- #1
RosyB
- 2
- 0
Hi everyone
I'm a 3rd year undergrad at the Universty of Leicester in the UK. At the moment I'm on the four year masters course in physics here (so I'll be awarded an MPhys at the end of my 4 years here instead of a bachelors then a masters). I've had a rocky time course-wise recently as I started the year at a French uni but moved back here fairly quickly because I didn't find the course there suited me and, well, I wasn't keen enough on the town to stay for a course I didn't like. So I'm back in Leicester but feeling very lacklustre. I was wondering whether dropping down to the bachelors and moving uni for the masters would help me get back on track. My grades are pretty good here and I have been a very comfortable 1st (is that a 4.0 or 3.5 in US? I dunno, I get confused!) the last two years, and have been advancing classes from the years above both years. I was turning my attention to universities in the USA (or maybe Canada) but I what is the system in the US for a masters course? In the UK it is only a year long so you do a pile of taught courses and a short (4/5month) research project. What's it like trying to apply particularly when you have no clue what a GRE test really is and where you get one done?
I'm also quite unsure about what sort of area I'm interested in speciality-wise. I picked the physics with planetary science degree course here but am feeling less sure about planetary science these days. If I was picking a masters course in the US how much would it matter whether or not I knew what I wanted to do? Can I just do a straight physics masters and play around in a few areas or do they expect you to be sure that, say, non-linear dynamics was going to be your life?
Finally, (sorry for the long message!) any suggestions on which universities are worth applying for? Do some universities give preference to US students?
Thanks a lot!
I'm a 3rd year undergrad at the Universty of Leicester in the UK. At the moment I'm on the four year masters course in physics here (so I'll be awarded an MPhys at the end of my 4 years here instead of a bachelors then a masters). I've had a rocky time course-wise recently as I started the year at a French uni but moved back here fairly quickly because I didn't find the course there suited me and, well, I wasn't keen enough on the town to stay for a course I didn't like. So I'm back in Leicester but feeling very lacklustre. I was wondering whether dropping down to the bachelors and moving uni for the masters would help me get back on track. My grades are pretty good here and I have been a very comfortable 1st (is that a 4.0 or 3.5 in US? I dunno, I get confused!) the last two years, and have been advancing classes from the years above both years. I was turning my attention to universities in the USA (or maybe Canada) but I what is the system in the US for a masters course? In the UK it is only a year long so you do a pile of taught courses and a short (4/5month) research project. What's it like trying to apply particularly when you have no clue what a GRE test really is and where you get one done?
I'm also quite unsure about what sort of area I'm interested in speciality-wise. I picked the physics with planetary science degree course here but am feeling less sure about planetary science these days. If I was picking a masters course in the US how much would it matter whether or not I knew what I wanted to do? Can I just do a straight physics masters and play around in a few areas or do they expect you to be sure that, say, non-linear dynamics was going to be your life?
Finally, (sorry for the long message!) any suggestions on which universities are worth applying for? Do some universities give preference to US students?
Thanks a lot!