Recent content by Dirac_Man

Last year I went to SLAC, and they didn't contact me until...mid-April? It was something like that. This year I heard back from Brookhaven a couple days ago. I reason that the date must vary pretty dramatically between labs.

If you are freshman I wouldn't fret too much...actually, as a freshman it would have been extremely remarkable if you had gotten an REU. I do not think I have ever heard of a freshman getting an REU through the NSF before. I am sure it happens, but I think it is quite rare.

I am extremely anti-debt in virtually all situations. I probably (maybe? possibly...?) could have gotten admitted to a more "prestigious" school than I ultimately went to simply to avoid having a take on a significant level of debt. The "less prestigious" school I went to ended-up having an...

Do you mean "what does it mean for ψ to oscillate in space?" This means the probability of finding the particle changes as you move through space at a given instant in time. The particle is more likely to be in some areas than others. Do you mean "what does it mean for ψ to oscillate in time"...

They do (Duke is nuclear-focused, while Cornell is more accelerator-geared), but I adjusted the interests sections of the personal statements I submitted to reflect the different missions of each program (nuclear and accelerator physics really are both of great interest to me). Of course, I...

This is precisely why I have always emphatically refused to take IQ tests. From my perspective, there are only two possible outcomes: 1.) The result is lower than what I expect. This alters the way I view myself, and approach problems, even if only in a subconscious way. It could also have a...

Accepted at Cornell and rejected at Duke? ? That seems very strange to me. Cornell has much more highly-ranked physics program than Duke; I cannot image their program is less competitive than Duke's. I sent almost identical personal statements to each one as well; I only altered the...

Come to Cornell because I will be at their REU program as well and we can meet one another! Despite common first impressions I seem to give people, I am indeed a sociable person, at least in the correct context. :smile: Honestly though, I have heard many times that, at this point in your...

Congratulations! I think I said earlier that that was where I was last summer. It was a great experience. I assume you are going through SULI? They put us up in regular Stanford housing, and I understand they did something similar the year before as well. It was really cool because we were...

I am currently a junior (which means I need to start crossing my fingers about grad. school at some point in the immediate future...).

I said I wanted to do some kind of atomic-level experimental work, or something with x-ray imaging in my personal statement. I did the SULI program at SLAC last summer. I was just really surprised by my admittance since, while my school has a very good physics program, it is very small and...

Cohen-Tannoudji is undoubtedly more comprehensive, but I could not bring myself to recommend that as a first step into learning quantum. If you already have an idea of what you are doing it is a good way to rapidly expand your knowledge base, but, to give an example, I found its discussion of...

Some may interpret this as an artifact of my lack of experience with other textbooks, but I cannot recommend Griffiths enough for E&M and quantum (I also like his elementary particles book, though I rarely hear people even mention that one). His style is very conversational, and I cannot imagine...

I applied to: Rochester Brookhaven (through SULI) Cornell Kansas State Rice Duke By a divine occurrence I was already accepted to Cornell's program, and accepted immediately (if anyone else has gotten in there I would be glad to speak to you!). Being a "name school" I feel like they have to...