What is Grad: Definition and 1000 Discussions

I'm an upcoming senior at a small, private college that has a good reputation for science. My major is in physics with a minor in mathematics, but I originally was in biochemistry. My freshman year didn't go so well (2.6 GPA), and I ended up switching to physics my sophomore year. I have a low...

I just looked Physics graduate admission application guidelines on websites of various US and other International universities. There wasn't any mention of Extracurricular activities at all, unlike undergrad applications which use them as a crucial factor for admission decisions. Do they matter...

I think that I saw a thread with a similar question not too long ago, but I couldn't find it, so sorry if this is too much of a repeat thread. Anyways, I'm trying to weigh out all of my options for getting an education. One such possible idea I may have uncovered is doing Engineering Physics...

Hi, I'm wondering whether it's harder to find a job or get accepted to a PhD program after obtaining a MS degree outside of states. Does the employer or adcom treat people who obtained a degree outside of states as an international applicant regardless of citizenship?

I've applied to the best ranked (according to QS) university in my country, the National University of Science and Technology (NUST). Of course the university isn't really all that nice in international standards, but in impoverished third-world standards, its facilities and faculty are pretty...

There are huge resources to rank and rate the different universities for physics in US but i am blind as to what universities i can apply outside US preferably Europe. with the profile i have i don't think i have any shot in top schools and can aim only for 2nd tier schools My profile as of...

I really enjoy math and worked hard to get my grades up. I'm a soon to be sophomore right now and I had issues with Calc 1 and got a 2.4 in it. I had a hard time adjusting to college, had to repeat it. Obviously I'm not happy with how I did and am dissapointed in myself. Is Grad School for Math...

After 13 years of on and off schooling, I am (yay!) getting my B.A. in mathematics in... a couple of weeks. As most undergraduates I am intimidated at the prospect of graduate school and the pace of the work. When I talk to grad students I hear how bone-crushingly hard everything is, yadda...

Next Spring I'll be graduating at the University of Arkansas with a Double major in Math(B.S.) and Physics(B.A.). As of right now the plan is to teach high school math and/or physics in Texas. However, that isn't necessarily my ultimate goal. I would like to go to grad school and get at least a...

I came across these rankings for Top Physics Schools according to student reviews. Interesting! (link deleted) 1 University of California-Santa Barbara 9.467 2 Brandeis University 9.133 3 University of Pennsylvania 9.100 4 Syracuse University 9.056 5 University of California-Los Angeles...

I'm starting to do some research into what grad schools I should apply to this fall for a pure math PhD. I'll be finishing my undergrad in May 2015 with a major in math and minor in physics. I'm not 100% sure what area I want to go in to, but I'm leaning more towards the topology and geometry...

Hi, I've been accepted to a couple of schools for grad school. One of them being my undergrad institution where I have a great fit with an advisor I've been working with for the past two years. The other is the most prestigious school in my country, with an international reputation and great...

First of all, let me specify that I am not currently in this situation, however my significant other is. He was recently rejected from 13/14 grad schools he applied to and is trying to figure out why. Right out of high school, he went to Purdue for applied physics. He wasn't prepared for...

Hi all, I am an undergrad physics major working in two physics labs and also doing research in math with a professor. I only have two strong recomendations from my two physics lab professors, so for my third recomendation (for physics graduate school) i wanted to ask my math professor, so i...

I'm an undergraduate engineering student starting to think about grad school, but I'm a little bit stuck on something. On the one hand, I have a safe option which I know will be at least good, if not great. I've done a couple summer projects with one research group at my school, and they said...

So I'll be starting a Physics PhD program in the fall, August to be precise. Now I'm the type of person that would go and self-study whatever topic I found interesting (currently working through a reading list in GR, even though it's not a field I'm going into), but I am wondering if there are...

I'm currently a freshman who is double majoring in Math and Mechanical Engineering. I took a class over the summer, and the instructor got me very interested in math again, which is why I added the second major. In high school, I was an average student (As in Bs) and As in Bs in all of my Math...

