Grad school Definition and 1000 Threads

I have a bachelor's in CS with a math focus (wound up 1 credit short of a math minor). I have been out of college for about six years now and working as a software developer during that time. Off and on since leaving college I have been self-teaching myself physics. Sometimes I daydream of going...

Ok, so this is about my fiancee but it concerns us both since our future is, well together and whatnot. So ETS (the organization that runs the GRE exams) majorly screwed up with her official GRE scores. They misspelled her name and reversed the digits of her date of birth on the official GRE...

I'm double majoring in Physics and Mathematics at a small liberal arts college, with a minor in Philosophy. I'm on track to graduate with honors next Spring. (Currently a junior) I'm starting to seriously consider what I should do when I graduate in a little over a year. I was initially...

Hi, I am wondering if 3 Ws on a transcript would impact my changes of getting into grad school. THe classes I withdrew from did not apply to my major. On College Confidential I was reading that any Ws increase the difficulty of getting into grad school. On another site I read that if it...

So let's keep it hypothetical here. Let's say a freshmen is taking intro level E@M and Junior level Griffths E@M at the same time. The student is doing this because in high school he took calc based E@M and believes he can relearn any gaps. The student is getting As in his intro level class but...

Can you go to grad school and just study nuclear physics or nuclear stuff?

I graduated with a math degree in 2010, and been working for my dad ever since. My intention is to get into a graduate program in international relation this year, with the long term plan of being a professor in IR. I need to convince graduate school to take me, because I have no research...

Hi, I have my BS in Physics and Math from the University of MN, 3 years of experimental physics research experience but no publications, about 3.85 technical GPA (but very close to 4 in Physics classes), and a good GRE Physics score. I want to go to grad school for theoretical physics, though...

I am under the impression that if you are accepted to a graduate school (PhD) with funding, you receive a stipend. I am planning on applying for as many fellowships as I can that are similar to these: http://scgf.orau.gov/benefits.html http://www.krellinst.org/csgf/ http://www.nsfgrfp.org/...

Hi. Im a undergrad senior currently and am going to apply for grad school right after i take my GRE. I am wonder what my chances are of getting in. Im applying for the same university where I am going to be graduating from ( stony brook ). [[ for a Masters, M.A., not a Ph.D ]] My major is MAT...

Hello, I am currently in my third year of Mathematical Physics. I was in biology in my first year and in Engineering physics in my second year. I knew my interest was in physics but tried the former just to please my parents. Upon getting into a depression in my second year due to lack of...

Either because they had a bad GPA, little research experience, bad GRE, or a combination of the three? I imagine only a fraction of physics grads end up making it to graduate school, and aside from those who were planning to be high school physics teachers, where do the rest end up? Do most of...

Hello, I'm making this post because I'm concerned about my chances of being accepted to graduate school. I just finished my B.S. in Physics this semester and I was planning on applying to some Electrical Engineering programs. Before this semester my GPA was 3.4, but now it currently sits at...

I'm a physics undergrad and have a GPA of about 3.824/4.3 in an Ivy league university. I have pretty good research experience with 2 publications so far. I was wondering what my chances are of getting into the best grad schools (MIT,Stanford, Caltech etc..) with this GPA, assuming I do fairly...

if you took the top math or physics class at your school (think Math 55 at Harvard) but weren't that good in it, would you get a rec from that prof? that's my dilemma ... well-known prof has agreed to write me a rec if i want, but says it would not be that great since i was not a top student in...

Hello all, I am seeking some career guidance because I have found myself in an unexpected circumstance. I recently found out (within the past month) that my Ph.D. funding will run out at the end of next semester. I still have years to go until I'm able to defend a dissertation so I feel...

Hi, I'm in my second year of underrgad in Canada, but I'm trying to look ahead to grad school applications so that I'm adequately prepared. Like many keen undergrads, I really want to go to Harvard/MIT/Caltech/etc for grad school. Of course, actually getting in is a different story. I'm...

Lets say you are a prospective applicant to an Engineering Grad School: What sorts of ECAs should you get involved in that make you look attractive to phd programs and where exactly do you put them ( resume?)? I mean things like : Volunteering, research in a different subject, part-time jobs...

Hi all! I am currently a sophomore transferring from a small unknown university to a large state school. I hope to go to graduate school for mathematics one day. I've been getting decent grades. I have gotten an A in everything but today I was forced into a life and death situation kinda...

List of texts/key ideas for BS math/phy to grad school Thanks to great feedback, I've updated my attempt to: Pull out the minimal set of math and physics ideas, backed up by the actual history, that underlie the knowledge needed to navigate from junior level math/physics through graduate...

I’m currently a physics/math major. I work very hard and am proud of my 4.0 GPA. However, as my peers and professors begin to talk about grad school I realize I don’t have a clue what I'm supposed to do. My goal is to go to Penn State for an advanced degree in some type of engineering or...

Hello, I'm hoping to receive some advice on boosting my chances to get into grad school. I'm planning on apply for either geophysics or atmospheric sciences. I'll explain a bit more but In addition to any advice I'd also like to know if it would even be feasible for me to apply. Currently...

I am a senior at a top 20 undergraduate university majoring in math and physics. I am hoping to study math at the graduate level next year. I have a 3.5 GPA (3.3 in math) and have been doing undergraduate research for the past 2 years with an engineering firm in my hometown (mostly been...

Hello all. I'm in need of some advice, and I would appreciate any thoughts you guys can contribute. I will be graduating from RPI this semester with a BS in Aeronautical Engineering. I am applying to graduate schools with the intention of becoming involved in space propulsion research (a...

I am a freshman getting ready to finish my first semester at a community college, with a strong GPA , and I'm planning on transferring to a 4 year college after this next semester is done. I've heard a lot of people online say that medical and graduate schools look down on people who start out...

