School Definition and 1000 Threads

Hello Physics Forum, I just wanted to hear from some experienced Electrical Engineers on how much of the material covered in school are actually used in a real job. I am currently a junior in EE and have heard mixed responses from my professors pertaining to the issue. To make it less broad...

I had two questions regarding grad school stipends. For starters, about how many hours per week do you have to typically spend working to earn your stipend? Second, I have heard that the amount of grad students receiving stipends is extremely high in most colleges, where actually not getting...

Hi what would you think about an engineering school where many students are getting high GPA like 3.5 and above?? and the major is Electrical Engineering ! (which is sometimes considered as one of the hardest majors). a student in the school I am talking about got 4.0 GPA >>his major is...

Heya, I've been asking around at job fairs, along with classmates/faculty, and the consensus seems to be that lots of people want physics majors who know about programming, handling data, and modeling. The problem is.. I don't know much about those subjects. What's the best way to fix...

I am currently applying to PhD physics programs across the US and so far my letters of recommendation are from the following: 2 astrophysics professors who I have taken astrophysics classes from, and 1 professor with a physics PhD but taught an upper division scientific writing class to me...

The school takes place this week, October 7 through 11, hosted by Thomas Thiemann's group. The school is explicitly quantum geometry. Increasingly that is what QG means-- microscopic/high energy geometry of space-time. Focusing on quantizing shape relations rather than on quantum "gravity...

I recently did an internship at my university in which I worked more closely with the engineer in charge of the lab rather than the professor. Would it be okay to ask the engineer in charge to write a letter of recommendation for grad. school since he is more capable of detailing my performance...

I've heard people say that a 4.0 GPA can look a bit suspicious to admissions committees for grad school. I'm wondering how true this actually is... I assume it depends greatly on whether the 4.0 is coming from a well known university. Let's say that the 4.0 is just coming from a large state...

During a physics competition, I came across this question. My work was \begin{align*}\Delta S &= \frac{Q}{T} \\ \Delta S &= \frac{1.25 \times 10^3 \, \mathrm{J}}{348 \, \mathrm{K}} \\ \Delta S &= 3.59 \,\,\mathrm{\left( J/K\right )} \end{align*} but I was stuck in between two answer choices...

Hello.. So for the past month I transferred to UC Berkeley, and I've been miserable ever since. My roommates are animals and can't clean anything that they use, even my utensils that I said they could use at the beginning they don't clean up properly and never put away and ruin my stuff. I mean...

Hi guys and gals, first post here, but I've lurked here before but just now registering and posting I'm getting ready to apply for my graduate schools. I'm not sure what exactly I'm seeking, so I want to provide a little background. I've always been a tinkerer, ever since I was young I've...

I'm a senior in high school and dislike the way physics is taught. I find the textbooks to be too watered down and lacking in mathematical rigor. My plan is to major in physics when I go to college, so I've decided to self study physics in my spare time. I've browsed around the forums here...

Hi, Do you have any experience with an US / international winter school or research in physics or mathematics? Thank you PS:I would be ready to travel anywhere in the world to get those courses (between 1.02.2014 to 1.03.2014).

So, I'm a hopeful physics and/or applied physics/engineering physics major. Maybe Materials Science. I have my main list of colleges to apply to, and my record looks pretty good, but the least selective of them is Georgia Tech, at 41.5% admitted last year. I'm going to need good financial aid...

I was just wondering if this is a common thing that people do. I am a junior in college and I had a software engineering internship and enjoyed it very much and I think it'd a career i'd enjoy. However I've always wanted to get a phd in computer science and do research in computer graphics. At...

Hi there, If any people who have sat on grad school admissions committees are lurking out there, I would love to hear your opinion on this: I'm reapplying to grad school for next fall after I took my Masters and left at another institution. I made a right mess of things there; was going...

I'm currently a senior in high school. I'm in Calc I right now and I'm sure by the end of the year ill be proficient enough in it. So what I want to do is take the CLEP test and get credit for it in college instead of having to repeat a semester of it. But all of the schools I want to go to...

Hi, I'm starting off grad school this fall. My adviser mailed me some published papers that have been written by our group. I've been through them, and although I understand the basic idea, I don't understand many of the formulas and theories used. Is this normal? Usually, how do people start...

I would like to apply to grad schools next Fall. If the school requires 3 recommendations, is it ever a good idea to include more? Also, what do you guys think about including a CV?

Hey, weird post but I am interested in science and building things and I wanted to ask any good ways to learn and have fun at home with science (preferably physics) and also some ideas of stuff I can use physics knowledge to build. THANKS!

This is just in the late planning stage, but it sure looks like the coolest high school ever: Proof School. It looks like they have some serious, high-powered folks involved. Starts up for students in September, 2015 in San Francisco. Why wasn't there one of these when I was going to school?

Curious what date is everyone's first day back to school?

High School Student looking for insight regarding engineering! Hi, I'm a junior in high school who is looking to focus on some type of engineering. I have researched a lot on the web and at interesting questions on this forum about the different types of engineers and what they do. What most...

Hello MHB, I'll soon be applying for Masters and PhD programmes in mathematics to universities in the US. I need help with my statement of purpose. I am not sure what I should put in it since I am largely self taught (in math) and have little formal research experience. (Formal research...

Hello everyone. I've been on this forum for a little while, but haven't posted much, so here's a little about me. I'm 26 and a college dropout. I went for a year and a half after high school and discovered that I was no where near mature enough to be out on my own. Jump forward seven years and I...

Hello, first off, I want to say hello, I am new here! I am also a senior in high school looking for colleges, as well as what the road of physics has to offer after college. Secondly, I enjoy astrophysics with a passion, as well as quantum, and particle physics. But more on the quantum and...

