What is Grad: Definition and 1000 Discussions

I'm thinking of auditing a course this Fall, since I find it very interesting and would love to take it, but I don't have time to do the homework and papers and such. It's called "Science and Religion" and is just a two hour lecture every Wednesday evening. What would a graduate school think of...

I've got a bachelors in Ephys and I'm REALLY interested in quantum gravity (LQG and semi-classical approaches), but my GR experience is limited to running a few simulations in Mathematica, and I've just had the first semester of QM. I know it's not realistic to start doing QG right away with...

Hi all I've got one more year left in my undergraduate degree at a Canadian university in physics. I'll be taking a year off after graduating before (hopefully) going to the US for grad school in synthetic biology. My question is, should I write the GRE and apply to grad school now and then...

My situation: I was originally an Economics major, math minor. However, I have lost interest in econ and have become very interested in physics and math. I begin my senior year of undergrad this fall, however I am staying in school longer and beginning the physics curriculum as well this...

I am a Canadian and I plan to go to grad school, in Canada, we must get a Masters' before a Ph.D and I am wondering when I apply for my Ph.D, will grad school (that means grad school including those from the states) look at only my most recent work of my Masters or will they look at my...

[Delete] Grad school/career change after 5 years of working. Sanity check. Edit: I guess I was just trying to convince myself, and I think I'm convinced. Will probably post specific questions later.

I am a senior in high school and I am taking a college class at a local community college. After this year, if I decide not to take the transfer credit, can I reject it? So I can take the course again at my new undergrad again? Like basically abandon the transfer credit and grade? Will my...

Hello! I was just wondering if the perceived quality or ranking of an undergrad institution has a significant imapct on the chances of getting accepted to a given graduate program in physics. There have been people who have said things ranging from "little to no impact" to "vital", so I'm...

Hey all. So I think I want to go back to school after taking some time off. One option I am thinking about is to get a masters in electrical engineering. Although I've technically only ever taken one class in EE, in which I aced every test, through physics I've become pretty adept at both...

I just finished my junior year at my university, and I am currently interested in going to graduate school in mathematics. But from reading some of the posts on here, I am starting to feel maybe I'm not really a desired candidate for graduate study in mathematics. I will post some information...

I was wondering if it was possible to do physics BS then MEng in EE without making up too many courses? My goal is to end up working in the industry, so that's why I'm thinking about doing the MEng in EE (I also enjoy analog part of EE, as well as the solid-state device design). If I plan to...

I wasn't a particularly good high-school math student, I usually tested around the top of the school for standardized exams, but never bothered to do the class work for my actual math classes, and was mainly just a jock. I went to the local university to do engineering, and while I got A's...

I got an undergraduate degree in physics years ago, but recently I've been thinking I'd like to try applying to grad school in the next year or two. The subject I'm most interested in studying is quantum computing and more general quantum information science, with an emphasis on the theoretical...

Hello, I find that one of my biggest weakness is following along with the math of waves (Wave function, SHO, Schrödinger Equation, etc). Is there a book out there that gives treatment to wave functions and PDE's in the same way that Div, Grad, Curl does for multi var/vector calculus? I do...

Hi all, My goal is to go to graduate school for mathematics (most likely enumerative combinatorics of graph theory). My math grades in college have been: Calculus I/II - AP Credit so no "grade". Calculus 3 - A+ Linear Algebra - A- Proofs - A- Combinatorial Theory - A Elementary...

I was looking over some application profiles, and one caught my eye. He was a Canadian from a decent Canadian university. 4.30/4.30 gpa (1st in his graduating class), GRE: 800 Q, 710 V, 5.0 W, and 980 physics. He also had four summers of research (two with a very well respected professor...

I'm sure this is a question that comes up a lot but I can't find an old thread on it, and I've seen a lot of varying advice all over. How many grad schools should I apply to? Personally, I'm an junior (will be a senior in the fall) physics major with a 3.9 overall and about a 3.8 in math...

I'm heading into my junior year as a physics undergrad, and I'm starting to think my math skills won't be where they need to be for grad school. So far, I've taken calc 1-3, probability theory, and an "Intro to Mathematical Physics," which used the Boas text. That class was basically a crash...

I am just wondering this because I have not set on what to do for graduate school. Now if I go for theoretical physics and study Math and Physics, when it is time for me to apply to grad school, will I get to apply to a math grad school or will they not let me because my major is "theoretical...

To anyone that did: How was your transition? What grad school and area did you choose. Thanks! I'm majoring in applied math bc I like math but don't know what I want to do. I'm finishing my sophomore year at a top school, still undecided. I was following an engineering track, took 1st yr...

Assuming I'm capable of passing the test to become a member of Mensa, do you think that it would be a sufficiently impressive addition to a physics graduate school application to be worth the cost (about $40, I think) and effort (a test in a nearby city) of becoming a member?

Hi everyone! I'm currently a second year at UC Irvine. I'm working on majors in Computer Science and Engineering and Mathematics with a minor in Philosophy if time permits. I want to study Logic somewhere in the UC system or perhaps out of state if it seems worth it. So I've been...

Homework Statement We say that a differentiable function f : \mathbb{R}^n \rightarrow \mathbb{R} is homogenous of degree p if, for every \mathbf{x} \in \mathbb{R}^n and every a>0, f(a\mathbf{x}) = a^pf(\mathbf{x}). Show that, if f is homogenous, then \mathbf{x} \cdot \nabla f(\mathbf{x}) = p...

At which year and what level of courses are GPA taken into consideration?

Lets say that I'm the VP of the Physics club of my school, I have 2 years of research experience and a semester working at the National Terawatt Facility. I took 4 or so graduate classes which I get B's in, I get 90%> on the gre physics, but my GPA is like a 3.3. What schools am I looking at...

