Need advice for Low GPA / Good Research / HEPth PhD application

[beatji]

Hi, I'm an international student and I am planning to apply for HEPth PhD in the US in 2026.
I'm afraid I won't get accepted anywhere because it is too competitive.

I have a low GPA in undergraduate courses and there are 2 schools since I transferred to another Uni.

In detail,
#First school- overall 2.75, physics-related 3.17 (4.0 scale)
I studied engineering here. In my country, GPA is not important to transfer. Most schools have their own "transfer exams" such as Math (calculus, linear algebra, differential equations.. etc) and English. So I focused on the exam and got accepted to a popular Uni in my country. This is why I have a low GPA and a low GPA doesn't mean I'm bad at math since I got a good grade on the transfer exam.

#Second school (good reputation in Engineering) - overall 3.58, physics 3.45 (4.0 scale)
I also studied engineering here and have a minor degree in physics. I took CM 2, EM 1/2, QM 1/2, SM1, and GR.
I got mostly B here but A in GR and EM2. However, It was kind of an overload for me since I decided to study physics when I was in 4th year. So I had to take all those physics courses only in 1 year. Moreover, I published 1st author paper in Engineering in this period so I don't have much time to study physics.

#Grad school in physics
I got 4.0! (But it is true that grad school gives relatively good grades.)
I studied physics in the same school for M.S. degree. I took CM, QM, SM, and GR for grad courses, and also particle physics, non-relativistic QFT 1/2, and CFT 1/2. Finally, I was able to focus on studying physics and got a good grade.
I also have 2 co-author papers in JHEP and IJMPA and recently submitted 1st author paper in PRD. (AdS/CFT, Holographic Entanglement Entropy)
I'm planning to submit 2 more papers to compensate for my low undergraduate GPA.

* For summary,
1. I studied engineering and got bad grades in the first school. (overall 2.75, physics-related 3.17)
2. I graduated with engineering and have a minor in physics at the second school. (overall 3.58, physics 3.45)
My grades have improved but not that good either.
3. Idk they're reasonable but I have some reasons for bad grades for both schools (I need advice on whether they are reasonable or not)
4. Good research experience
- one 1st author paper in engineering (undergraduate research)
- two co-author papers in physics (JHEP, IJMPA)
- one submitted 1st author paper in physics (PRD)
- planning to submit more..

I don't know if it's a good side, but I'm sure I'm a very 'unusual' applicant.
So I'm asking for help because it is quite difficult to find cases similar to mine.
I need a lot of advice based on my situation, such as possibilities, which universities I should target, whether to take GRE or PGRE, etc.
I would appreciate it if you have any insight into this situation. Thanks.

 

[Vanadium 50]

You are correct. You are not in a strong position. Some aspects of your application are better than others, however, others look less strong than you think. It might help to tell us where you are attending - a MS from Cambridge or Toronto will be more valuable than one from a country in central Africa.

You definitely want to apply to a broad range of schools. You also want to take the PGRE as it will counterbalance your grades somewhat.

 

[beatji]

You are correct. You are not in a strong position. Some aspects of your application are better than others, however, others look less strong than you think. It might help to tell us where you are attending - a MS from Cambridge or Toronto will be more valuable than one from a country in central Africa.

You definitely want to apply to a broad range of schools. You also want to take the PGRE as it will counterbalance your grades somewhat.

Thanks for your reply.
I agree that I'm not a strong applicant but it can be viewed differently depending on the university I apply. I mean I might be bad for the superior universities but there are many PhD programs in the US. Still I don't have any chance to apply somewhere good university program?

My school in Asia is not that strong either but referring to the global ranking in physics (the US, QS, etc), it has a similar position with UIC or somewhere between UC, Davis, Irvine, and Riverside.

 

[Vanadium 50]

QS Rankings tell you something, but are a very blunt instrument. Irvine, Davis and Riverside may be ranked similarly, but Irvine's particle theory is head and shoulders above the other two (and UIC). I'd rank it close to MIT, which is nowhere near it in the overall rankings.

There are about 160 US universities that offer a PhD in physics. As far as physics goes, especially particle theory, all the Asian universities ranked similarly are below those. Maybe I missed one or two, but that sets the scale. So what you have is:

• A non-physics degree from a foreign university that is not strong
• A low GPA from one, a better one from a second - but with substantial grade inflation.
• A publication in PRD and one in a journal one notch above predatory

The good news is you have 160 targets. The bad news is that ~15 schools produce half of the PhDs. Your target is the other 145, and not the top of that set. Would you be happy at a Clark University or Montama State? Note that if you stick with particle theory, the number of target universities deops - perhaps to 50, a;though this is not so well-defined.

Also, something like 10% of physics PhDs land an academic position, although if you are Chinese and willing to go back to China this may be larger, depending on yhe CCP's policy at the time. While it is possible to be in the top 10% of applicants, but not have been in the top 50% of grad school applicants (this haappens, but there usually needs to be a reason for this) it's not something to count on. Assuming you get a PhD -- now what?

