Help evaluating my physics grad application scores & GPA

[oikkef]

I'm doing my best to be realistic, but can't see the forest for the trees right now. Thoughts? Opinions? I'd appreciate it if anyone tried to answer my questions – many thanks in advance!

Background

• Double major Physics & EE (with a couple minors) at nowhere special
• Physics GPA = 3.3 / EE GPA = 3.6 / Cum GPA = 3.7
• University honors, but not departmental honors; bunch of honor societies and stuff
  
• 3 yrs physics research (1 NSF REU), 2 yrs EE research
  
• 2 publications (1 paper first author but not peer reviewed and not STEM; 1 paper co-author in theoretical mathematics peer reviewed); 2 EE publications expected but not before I graduate; Undergrad thesis in physics
  
• 4 yrs TA-ing physics & tutoring STEM
  
• GRE scores = 169V (99th percentile), 160Q (76th percentile)
  
• PGRE scores = 540 (15th percentile) expected based on repeat practice exams
  
• Minority student
  
• Applying to Ph.D. programs in Experimental Physics with emphasis on quantum computing and/or nanotechnology

Note: My low PGRE score, low quant GRE score, and low physics GPA are due to the combination of a learning disability for which I am unable to compensate inside testing environments the way I do in "real-world" settings, and a physics department that is small and dysfunctional. The EE courses were easy enough for me to largely skate by even with dumb mistakes. Regardless, standardized testing doesn't go well for me. I'm not lazy, I'm not dumb, nor do I lack comprehension of what the physics means. I excel in a lab or when doing actual research.

Questions
Q: How will physics admissions committees view my low physics GPA and PGRE scores? Especially in light of my higher EE/Cum GPA?

Q: It is my understanding that a perfect GRE quant score is generally expected from someone of my background. Is there any chance a near-perfect verbal score is just as good? Or maybe better since its harder to earn? Just hoping. :)

Q: Is there anything in particular I should emphasize in my personal statement or ask my recommendation letter writers to emphasize that could offset my weak scores and grades?

Q: Is it unreasonable to shoot for a top 10 school? Top 25? Top 50?

Q: Would it be worthwhile for me to study physics independently another year and re-take the PGRE in hopes of raising my score and getting into a better program?

 

[jedishrfu]

I think you should explain your disability to the schools you are applying to and find a way to show you know the material. Not knowing your disability, it's hard to recommend what you could actually do.

Remember the GRE is one indicator of success in graduate school and is usually used to screen out applicants so you need figure out how you can get your application past that hurdle and a letter from your doctor or professional explaining your disability could help offset the GRE scores.

Perhaps your school has some academic advisors that might help. Perhaps the schools you are applying to could help you if you reached out to them rather than hope your application will be accepted by them. If you aren't proactive here then they won't do anything different.

Shoot for a mix of schools, 3 top 10, 3 top 20, ... 3 to safe schools.

As you said earlier, your disability prevents you from doing well on timed tests. You could consider contacting the GRE folks and ask if they have some workaround or alternative for your disability.

 

[Dishsoap]

Because of your disability (which I assume is documented), you'll definitely want to talk to people in the departments you're applying to to see what kind of accommodations they can make for you - many departments either have a timed qualifying exam, or require that you have above a certain GPA in your graduate school classes (which are often, of course, dependent on timed exams in the class).

 

[oikkef]

Thank you both for your help!

Could someone offer more insight specifically related to how admissions committees would view the disparity between my GPAs, and my strong verbal GRE score compared to my weak quant GRE and PGRE scores? Given that my research background is across several fields, is there any chance that I can use my research experience to demonstrate my understanding of material, rather than rely on GPA/PGRE? Or is my research background not strong enough to compensate? My school advisors are not familiar enough with physics graduate school admissions to answer these questions.

To address some of comments above:

I only disclosed my disability here to avoid suggestions that I retake exams to raise my score, or study harder to raise my grade. In fact, when applying to graduate programs I do not intend to disclose my disability at all. When speaking with my school advisors, they actively discouraged me from disclosing my disability on grad applications because there is still a strong stigma associated with any kind of disability when pursuing graduate STEM work. I understand why this might be so–to imply I need accommodations during the application process would essentially ask a university to risk extra time and resources investing in me when it would appear I have a lower probability of success than even the average student. Fortunately, I do not consider myself at any greater risk of failing grad school than anyone else, and I am not being disingenuous by failing to disclose my disability: everything during my undergraduate career has been accomplished without special accommodations of any kind, and frequently in an environment that is hostile to minorities. Combined with the fact that I have received an 'A' in every graduate level EE course I have taken, I am confident that once I actually am accepted to a program I will find a way to be successful and get the required 'B' in physics grad courses. The problem is getting in the door. I will deal with my grad GPA and QE later.

Unfortunately given the nature of my disability, the accommodations offered by ETS will probably not do enough to raise my score into a competitive range. More time is not a band-aid for my situation; my life would be much simpler if it were. :)

I will be actively reaching out to faculty at potential institutions about their research, but again, I am hesitant to raise any issue of a disability. I prefer to focus on what I can offer them as a potential 'employee', rather than ask what they can offer me to help me with my disability. And what I can offer them is an extremely motivated, hard working, highly educated student with an excellent set of research and communication skills who happens to have a glitch when it comes to math testing.

