Admissions Applying to just ONE grad program?

[Quark_Chowder]

Applying to just ONE grad program?

I'm applying to just ONE grad physics program, and a top 20 one at that (my husband is at this school, and we have a young kid, so it's this school or no school...we don't have the resources/freedom for me to commute or live elsewhere or pay tuition out-of-pocket).

My low GPA (3.5 overall, ~3.8 upper division) and mediocre PGRE score (720, 59%) are making me nervous. I have a fair amount of research experience, but no pubs with my name on them (though a couple pubs have results that I contributed to). Also, my LORs are probably weaker than they would have been if I hadn't been away from school these past five years (though I haven't read any of them to know for sure). In short, I'm afraid that I'm not a "competitive" candidate.

That said, can someone offer me some advice on my Statement of Purpose (the one piece of the application that I have control over at the moment)? Any ideas for a "back up" plan in case I don't get in?

 

[fss]

Any ideas for a "back up" plan in case I don't get in?

Find a job in your area? Honestly it doesn't sound like your candidacy is particularly strong.

 

[Reshma]

My low GPA (3.5 overall, ~3.8 upper division) and mediocre PGRE score (720, 59%) are making me nervous. I have a fair amount of research experience, but no pubs with my name on them (though a couple pubs have results that I contributed to). Also, my LORs are probably weaker than they would have been if I hadn't been away from school these past five years (though I haven't read any of them to know for sure). In short, I'm afraid that I'm not a "competitive" candidate.

I guess you can use your research experience and good recommendations from your former research advisors to your advantage. But no one can really give any assurances for admission chances in a top 20 PhD programme in Physics in US (or even a top 50 school for that matter).

 

[Stan Marsh]

1. If your husband and you inform the admission committee your relationship, you may have a bigger chance getting admitted. I have heard of plenty of such examples.

2. Is there only one college in the city where your husband do his phd? Maybe you want to also consider other colleges in the same city of your husband's but with a lower rank. If I were you, I would apply for these colleges as well. Physics grad programs usually will offer you financial aids, so possibly you need not to worry about money.

 

[twofish-quant]

Also a lot depends on your husband's position. If your husband is tenure-track faculty, it's almost standard procedure for the university to provide some sort of job for the spouse, and I've known several people that ended up with professorships through this route. If your husband is a graduate student, it wouldn't hurt to have him ask his dissertation advisor or the department admissions committee on what the situation is. You can also look through the departmental directory to see if you can find a husband-wife professors team (they are quite common) and ask them for help and advice.

What can happen is that they give you a special admission in which you get a staff position and then are allowed to take classes, and if you do well, then you can get letters of recommendation for a full admissions later. They may say no, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

The fact that academia has "two for one" situations, is one of the rather unusual bits of the culture. In astronomy, husband-wife research teams are pretty common (the Mihalases, the Bachalls, the Wills, the Cochrans, the Burbidges, the deVacoleurs).

 

[Vanadium 50]

I have not seen such special consideration that twofish-quant describes extended even to postdocs, much less graduate students. Faculty, sure. But not students.

 

[twofish-quant]

I have not seen such special consideration that twofish-quant describes extended even to postdocs, much less graduate students. Faculty, sure. But not students.

It's rather unlikely to happen for graduate students, but it won't hurt to ask. Just expect that the answer is very likely to be no.

 

[Quark_Chowder]

Also a lot depends on your husband's position. If your husband is tenure-track faculty, it's almost standard procedure for the university to provide some sort of job for the spouse, and I've known several people that ended up with professorships through this route.

He's a low-level faculty member, but not tenure-track. And he's in a different department than I am.

 

[Quark_Chowder]

Physics grad programs usually will offer you financial aids, so possibly you need not to worry about money.

I have to worry about money since preschool and daycare aren't cheap. Around here, it's to the tune of $1,500/month. Not exactly chump change.

 

[Quark_Chowder]

Find a job in your area?

Ultimately, that's what I would like to do. However, I gave up a lot--at my husband's urging, mind you--to do the stay-at-home parent thing. It wasn't what I wanted to do. In fact, moving to this city wasn't my idea, either (I wanted him to accept the gig on the opposite coast). He and I agreed that I would be able to finish my degree (PhD) once our kid was old enough for preschool, and that time is now.

 

[twofish-quant]

He's a low-level faculty member, but not tenure-track. And he's in a different department than I am.

Something to check is if the school has special policies for letting spouses take/audit courses.

http://web.mit.edu/spouses/mit/thingstodo.html
http://www.utexas.edu/international/isss/intercultural/infoguide/education.html
http://www.usu.edu/admissions/docs/AuditApplication.pdf

What can happen is that if you are able to take graduate level courses, and then do well in them, you'll have very good letters of recommendation for full admission.

 

[JCVD]

If it makes you feel any better about your chances, remember that being female will probably give your application a bit of a boost. (Full disclosure: I'm in grad school for math, not physics, but I'd imagine physics departments like to diversify their pool of grad students too.)