I'm not on an admissions committee, so obviously I can't give you anything firm, but here is my impression from having applied and been accepted to grad school in physics.
GPA (mostly your phys/math GPA) and PGRE can keep you out of a program if they show you don't have the background...
Keep killing it at your IT job, retire early (google "early retirement" or "financial independence"), then study astrophysics either independently or in an actual program.
1) Email your REU adviser to introduce yourself and request some papers relevant to the work you'll be doing.
2) Read the indicated papers and find some good textbooks on any unfamiliar fields/topics that you will be working in (e.g. PDE's which you haven't had)
3) During the REU: Talk...
Well if you keep this in the back of your mind then at least you'll be pushed to try your hardest :) Talk to to those Latin Scholars people who have gotten into grad school and ask them how else they polished their applications aside from grades. I'd like to emphasize one more time the...
Physics seems to attract people from non-traditional walks of life :) You are definitely not too old, and you won't be treated any differently from the early-20's grad students. I am starting a PhD in Physics this fall and will be 27.
As many of your 3 letters of rec. as possible should be from people attesting to your research ability. I had two of these kinds of letters and the third from just a professor who taught 2 of my classes. Try to make sure even non-research recommenders know what kind of research you have done...
As mentioned in the first reply, 'grad school' can mean different things. For example, if you do a PhD in Applied Physics your tuition will be waived and you will receive a stipend (salary) that will more than cover all your cost of living. PhD programs in similar fields will likely have the...
1) Whatever happens, it's going to be OK! You are young, your whole life before you, undoubtedly you have friends and family that love you and you live in the wealthiest society in the history of the world! Your self-worth should NOT be tied up in whether or not you get a university degree...
Just wanted to second this! Research will be far and away the single biggest "extracurricular" factor in your application - but more importantly if you plan to work as a researcher you should figure out what it entails! REU's are very good at providing spots to non-traditional students.
If...
You may have been told that REU's like to see that you have experience, but for the most part they'd rather see that you not have experience :)
On a brighter note, you're going to be fine! Congrats on your hard work, your credentials sound amazing already! Consider doing an internship or...
Ok, I'm going to get up on my soapbox and talk about early retirement again.
Growing up and throughout college I struggled with what to specialize in because I thought "hey, I'm going to be doing this for the rest of my life until I retire at 65+ so I better love it."
WRONG. The average...
It's this. If you look at the NSF solicitation for REU grants it explicitly states that the programs are designed to help underrepresented groups and those who have poor access to research opportunities (e.g. coming from a non-research university). This also translates into a preference for...
I 100% agree that it is very common/easy to underestimate the full weight of the interest you'll incur - I meant my example to be someone who is paying off his full student debt with the first 6 months of his job.
Again, 100% agree that many people underestimate the risk they are assuming in...
I definitely feel like too many students and young people are taking on debt without a very clear idea of ROI (e.g. they are financing a Classics or Gender Studies degree or something) or a good appreciation of the hole they are putting themselves in.
However, in some cases it wouldn't make...