Admissions Definition and 171 Threads

Hi, I'm a recent graduate from a civil engineering program in the US and got hired as a civilian nuclear engineer for the navy. For various reasons, I would sooner or later like to go back to school to study physics and go on to get a phd. I am afraid that already having an undergraduate degree...

Hello everyone, So my university opened some Summer Research Opportunities for Undergraduates and part of the application requires a motivation letter. Here is what I wrote, I'm open to any suggestions or improvements, Thanks in advance!Respected Sir/Madam, I was very excited when I learned...

Hey Y'all! I apologize for the length of my post, but it is an issue that has been causing me a lot of stress! I'm currently a sophomore student at a California community college and I intend to transfer into an undergrad Physics program. I really would prefer to go out of state and have always...

So I am in my first year of my physics degree at a school that isn't really known for its physics program, (I don't believe it is ranked at all, not that that is a huge deal) and at least right now I am very interested in pursuing a ph.d degree. I had originally intended to do an engineering...

I absolutely bombed my first test so far since I started college (Junior in EE). The test was in a semiconductor devices course (theory of semiconductor devices), so it is a course in my major, and it is an upper division course. I wouldn't be worried if it was in another department, but since...

I currently have a GPA of 3.3 and my sat scores are 680-math, 610-reading, 560-writing. I'm pretty set on going for physics undergrad and going straight to grad school for my PHD but I'm open to suggestions. Any college that isn't really really far away from Pennsylvania but I'm definitely open...

What are the best colleges for getting an degree in Aerospace Engineering ? I've heard about MIT. What are the requirements for an Indian student to get into MIT after 12th ? And what other top instititues are these apart from MIT for AE and what are the requirements and exams one should give to...

Hi to everyone, this is my first post in this forum. I am really stressed and confused at the moment. I really need help from a Cambridge student/teacher/alumni. (This is going to be a long post, so bear with me) I am a Thai student, who was in the top finals of Thailand's Physics Olympiad...

I live in India, and i just finished school, and decided to study physics. I got a seat in IIT Kanpur for a Bsc in Physics and also a seat in IISER(Indian Institute of Science Education and Research), and I can't decide where to go. I understand that there is little to no scope for a Physics...

Greetings all, I found some similar threads to this but none that answered my exact question. I am doing an REU at a school I would like to attend for graduate school, and some students there have said that in graduate school admissions, I am going to be judged relative to my peers from the...

I'm in electrical engineering, and my current strongest interest right now is in antenna engineering (after much electromagnetics self study). The problem is, due to the way the courses are scheduled at my school, it is entirely possible that I won't be able to take our engineering...

Looking Beyond the College Rankings - http://www.wnyc.org/story/looking-beyond-college-rankings/ I listened to the program, which I found quite insightful. Good hard work on the part of the student/individual is what counts. The name of the college or university is not important. Bruni's...

Hi there, everyone. This is my first time posting on this forum. Hopefully someone out there can help. First off, I'm a physics major. I recently accepted admission to UMD College Park. I know their physics department is stellar, and I was excited to go. I was waiting to get back my financial...

Hello, I'm new here so forgive me if I'm posting this in the wrong place. I have several questions pertaining to the schooling required to become a physicist and the everyday life of a physicist. So my first question is, are there any universities within the United States that have a good...

Hello, On all my REU applications besides two or three, I was asked to describe my previous research. I did so, but I realized I referred to the hydrogen atom as the hydrogen molecule. I showed in the case of H2+ that we develop the standard potential energy curve for the hydrogen atom. I...

Hello, I've applied for our university's medical physics program before its first deadline, Feb 1st. Since I've finished the application, I have been relaxing and waiting for the results. Today I found that I was supposed to fill out a secondary "supplemental" application, which asked exactly...

What are your thoughts on the fact that most math PhD program applications do not contain interviews? Consider the following link: https://quomodocumque.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/are-math-departments-better-at-recruitment-than-elite-financial-firms/ One of the comments expresses concerns about...

I really want to attend MIT graduate school. Here are some things about me: I am a sophomore at an HBCU on a full scholarship. I am a physics major planning on double majoring by adding mathematics (because I LOVE it). -Overall GPA: 3.84 -Physics GPA: 4.00 (but I've only taken Physics I &...

Hi everyone. I recently finished a first draft for a statement of purpose for CalTech (I know, I know - I figured it would be the first one I draft - I have others I will be modelling off of this one soon enough), and I have a few (well, maybe more than a few) concerns about how I wrote it and...

My original plan was to apply for grad school (PhD) for physics after my undergrad degree, but things didn't go as planned. Simply put, I performed poorly in my first few semesters, and while my grades improved towards the end of my undergraduate studies, they were not enough to compensate for...

I graduated 4 years ago from a small university and received a dual BS in EE and physics. I went into a decently ranked EE PhD program but dropped out after a year. I attempted to go back a couple times but just didn't care too much for the courses and dropped my classes both times. I have...

Hey, I'm new to the forum! Anyways, I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with the online Medical Physics program at Georgia Tech. I'm curious as to how competitive admissions are, and how they weight factors other than undergrad GPA. I currently have a B.S. in Radiation Health Physics, I...

First, a brief description of myself: I'v gotten my associates degree in Automotive Technology/Repair, with perfect scores. ASE certified. But I have always been an aspiring Mechanical Engineer, with assisted passion for technical/hands-on intuition. That is why I studied a vocational field...

I was wondering how committees work? Do a certain number of people have to agree to admit a student? What exactly does a chair do, does he get the "last say" or something? I know every school is different but does anyone know in general? Also how about this hypothetical case: You have a very...

I'm applying to graduate school in ME, and I am just curious, if I am not accepted to a PhD program right away, will any (most, all, none?) admissions councils pass on my application to the masters program, after which I may work towards becoming a PhD candidate?

