Getting into physics grad school

[flyingpig]

I don't see any reason why that should be true.

Say School A takes two people from MIT and there are one more potential candidate there, but they already have taken two people. Beside that candidate is another potential candidate from a school that is in the middle of no where.

Would they choose that person or just take everyone from MIT?

 

[Vanadium 50]

And what if you're in a lifeboat during Lent, and there's nothing to eat but meat. It's Thursday, but then without knowing it you cross the international date line, and...

You need to stop worrying about things that are beyond your control, and start boning up on some physics.

 

[twofish-quant]

Would they choose that person or just take everyone from MIT?

No clue. This all depends on the person in the admissions committee and there is no real way of knowing what he thinks.

At some point, you just have to accept that there are things about the process that are just totally random and out of your control.

 

[flyingpig]

Did you just say random...?

 

[Ryker]

Did you just say random...?

You're trolling, aren't you?

 

[twofish-quant]

Did you just say random...?

Yes I said random. If you have two spots and after you've spend weeks discussing things, and you've narrowed things down to five great candidates, then at the end of the day, who gets chosen is pretty much random. They don't literally flip coins, but they use criterion that might as well be coin flips.

Candidate A has a 3.8 GPA and a 860 PGRE. Candidate B has a 3.9 GPA and a 840. Professor C happens to think that PGRE's are much more important than GPA's, but unfortunately for candidate A, his plane back from Europe was delayed so he missed the meeting where they set the cutoff, and his asked Professor D to substitute for him, and Professor D hates the PGRE. Not to mention that the fact that Candidate A got a 3.8, because he had a cold the day of the German final exam, and took too much flu medicine.

Having randomness in graduate admissions is something of a good thing. If it really is random, then it means that you have a different set of coin flips in different schools, which means that if you apply to a decent number with a decent application, you'll get in somewhere.

It should also reduce some of the fear that you see on the forum. People are terrified that if they make the wrong decision, they are doomed. You should worry less if you realize that what is the "right" decision and the "wrong" decision is somewhat random and out of your control.

 

[Oriako]

And what if you're in a lifeboat during Lent, and there's nothing to eat but meat. It's Thursday, but then without knowing it you cross the international date line, and...

You need to stop worrying about things that are beyond your control, and start boning up on some physics.

THIS IS THE BEST ADVICE EVER. I don't think you understand how much this has helped me. (Not to mention how hilarious it is).

STICKY!

 

[flyingpig]

Yes I said random. If you have two spots and after you've spend weeks discussing things, and you've narrowed things down to five great candidates, then at the end of the day, who gets chosen is pretty much random. They don't literally flip coins, but they use criterion that might as well be coin flips.

Candidate A has a 3.8 GPA and a 860 PGRE. Candidate B has a 3.9 GPA and a 840. Professor C happens to think that PGRE's are much more important than GPA's, but unfortunately for candidate A, his plane back from Europe was delayed so he missed the meeting where they set the cutoff, and his asked Professor D to substitute for him, and Professor D hates the PGRE. Not to mention that the fact that Candidate A got a 3.8, because he had a cold the day of the German final exam, and took too much flu medicine.

Having randomness in graduate admissions is something of a good thing. If it really is random, then it means that you have a different set of coin flips in different schools, which means that if you apply to a decent number with a decent application, you'll get in somewhere.

It should also reduce some of the fear that you see on the forum. People are terrified that if they make the wrong decision, they are doomed. You should worry less if you realize that what is the "right" decision and the "wrong" decision is somewhat random and out of your control.

I just realize something, I am Canadian, so I probably won't even apply to MIT or any American Institution. How do people account for living there? I mean how do internationl applicants account for housing, food, travel?

 

[Vanadium 50]

Same as anyone else does. You want an apartment, you sign a lease. You want food or an airline ticket, you buy it. If you standard of living doesn't let you travel as much as you would like, you give something else up or do without.

Based on this and the "transfer because I might not get student housing" thread, I have to say that you are not prepared for graduate school. Maybe academically you are, but there is more to being a successful grad student than academics, for example, living on your own.

 

[twofish-quant]

How do people account for living there? I mean how do internationl applicants account for housing, food, travel?

Student housing and lots of ramen. If you want to travel, get a subway pass and go to the museum.

 

[flyingpig]

Same as anyone else does. You want an apartment, you sign a lease. You want food or an airline ticket, you buy it. If you standard of living doesn't let you travel as much as you would like, you give something else up or do without.

Based on this and the "transfer because I might not get student housing" thread, I have to say that you are not prepared for graduate school. Maybe academically you are, but there is more to being a successful grad student than academics, for example, living on your own.

I hear that education "fee" is compensated for giving back to the grad school (TAing etc...), but will you be able to earn a living? That's what i am worried about.

 

[Ryker]

Well you can look up how much grad students get there, and then do the math whether it's enough for you to get by or not.