 

[jedishrfu]

Here is the law with respect to disabilities and accommodations offered:

https://www.ada.gov/regs2014/testing_accommodations.html

You could check with ETS to see if the disability or accommodation is passed on with the test results, if not then you could request the accommodation, provide the relevant paperwork and take the test knowing your GRE score will be evaluated in the same way as others who apply without the grad school knowing of your disability.

This is the best advice we can offer at present. However, I think you need to find a disability advocate or lawyer who can help you through this maze.

Also here's an FAQ from ETC on disabilities and test taking:

https://www.ets.org/disabilities/test_takers/faq/

 

[oikkef]

Here is the law with respect to disabilities and accommodations offered:

https://www.ada.gov/regs2014/testing_accommodations.html

You could check with ETS to see if the disability or accommodation is passed on with the test results, if not then you could request the accommodation, provide the relevant paperwork and take the test knowing your GRE score will be evaluated in the same way as others who apply without the grad school knowing of your disability.

This is the best advice we can offer at present. However, I think you need to find a disability advocate or lawyer who can help you through this maze.

Also here's an FAQ from ETC on disabilities and test taking:

https://www.ets.org/disabilities/test_takers/faq/

I genuinely appreciate your attempts to help me, and I know that it took time and effort for you to find these links and post them. But I fear that your response to my questions only reinforces my opinion about applying to graduate programs with a disclosed disability, and your continued focus on mine is very discouraging.

I did not title this thread “help applying to grad school with disability”. I asked for help understanding how my numbers—as they currently stand, and given the unusual distribution—appear to admissions committees. In retrospect, I should not have said so much about why the numbers are the way they are.

Without divulging my entire medical history on the internet, I will state that accommodations do not exist for every kind of disability, and ETS does not guarantee to not flag the scores of exams taken with special accommodations. I am also familiar with the documentation required and legal options available, and as you so rightly stated, it is a maze. There are legitimate reasons why I finished two undergraduate programs in STEM without accommodations.

Again, thank you for your attempts to help, and if anyone else has perspective on how an admissions committee might view my set of data without the disclosure of a disability, then I would appreciate their insight.

 

[jedishrfu]

I genuinely appreciate your attempts to help me, and I know that it took time and effort for you to find these links and post them. But I fear that your response to my questions only reinforces my opinion about applying to graduate programs with a disclosed disability, and your continued focus on mine is very discouraging.

I did not title this thread “help applying to grad school with disability”. I asked for help understanding how my numbers—as they currently stand, and given the unusual distribution—appear to admissions committees. In retrospect, I should not have said so much about why the numbers are the way they are.

Without divulging my entire medical history on the internet, I will state that accommodations do not exist for every kind of disability, and ETS does not guarantee to not flag the scores of exams taken with special accommodations. I am also familiar with the documentation required and legal options available, and as you so rightly stated, it is a maze. There are legitimate reasons why I finished two undergraduate programs in STEM without accommodations.

Again, thank you for your attempts to help, and if anyone else has perspective on how an admissions committee might view my set of data without the disclosure of a disability, then I would appreciate their insight.

I didn't expect you to divulge it and if you did we would have removed it. However, if you know you aren't being judged fairly because of it then you have to consider what you can do that's why I advised that you get a disability advocate or a lawyer to help you navigate this.

There's no magic wand that we can wave or advice to give to make you do better and there is no way around taking the GRE unless you have some sort of person to person backdoor to the graduate school like some prof at your school who is close friends with a prof or department head at the other school who can vouch for you personally (very seldom if ever done).

I have a disability too, its age (I've been away from school for more than 40 years). I can't take a GRE and possibly compete with a student fresh out of undergrad studies.

I was advised that if I could find a dissertation worthy project at work that I could present the project to a dissertation committee and in essence work through the backdoor to a PhD. It would also require getting a dissertation PhD advisor, presenting my work and taking committee recommendations such as taking a sequence of graduate courses to complete the PhD requirements.

I looked at other routes like getting an MS in Physics but that doesn't get you very far since you still have to get into a PhD program by taking the GRE and most likely will have to retake some courses that didn't transfer.

 

[Vanadium 50]

I asked for help understanding how my numbers—as they currently stand, and given the unusual distribution—appear to admissions committees.

Poorly, I'm afraid.

A 15th percentile on the GRE is a problem. The conclusion that many committees will draw - one reinforced by your physics GPA - is that you will struggle with the qualifying exam. It doesn't matter how good a researcher you are, if you can't get past the qual.

I can virtually guarantee that the conclusion they will draw will not be "here is a student with a learning disability that affects his physics GPA, his PGRE and half of the general GRE, but not the other half of the general GRE and EE GPA."

 

[DrSteve]

Your PGRE, nonverbal GRE and low physics GPA demand some sort of explanation, without which you will little chance of admission at any competitive institution. Looking at your profile, it's not clear that a Physics PhD is the right track for you, disclosure or not. The fact that you did significantly better in EE is a clue that needs decoding on your end.