So my scores, research, letters are all pretty good. I've got a 3.7 gpa as a math and physics major from a top 25 school (physics gpa is 3.85). Here's the problem, I failed a 500 level math course as a sophomore. I took the course before I had had a good introduction to proofs and...

As the title suggests, I am going to graduate with a BS in physics, (graduating in spring 2013) I want to go into mechanical engineering, so I am looking into masters programs (If I wanted a PhD I would get one in physics, but I don't so engineering here I come) I know I will most likely need to...

Hello, I am new to this forum, I appreciate any help and guidance anyone can give me. I am currently working towards a BS in Physics, with minors in Mathematics and Astrophysics. My goal after my BS is grad school for a PhD in Astrophysics, and am interested in a career in research. The...

Hey so here's my situation... I am currently an engineering student and I have COMPLETELY lost interest in it. Sadly this happened during my junior year. I plan on transferring to Math. At the end of this semester my gpa will probably be around 3.1 with about 106 credit hours. Assuming I do...

So I've been debating to myself whether or not I should do a double major in mathematics. On one hand it'll cost me a year (making it a total of 5 years) on the other hand it'll give me an extra year to find internships, do research, etc. I enjoy math which is why I want to do it but my...

Background: I'm a senior at a large state university studying electrical engineering, and I will graduate in May. Currently, my GPA stands at 3.08. I am on track for a 4.0 this semester, which includes a graduate-level course in digital communications systems. By the time I graduate, I should...

(sorry for the title, I ran out of room) Is it possible to go into Cognitive Sciences for graduate school even though I am earning my undergraduate in [applied] physics? I'm a Junior, and I know I want to go to graduate school, I'm just not positive in what yet, and I feel like I'm...

I have a BS in Math and Physics, and want to go on to grad school. I am currently planning on applying to SUNY Stony Brook's math department and their physics department (for theoretical physics). I ultimately want to get my PhD (though whether in math or physics I am not entirely...

As you can guess by the post's title, I have a seemingly crazy question. But before I get to the meat of my query, it might be useful to any potentially helpful readers if I gave a bit of context about myself, academically speaking. And also it's late, and I'm a bit too out of steam to do...

Hello everyone, I am about to graduate this coming december with a bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering, I also started taking a couple of graduate courses because my plan is to obtain a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering as well. Last week I received a great job offer from the...

Hi. In a couple of other topics on this site, I have described my hard situation where I am failing graduate school despite spending ridiculous amounts of time studying and working on problems/ proofs. To put it short, I have a serious mental illness that requires I take medication which...

Hey guys, I'm a physics major and in my freshman years. One of the things I keep hearing is how competitive grad schools can get. So, I ask you lot "What are the requirements to get into a grad school for physics"? Well, I mostly want to hear things other than a good GPA (which is obvious)...

I'm currently trying to decide where I want to apply for math grad school. Many of my professors recommended places that were not as selective as the top grad schools but still had what they thought were strong programs in the field I want to go into (algebra). I was wondering whether going to a...

Hi everyone, I'm finishing up at a community college right now as a physics major. I've got a 4.0 GPA and absolutely love physics! Problem is I'll be 27 by the time I transfer to UC Berkeley as a junior. So I'll pretty much be 30 by the time I start grad school. I've asked myself why it took me...

I have a few questions about graduate schools that are across the board. My apologies for the lack of focus. First, some academic info. Currently, I'm a junior in a mid-level state school in New York. I'm currently pursuing a BS in applied mathematics with a minor in applied statistics...

I'm a mechanical engineering and math double major in my last year of undergrad and planning on going to grad school next year. My question: Given that I want to work in industry/the private sector after grad school, how do masters degrees in applied mathematics stack up to masters degrees in...

I'm a senior undergrad and will be applying to grad school soon. The field I'm interested in is experimental high-energy physics. There are already about six schools I'm looking at applying to, but I'm wondering if anyone has any advice about possible safety schools. My overall GPA is about...

I started Physics grad school this Fall, but I have recently started considering dropping out, either to join an existing company or to start my own business. I am concerned about how this would look to future employers, both startups and non-startups. I know that getting an MS degree but no phD...

Hi, I'm a senior undergrad preparing for graduate studies. But I have this problem where I don't really know what field of physics I want to go in. I really have no clue. And I feel like that is a big part in deciding what schools to apply/attend. Then again, I feel like no one really...

I'm a 3rd year undergraduate in Spain contemplating continuing my studies upon graduating next year. I was initially considering doing my 4th final year via Erasmus exchange at Imperial College London so I could take some electives that my university doesn't offer. Unfortunately today I found...

Welp, I dropped out of grad school for the third (yes, third) time today. I wil be driving back home again and looking for a job. This is the same grad school that I have dropped out of 3 times. The first time I was just sick of school. When I came back I got depressed and had to leave...

I'm doing chemistry undergrad research right now, and I'm pretty shocked at the hours that grad students are required to work. A lot of the groups I have seen require 6 days a week of work with 10 hour plus days, they come in on every holiday but like Thanksgiving and maybe like a few days at...

I'm a third year physics student interested in grad school. My marks are ok (85% average), and I should be able to get a letter of reference for grad school based on a 4th year Honours project. How important is a summer research position to a grad school application? I can probably get a...

2 Q's: overseas worth it & "how to" CV for grad school Hello, I'm doing my last undergraduate year this year in my country of birth (Central-Europe) and I've made up my mind about doing my graduate (in theoretical physics) abroad: desire for a more vibrant, stimulating scientific environment...

Is not going to grad school, right after undergrad, going to hurt one's chances at getting into any graduate program at some other point in the future? I think I would want to go (maths/physics/stats) but I would like to teach for a few years first.