 

[negru]

With 200$ a month you can eat like a king if you cook your own stuff. That ramen thing is for lazy people. Housing shouldn't be more than 600-700. Most grad school stipends are 2000$/month. You can save enough money to buy a second hand car in a few months. I never got the whole "grad students are so poor thing".

 

[Nabeshin]

With 200$ a month you can eat like a king if you cook your own stuff. That ramen thing is for lazy people.

Yes but eating ramen for a month will likely only cost you $5!

 

[Jimbone]

Will having completed a MS in Physics increase my chances?

 

[Vanadium 50]

In general, you have to get into grad school to get an MS. (An MS is a graduate degree)

 

[Jimbone]

In general, you have to get into grad school to get an MS. (An MS is a graduate degree)

Well obviously. I've been admitted to the physics masters program at my current university, however, I intend on getting into a Phd program upon completion.

So, will having completed a Masters program in physics make me a better candidate for admittance into a Phd program?

 

[flyingpig]

Wait something in this thread bothers me, you said that it is best to have professors who know you well to write you letters. Does that mean people who started out in community colleges have a disadvantage over people who are enrolled in a university?

 

[Ryker]

Yes, because that's how it works in life. How well people know you is a linear function going through the origin of when they first came into contact with you, and there are absolutely no exceptions. Hence, if someone has spent four years at a university, all professors will know him twice as good as someone who spent two years at a community college and then, say, two years at the university. It doesn't matter if that first person has only appeared once in class, and that second person has done research for two years straight, all that matters is years spent at the university. So I guess if you went to community college, you're pretty much doomed. Sorry, bro.

 

[DrWillVKN]

About GPA:

So if you have B+/Bs in tons of biology classes that drag your GPA to a 3.2, but you have As in your physics classes and you apply to physics grad school (with some minor interest in biophysics), would they care about your overall GPA and bio classes, or would they focus more on the physics classes?

Also, I think lower division classes were addressed somewhere, but if you get B+s in those classes, would that be harmful?

 

[twofish-quant]

So if you have B+/Bs in tons of biology classes that drag your GPA to a 3.2, but you have As in your physics classes and you apply to physics grad school (with some minor interest in biophysics), would they care about your overall GPA and bio classes, or would they focus more on the physics classes?

In general physics graduate courses focus on the physics classes. Also the *type* of class that you took is more important than the grade. If you are getting B's in Advanced Quantum Field Theory that looks better than getting A+ in Consumer Mathematics.

Also, I think lower division classes were addressed somewhere, but if you get B+s in those classes, would that be harmful?

It's a little worse than if you got A's, but it's a moderate strike, and not something that you should obsess over (especially since you can do anything about it).

 

[flyingpig]

Yes, because that's how it works in life. How well people know you is a linear function going through the origin of when they first came into contact with you, and there are absolutely no exceptions. Hence, if someone has spent four years at a university, all professors will know him twice as good as someone who spent two years at a community college and then, say, two years at the university. It doesn't matter if that first person has only appeared once in class, and that second person has done research for two years straight, all that matters is years spent at the university. So I guess if you went to community college, you're pretty much doomed. Sorry, bro.

How can that be? Some people go to community college because of financial problems. There's got to be a way around that, that's almost like saying poor people will never succeed.

 

[jtbell]

I think Ryker was making an attempt at sarcasm.

 

[lisab]

Yes, because that's how it works in life. How well people know you is a linear function going through the origin of when they first came into contact with you, and there are absolutely no exceptions. Hence, if someone has spent four years at a university, all professors will know him twice as good as someone who spent two years at a community college and then, say, two years at the university. It doesn't matter if that first person has only appeared once in class, and that second person has done research for two years straight, all that matters is years spent at the university. So I guess if you went to community college, you're pretty much doomed. Sorry, bro.

I'm pretty sure you're being facetious here but just in case: no, that's not so.

Lots of people who attended community college still get into grad school. You don't have to attend a school for four years to get to get a good recommendation from a professor.

 

[flyingpig]

I'm pretty sure you're being facetious here but just in case: no, that's not so.

Lots of people who attended community college still get into grad school. You don't have to attend a school for four years to get to get a good recommendation from a professor.

No, but I am asking if they will have a disadvantage. Or is there no difference to professors because all first and second year students are just paychecks to them?

 

[creepypasta13]

\On the other hand, the difference between a 3.7 and 3.8 is pretty much irrelevant. The reason for this is that schools are different enough so that it's pretty much impossible to compare a 3.7 and 3.8, but if you have a 2.9, then you really did mess up somewhere along the line.

What if I had a 3.64 physics and 3.9 applied math gpa? Is the difference between that and a 3.7-3.8 gpa also irrelevant? I still haven't heard back from a couple grad schools and I really hope that my not-so-great physics gpa is what ultimately denies my admission

 

[Vanadium 50]

Flyingpig, I need to say this again. You need to stop worrying about things beyond your control and start boning up on your physics.

Your knowledge of physics is nowhere near where it needs to be to consider graduate school. You need to be studying that, not wasting your time asking "what if" questions here. Hit the books, or fess up to not being serious.