 

[beatji]

QS Rankings tell you something, but are a very blunt instrument. Irvine, Davis and Riverside may be ranked similarly, but Irvine's particle theory is head and shoulders above the other two (and UIC). I'd rank it close to MIT, which is nowhere near it in the overall rankings.

There are about 160 US universities that offer a PhD in physics. As far as physics goes, especially particle theory, all the Asian universities ranked similarly are below those. Maybe I missed one or two, but that sets the scale. So what you have is:

• A non-physics degree from a foreign university that is not strong
• A low GPA from one, a better one from a second - but with substantial grade inflation.
• A publication in PRD and one in a journal one notch above predatory

The good news is you have 160 targets. The bad news is that ~15 schools produce half of the PhDs. Your target is the other 145, and not the top of that set. Would you be happy at a Clark University or Montama State? Note that if you stick with particle theory, the number of target universities deops - perhaps to 50, a;though this is not so well-defined.

Also, something like 10% of physics PhDs land an academic position, although if you are Chinese and willing to go back to China this may be larger, depending on yhe CCP's policy at the time. While it is possible to be in the top 10% of applicants, but not have been in the top 50% of grad school applicants (this haappens, but there usually needs to be a reason for this) it's not something to count on. Assuming you get a PhD -- now what?

Thanks for your advice.
I will apply in 2026 so there's still some time left to write more papers.

Maybe it's a childish thought but I'm quite confident in the research field. All the 1st author papers (from undergraduate and MS in physics) come from my contribution of more than 80%. Still, I have lots of ideas to research and am willing to do it.

Thus, I need to target at least approximately 50 schools you mentioned. (I didn't give up 15 schools but it's impossible unless I write a 'strong' paper.) If I don't get chosen there, I'll probably have to give up the academic position. The number '50' is kind of reasonable referring to the US ranking (https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/physics-rankings).

Back in my country, considering the precedents from my university and other researchers, I think I'll be a strong applicant if I get a PhD from the top 5~60 (including 15).

To achieve this, I think I need to
- publish more
- get a strong recommendation letter
- take PGRE(?)

These are still hard to accomplish, but Idk these are enough to compensate for my weakness to get in the top 5~60 since I can not find a case similar to mine. If not, maybe it would be a waste of time..

 

[Vanadium 50]

publish more

Not what you need. You need more impactful articles, not just more.

get a strong recommendation letter

How? From whom? This is easier said than done.

take PGRE(?)

Why the question mark? And it's not enough to take it. You need to do exceptionally well.

Your ranking lists only 14 schools in particle theory. Hard to pick the Top 50 that way. You really need to think beyond ranking - my point is simply that the top schools have plenty of applicants with stronger records and this is a competitive process.

I'm quite confident in the research field.

Let me guess. India. An IIT. Say what you will, those folks sure have their confidence.

 

[beatji]

Thanks again.

I can get a letter from a professor at my uni who graduated from UCB and has a good rep. internationally.
Chances are slim but I have a chance to collaborate with a professor at Princeton if I try hard..
I'll try to reach a strong professor by collaborative research who has a connection with my professor. Then I can also have an impactful paper, as far as it depends on my efforts.

I heard that PGRE is becoming meaningless but I guess it's not my case according to your advice.
I'll try my best for it.

Kinda desperating moment to face reality but it was greatly helpful to me.
I think I got a sense of what I need to do.

 

[gwnorth]

Your key to improving your chances for a PhD admit is to make sure to apply to programs where your academic and research background are a strong fit for the specific research that's being conducted. Find the researchers active in the field(s)/topic(s) that you want to pursue for your PhD thesis and apply to those programs.

 

[beatji]

Your key to improving your chances for a PhD admit is to make sure to apply to programs where your academic and research background are a strong fit for the specific research that's being conducted. Find the researchers active in the field(s)/topic(s) that you want to pursue for your PhD thesis and apply to those programs.

Thanks for the response.

I found some groups doing similar research to mine.
UMich, JHU, Austin, etc.. but they are too good schools for me haha
Idk I have a chance to get in there.

This is the extremely regretful moment of why I failed to manage my GPA.

 

[ohwilleke]

It is tough to let go of a dream, but one thought would be to focus on physics education, perhaps getting a doctoral degree in that subject, rather than particle physics.

Your credentials for that path would be quite strong and would probably qualify you to be a strong candidate for PhD in physics education followed by a good job as a physics and science instructor in an elite high school, possibly also teaching a physics class or so every term at a local college.

While this might feel disappointing, it would still be a very solid career path that would come with real respect, would contribute to the advancement of science through your students and research you could do on the side, and would keep you intimately involved in a field that you love.

Maybe you do one round of applications to particle physics PhD programs, and if that doesn't produce success, try this as a plan B.

 

[beatji]

It is tough to let go of a dream, but one thought would be to focus on physics education, perhaps getting a doctoral degree in that subject, rather than particle physics.

Your credentials for that path would be quite strong and would probably qualify you to be a strong candidate for PhD in physics education followed by a good job as a physics and science instructor in an elite high school, possibly also teaching a physics class or so every term at a local college.

