Grad School Admissions: Which do I Bother With?

[magiladd]

Hello! I am wondering which grad schools to apply to because I honestly don't understand the grad school admission process. It involves a lot more than undergrad admissions- now I need to apply for TA or research positions etc. Also, I have been told that the school choice is more important for grad school, too.

Here is what I am wondering: If I have about a 3.5 GPA, a good bit of research (I am a co-author on a published paper), and am relatively active in the SPS community/get good letters of rec, what kind of schools should I apply to? I am assuming not Princeton or anything, but what schools are low enough for me to get into but high enough where people won't laugh at the school where I got my degree? If I don't get into any good schools, \should I take a gap year and go to Norway? Do something else and then apply again? I know for undergrad they don't like it when you take gap years; is that the same with grad school?

Also, I am in the honors program at my school. I want to do my honors thesis in Creative writing (I am very into poetry and have had a few poems published) and do a chapbook. Would grad schools look down on me for not doing my thesis in physics? Would they care if I did a creative writing chapbook or was a published poet? I know undergrad would care because they care more about being interested in any subject, but I am assuming grad schools wouldn't care at all. Is that true? basically, any information or advice would be very much appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[gwnorth]

You shouldn't be targeting the schools you apply to based on competitiveness to start with. You should start by compiling a list of schools that are engaged in research in the area(s) that you're interested in pursuing and potential PIs you would be interested in working with. Then you can narrow down that list based on your individual chances for admission.

While a 3.5 gpa isn't bad, you're going to want to do everything you can to shore up your profile including writing the GRE and PGRE. I would strongly recommend that you do your honours thesis in Physics as the more research experience you can list on your application the better. It will also give you another potential contact for a reference letter. If you want to be a published poet you can still pursue that independently of school.

 

[CrysPhys]

Also, I am in the honors program at my school. I want to do my honors thesis in Creative writing (I am very into poetry and have had a few poems published) and do a chapbook. Would grad schools look down on me for not doing my thesis in physics? Would they care if I did a creative writing chapbook or was a published poet? I know undergrad would care because they care more about being interested in any subject, but I am assuming grad schools wouldn't care at all. Is that true? basically, any information or advice would be very much appreciated.

I also appreciate poetry, and wrote poetry when I was an undergrad and a grad student. BUT ... heed the previous advice carefully:

I would strongly recommend that you do your honours thesis in Physics as the more research experience you can list on your application the better. It will also give you another potential contact for a reference letter. If you want to be a published poet you can still pursue that independently of school.

You need to convince the admissions committees that physics is your primary passion, not a secondary one. If you have the talent, drive, energy, and time to write both a high-quality physics thesis and a high-quality English thesis, well, OK, good for you. [One student I mentored wrote an undergrad thesis in physics and an undergrad thesis in a foreign language literature, graduating with a double major. She went on to complete a physics PhD at a reasonable university. So it can be done; but I definitely consider her an outlier (in the positive sense).] But, an English thesis in lieu of a physics thesis ... No!