I'm hesitating whereas I should make some time to prepare for the Putnam. If I don't have to, I won't, because I'd rather do something else with the little free time I have to be frank. So, in short, is it worth preparing for, if my goal is purely to make my grad application look better? I'm not...

I'm an undergrad chemical engineer. I may switch to chemistry or materials science/engineering. I've taken abstract algebra, which sucked a lot. I should have taken the other professor's section. Anyways, I hate proofs. I'm wondering if I should continue math with real analysis. I heard that...

I'm considering graduate school in the event that I don't get a full time job, and I'm considering two graduate schools here in Oregon where I'm from. I am going for a masters in electrical engineering, either an M.Eng or M.S depending on funding options workload and available classes etc...

So I am graduating with a undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering and would like to pursue MEMS/NEMS. I have applied to grad school and got into one which is ranked around 100 in the nation( Louisiana Tech) and am accepted to PennState if i can find some one to RA for. I know in academia...

hi im a pure math major and going into my sr year next semester im supposed to apply to grad schools sometime next year as well, but I have a problem. I don't think id have a problem getting into a program my GPA is 4.0 in all my math courses and I've taken quite a few including some...

I don't know about the past, but these days it's very hard for MSME students to get funding, according to what the professors at my school say. However, I have heard that some MS students start off unfunded and then get funding after a semester or two. I was just wondering if anyone here can...

I am graduating with a BA in Physics and want to go to Graduate school in engineering I think next semester. I have a 3.4 over all and I got a 1240 on the GRE with a 720 on the quantitative part. I've also been apart of a research project for a year now.

I'm at the end of my junior year and at this point I have no idea what area of Physics I want to go into. I know that for sure I want to go onto grad school but other than that I don't really know what I want to do. I think I'm leaning towards doing theory rather than experiment but I don't...

I'm a recent college graduate with a B.S. in electrical engineering and another B.S. (in june) in computer engineering. I've noticed in a lot of my searches that: software is the big thing in demand beyond all else, and below that companies want hardware people who will write software. I've been...

So, I’ve talked to most of my friends about this, but since all of their solutions involve excess drinking and random hookups in attempt to forget about this guy, I've decided to turn to what I hope is a more logical and mature group of individuals! Also, the fact that I am currently...

I want to make the best use of my time in undergrad, so I can't just sign up for everything. I want to apply to the top grad schools like Stanford's and MIT's. So, can someone help me out? What're the best ones that'll make my application look better?

So I am studying physics at some small university and I'm interested in getting into grad school. My first year and a half I screwed up with a 3.0 and got C's in all of my chemistry and biology classes. However I have never gotten lower than a B in any of my math or physics classes. In fact, I...

I am a physics major just finishing a two year associate's degree. I have a 4.0 GPA and am transfering to an undergrad program in the fall, but not sure which one. I ultimately want to receive a PhD in physics and work in research. My question is this: Right now I have my choice of...

I've been agonizing over what to study in graduate school. I'm most interested in Astrophysics (which is what my undergraduate degree will be in), but the job prospects have scared me off of Astrophysics and even general Physics, and I'm not interested in academia anyhow. In an attempt to...

I only did the first two (out of three) crosses because I want to check that I'm on the right track. It doesn't seem like I am because I have come up with 0i, 0j and I pretty much know I will come up with 0k

At my school there are 2 basic undergrad plans of study in the physics department - regular physics and honors physics. The main difference is that the honors program is more difficult and each of the E&M, Classical Mechanics, and Quantum Mechanics are covered in 2 semesters. When I first...

Hello all, I'm currently a year away from getting my BS in Electrical Engineering, and I need some recommendations for graduate school. My main interest is in theoretical neuroscience, and cognitive (brain) modeling. Unfortunately, however, there is little money out there for AI. As such...

Hello everyone, I was wondering if you all could shed some light on a problem I have been having regarding some life decisions. My main dilemma is that I am in my second year of college and am as of now an Aero Major, I have taken some majors courses and I really enjoy Aero. But I am starting...

Sorry for so many questions, but here they are: I am currently an undergraduate majoring in Applied Math, and I am finishing my junior year so I figure that I better start looking at graduate schools. Right now, I am working towards my B.S. in Applied math, but over the past year, many of...

Just wondering if it people would ever go so far as NOT doing undergraduate at a school doing research they're interested in because they would want to attend grad school there

I'm in-state for Rutgers and out of state for Illinois. Illinois will cost me $34,000 a year while Rutgers will cost me $4,000 a year. Illinois offers the Aerospace Degree while Rutgers offers the Mechanical with Aerospace Concentration + the BS/MS 5 year option. Should I go with...

I'm a math major at a small college (kind of in the middle of nowhere), and am 14 years old. Since I had a ton of AP credit from high school and middle school, I have sophomore standing even though this has been my first year. In high school (for math) I did AP calc, multivariable calc...

I want to go to grad school in applied math. Currently I'm a junior at the University of Florida, double majoring in math and physics. I'm planning out my final year, and I'm noticing that it becomes ludicrously hard to get a BS in both fields (especially because I am a transfer student, and...

Switching research groups as a 1st year grad student Hi, I am currently a 1st year graduate student in the field of experimental condensed matter physics. As an undergraduate, I conducted research (albeit somewhat limited, as I as an undergrad) in this field and found it satisfying, and...

I'm going to be applying to grad schools next year (I have an undergrad degree in math and phyisics), and I have narrowed down my areas of interest to two fields: functional analysis and it's involvement in QFT; and computational/theoretical neuroscience. I find pure math more enjoyable, but I'm...