Testing When is a good time to take GRE exams?

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The discussion centers on the Physics GRE, which is crucial for students aiming for graduate schools in the U.S. The exam primarily covers material from freshman and sophomore-level physics courses, including topics like quantum mechanics (QM) and electromagnetism (E&M), which are essential for success. Students typically take the Physics GRE in October of their senior year, although motivated individuals may opt to take it earlier in their junior year. The exam is only offered three times a year, making preparation timing important. While some participants express uncertainty about the breadth of material covered, it is emphasized that a solid understanding of earlier coursework is necessary, as many students may not be familiar with all topics by the time they take the exam.
Benzoate
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I've only taken my introductory physics courses so far. I haven't even begun thermal physics, junior level mechanics, senior level quantum mechanics or my senior thesis project yet. Which material do you think is generally covered on the physics exam the most.
 
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I'm not US, so I don't really know what GRE means.
I assume it doesn't stand for General RElativity :smile:
 
^^ Then you won't be able to go to U.S. graduate schools.

@ Benzoate, most people take their Physics GREs in October of their senior year. Most of the stuff covered is from freshman and sophomore-level courses so if you study a lot, you could do it Oct, Nov, or Apr in your junior year. Unlike the general GRE, it is only offered those three times a year.
 
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vincebs said:
^^ Then you won't be able to go to U.S. graduate schools.

@ Benzoate, most people take their Physics GREs in October of their senior year. Most of the stuff covered is from freshman and sophomore-level courses so if you study a lot, you could do it Oct, Nov, or Apr in your junior year. Unlike the general GRE, it is only offered those three times a year.

So most of the material is covered from my first 3 introductory freshman physics courses and not my junior or senior level physics classes that are heavily math based physics courses.
 
No, you definitely have junior level courses.

QM and E&M are junior level. Thermal and Modern tend to be sophomore. Mathematical physics is sophomore level in my school.

But QM and E&M are pretty significant. You can't skimp out on those.

Here's a list of stuff for the GRE's:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GRE_Physics_Test

Most people I know won't know all of that by the time they take the GRE's, but they will have seen MOST of it.
 
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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