- #1
Lavabug
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For emotional/burnout reasons, I did very poorly on both GRE's (unacceptably low on the general) and one of my supervisors upon hearing this has discouraged me from applying this year. Both of us think I don't stand a chance despite the rest of my credentials, even though all of (8-9) schools I was aiming for were below/around top 20 in astronomy/astrophysics. I am very crushed about this but I have been encouraged to not give up and try my luck next year. I am turning 26 shortly after graduating.
What can I do as a US permanent resident (graduating from a EU university) to improve my chances for admission, besides studying for the GRE's next year? I've been searching for internships/summer programs and so far I've only found a few for graduating seniors in astro fields: NRAO and LPI.
I've also been looking around at several observatories' websites but so far have only found one with a position for graduating seniors (IDL/IRAF experience desired though). I'm also open to positions in the EU, but I only know of one in A&A (at my home university), which is fiercely competitive at the EU level (classmates of mine with far better academic records still failed to get in)
I am barred from interns at national labs/NASA as I'm not yet a full US citizen but I've been checking their contractors and found one that does astronomical research (USRA, though no intern positions are listed), could anyone list any additional institutions where I could get some relevant research experience? What other things beyond summer programs could help? I would be living relatively close to a big university in NJ around the fall, would knocking some doors at the physics/astronomy department and offering to do unpaid research work be something worth trying? (they're not places I would be applying to anyway, I just want to do research in A&A or work with some kind of optics/electronics related to astronomical instrumentation)
What can I do as a US permanent resident (graduating from a EU university) to improve my chances for admission, besides studying for the GRE's next year? I've been searching for internships/summer programs and so far I've only found a few for graduating seniors in astro fields: NRAO and LPI.
I've also been looking around at several observatories' websites but so far have only found one with a position for graduating seniors (IDL/IRAF experience desired though). I'm also open to positions in the EU, but I only know of one in A&A (at my home university), which is fiercely competitive at the EU level (classmates of mine with far better academic records still failed to get in)
I am barred from interns at national labs/NASA as I'm not yet a full US citizen but I've been checking their contractors and found one that does astronomical research (USRA, though no intern positions are listed), could anyone list any additional institutions where I could get some relevant research experience? What other things beyond summer programs could help? I would be living relatively close to a big university in NJ around the fall, would knocking some doors at the physics/astronomy department and offering to do unpaid research work be something worth trying? (they're not places I would be applying to anyway, I just want to do research in A&A or work with some kind of optics/electronics related to astronomical instrumentation)
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