I'm a junior doing a physics major. I've almost finished the physics major and I've taken more than the required electives, and as I'm not 100% sure whether I want to go to graduate school, I'm considering double majoring in economics. I know that a double major in economics will open more...

(a) since $n(U)=120$ and the intersections showing $8,7$ and $4$ added is $19$ then $\displaystyle\frac{19}{120}$ is the probability of studying exactly $2$ languages (b) since $n(J)=35$ then subtracting $8,5,7$ would be $15$ so $\displaystyle\frac{15}{120}=\frac{1}{8}$ would be probability of...

Hey guys and gals, I am at a bit of a stand still right now. I am a third year P.h.D. student and I have an advisor, but I am not exactly sure what area I want to research in. I went to talk to him yesterday and I said that I wanted to study General relativity, but he says that is not specific...

I am looking for a central source of physics graduate school research expenditures, broken down by sub-field (nuclear, condensed matter, AMO, HEP, etc.). I can find the total amount spent here http://www.petersons.com/graduate-schools but I am not sure where to go for this kind of...

I've always been able to study into the night and do pretty well in school. But I'm doing an engineering internship now and I don't feel like I'm doing my best work. Part of it is because I'm EE and working on ME topics, which I'm not very familiar with, but also because I'm wondering if it's...

I'm facing the possibility of going to UC Berkeley for undergraduate. I will be majoring in physics and possibly double majoring in math. I have a few questions: 1. How can I stand out in a class of 100 students and find an opportunity to coauthor a research paper or two before I graduate...

I go to a small liberal arts school. I always wanted to go to the best school I could, but I grew up in a small town with almost zero resources and had to deal with some pretty scary abusive family stuff for most of my life. I got kind of screwed up for awhile and barely scraped my way into...

Homework Statement Here's the question for my coursework. "Everyone knows the feeling of getting into a car that has been under the hot sun.Nobody likes it. Design an experiment and investigate the factor(s) that contribute to this condition." Here's my question, 1)Do window tint really helps...

Well, looks like I'll be starting school in about 3 weeks at the University of Arizona here in Tucson. As long as all my financial aid stuff gets approved by the VA in time at least. I'll be majoring in Astronomy unless I decide to change over to Optical Engineering in the future. Wish me luck!

Hey, I know there's a sticky on top of the page kind of about this but I read through the thread and I have a pretty particular case that which isn't really addressed. I just finished my undergrad studies, received a B.A. a few months ago in May, and I was thinking about going to school...

Hey everyone, I was hoping to get some general career advice. I am currently working on my Physics BS and am almost done with all of the physics requirements. However, since I was a transfer student I have been able to take a lot of courses in fields I also enjoy. I'll end up graduating with the...

hello, I did double degree in physics and mathematics and now I'm considering being a high school teacher. i always had passion for it. i actually wanted to be teacher in community college and i still plan to apply for that when i get my masters (not attending atm). anyway, i have 0...

Short and sweet I am an undergraduate math major attempting to transfer. I am looking for help composing a list of schools to visit. Some Information about Myself I'm not a terribly academically driven guy. While I've come across some success academically, it's mostly been the result of...

With the internet as large and powerful as ever, YouTube videos with lectures and tutorials, what kind of fool would pay thousands of dollars to go to school and get a piece of paper that says their qualified when they can do it all in their own time for free? Goodbye tradition...

So basically I am in high school and have done my major exam for the end of the year. It was a good test except for one question that i got totally stumped on. The question said that a planet was 6.7 light years away from earth. A spacecraft has a maximum speed of 0.9c, how long would a clock on...

Are there examples of modern, influential mathematicians who did not show unusual mathematical talent before college? Because today it seems like the field is pretty much closed off to college freshmen first encountering abstract mathematics, no matter how much fascination and interest they...

Hey PF! So I just finished my undergrad degree in Astrophysics, and I'm interested in going back to get my PhD. I really love physics, and I don't mind the kind of grind and time that it would take to be a successful PhD student. I'm not looking to get higher paying jobs after I get my PhD, I...

Long time lurker here, this is just my first time posting. I've read through the 'So you want to be a Physicist' guide and just from experience I've noticed that in order to help pay for graduate schools most programs will have you TA for discussions or labs. Given my stutter, I know I...

hi I have to get a job before going to college ,I have to work for like a year before enrolling. anyway,I have a high school diploma and a driving license. what can I do with that? I need a job which will enable me to live and rent a room or shared apartment. I will start college at 22...

I suppose most of you guys here were nerds when you were young. So how had you enjoyed your school time? Were you all Lisa Simpsons and Martin Prince?

I'm still in high school and looking at majoring in physics in college. I have taken math up to single variable calculus, but I want to go back and relearn algebra and geometry to get a much better understanding of those subjects. I'm considering using the books Algebra by I.M Gelfand and...

My local high school has a telescope that has sat unused for at least a decade. I play poker with the principal and have an opportunity to assist getting it back into usability. Visited it this morning doesn't appear to need much it's a 12.5 inch Newtonian in about six foot tube on equatorial...

Hello MHB, I wanted to post the 2 methods I provided for solving the High School POTW, which I submitted for use that week. :D The problem was to solve: $$\left\lfloor x+\frac{7}{3} \right\rfloor^2+\left\lfloor x-\frac{9}{4} \right\rfloor=16$$

I am a rising junior physics major and math minor at a small liberal arts school. I'm interested in possibly pursuing materials science for grad school (hoping to complete a PhD). However, I haven't yet taken intro-level chemistry. Originally I was planning to complete the intro sequence...