Ohio State Graduate School: Share Your Experience Here

[Quaoar]

One of the graduate schools I got accepted to was Ohio State. I was just wondering what people's thoughts were on the quality of the school. Are there any current/previous OSU grad students here who are willing to share their opinions? Thanks!

 

[shirazu]

I also got into Ohio State this year and would also appreciate any info anyone would be able to provide.

 

[will.c]

Hm. Old post!

... But relevant. Kind of. I know it's a good school, and I've already accepted their offer; unfortunately I missed the open house. If anyone here is a current student, I'm interested in an "insider perspective." I've read everything on their website, but some of it is out of date, and a lot of it isn't very informative. I applied with a stated interest in condensed matter theory, but lately I've gotten very interested in cold atomic physics. I'd like to know more about their cold atom group (their web presence is essentially none) and also their AMO groups. Not just what they do, but also who is looking for students to work with, who is definitely not... That kind of stuff.

 

[will.c]

Bueller?... Bueller?...

 

[Moonbear]

I'm surprised Gokul hasn't chimed in yet.

 

[will.c]

Well then I'll give it one more hop to the top, and then I'm done.

 

[Gokul43201]

(Thanks for the heads up, M)

Will, the Ohio State CMT group is very strong, and definitely much bigger than the AMO group. I'd also venture that our AMO group is almost entirely experimental. Cold atoms theory is essentially done by folks from CMT (Ho, Randeria) and Nuclear/HEP (Furnstahl, Braaten). There really isn't a group that works only on Cold Atoms.

The funding question is harder to answer. Typically, you'd spend the first couple years here doing coursework and exploring research opportunities along the way, especially during summer quarters. Unless you've got very strong skills to offer, a faculty member is unlikely to give you a chance over someone that's already been here for 2 years. And typically, you'd have to work with a group for some kind of vetting period before you are put on an RA, if one is available.

It's a pity you couldn't make it to the open house. You missed an opportunity to directly get some of the inside scoop...and you missed our biggest blizzard of the century! If you have any specific questions, feel free to shoot me a PM.

 

[will.c]

Thanks. If the RA positions are sparse, what do students usually do to get in with a group?

By the way, although I go to school in Florida, oddly I was driving up to see my family in Akron through the blizzard. I didn't discover the open house date until later that next week though. =(

 

[Gokul43201]

Thanks. If the RA positions are sparse, what do students usually do to get in with a group?

They're not really sparse - they are just not sufficiently well advertised. But very few students start out on an RA. The typical route involves 1, 2 or 3 yrs of TA, followed by an RA for the remainder. Sometimes a group's grants may run dry for a while and you may have to go back to TA temporarily or might have to do a (1/2)RA+(1/2)TA. The department typically tries to put pressure on faculty to support students on RAs as much as possible, but there are some students here that have been on TA for 5+ years and have had to balance that with their research. That's not a good situation to be in.

Are you waiting on other applications?

 

[will.c]

Nope. Paper-work is in, and I'm moving to Columbus in May. The reason I'm worried about the RA thing is, I don't mind teaching for a couple years (certainly not 5 though!), but I was hoping that I could work for the department during this summer since the Early Start fellowship is no more (disappointing!). Since I'm not sure who I want to work with yet, it's hard to decide who to get in contact with.

 

[Gokul43201]

I used the early start when I joined. I think they scrapped it only recently and yes, that is disappointing.

Are you saying you're going to start here in the Summer? Have they promised you a TA for the Summer? Make sure you get that sorted out first. You don't want to come here and then find out that your on your own until the Fall.

If you are starting in the Summer, you should definitely try and work with a research group. I think Furnstahl graduated a student two quarters ago, and may be open to having people try out with him. How do you feel about spending long hours writing code?

 

[will.c]

Ah, that's what I do now, and I was kind of hoping to move away from it. I'm certainly qualified, though.

I was offered a TA that starts in October, so I don't have a job yet, but I wasn't planning on officially starting until the Fall anyway. After I graduate there really isn't anything left for me to do in Florida though, and I think one more summer here might kill me, so up north it is. I was just hoping that, rather than washing dishes for four months, I could work part time with the department - keep myself clothed and fed while also familiarizing myself with the way things run before I actually start.

 

[Gokul43201]

I was just hoping that, rather than washing dishes for four months, I could work part time with the department - keep myself clothed and fed while also familiarizing myself with the way things run before I actually start.

Sounds like a plan! Welcome!