How perfect does one have to be to become a theorist?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the challenges and pressures faced by students aspiring to pursue graduate studies in theoretical physics. Participants explore concerns about academic performance, admissions criteria, and the perceived need for perfection in grades and standardized test scores.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express concern that admissions committees may heavily weigh the difficulty of a student's courseload when evaluating grades, particularly if a student receives lower grades in a challenging semester.
  • Others argue that while perfection may not be necessary, certain fields may demand higher standards than others, suggesting that the competitiveness of the field influences expectations.
  • One participant shares their passion for gravitational physics and outlines their intended graduate programs, indicating a desire to focus on gravitational wave physics.
  • Concerns are raised about how receiving lower grades (e.g., Cs) in important courses could negatively impact graduate school applications, with some suggesting that strong performance in upper-level courses and standardized tests could mitigate this.
  • Several participants emphasize the importance of maintaining a strong GPA and obtaining good letters of recommendation, suggesting that these factors are critical for graduate school admissions.
  • There is a sentiment that the pressure to achieve high grades can lead to stress and anxiety, with some participants advising against excessive worry and encouraging a focus on performance in remaining assessments.
  • One participant reflects on their own experience, noting that despite a strong GPA and GRE scores, they faced challenges in securing graduate program admissions, highlighting the competitive nature of the process.
  • Some participants suggest that dropping a class to maintain a higher GPA could be a better strategy than struggling through a difficult semester with lower grades.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally express a lack of consensus on the necessity of achieving perfect grades, with some advocating for a more relaxed approach while others stress the importance of maintaining high academic standards. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the best strategies for managing academic pressures and the implications of grades on graduate school prospects.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge that the discussion is influenced by individual experiences and perceptions of the admissions process, which may vary significantly across different institutions and fields of study.

quasar_4
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So, I am wondering:

Do admissions committees for physics grad programs take into account the courseload of a given semester? So, if I had straight A's my junior year for a normal/average courseload, but then had to take a ridiculous courseload the following semester (5 upper level/graduate classes) and got, say, straight B's and C's, am I doomed?

Everyone on these forums makes it sound like you have to be perfect to do theory - perfect GRE scores, 4.0, etc. I am a good student, but even I am struggling with 5 hard classes at the same time as studying for the physics gre, etc. Is there still hope or do I have to go into something else now? I'm not aiming for Ivy league schools, I just want to get in somewhere with research in my field...
 
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I don't think you have to be perfect... but I do think it is a bit field-dependent... in some fields you may have to be more perfect than in other fields. It might help, therefore, if you'd list your interest (does it have to do with quasars?)... as well as where you might be interested in going to grad school. :biggrin:
 
My senior thesis is in gravitational physics and I LOVE it. I am really passionate about it. I think I would really enjoy mathematical physics (I'm a double math/physics major) as well, or even astrophysics (if I could use nice math in it). I am thinking I want to pursue gravitational wave physics at the moment. I'm applying to a few different places, the most competitive of which are Penn State, UC Santa Barbara and Maryland; I'll also apply to UW Milwaukee and maybe University of Washington. My back up plan is to stay here and do a Master's, but I really, really want to do gravitation and am worried now...
 
It'll depend on the field and on where you apply, but straight Cs will look terrible on your application. If you get a C in a grad course now, maybe you'll get a C on your future grad courses two years later (which is a failing grade).

Universities won't want to let you in if they're scared you might fail the quals a few years down the road, so you'll need to convince them you can handle that. Either by having a lot of upper-year As, or acing the GRE and having great letters of recommendation.
 
I think I am just worrying too much. Too much stress. I aced all the midterms in my graduate course and it's the one I'll probably get an A in, but the final IS worth 40% of my grade, and the last few weeks have been awful... now that I am not just panicking, I guess it will be more likely to be B's than C's, and in Real Analysis or Optics... but I think maybe I am just freaking out too much. I guess I shouldn't worry until the final exams are over.
 
Whatever courseload you had will be nothing compared to what you have to do at university.
 
Everyone on these forums makes it sound like you have to be perfect to do theory - perfect GRE scores, 4.0, etc.

You're preaching to the choir here. I think the only reason I "hang around" this board is to occasionally post on the absurdity of some of the claims these jokers make...

