physics grad school info

[rifak]

hey everyone,
im a senior physics major and im starting to apply for grad schools. anyone here in the process or currently a grad student in physics? any info on applying and stuff like that would be great..any tips or tricks lol

i have a 3.7 GPA and have done 3 past research projects in physics. im in the honors college and about to complete my thesis this semester. i still haven't taken the gre's (doing so next month) but for those of you who know, what are my chances looking like for getting in? thanks to those who reply.

oh, and anyone know off hand of any schools that don't need the physics gre? im wondering just in case i completely bomb it..then at least i can apply to some of those schools that the physics gre doesn't matter.

[Sean Moran]

hey everyone,
im a senior physics major and im starting to apply for grad schools. anyone here in the process or currently a grad student in physics? any info on applying and stuff like that would be great..any tips or tricks lol

i have a 3.7 GPA and have done 3 past research projects in physics. im in the honors college and about to complete my thesis this semester. i still haven't taken the gre's (doing so next month) but for those of you who know, what are my chances looking like for getting in? thanks to those who reply.

oh, and anyone know off hand of any schools that don't need the physics gre? im wondering just in case i completely bomb it..then at least i can apply to some of those schools that the physics gre doesn't matter.
Foreground CERN is al I can suggest, from a formally uneducated PoV.
Best of luck! http://lobby.oz.netau.net/images/smilies/02twin/icon_chongao.gif

[rifak]

Foreground CERN is al I can suggest, from a formally uneducated PoV.
Best of luck! http://lobby.oz.netau.net/images/smilies/02twin/icon_chongao.gif

thanks, but i am really looking to stay in the US. i don't have an issue with traveling to other countries for a few weeks or months in the summer, but i would prefer that i attend a US school.

[Sean Moran]

thanks, but i am really looking to stay in the US. i don't have an issue with traveling to other countries for a few weeks or months in the summer, but i would prefer that i attend a US school.


Best of luck! http://lobby.oz.netau.net/images/smilies/02twin/icon_chongao.gif

[Chronon]

oh, and anyone know off hand of any schools that don't need the physics gre? im wondering just in case i completely bomb it..then at least i can apply to some of those schools that the physics gre doesn't matter.

Some schools require it but it doesn't factor heavily into the decision making process. It's rather a poor predictor of success in physics, I think.

[mirado]

Rock on man
I'm going to work in nuclear physics for the Navy
Maybe you help me with my homework:lolflag:
Good luck

[rifak]

Some schools require it but it doesn't factor heavily into the decision making process. It's rather a poor predictor of success in physics, I think.

yeah i agree. i'm hoping that i can make it apparent that the standardized testing method doesn't give a good reflection on my physics skills. i'm very good at research, and can learn and pick something up quickly, but just the testing atmosphere and how formal/stessful it is, is something that i dont do well on.

[rifak]

Rock on man
I'm going to work in nuclear physics for the Navy
Maybe you help me with my homework:lolflag:
Good luck

haha that's awesome. high-energy nuclear is actually what i am going to be doing. i've done nuclear theory research and absolutely loved it. it is exactly what i am looking for in physics.

[LowSky]

You have a 3.7 and want to study physics in a graduate program, congrats I think you will do fine, its a small field always looking for more people. I have no idea what your worrying about, unless all your physic grades are your lowest scores, and English and history grades are holding you up... LOL

[rifak]

You have a 3.7 and want to study physics in a graduate program, congrats I think you will do fine, its a small field always looking for more people. I have no idea what your worrying about, unless all your physic grades are your lowest scores, and English and history grades are holding you up... LOL

lol well, the reason i am worried is because for the past few months, the importance of GRE's and graduate school has been stressed A LOT..and i really want to go. but as for my GPA, my overall GPA is a 3.7, and my major GPA (physics courses) is around a 3.7-3.8

i know i'm good on that area, it's just those damn tests...lol

[lethalfang]

lol well, the reason i am worried is because for the past few months, the importance of GRE's and graduate school has been stressed A LOT..and i really want to go. but as for my GPA, my overall GPA is a 3.7, and my major GPA (physics courses) is around a 3.7-3.8

i know i'm good on that area, it's just those damn tests...lol

If you've done 3 research projects, and can get good letters of recommendations based on those research projects, they're gonna be more important than GRE, which tests your memory more than anything else.
Memory is so unimportant (talking about brain remembering facts, not computer memories, of course).

[Chronon]

I don't know anybody who values GRE scores very highly. You can basically teach the test. Pretty much every exchange student (from China, India, etc.) scores over the 90th percentile on the physics GRE. However, GRE scores and how well you do in classes or on qualifying examinations are not terribly well correlated, in my experience. I think they should be treated more like a tie-breaker rather than a primary consideration. Every department has its own philosophy and selection process, but I should think you will find plenty of opportunities to pursue graduate physics given what you've told us.

[Pogeymanz]

From what I hear, the GRE is very important. I've talked to a bunch of my professors, some of whom are on the admissions committee and they all pretty much agree that the order is this:

Published papers
Letters from research
GRE
GPA

But, I'm in the same boat as you. The GRE is in a week and a half and I am not prepared for it.

Where are you looking to go for grad school? If you've published and do decently on the GRE, you might have a shot at a really good school.

I'll be staying here at the University of Florida, because it's the only decent physics school in the southeast US.

[mirado]

haha that's awesome. high-energy nuclear is actually what i am going to be doing. i've done nuclear theory research and absolutely loved it. it is exactly what i am looking for in physics.

Awesome man
Are you trying to get in on the ITER program?

[drawkcab]

Speaking as someone who has gone through grad school twice and is now teaching in a university, here are a few things to think about:

The GREs are really really really important. No one values what they say about you individually, but a department is invested in keeping the GRE scores of its applicants high because that is how the department justifies asking for funding. In other words, they go to the dean and say, "Hey, our admitted students have an average GRE score of 1400, so our department should get this funding rather than department X whose students average only 1200." Think of it as the only common measure that departments can show the dean.

So, doing well on the GRE will make it far more likely that your application gets read in the first place (and not thrown out when it arrives) and far more likely that you will be funded through an assistantship or fellowship. Do not underestimate its importance.

Second, identify faculty that you would like to work with and then apply to those departments. Your advisor plays the most important role in your career and opens almost all of the doors for you. You want someone who is both sane and connected. You want someone who will actually develop you professionally rather than some hotshot who is always gone and has no time for you.

[quazi]

I'll give what advice I can as a first year physics grad student.

It sucks but GRE and GPA matter a lot. I managed to get in to a great school with a mediocre GPA (3.5), but I came from arguably the best liberal arts college. The general GRE is a joke, but the physics one can be a pain in the ***. The only way to study for it is to take the practice exams. Other than that, I suggest applying wherever you want to go and not worrying too much. Senior year was a blast and whatever happens, happens.