Grad school in the US with UK bachelor

[JeanM]

Hello,

I'm currently attending university in the UK, and I'm on a 3-year physics bachelor course.

Most people in the UK don't go straight into a PhD after the bachelor, but instead do a 12-month master first. As the bachelor is entirely taught and there are not many chances to do original research, the masters is the main opportunity to do some real research before starting a PhD.

I've been looking at grad schools in the US, and I see that the situation is different there. People seem to spend a lot more time doing their bachelors (4-5 years?) and they also do loads of research. It's really rare to see undergrads publish in the UK, but in the US it seems to be the norm, at least for people who apply to top 20 universities.

My question is, would doing a uk masters course improve my chances a lot, if I wanted to go to grad school in the states?
Or should I try to apply directly, with just a 3-year bachelor?
I have done very little research: I did a 2-month internship at CERN right after graduating from secondary school, where I mostly did programming and almost no real physics; I am now going to start a 3-month internship at the Institute for Quantum Computing in Canada, and this is the field I would like to specialise in.
I haven't published anything, although there's a small chance I might get something publishable this summer.

If I apply now and get rejected, would I be allowed to apply again the year after, after getting a masters? Do admissions boards see people who reapply after a year negatively? Is it even allowed?

Thank you :)

 

[phyzguy]

I don't think there is anything negative about re-applying. Why not apply for both admission into a PhD program in the US, and the UK bachelors this year? If you get into the US PhD program, you could go there - if not do the UK MS and re-apply in a year. The internships will be viewed positively, even if they don't lead to publications.