Graduate school Definition and 485 Threads

I'm currently double majoring in physics and math at a state university and I plan on going to graduate school to pursue astronomy/astrophysics. I've heard that graduate committees value undergraduate research highly in selecting applicants, but I'm unsure of what is expected. My school requires...

Okay so I know I don't have much to work with but here we go: My goal is to apply to Graduate school in Astrophysics more or less Cosmology. I should mention that I transferred from IU after my first semester, which I aced my courses at while I was there for a semester. Okay so my current GPA...

Hello all, particularly graduate students and PhDs, I'm planning on learning a foreign language, mostly for fun, but I would like to learn a language used by many of my colleagues in mathematics programs. I've not yet entered graduate school (for mathematics, of course), so I was wondering...

I am hoping to apply to graduate schools in mathematics this fall, and I am in the process of deciding where I'm going to apply. I have a 3.95 GPA (overall and in math). I go to a top 30 math school. I've taken upper division in pretty much every topic (about 15 undergraduate) and have taken...

Hi everyone, I'm currently a 4th year applied math major who goes to a top 40 school and due to stupidity and poor class scheduling in my lower division years, has to stay an extra semester to fulfill graduation requirements. Here's the story: During my first two and a half years of college...

Assume a student such as myself (3rd year PhD) has an RA stipend for graduate school (tuition is paid + some stipend). The stipend is rather small, but technically survivable. Unfortunately I have some debt acquired while an undergraduate, mainly credit card. I have no student loans and have...

Currently, I am a in the undergraduate engineering program at NCSU, pursuing a degree in Aerospace Engineering. I just completed my sophomore year. I was wondering what sort of things are expected of undergraduates who are applying to graduate school. Of course, I would love to be able to...

I have a question about grad school prospectus after earning a B.A. in Mathematics (for prospective 5-12 teachers). The B.A. curriculum consists of Calculus I-III (standard three semester sequence), Linear Algebra, College Geometry, Abstract Algebra, Probability and Statistics I-II (two semester...

E.g. around a 2.7 GPA? Can one still go in the future? Or is one doomed.

Hello, I am an undergraduate currently studying at MIT, and I have read zapper's thread on the path of the academic physicist. I was wondering, however, what it REALLY takes to get accepted into a top institution for theoretical physics OR experimental physics. Reference to specific...

If I go to Arizona State University to major in Physics w/ an Astronomy minor, get good grades (GPA ~3.0 to 3.3), do some research, and get good letters of recommendations, do graduate schools look at what school you went to for the admissions process? In other words, do astronomy graduate...

Hi, My situtation is as follows, I plan next year to start graduate school in math, though I would like to pursue a career as a mathematical physicist in academia, the odds are against me, so I need somehow to have a backup plan. Iv'e noticed in my school a few graduate students who also learn...

hey, so I am going to be done with all the requirements of a math major by the end of this term and have another year left. I can't graduate cause I don't have enough credits. I don't think I want to go to graduate school for math and am considering going to graduate school for engineering...

Hi PF, As I'm reading more about graduate school, its becoming clear to me that ranking graduate schools as "good" or "bad" is too broad and naive- that its much more fruitful to evaluate grad schools by specific sub departments within the Physics departments. But I have no idea how to do...

Hey so I am a passionate math major and am pretty good at it. But I have been told several times that if I don't want to teach then I probably shouldn't go to graduate school for math. I am good with computers but hate programing. love physics but hate lab work. so with my skills what...

Now I am a Canadian entering a Canadian Undergrad, it is a 4-year to receive a Bachelor. If I go directly into a Ph.D program in either Canada or USA, how long will it take? Is it 5 years or 2 years? If assuming that I give up Breaks, that means no summer holidays or winter vacation, spring...

Hello, Im looking for some advice. I have been accepted to REUs at Penn State, UPenn, and Notre Dame. I have been waitlisted at Northwestern and UC-Santa Barbara (all for Mat Sci/physics). My question is if doing an REU at a school helps in going to graduate school there. I am thinking about...

I am an international physics PhD applicant, and my intended field is experimental condensed matter, and have interest in nanomaterials and devices, electronic materials and devices, and semiconductors. I have received two offers from OSU and UFl, and other programs that are still reviewing...

I'm currently an undergraduate and was wondering what options are out there for graduate school. I have a 3.7 GPA (in math/science/computer science courses) and have done numerous research projects with my advisor in theoretical astrophysics (two minor publications). I have also attended two...

As a high school senior who hopes to pursue a career in physics, I am learning more about how I want to continue my education every day. Originally, I had hoped to get in the very highest ranked universities (with respect to the physical sciences) as an undergraduate, but I've come to realize...

It may be tough to speak for such a thing, but does anyone know what the profile of students who get the chance to attend the likes of great math schools like Chicago, Michigan, Princeton, Harvard, and so on actually are like on average? Is a significant factor the fact they were able to learn...

I want to know what kind of schools i can to expect to get into for physics graduate school. I am currently a sophomore attending the university of reno. I am majoring in both biochemistry and physics. I currently work at the National Terawatt Facility working as a core diagnostic technician...

I've recently finished applying to a few doctoral programs in chemistry for next fall, but I am now thinking that maybe I should have looked into chemical engineering instead. I'm just getting a feeling that chemical engineering would be a bit more interesting and that there might be more job...

Realistically speaking, what league of schools does a hardworking, smart but not brilliant math major have a shot at for a PhD in pure math? Let's say I might apply with 8 graduate courses at a "lower Ivy", coauthored 1-2 papers, solid recommendations. I am not getting my hopes up for Stanford...

I'm a 1st semester sophomore math major right now and I'm taking an Intro Topology course this semester. It ended up being harder than I expected it to be and I'm fairly certain that I will end up with a B/B+ (most likely a B+) in the course due to one bad exam. How bad will this look when I'm...

