Grad school Definition and 1000 Threads

I'm a first-year grad student studying physics. I've always heard that grades in grad school don't matter too much; just maintain at least a 3.0 GPA, or whatever the minimum is to maintain funding, and everything's fine. Since "grades don't matter," I haven't put too much focus on...

Ok, so I am currently majoring in physics with he intention of going to grad school for a masters in engineering (not sure which division yet) and then possibly working as an engineer while continuing school and possibly earning a phd at some point. I'm currently a sophomore and have a 4.0...

So I'm trying to finish up my BS in Mechanical Engineering technology, have decided within the last year I definitely want to go to grad school for a masters in actual engineering, just worried about my chances. My present GPA is around 3.23, I'm retaking a class that if I do good in should...

hey, i am a undergraduate student earning a degree in physics. I am a little unsure as to whether going immediately to grad school, or trying to get a job with a BS in physics will benefit me more when eventually attempting to pursue a career in physics. i understand that the physics careers are...

This summer I am going to participate in a REU program at a top school for my field. I'm not a super spectacular student but get decent grades and do some quality research (but no publications yet). Honestly, I'm not quite sure why they picked me, as several of my peers with better grades (but...

Hi everybody. I'd like to go to graduate school in math or applied math. My question is how my grades in a gem chem course my factor into this. For scheduling reasons I'm in an honors sequence and looking at B's throughout since I'm not a chem major (taking the course fulfills requirements for...

I am in the process of deciding where to attend graduate school for CMT. I have essentially narrowed it down to two schools. Choice 1) pluses: top 10 overall, top in CM, lots of theorists minuses: midwest hell (I'm from the midwest, I desperately want to escape) Choice 2)...

I am a junior double major studying bioengineering and mathematics. I attend a top 15 school initially as only a engineering major but added math halfway through my sophomore year. The farther I get into the mathematics programs, the more I love it. I finished the major requirements, and...

I'm looking at getting a PhD in applied math (applied probability, stochastic processes, or PDEs are my main interests) and I feel like people going to grad school have so much more math than I do. Just wanted to know what is normal for someone currently in their sixth semester. I'm a math and...

Right now I'm working towards completing a BS in Materials Science and Engineering along with a BA in Physics in a couple of years. Although I'm not sure whether or not I want to pursue a Master's in Physics, I want to keep that option open for when the time comes. I've looked at a few grad...

When I was in high school I loved science, NASA and outer space stuff. For some reason even though I loved science, I never really applied or pushed myself academically. When I finished high school I started taking classes at my local community college. I only took a few classes at a time and...

I'm going to grad school in the spring of 2013 or maybe take a grad class in fall 2012 and I'm working on deciding on going for math or physics. Here is a quick version of my story so you know my background. 1. In my early 20's I got really excited about physics and wanted to be a...

Hello, I am a sophomore physics and mathematics double major, and I plan to attend graduate school for physics with a concentration in biophysics, or just biophysics. However, this is subject to change, as I find a lot of areas of physics interesting. I was recently accepted to two REU...

Hello everyone. I am an undergraduate senior anticipating degrees in both physics and astrophysics this spring. Until about a year ago I wasn't particularly sure what I wanted to do after graduation. However, after taking upper division QM and particle physics courses I've developed a great...

I am currently a CS undergrad. my university offers no courses in Abstract algebra or Number theory or Topology or Analysis. recently I have got interested in Number theory in Discrete math course. moreover I was and still am interested in algebra too. but the problem is, can I apply to CS grad...

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...

Hey Physicists! This post may be relatively long, but thank you to anyone that will actually read it. I have always been interested in Physics and the way things work in general. During my Freshman year, I barely passed Freshman level Physics, but I did. It was during my second year...

Grad School Advice!Please help! Ok so is it an advantage for me to take graduate courses with my undergrad courses and graduate with 17 credits each semester or should I take it easy with 14 credits because taking graduate courses in my research area of interest (the area i will apply to for a...

I have a bachelor's in CS with a math focus (wound up 1 credit short of a math minor). I have been out of college for about six years now and working as a software developer during that time. Off and on since leaving college I have been self-teaching myself physics. Sometimes I daydream of going...

Ok, so this is about my fiancee but it concerns us both since our future is, well together and whatnot. So ETS (the organization that runs the GRE exams) majorly screwed up with her official GRE scores. They misspelled her name and reversed the digits of her date of birth on the official GRE...

I'm double majoring in Physics and Mathematics at a small liberal arts college, with a minor in Philosophy. I'm on track to graduate with honors next Spring. (Currently a junior) I'm starting to seriously consider what I should do when I graduate in a little over a year. I was initially...

Hi, I am wondering if 3 Ws on a transcript would impact my changes of getting into grad school. THe classes I withdrew from did not apply to my major. On College Confidential I was reading that any Ws increase the difficulty of getting into grad school. On another site I read that if it...

So let's keep it hypothetical here. Let's say a freshmen is taking intro level E@M and Junior level Griffths E@M at the same time. The student is doing this because in high school he took calc based E@M and believes he can relearn any gaps. The student is getting As in his intro level class but...

Hi, fellow inquisitors of cosmos. I'm an undergrad senior in physics. I have declared my major after my sophomore year, so I had to force myself to complete the undergrad study in 2 years. I took all the important courses(EM I, II, Thermal physics, QM1, etc.) in 1.5 year. As a result, I...

Can you go to grad school and just study nuclear physics or nuclear stuff?

I graduated with a math degree in 2010, and been working for my dad ever since. My intention is to get into a graduate program in international relation this year, with the long term plan of being a professor in IR. I need to convince graduate school to take me, because I have no research...