I'm looking primarily for answers from people who have been on admission committees or have otherwise reviewed applications from undergraduate students. When you look at a student's transcript, is the distribution of his/her grades a factor at all? For example, I performed only around average...

Homework Statement Show that: ∇x(∇xB) = (B∇)B - ∇ (1/2B2) Homework Equations r = (x,y,z) = xiei ∂xi/∂xj = δij r2 = xkxk δij = 1 if i=j, 0 otherwise (kronecker delta) εijk is the alternating stress tensor and summn convn is assumed. The Attempt at a Solution On the...

I am currently an electrical engineering student, and I was wondering if it was possible to get a master's degree in AE if you have a BS or MS in EE. I know I at least want a master's in EE. I would like to work in the aerospace and defense industries. Are there many EE opportunities in this area.

Ok, so I am just finishing my AA as a physics major and on the fence about two different universities to finish my BS. One of them is more well recognized as far as physics goes (University of Florida). However, being a non-traditional student, it would put me a substantial distance away from...

Greetings, I am going to get my bachelor's degree in physics from Middle East Technical University(Ankara/TURKEY) this year. I would like to continue my graduate studies in applied physics areas and especially photonics. Up to this date I have applied to the physics department of the...

Hello everyone, I was just wanting some opinions, and advice would be even better. I'm a physics major, at a good university. GPA 3.3 and will be raised after this semester. my LOR will be average, I have one professor I took for several classes that knows me well. haven't taken GRE yet, I...

Anyone doing it? This is my first semester as a lab instructor. I do physics lab and astronomy labs. I enjoy it, but it can make me sad sometimes when i see students dozing off or doing poorly in their lab write-ups or quizzes! Kids get really creative in their answers too! Any...

Hey guys was wondering what you thought about teaching english the summer between graduate and undergraduate. I've been accepted to a PhD program in engineering for fall 2014. However I don't know what to do with my summer. I was thinking that spending my time traveling teaching English might...

Hello PF, I am currently in high school, and I am watching my brother go through the experience of choosing colleges. This started to make me think about my future. I plan to receive degrees in physics hopefully up to a doctorate. To do this I understand that multiple degrees are needed, the...

i'm a physics major at a tech school. my cumulative gpa is a 2.78. my physics gpa is somewhere between a 3.6~3.7. mainly the physics classes i didn't do well in were the physics labs 1 & 2, and the classes in general i didn't do well in were my humanities classes. REU's are out of the question...

I hold an Electrical Engineering (EE) BSC (3.45/4 GPA). I graduated in 2009. I am passionate to pursue a career in physics related studies specially optics and photonics. There are no universities offering that in my country. So I have to look into US or Europe. But it has now been about...

Much to my delight and surprise, I have recently been offered admission grad school. I currently have one offer but am going to wait to hear back from a few more schools before possibly visiting and committing to one. I've kept in contact with the school and let them know of this intention. The...

Hey guys, I'm new here! I will soon transfer to a 4 year Uni to get an undergraduate in Physics which is simple enough. Where I need advice is the Doctoral and Graduate degrees. I want to work in Theoretical Physics but I understand there are specific specializations you have to choose according...

Suppose you apply to a grad school with interestes in nuclear physics experiment and then you are accepted, but you then change your mind to maybe cmt or hep theory. Would it be possible to change?

Do grad school admissions for math typically involve interviews? I can't find this on the official websites, but it seems like some do from a few friends I talked to. If so, what are they like? Does it mainly involve talking about what sort of research you are interested in doing?

So I'm currently finishing up my undergraduate and heading to graduate school for medical physics. I have narrowed down which schools I want to go to to either UPenn or Vanderbilt U. UPenn would be for a Master's of Medical Physics with a concentration in radiotherapy and Vanderbilt U would be a...