I've always wondered, do graduate schools really admit students from other disciplines by having them take defiency courses? or do they just say that as a "formality"?

Hi guys. I'm a junior Phyics/Math major at University of Iowa. Last summer, I did an REU in biophysics and fell in love. I'm looking into graduate schools in this area, specifically top schools like University of Chicago, MIT, Harvard, etc. There's a plethora of sites showing admission...

I am hoping to apply to graduate schools in mathematics this fall, and I was wondering if anyone would know what types of schools will accept me. I have a 3.7 GPA, 3.9 in math. The upper level math classes I have taken include a geometry class, two semester of real analysis, a topology...

Im planning on applying to math graduate school and taking the GRE subject test for math this weekend. However I don't think I am going to do well, but the small glimmer of hope that I have is that the schools I am applying to, either don't require it at all or "strongly recommend" it, so I am...

I have a couple of questions about graduate school: -Does focusing on a subject in graduate school require a major in the subject? (my major will stick with what I'll be focusing on...I'm just curious) - If it doesn't, then what are the necessities for entering graduate school for that...

Hi, I'm a senior in Aerospace Engineering at University of Illinois. I wasn't able to get an internship over the summer and am having a hard time finding a job. I have a 2.9/4.00GPA and most companies won't even call me back for an interview. I've already had my resume reviewed by my the...

Im a junior physics major, I've been researching the web about physics grad programs. Honestly, they're not too informative. I was hoping people could post some info about graduate school here. If people could, I am curious about what type of GPA, GRE, research, and internships they had and what...

Hello, I was curious what it would take to get into Biomedical Engineering graduate school, I would like to get my Master's. Right now I am a junior, B.S. Biomedical Physics (Honors) & B.A. Mathematics. What schools have good Biomedical Engineering graduate programs? What kind of standardized...

When someone is accepted to graduate school is it possible for them to acquire financial aid from FAFSA the same way as they did for undergrad?

So before I begin the main topic I just wanted to say that I'm looking at graduate schools for astronomy and astrophysics. I'll make a full fledged topic about it when the time comes, because the amount of material and questions I have there will dwarf this current one. Plus I want to gather all...

Hi all. I'm a Physics/Math major at the University of Iowa and have a few questions about getting into graduate school. What does it take to get into schools like Harvard, MIT, University of Chicago, or UIUC? I've looked though the information on gradschoolshopper.com, and from that I can get...

Hey everyone, I'm entering my second undergraduate year as an astronomy and physics double major. I've always had an interest in black holes, high energy astrophysics, and cosmology; consequentially, I've planned to study one of these in graduate school. However, over the summer I've been...

Hi PFers! I'm physics major in a big state school and I plan to go to graduate school. Due to some financial difficulties, I'm seriously considering graduating in three years. I can finish the classes required in three years pretty easily, but I won't have chance to take some more...

Hi, I was wondering if a graduate program exists for product design and development? I have searched google, but haven't found the results I wanted. Would there be another name for a program like this or does it not exist at all?

Hello, I am interested in attending a graduate program in the UK after completion of my BS in physics but am unsure of the lay of the land. A few questions I have are: 1. Is it possible to get into the Ph.D. program in the UK w/o a masters? If it is difficult is it possible to do the masters...

Hi, I'm going to be entering my senior year of undergrad and I'm pursuing a math and physics degree. I've got a good, high GPA, and really enjoy all of the math classes I've been in. Physics, however (especially particle physics and classical mechanics) were not so enjoyable. With respect to...

I am now a senior and SUNY buffalo and a physics major, and my question is this. What are my chances of getting into a school such as Chicago or Colombia, maybe NYU or one of the UC schools. My scores are as follows GPA: 3.3 GRE Verbal: 620 GRE Quant: 780 GRE essay: don't have yet GRE...

Having recently finished grad school, I've put together a guide for new and prospective graduate students on picking a prof and a project, as well as pitfalls to watch out for: http://subversiveguidetoeng.blogspot.com/2009/05/guide-to-graduate-school.html" I thought it would be useful...

Hi, I'm a student from the UK about to embark on a PhD in the area of String theory/QG. I have a couple of options in front of me and I am struggling to decide which would be the best path. 1) University of Southern California (USC). The PhD would be much more "stringy" here, and I get the...

Hi everyone, I am currently a junior in mechanical engineering. After I graduate I plan on going to graduate school to obtain my PhD, I hope to eventually get a career in research probably at a university because I also enjoy teaching. As a mechanical engineer my interests have been...

Hey guys, I was curious as to whether or not anyone here knows anything about the admission standards for GIT. I checked out their undergraduate requirements but I am not quite sure how that relates to their grad admissions. I was looking at their aerospace engineering program and from what...

Hi, I read online and people say that if you want to get into graduate school, pick UC over Cal Poly. Why is that? What is missing in Cal Poly that doesn't prepare students to transfer to graduate school after undergrad?

How does the "system" work for graduate school? Hello, I am currently an undergrad working on a long term research project with a professor at my university. My question is, as far as recommendations go, will his recs carry more weight at the university he graduated from? He is a Harvard PhD...

I got into graduate school! yay! I'll have a "Dr" in front of my name. Here's the problem: there is no funding associated with the offer. Thus, no TA/RA in return for tuition and a stipend,or any such thing. Does anyone know of any options or funding possibilites? or rather, how did everyone...

I'm wondering how difficult it is to gain admission to PhD programs in physics. On Duke's website, they show that the average GPA of admitted students was 3.7 last year. Keeping that in mind, I looked at the NRC rankings in physics, and Duke is ranked like 42. At my school, the average GPA of...