Grad school Definition and 1000 Threads

So I've been debating to myself whether or not I should do a double major in mathematics. On one hand it'll cost me a year (making it a total of 5 years) on the other hand it'll give me an extra year to find internships, do research, etc. I enjoy math which is why I want to do it but my...

Background: I'm a senior at a large state university studying electrical engineering, and I will graduate in May. Currently, my GPA stands at 3.08. I am on track for a 4.0 this semester, which includes a graduate-level course in digital communications systems. By the time I graduate, I should...

(sorry for the title, I ran out of room) Is it possible to go into Cognitive Sciences for graduate school even though I am earning my undergraduate in [applied] physics? I'm a Junior, and I know I want to go to graduate school, I'm just not positive in what yet, and I feel like I'm...

I have a BS in Math and Physics, and want to go on to grad school. I am currently planning on applying to SUNY Stony Brook's math department and their physics department (for theoretical physics). I ultimately want to get my PhD (though whether in math or physics I am not entirely...

As you can guess by the post's title, I have a seemingly crazy question. But before I get to the meat of my query, it might be useful to any potentially helpful readers if I gave a bit of context about myself, academically speaking. And also it's late, and I'm a bit too out of steam to do...

Hello everyone, I am about to graduate this coming december with a bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering, I also started taking a couple of graduate courses because my plan is to obtain a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering as well. Last week I received a great job offer from the...

Hi. In a couple of other topics on this site, I have described my hard situation where I am failing graduate school despite spending ridiculous amounts of time studying and working on problems/ proofs. To put it short, I have a serious mental illness that requires I take medication which...

Hey guys, I'm a physics major and in my freshman years. One of the things I keep hearing is how competitive grad schools can get. So, I ask you lot "What are the requirements to get into a grad school for physics"? Well, I mostly want to hear things other than a good GPA (which is obvious)...

im currently a 4th year civil engineering student hoping to go to grad school for structural engineering. it seems that a masters degree is required for most all structural engineers. with just an undergrad degree i will only be taking a few structural courses, which doesn't seem adequate for...

I'm currently trying to decide where I want to apply for math grad school. Many of my professors recommended places that were not as selective as the top grad schools but still had what they thought were strong programs in the field I want to go into (algebra). I was wondering whether going to a...

Hi everyone, I'm finishing up at a community college right now as a physics major. I've got a 4.0 GPA and absolutely love physics! Problem is I'll be 27 by the time I transfer to UC Berkeley as a junior. So I'll pretty much be 30 by the time I start grad school. I've asked myself why it took me...

I have a few questions about graduate schools that are across the board. My apologies for the lack of focus. First, some academic info. Currently, I'm a junior in a mid-level state school in New York. I'm currently pursuing a BS in applied mathematics with a minor in applied statistics...

I'm a mechanical engineering and math double major in my last year of undergrad and planning on going to grad school next year. My question: Given that I want to work in industry/the private sector after grad school, how do masters degrees in applied mathematics stack up to masters degrees in...

I'm a senior undergrad and will be applying to grad school soon. The field I'm interested in is experimental high-energy physics. There are already about six schools I'm looking at applying to, but I'm wondering if anyone has any advice about possible safety schools. My overall GPA is about...

I started Physics grad school this Fall, but I have recently started considering dropping out, either to join an existing company or to start my own business. I am concerned about how this would look to future employers, both startups and non-startups. I know that getting an MS degree but no phD...

Hi, I'm a senior undergrad preparing for graduate studies. But I have this problem where I don't really know what field of physics I want to go in. I really have no clue. And I feel like that is a big part in deciding what schools to apply/attend. Then again, I feel like no one really...

I'm a 3rd year undergraduate in Spain contemplating continuing my studies upon graduating next year. I was initially considering doing my 4th final year via Erasmus exchange at Imperial College London so I could take some electives that my university doesn't offer. Unfortunately today I found...

Welp, I dropped out of grad school for the third (yes, third) time today. I wil be driving back home again and looking for a job. This is the same grad school that I have dropped out of 3 times. The first time I was just sick of school. When I came back I got depressed and had to leave...

I'm doing chemistry undergrad research right now, and I'm pretty shocked at the hours that grad students are required to work. A lot of the groups I have seen require 6 days a week of work with 10 hour plus days, they come in on every holiday but like Thanksgiving and maybe like a few days at...

I'm a third year physics student interested in grad school. My marks are ok (85% average), and I should be able to get a letter of reference for grad school based on a 4th year Honours project. How important is a summer research position to a grad school application? I can probably get a...

Online degree --> Grad School in the USA Hi, I need a plan B, in case I don't get into the universities I applied to. (highly selective) My local university doesn't have an applied math major nor a stats one and they don't allow double majors. I was wondering if I could do an online degree...

2 Q's: overseas worth it & "how to" CV for grad school Hello, I'm doing my last undergraduate year this year in my country of birth (Central-Europe) and I've made up my mind about doing my graduate (in theoretical physics) abroad: desire for a more vibrant, stimulating scientific environment...

Is not going to grad school, right after undergrad, going to hurt one's chances at getting into any graduate program at some other point in the future? I think I would want to go (maths/physics/stats) but I would like to teach for a few years first.

