Schools Grad Schools in Canada for Computational Physics Student

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A third-year computational physics student at the University of Alberta is exploring options for graduate school, expressing concerns about a GPA of around 3.4 and a lack of research experience. The discussion emphasizes that admission into graduate programs often hinges more on securing a supportive mentor and gaining relevant research experience than solely on GPA. Strong letters of recommendation and a professor willing to supervise can significantly enhance chances of acceptance. The conversation also confirms that a specific professor, Kernahan, is still at the university but is no longer teaching astrophysics.
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Hi,

I'm a third year computational physics student at UofA.
I started looking into grad school for physics but I'm not so sure if i can make it into any good grad school with my not so good gpa (around 3.4 ish).
I have no research experience, however I'm planning on being an assistant for my astrophysics prof this summer.

So what options do you think i have regarding grad school?

thanks!
 
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Getting into a graduate program isn't quite so much about GPA as it is finding a mentor who have interesting projects to work on and is willing to become your supervisor. get as much experience as you can out of your summer research. GPA helps, but having good letters of recommendation, good research experience and someone who will say "yeah, I'll take this guy on as a grad student" plays a bigger role.

I made it into grad school at U of A with about a 6.7/9.0 coming out of undergrad. Hardly stellar grades compared with most of my other classmates, but one thing I did have was a prof willing to take me on as a grad student when I applied.

BTW, is Kernihan still teaching astrophysics there?
 
thanks for the reply!

Kernahan is still here, but doesn't seem like he still teaching astro anymore.
 
Hey, I am Andreas from Germany. I am currently 35 years old and I want to relearn math and physics. This is not one of these regular questions when it comes to this matter. So... I am very realistic about it. I know that there are severe contraints when it comes to selfstudy compared to a regular school and/or university (structure, peers, teachers, learning groups, tests, access to papers and so on) . I will never get a job in this field and I will never be taken serious by "real"...
Yesterday, 9/5/2025, when I was surfing, I found an article The Schwarzschild solution contains three problems, which can be easily solved - Journal of King Saud University - Science ABUNDANCE ESTIMATION IN AN ARID ENVIRONMENT https://jksus.org/the-schwarzschild-solution-contains-three-problems-which-can-be-easily-solved/ that has the derivation of a line element as a corrected version of the Schwarzschild solution to Einstein’s field equation. This article's date received is 2022-11-15...

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