What is a "respectable GPA" to graduate admissions? Hello, incoming sophomore math and physics major here. I'm about to start my third semester of my undergrad, but I have a lot of transfer/AP credit from high school, so a majority of the GPA determining credit on my transcript is going to be...

I recently read a very interesting article about graduate admissions written by an adcom. He says a few things that are the exact OPPOSITE of what I've heard. I've always heard that a good GPA and GRE scores are probably the most important part of a good application besides recs and...

I will be starting a PhD (if all goes well) at the age of 26. I know this is not much older than the average, but how much do graduate admissions (particularly at top programs) see students that did not have the standard "4 year bachelors out of high school to PhD" route? For some reason I...

I've been scanning some university admissions pages and cannot seem to find any that accept spring semester transfer students. Specifically I'm looking for schools in southern California with physics programs. I'm working on my Physics BSc and want to go to grad school afterward. Anyone have any...

I've recently been reading some articles and discussions: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2011-12-03/asian-students-college-applications/51620236/1 http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1228264-race-college-admission-faq-discussion-9-a.html...

I was diagnosed with moderate/severe ADD when I was a child but due to health concerns my parents chose not to put me on medication. They also erroneously believed that ADD was something that could be overcome with willpower, something I learned is not true. I attended the University of...

I am finishing up my third year as an EECS major of a five year program at a highly reputable public university and I am strongly considering applying to doctoral programs in EECS (I figure I can leave with a terminal masters should I discover research at that level is not my cup of T). By...

Hi. Here is some (more or less) relevant information: So I'm majoring in Philosophy and Logic, and I recently found out that if I do about an extra year of undergrad work, I can get a second bachelor's degree (In Mathmatics!) So I'm thinking: Since graduate school in Philosophy is pretty hard...

I'm browsing through some acceptances posted by prospective graduate students here: http://www.physicsgre.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4274 and there are some guys with very close to 4.0 GPAs and great GRE scores along with pretty good research experiences and letters of recommendations that are...

Hi everyone. I wrote a little about the pressures that I am facing right now. I know that many of you here have infinitely more wisdom than I have, and have the clarity of hindsight, so perhaps some can provide some good advice. This time of the year is one of the more stressful for...

To elaborate on said situation - I went to a top 50 US public university for a few years majoring in math and during this period of time I had no significant interest or motivation in school, much less any graduate school aspirations. I didn't do *horrible*, but my gpa was about a 3.1. I took...

Is there anyone here that can shed some light on the equivalence between Spanish/EU (ECTS) grades and American GPA? I have been researching this for a while but I haven't found anything official. So far I've come up with these 2 pages, showing similar grade equivalences...

So I'm studying for the physics GRE and plan on taking it this April. While I understand the deadline for admissions to most universities is right up until the semester begins, I also understand it is a first come, first serve deal. Are most slots going to be filled by May, when the scores...

The "top 10% of your year/class" requirement for postgrad admissions? I am hugely interested in a program for master studies after I complete my graduation in 2012 and one of the requirements they list says ,"Students must belong to top 10% of their year". I am not among top 10% of my class so...

So I'm a Canadian student currently in Terminale in a French Baccalaureate school (french equivalent of grade 12), and I was hoping some of you could help me out with some questions I've got. In Canada, I'm applying to Waterloo and McGill in their mathematics/physics programs. McGill is a 3...

I'm not sure if this belongs here, but I think it's close to where it need to be. I'm trying to choose a topic for my most interesting experience for an essay for transferring, and I don't know what topics are appropriate. Can anyone help me sort through my options...? I'm considering the...

Hey so here's my situation... I am currently an engineering student and I have COMPLETELY lost interest in it. Sadly this happened during my junior year. I plan on transferring to Math. At the end of this semester my gpa will probably be around 3.1 with about 106 credit hours. Assuming I do...

Over the past few months, I've been looking into applying to college in the US. I've been reading up on stuff on the internet, asking a couple of questions on the forums here and also been on CollegeConfidential a few times. A huge portion of the applicants there sound like they've totally lost...

MS Engineering. Odds? I am currently in the process of applying for the U of Mn ME grad program. I am wondering if anyone has experience applying to this school or a similar school and what there experience was. I have looked online at there requirements and meet them all but I know that this...

So, five years ago, at a pretty prestigious North American univ, I was accused of cheating on a take home exam. I hadn't cheated, but unluckily, I made careless mistakes that were similar to where I was supposed to be cheating from (and this was on a predominantly maths based paper) and so I...

Hello, I'm a physics BS and I'm considering pursuing a graduate degree. Ideally I'd like to pursue a PhD in physics, and I'd like a reality check on my chances of admission. What's really putting a damper on things is my mediocre GPA - 2.81 . I'm well aware that this hurts me lots on graduate...

Hi, I'm a concerned college student (aren't we all :0 ), who is intending to major in physics in one of the bigger universities in US. However, it seems that my inclination lately lies more towards engineering graduate school (if I go). So if I apply for an engineering grad school with physics...

Well after reading tons of posts and talking to my friends who are headed off to grad school here is what everyone says: PGRE is really important, GPA is really important, publications really important, leadership roles really important, multiple years of research experience really important...

My department typically gives very low grades. The average grade is typically around B. With about 15 people in my class (physics), and with everyone hard workers, everyone's major GPA has slowly meandered towards 3.0. How will this have an effect on admissions? My GPA is currently 3.1, yet I...

How does one "C" grade affect grad admissions? Hello all, I got a C in a junior-level math course. Should I bother applying to my top choices of physics grad schools (MIT, Illinois)? I'm a junior, physics and math double major. Good grades (almost all A's and a couple B's) up until now...