I've been reading the depressing forums over at "thegradcafe.com" and am beginning to wonder if I can get into any graduate school. From the sound of things over there, it is as if I should have published 10 papers and have a statue in gold at my undergrad university in order to be able to get...

I'm an undergraduate at a quality (though not highly ranked) private school in the US, but I think I'd like to go to grad school in Canada for the experience. My grades are decent (~3.70) and will have a couple of years of research by the time I graduate. I'm thinking of applying for a masters...

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...

Another Can I get into " " for Grad school? I couldn't find a good enough anwser. Topic I'll explain my situation, I'm dual major in Math & Physics attempting to get my Graduate degree in physics(Nonlinear systems :Optics, Q&M and Particle Physic). I know my 3.4 GPA is probably not good...

I have a bachelors in economics and am playing with the idea of returning to school for applied math or statistics. What would I have to do to get into graduate school? Would I have to return to school as an undergrad and get a second bachelors? Or is it possible to just take a few upper...

hi - does it matter if you do research or not in astronomy as an undergrad? is it ok to just do undergrad physics research for astronomy grad school? does it look any better to do astronomy research versus physics research as an undergrad, or any physics will do? I'm asking as a matter of...

I'm senior UCSB phys program that currently has 2.6 GPA not good at all this year I'm retaking some classes and working hard to improve my GPA and plan on boosting to 2.9. Right now I'm studying for physGRE, and getting research. Right now I'm looking at masters programs at CSUs and wondering...

And man has technology in the classroom advanced at breakneck speed. I've only been away for 5 years and I'm having trouble trying to learn it. Is it me, or has technology actually made learning worse? Why can't things be simple anymore? All I want is a lecture, an assignment, and test. Now...

hi all, i am a graduate student, i need to choose 1 subject from A>> Broadband networks:: which is somewhat theoretical and deals with Physics of wireless and optical communications. Broadband multiplexing and switching methods. Blocking and queuing analysis. Network optimization...

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...

I really want to go to grad school for math... preferably a master's simply because I don't want to commit to a 5+ year phd program (still considering various career options). However my background in math is weak because I'm attending a small state school with no reputation for math, and where...

I'm an undergrad at Carleton University (Canada) in EngPhys. I just finished my third year. My interest is in semiconductor physics. I have a A average grade, and two years research experience. I was wondering, is aiming for MSE at Berkeley or UIllinois or Michigan too high for me? What about...

Hello, I'm an undergraduate in UC Berkeley who's considering going to an engineering graduate school. The problem is that I'm intending for a physics major. According to different sources, the fact that I'm majoring in physics itself isn't too much of a problem for getting accepted to the...

What fields can I get into with these two degrees?

After years of diligence, my undergraduate program will be ending after this year. I have yet to decide on any graduate schools to apply to and don't really think it is worth applying to schools I am sure I won't be accepted to. My problems are as follows: -My GPA is at a 3.23 entering my...

Grad School or Career??! Hello all. I am currently an undergrad student majoring in math and physics. I am experiencing extreme ambivalence currently so hopefully someone can give me some advice. I am a quite good student, especially in physics. My GPA is >3.9. I am a senior and will be...

I'd like some advice. I go to university of illinois. My phys/math gpa is ~2.6. An in-depth explanation for my poor grades is out of place here, and they are reasons that I certainly cannot put in an application (various personal issues, mostly confidence problems and test anxiety, etc). I've...

Hi guys, I'm just about to start university however because of some weird thing with advanced credits because I did IB, I have to declare what I want to take this year. I did a bunch of deliberation and finally settled on an Honours Physics degree. I'm wondering: what kind of job...

I am a prospective physics student currently attending a 4-year university. As I began to work in a lab in preparation for graduate school, I have been hearing cases of people with physics degree switch their graduate major/concentration and go to physics-related mathematics or engineering...

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...

I've started to look at graduate schools and I am really interested in doing solar physics, although I am very interested in more general astrophysics as well. Of course we all want to go to a great school but I want to be realistic about where I can get in ect. Location is a big deal to me as...

Hello, I'm looking to get into grad school for physics, but I've done very little research. I did a little bit of astrophysics research early in my college career and a little bit in the field I want to pursue (nanobiosensor stuff), but nothing substantial. However, after college, I did...

I'm an undergrad at an Ivy League school with very good grades and a lot of research experience. I want to go to grad school in Europe: England (Oxford, Cambridge obviously), Italy(I speak Italian), or Scandinavia (or anywhere where english is spoken in the physics world). I know in the US...

Hello PF, I'm currently an undergrad electrical engineering student at a large state university. I am hoping very much to go to graduate school, either for further development of my EE skills, or for something different such as economics. My situation is this: I will be a fifth-year senior...

Are there any specific math classes that grad schools prefer you take beyond the requirements of the physics major? I hear physics majors taking things like real analysis and other things I see no point in taking because of how little application I see. I'm pretty good with math in general and...

I just finished my first year as a math/chem. major and have been toying with the idea of going to grad school right after undergrad to go for a PHD.(Not sure if I want to do applied math or physical chem, yet). My question is though if you go to grad school, will your undergraduate loans be put...

I'm heading into my first semester as a senior physics major, and I'm still deciding how many courses I should take. I started studying for the physics GRE today and I plan on taking it, along with the General GRE, in October. Most of my graduate school applications appear to be due on...