Astronomy/Astrophysics Safety Schools

[Allen Zheng]

Hey,

I just finished applying to some astronomy/astrophysics grad school programs with way less research on the schools done than I should have. I used this forum thread to apply to some safety schools.

1. University of Michigan*
2. University of Hawaii at Manoa
3. Vanderbilt
4. Ohio State
5. UC Boulder
6. CUNY Grad Center**

*I realized literally after applying that this is not the Michigan university the forum previously linked was talking about. They meant Michigan State. Apparently Uni of Mich is... hard to get into.
** I go to this set of colleges so I applied since my mentor suggested it. Have no plans to attend if accepted.

Are these actual safety schools? The forum thread is from 2008 so it's probably outdated by now. Do I have a chance at any of these colleges? Here is some of my info:

• 3.48 GPA (3.6 major gpa) college doesn't do class ranks
• Took GRE in 2018. Verbal: 154 (65%); Quant 163 (83%); Analytic 4.5 (82%)
• pGRE in 2018: 730 (55%) I didn't study enough and also with a weird mixup in advising when I first became a physics major I didn't have quantum, thermo/stats, or e&m courses taken before the test. I'm literally in e&m1 right now, only ever took mechanics and a course called "modern physics and optics" (optics and very basic quantum, special relativity). I still could have done better and mostly blame myself. Also, all colleges I applied to did not require pGRE so I chose not to report. Should I report?
• research: since jan 2018 working in a photonics lab on quantum well sample luminescence. No publications, did have one paper that I authored. doesn't really have to do with my interests, took it bc of the modern/optics course prof I had. I still like it, just not my thing
• Letters of rec: two should be strong. Third was by a slightly strange professor who makes a lot of typos in emails so I'm a bit worried.
• no astronomy courses? the ones at my college are apparently pretty subpar but i still should have taken them. I just really like space and physics and have studied a bit of orbital mechanics (if playing Kerbal Space Program and reading a bit of a 1970's textbook counts). Mostly was interested in aeronautics and astronautics growing up
• work if that matters: worked since getting into this college as a graphic designer. President of frisbee club.
• I think I did ok on my academic statement of purpose. Mostly focused on my studies and research while touching on extracurriculars and tried to maintain a string of "I've been passionate about science since my childhood science projects etc etc" throughout without leaning too hard into it.
• No "special" life advantages. Both parents went to masters, family was poor during middle school but is now lower middle class. US born Citizen, etc. I'm lgbt but that doesn't really affect anything I do lol and I'm not an activist of any sort.

I don't really think I can get into most of these colleges now that I'm looking at stats online and it worries me a bit. Any thoughts on my chances?

 

[Choppy]

I'm not sure what you're looking for here really. It's not like anyone can tell you definitively whether you will be accepted at any of these schools.

I just finished applying to some astronomy/astrophysics grad school programs with way less research on the schools done than I should have.

You'll probably get a more reliable feel for your chances if you just do some of this research. The fact that you ended up applying to a school you had no intention of applying to, and another you have no intention of attending doesn't really bode well.

Maybe try visiting some of the campuses for a tour, if that's an option. Contact the departments. Some schools will arrange time for you to sit down with current graduate students and after speaking with them, you'll probably get a decent feeling for where you stand in relation to applicants that are typically accepted. It might also give you the opportunity to get the scoop on which groups are taking on new students. In some cases the best applicants in the world can be rejected because the professor or group they're interested in working with doesn't have any openings, while other groups may consider students with lower stats because they have a lot of work that needs to get done and the funding to accomplish it.

 

[romsofia]

I don't think anything you've posted says "This is a safety school". No offense, but you're an average candidate at best. The harsh reality is you have no safety schools.

Your coursework too is... weird? Are you still a junior? Are you a physics, or a math major? If you're a senior, I'd honestly suggest staying an extra year to get a quantum, stat/thermo, and another mechanics course if you can before going to graduate school. To save money, you can try asking the professors if you can sit in on the courses, and follow along as if you were a student.

Graduate school is hard, and it's harder than undergraduate courses. Some problems from problem sets can take days to solve, and they're due in a week, and that's knowing the material at an undergraduate level. Now, let's say you get accepted, and your advisor says, "Ok, your first semester schedule is QM 1 and E+M 1". Depending on the university, these can be lecture course i.e professor starts at any point he wants. I remember my classical mechanics professor started with variation principles on the first day, and by the end of class we were solving Lagrangians. Which is fine, if you've seen the material before. If you haven't taken quantum before, and your professor starts the class talking about spherical harmonics, you may be lost (once again, I'm just assuming based off your post you haven't seen this topic).

If you have enough math under your belt, you could be fine. I'm just not sure how you're graduating with a degree in physics with so little physics.