Hi guys, I'm currently an undergraduate, but I'm going for a simultaneous Bachelors/Masters in Physics. I've already taken advanced math courses in the following subjects: Combinatorics, Real Analysis, Partial Differential Equations, and Numerical Analysis, and I have also studied some Gamma...

I am currently reviewing for grad school. I graduated a while back, so I am going to need a very solid review. I am starting now to prepare for the coming fall. My math skills were a little underwhelming in my Jr/Sr year at UCR, so I am hitting the math bench press first. I have been...

I'm in year 3 currently. I'll be applying for grad school in the US in the fall, and based on what I've seen on the internet and heard from others, most applications are due in December, some early January. My school is on a semester system, and our fall term grades aren't made official until...

Hi, I'm a sophomore undergrad and recently I've been wondering how much weight grad schools in the sciences actually put into your "course load." I've read some conflicting views on the internet, books on grad school admissions, and faculty. The websites for some grad/professional schools list...

Hello all, I will be attaining my B.A. in Mathematics in May 2014, and I really have no idea what to do from there. Right now I think my ideal future would be somewhere in cosmology, but it's really hard to make that call right now. I am currently involved with a semester-long internship...

Hello all, I am about to start my senior year as a physics undergraduate. Besides the fact that I don't know what graduate degree I wish to go for (engineering or physics), I am fearful that I am unprepared for graduate school and wouldn't mind some advice. 1) What are some good ways to go...

Hi everyone, I'm applying to grad school and I find the process extremely stressful. Today I got almost/maybe rejected from my third graduate school and I am completely freaking out. This one was one I was actually pretty hopeful I can get in. I still have four other schools I applied to but if...

I was thinking about going to grad school to study philosophy of physics and math, and logic and paradoxes. I was googling around to try and find a school, Columbia has something like it, If I get a Masters or doctorate in this field, would it be hard to get a teaching position at a...

Ok, so I am in a pickle. I attended a University which will remain anonymous right out of high school. I double majored in Biology and Electrical Engineering and let's just say that I was not prepared to be in college nor should I have been double majoring in anything. I did not take school...

I couldn't find anything in the search to quite fit my situation and you guys seem to know your stuff. Take a crack at this one. I'm a senior in a big commuter state school with an extremely decent, PhD granting math department. Decent, not stellar; the thing is that most of our faculty is...

Hello, I have been studying electromagnetics ever since I can remember. In school we did algebra electromagnetism. In 1st year college we did electromagnetism but with basic calculus. Then electromagnetics with vector calculus which in my opinion was far more involving than the previous 2. I...

I'm currently an undergraduate (Junior) math major at NYU. I decided to study math for the challenge, and so far, I have loved it. It's been fascinating and satisfying. Having said that, I'm currently at a crossroads. I have absolutely no idea what to do. Let me elaborate; I'm not sure...

This fall I'll receive my B.S. in Physics. I have a 3.46 gpa and have done research at my home university and an REU. I know I am competing with actual Nuclear Engineering majors. How screwed am I and what small universities that have a nuclear engineering program may I have a shot at?

Hi all, I am a newbie in this website. I have found this website a great source of help for me in every possible ways. Currently I am at a crossroad in my career path where I need to make a sound decision in order to move forward. I am a civil engineer in training (EIT) with more than...

So I took quantum I using Griffith's and I only got an A- 3.7 out of 4. Will that look bad on my grad school application considering I'm competing with people who got A in quantum. I plan on getting into a PHD program and getting a Stipend. My overall GPA is like a 3.78.

I can either take junior level E@M and get an A in it hopefully. Or I can place out of the class by self studying. If I do the latter then I'll take a final exam and if I pass the final with a 90+ I get the credit but no grade. What will look better for grad school. If I place out I'll take...

Hi everyone. Just for a bit of background info, I earned my B.S. in Physics in May. I'm applying for grad school (for next year), but I'm kinda stuck on part of the application. It's kind of silly, but I'm a worrier. There's a spot on the application for you to select what degree you are...