haven't fully narrowed down which universities i would like to apply to but i will obviously try to keep it realistic

2. Given my average i'm not sure my academic advisors and supervisors would provide a letter of recommendation, is it still worth asking?

3. In terms of funding, in the uk i believe phd students get paid and certain amount, their tuition fees are waived and they get paid extra for teaching work, is this the same in the US?

4. I don't have any publications from my research, the only research experience I have is from my masters research project, will this hold me back? I have other work experience from internships but theyre not really related to chemistry. I'm hoping I can work as a chemist this year and hopefully that will give me more experience in the lab so when and if i do apply I'll have more experience to talk about

I think thats all the questions i have for now and would appreciate any help! additionally I did quite well in my disseration and research module (69%) so i was wondering if this improves my chances? thank you

1) I would imagine this depends on the university in question. The other thing I would imagine would contain weight is the GRE.

2) You should still be able to get a letter of recommendation & its worth asking regardless, in my experience most academics are willing to help and then understand students have to jump through these hoops.

3) In the UK most people who do a PhD have funding, but lots of students get accepted for the PhD then dont get funding and have to drop out before starting. The other thing to note is in the UK the funding is normally just for your research, you are not required to help teaching/labs, if you want to do that for more money you can. In the US I believe its more common to attach teaching to the core funding. (also US PhDs take a lot longer I think 5-6 years Vs3-4 in the UK).

4) Well having published work would definitely look good, but I cant imagine most applicants have it, and I doubt its a requirement. I would think any work you do in the interim will help. (I had a year in industry when I applied for my PhD (in the UK), the work definetly helped me demonstrate I understood the relevance to academic research to industry who can actually utilise it),

I nearly applied but still have a pretty decent knowledge about it.

1. A low 2.1 will really cause you problems. Most universities will be looking for a GPA around 3.6 at the absolute lowest which is roughly going to translate to 68% average. They do ask you to convert it so you really need to do that first before you can start making plans. Relatively low GPA can be made up for with a high GRE score but there is a limit to that.

2. It's still worth asking, if you got 69% on your dissertation then I can't see a reason why your supervisor wouldn't give you a recommendation.

3. The situation in the US depends on the university. As an international student applying going to anywhere but the very top universities you will get paid a pittance if there even is any funding for you. Given your grades I would expect to get basically nothing.

4. No publications is fine but they do want to see some extracurricular engagement with Chemistry and preferably with research (even if that's presenting at BCUR or something similar).

In your situation I would consider some of the East Asian countries for a PhD as they will accept relatively low grades from UK grads and their funding is alright. Korea (KAIST specifically which is English instruction) and Taiwan are good options, normally Hong Kong would be at the top of the list as they have better funding, higher international rankings, and are better setup for foreigners but the current political climate doesn't really allow it. Singapore is rather competitive so it's not really an option with your profile. Maybe University of Malaya, they don't pay as much but living costs are also much cheaper.

thanks for your response, if you dont mind me asking, how comes you didn't end up applying?