Hi, I have my BS in Physics and Math from the University of MN, 3 years of experimental physics research experience but no publications, about 3.85 technical GPA (but very close to 4 in Physics classes), and a good GRE Physics score. I want to go to grad school for theoretical physics, though...

Hi all, I am a recently graduated student with a bachelors in a non-quantitative degree (finance) at a reputable school with a ~3.6 GPA. I'd always been interested in mathematics but had opted for finance because I was lured by the prospects of making big bucks. Over the last year, I've...

I am under the impression that if you are accepted to a graduate school (PhD) with funding, you receive a stipend. I am planning on applying for as many fellowships as I can that are similar to these: http://scgf.orau.gov/benefits.html http://www.krellinst.org/csgf/ http://www.nsfgrfp.org/...

Hi. Im a undergrad senior currently and am going to apply for grad school right after i take my GRE. I am wonder what my chances are of getting in. Im applying for the same university where I am going to be graduating from ( stony brook ). [[ for a Masters, M.A., not a Ph.D ]] My major is MAT...

Hello, I am currently in my third year of Mathematical Physics. I was in biology in my first year and in Engineering physics in my second year. I knew my interest was in physics but tried the former just to please my parents. Upon getting into a depression in my second year due to lack of...

Either because they had a bad GPA, little research experience, bad GRE, or a combination of the three? I imagine only a fraction of physics grads end up making it to graduate school, and aside from those who were planning to be high school physics teachers, where do the rest end up? Do most of...

Hello, I'm making this post because I'm concerned about my chances of being accepted to graduate school. I just finished my B.S. in Physics this semester and I was planning on applying to some Electrical Engineering programs. Before this semester my GPA was 3.4, but now it currently sits at...

I'm a physics undergrad and have a GPA of about 3.824/4.3 in an Ivy league university. I have pretty good research experience with 2 publications so far. I was wondering what my chances are of getting into the best grad schools (MIT,Stanford, Caltech etc..) with this GPA, assuming I do fairly...

if you took the top math or physics class at your school (think Math 55 at Harvard) but weren't that good in it, would you get a rec from that prof? that's my dilemma ... well-known prof has agreed to write me a rec if i want, but says it would not be that great since i was not a top student in...

Hello all, I am seeking some career guidance because I have found myself in an unexpected circumstance. I recently found out (within the past month) that my Ph.D. funding will run out at the end of next semester. I still have years to go until I'm able to defend a dissertation so I feel...

Hi, I'm in my second year of underrgad in Canada, but I'm trying to look ahead to grad school applications so that I'm adequately prepared. Like many keen undergrads, I really want to go to Harvard/MIT/Caltech/etc for grad school. Of course, actually getting in is a different story. I'm...

Lets say you are a prospective applicant to an Engineering Grad School: What sorts of ECAs should you get involved in that make you look attractive to phd programs and where exactly do you put them ( resume?)? I mean things like : Volunteering, research in a different subject, part-time jobs...

Hi all! I am currently a sophomore transferring from a small unknown university to a large state school. I hope to go to graduate school for mathematics one day. I've been getting decent grades. I have gotten an A in everything but today I was forced into a life and death situation kinda...

List of texts/key ideas for BS math/phy to grad school Thanks to great feedback, I've updated my attempt to: Pull out the minimal set of math and physics ideas, backed up by the actual history, that underlie the knowledge needed to navigate from junior level math/physics through graduate...

I’m currently a physics/math major. I work very hard and am proud of my 4.0 GPA. However, as my peers and professors begin to talk about grad school I realize I don’t have a clue what I'm supposed to do. My goal is to go to Penn State for an advanced degree in some type of engineering or...

Hello, I'm hoping to receive some advice on boosting my chances to get into grad school. I'm planning on apply for either geophysics or atmospheric sciences. I'll explain a bit more but In addition to any advice I'd also like to know if it would even be feasible for me to apply. Currently...

I am a senior at a top 20 undergraduate university majoring in math and physics. I am hoping to study math at the graduate level next year. I have a 3.5 GPA (3.3 in math) and have been doing undergraduate research for the past 2 years with an engineering firm in my hometown (mostly been...

Hello all. I'm in need of some advice, and I would appreciate any thoughts you guys can contribute. I will be graduating from RPI this semester with a BS in Aeronautical Engineering. I am applying to graduate schools with the intention of becoming involved in space propulsion research (a...

I am a freshman getting ready to finish my first semester at a community college, with a strong GPA , and I'm planning on transferring to a 4 year college after this next semester is done. I've heard a lot of people online say that medical and graduate schools look down on people who start out...

I'm a sophomore Stats major, but I'm thinking a lot of these things could also carry over for math majors also wanting to get into a grad program. Essentially, I want to create a comprehensive checklist for admissions into a decent grad school (top 40 - 50). In terms of research...

So my scores, research, letters are all pretty good. I've got a 3.7 gpa as a math and physics major from a top 25 school (physics gpa is 3.85). Here's the problem, I failed a 500 level math course as a sophomore. I took the course before I had had a good introduction to proofs and...

As the title suggests, I am going to graduate with a BS in physics, (graduating in spring 2013) I want to go into mechanical engineering, so I am looking into masters programs (If I wanted a PhD I would get one in physics, but I don't so engineering here I come) I know I will most likely need to...

Hello, I am new to this forum, I appreciate any help and guidance anyone can give me. I am currently working towards a BS in Physics, with minors in Mathematics and Astrophysics. My goal after my BS is grad school for a PhD in Astrophysics, and am interested in a career in research. 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...