Programs Get PhD at fallback or take a year off to beef up CV

[bjnartowt]

So I pretty much only got into my "fallback" schools. Also, I just heard from my friend who's getting his PhD in physics from SUNY Albany that he applied to 20 postdoc positions, and only heard rejections back from 4 of them. He speculated that he got passed up because all the schools were enamoured with those who had PhDs from Ivy League schools.

I was told that I was "close" in getting into good schools like U-Florida and U-Cal Irvine (though, it's likely they were just telling me what I wanted to hear). There has been such a surge of people applying to grad school to escape the bad economy, and I imagine it's clogging up the applicant pools.

That brings me to my question: should I take a year before I lock myself into a PhD program? There's plenty I could do with a year: take some more math and physics courses at the state university I go to (U-Minn Duluth) w/o having to pay for out of state tuition, keep researching with my current adviser, etc., but it seems risky too. Another professor told me that I'd lose my edge if I took a year off (e.g., the edge of staying on top of deadlines and things like that). However, i know, for instance, I could do better on the Physics GRE (I got a 740), could get more research done, and learn more math and physics (I have exposure to basic grad core physics classes, but even integration by parts still somewhat gives me the willies a tiny bit).

Suggestions?

 

[fzero]

Duluth seems to offer a Physics MS. It would look better to an admissions committee if you matriculated towards a master's degree rather than spent a 5th year as an undergrad. Obviously you'd have to clear that with your department. It also sounds like you're not overly confident that you'd excel in graduate courses, but hopefully you'd be able to refresh some of the basics over the summer.

I don't think that being a master's candidate is a particular handicap when applying to PhD programs as long as the rest of your package is competitive. Many foreign students complete a masters-equivalent degree in their home country before coming to the US. I'm sure that someone with more current knowledge can clarify that.

 

[bjnartowt]

Duluth seems to offer a Physics MS. It would look better to an admissions committee if you matriculated towards a master's degree rather than spent a 5th year as an undergrad.

Oops...I forgot to mention: I'm getting my MS from Duluth this May in physics. You are correct: Duluth offers an M.S. as their highest degree (you must have looked it up: thanks for that!).

The thing is, I got my M.S. in physics because I had already completed my undergrad in math, and my first M.S. in engineering (materials science). So I'm only in my 2nd year of physics in my whole life. (I like it so far, I might add! It's just hard coming to terms with the idea that hard work ain't always rewarded...but rather *results* are rewarded...and it's a long way until you're educated enough to get results).

I sure wish I was an undergraduate sometimes, because then just getting an M.S. a year or two later would totally be the option I'd pursue.

 

[twofish-quant]

Also, I just heard from my friend who's getting his PhD in physics from SUNY Albany that he applied to 20 postdoc positions, and only heard rejections back from 4 of them. He speculated that he got passed up because all the schools were enamoured with those who had PhDs from Ivy League schools.

I have a feeling that your friend tremendously underestimates the difficulty in getting a post-doc. Four rejections out of twenty applications isn't a bad track record for post-doc applications.

That brings me to my question: should I take a year before I lock myself into a PhD program?

As long as you get into some program, the benefit of waiting a year is likely to be extremely low.

 

[Vanadium 50]

I think there are some misconceptions in your message:

I've seen no evidence that graduate applications are especially high this year.

When applying for postdocs, there is no benefit to graduating from an Ivy, other than that you tend to get people who were smart going in. In many cases, the best schools are not Ivies anyway. Want to do experimental nuclear physics? The best place is Michigan State. Cosmic rays? Utah.

Further, getting 4 rejects out of 20 applications tells you approximately zero. In our latest postdoc search, we had 30 serious applicants (and 70 people who applied shotgun-style to zillions of jobs wasting everybody's time - people without PhD's, people who aren't physicists, etc.) and we will hire at most one.

I think you have to ask yourself and your advisor how much stronger your application will be after a year. To be honest, I don't think it will make a huge difference.