Grad Definition and 1000 Threads

I have a BS in Economics and Physics, I've been out of school for a year now and I really want to get a PhD in physics but I'm having trouble narrowing it down to a particular area (i.e. particle, material, astro, experimental, theoretical, etc. ), which in turn is slowing me down in my search...

Hello, I have 2 questions: First, where can I find the best graduate schools for PDE & Probability? I'm thinking MIT and NYU are really good, although I could be wrong. Second, I was wondering if my expected math background is good enough to get into the 90th percentile on the GRE...

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/...

This whole research building is like a ghost town. I thought grad students had a lot of work to do? I'm in my first week of rotation and it has been very little like industry. Students here seem to get in a 9-10 am, take an hour coffee break before reading a journal article for the next two...

This is the second year of grad applications for me and although I've done what I could afford to improve my application (paying for and A-minus-ing a semester of grad level QM), I'm feeling pretty pessimistic about my odds of acceptance again. Frankly, I'm almost 26 and I'm not sure if I can...

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...

Homework Statement If \phi= xy^{2} A=xzi-z^{2}j+xy^{2}k B=zi+xj+yk Verify that \nabla.(\phiA)=A.\nabla\phi+\phi.\nablaA Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution I have worked out the first two parts of the question: \phiA = (x^{2}y^{2}z, -xy^{2}z^{2},x^{2}y^{4}) div(\phiA) =...

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...

I am a senior who is applying to PhD programs in math. I am almost done with the applications, but should I apply to more schools? Undergraduate Institution: One the top state schools (ranked top 10 in math) Overall GPA: 3.88 Math GPA: 3.95 Courses: I have taken graduate level algebra...

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...

Hey there, In my university, General Relativity is listed among elective courses (along with an advanced quantum mechanics course). I'm curious to know whether general relativity is really an undergrad course or not. And what are the pros and cons if GR is taken in grad school? Thanks for...

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...

I am in my first year at the university as a Bachelor of the Arts student rather than as an engineering student. Though I may be able to switch in my second year, this isn't likely given the first-year course load in the engineering school. If I were to get the B.A., would I be able to enter a...

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...

Can anyone help me proving this: http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/3730/provei.jpg And just for curiosity, is there a proof for why is the Laplace operator is defined as the divergence (∇·) of the gradient (∇ƒ)? And why it doesn't work on vetorial function. Thanks in advance, guys! Igor.

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...

I've narrowed down a short list of a dozen or so graduate programs it looks like I'd like to apply to. I've heard that it helps to email professors involved in the work I'm interested in, but I'm doing the socially-awkward-penguin and am kinda at a loss for what to say or how to go about saying...

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, Just wondering how different the two really are. I'm interested in developing functionals and was wondering if the two are really distinguishable. On an added note, by the time I graduate, I will have had two research terms in computational chemistry. One applications, and the...

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)...

Lately I have been having sort of a crisis. I am a phd student studying math in my second year at a school ranked between 70-90 (out of 127 ranked schools). I am considering trying to transfer to a top 40 program, partly to help my job prospects after graduation, and also because I now have a...

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...

I'll be applying to grad schools in the coming months, and I'm mostly interested in programs that involve nonlinear dynamics, synchrony, and chaos. But, my undergraduate research is in two other areas, different from each other and not involving nonlinear dynamics at all. I've worked on...

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...

In my notes it says that grad F will give you a vector normal to the contour. Howver I thought grad F would give you a vector tangent because the path is aligned with the vector field. Is it different when talking about contours and paths? If you find grad F of a function F does that give...

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...

Homework Statement The question is to use index notation to show that the following is true, where a is a three-vector and f is some function. Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution Hmmmm . . . I haven't really got anything to put here! I am starting to get to grips...

I'm a first year grad student and keep getting emails from other grad students in the program about wanting to do all sorts of activities outside the classroom like a Turkey Bowl flag football game, a talent show near xmas (department is almost requiring participation), a halloween costume party...