The reason I think you've noticed this is because half of them are just straight up full of it and don't know what they are talking about...and the rest have some kind of superiority complex and blow out of proportion the importance of certain things in order to compensate for their own averageness.

Either way, don't let that dissuade you, there are some grounded people here that have been there and done that and might actually have something worthwhile to say.

Oh yeah...and don't worry or stress too much..that only makes things worse overall..
 
quasar_4 said:
I think I am just worrying too much. Too much stress. I aced all the midterms in my graduate course and it's the one I'll probably get an A in, but the final IS worth 40% of my grade, and the last few weeks have been awful... now that I am not just panicking, I guess it will be more likely to be B's than C's, and in Real Analysis or Optics... but I think maybe I am just freaking out too much. I guess I shouldn't worry until the final exams are over.
Getting a C in optics when you want to study gravitational physics doesn't really mean much, especially if you get an A in your graduate course (which I assume is more related to gravity stuff or QM). If you had a good enough GPA in junior year, you could easily make it through with a few Bs or Cs, as long as it's just a few and not in courses which are too important for what you want to do.

Till then, study your *** off and do whatever you can to get good grades.
 
daveyinaz said:
You're preaching to the choir here. I think the only reason I "hang around" this board is to occasionally post on the absurdity of some of the claims these jokers make...

The reason I think you've noticed this is because half of them are just straight up full of it and don't know what they are talking about...and the rest have some kind of superiority complex and blow out of proportion the importance of certain things in order to compensate for their own averageness.

Either way, don't let that dissuade you, there are some grounded people here that have been there and done that and might actually have something worthwhile to say.

Oh yeah...and don't worry or stress too much..that only makes things worse overall..

As someone who had a decent Physics GRE score (~70%), a near perfect general GRE score, a 3.7 GPA, undergraduate research experience and strong letters of recommendation, I only got accepted to one of the 5 graduate programs I applied for (top 40 state universities - no Harvard, no Caltech, no MIT).

I know he says he's not aiming for the Ivies, but let's be realistic still. It's not blowing things out of proportion to say that a semester of Bs and Cs will ultimately have a negative impact on your prospects. Of course, the original poster isn't finished with the semester yet, it seems.

If you came here looking for someone to tell you that it's okay to relax and let the average grades come, I think you should think twice. If you really expected someone to tell you that you should change fields, you should think twice about that too.

As tmc said, study your *** off and do whatever it takes to make the grade. If it seems impossible, then you aren't trying hard enough. :)
 
  • #10
I'm hoping not TOO perfect... I got a miserable PGRE score (650), but have an 800 Quant and a 4.0 in Physics and 4.0 in math. I'm hoping GPA and good recommendation letters get me into a good state school. Trying not to worry too much, it's out of my hands now (outside of keeping my GPA and finishing my UG thesis :) ).

Tom
 
  • #11
tmc said:
Universities won't want to let you in if they're scared you might fail the quals a few years down the road, so you'll need to convince them you can handle that. Either by having a lot of upper-year As, or acing the GRE and having great letters of recommendation.

will.c said:
I know he says he's not aiming for the Ivies, but let's be realistic still. It's not blowing things out of proportion to say that a semester of Bs and Cs will ultimately have a negative impact on your prospects. Of course, the original poster isn't finished with the semester yet, it seems.

If you came here looking for someone to tell you that it's okay to relax and let the average grades come, I think you should think twice. If you really expected someone to tell you that you should change fields, you should think twice about that too.

As tmc said, study your *** off and do whatever it takes to make the grade. If it seems impossible, then you aren't trying hard enough. :)

Both excellent comments.

I would also say that dropping a class and getting 4 A's (or even 4 A's and a W) will look far better than a bunch of B's and C's. Trends are important - if you're going to get C's, it's much better to get them as a freshman than as a senior.
 
  • #12
phew, well, thanks for the advice, everyone. I actually aced all of my final exams except real analysis, and still did okay, so almost had straight A's. It actually brought my cumulative GPA up, which is good since I seriously bombed the GREs. Now I just have to pray that good grades + great recommendations might help to cancel out my abysmal GRE scores.
 

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