While this might feel disappointing, it would still be a very solid career path that would come with real respect, would contribute to the advancement of science through your students and research you could do on the side, and would keep you intimately involved in a field that you love.

Maybe you do one round of applications to particle physics PhD programs, and if that doesn't produce success, try this as a plan B.

Thanks for good adivice.
I think I need to consider about plan B.

I know what the result will be If I fail to get a strong recommendation letter or
make a strong publication. I can handle PGRE on my own but I think those need a bit of luck.

 

[Vanadium 50]

It is always good to have a plan B.

It is probably not so good to count on luck to get your PGRE score up. Commitment will likely serve you better.

 

[eudaimonia]

As others have said, get a plan B. A good option for that is to apply for UK/EU schools. They don't care about GRE whatsoever.

Go for the UK route if your family is well-off and can spare you 50k bucks, if you click the option "i'm willing to self-fund", it's not hard to gain admission into even the top places. The postdoc I used to work with did this and worked very hard during his PhD, he is now at a prestigious named postdoc position.

Go for the EU, especially Germany or Switzerland, they are not allowed usually to consider anything other than your MS GPA (on all the application forms they do not ask anything about your undergrad at all), and they focus on publication record almost exclusively.

There're also places, SISSA and IPMU, Tokyo that come to my mind, where PhD admission is done via an entrance exam only, almost no other factors are taken into consideration. Consider taking those as a last resort.

On a side note tho, getting into top US schools (again I don't get why some members of this forum keep putting down people for GPA and lack of PGRE, those are not that relevant at this post-covid era anymore), the first order contribution to your chance of admission is going to be *luck* and *connections*. Your publications and GPA (as long as they pass the guidelines) all mean very little....

 

[eudaimonia]

And additionally, there're some advices on the forum that are dangerously outdated. And quite misleading imho.

Been through the admission system myself as someone who had low undergrad GPA, and just now participated in admission committee, all the students that did their undergrad during lockdown had pass/fail grades only, not to mention only a tiny fraction of them took the GRE which is optional everywhere.

How do you distinguish them?
PGRE? Sure 5-10 years back you can let the system sort it in descending order and only pay attention to top ranked guys. But now it’s either 950 or no score submitted, are you going to throw the rest into the bin?

GPA? Half the applicants are from outside US with all sort of strange grading scale that would take month to manually convert them in to 4.0.

Let's not kid ourselves here, we all know out of 800 hep-th applicants to top places, almost all of them had perfect undergrad GPA, in the 20 that are shortlisted, all of them had extensive publication records, how do you choose 2 out of those 20? Do you simply choose the one with a 95% PGRE over the one who had no GRE submitted?

 

[Vanadium 50]

Well, if he wants to go to the school in the US, applying in Europe won't help.

Right now, the majority of institutions in the US have PGRE Optional or Recommended (which is hard to draw a line between) About a quarter say they won;t look at it, and about 10% say they will not admit students without it.

Different schools have different policies, but in the US they usually look at all the grades, but of course different schools (and different committee members) want to see different things. The thing a strong PGRE does is send thee message "I didn't have my act together back then, but now I do." That is a very, very important message,

 

[beatji]

As others have said, get a plan B. A good option for that is to apply for UK/EU schools. They don't care about GRE whatsoever.

Go for the UK route if your family is well-off and can spare you 50k bucks, if you click the option "i'm willing to self-fund", it's not hard to gain admission into even the top places. The postdoc I used to work with did this and worked very hard during his PhD, he is now at a prestigious named postdoc position.

Go for the EU, especially Germany or Switzerland, they are not allowed usually to consider anything other than your MS GPA (on all the application forms they do not ask anything about your undergrad at all), and they focus on publication record almost exclusively.

There're also places, SISSA and IPMU, Tokyo that come to my mind, where PhD admission is done via an entrance exam only, almost no other factors are taken into consideration. Consider taking those as a last resort.

Thanks for the good information.

I'm considering the UK for plan B which is hard to get a fund but I should try it at least for a conditional fund. I'm planning to travel around the EU in Feb and I think I should look around the atmosphere to decide whether I apply or not.

It's hard to get a connection with researchers in the US but I'll try for it. I didn't know my GPA and research mean little..

Let's not kid ourselves here, we all know out of 800 hep-th applicants to top places, almost all of them had perfect undergrad GPA, in the 20 that are shortlisted, all of them had extensive publication records, how do you choose 2 out of those 20? Do you simply choose the one with a 95% PGRE over the one who had no GRE submitted?

My realistic targets are not top schools. Is your insight still valid for the so-called mid-tier schools?

I have been studying physics only for 3 years. (1 undergrad + 2 M.S.)
This could be a weakness but, according to my research experience, I think this also can be a strength in terms of potential if I well explain it in my SOP. What I'm curious about is SOP doesn't matter in the physics admission process?

 

[beatji]

It is always good to have a plan B.

It is probably not so good to count on luck to get your PGRE score up. Commitment will likely serve you better.

Thanks.
Oh I mean the luck is needed for strong recommendation letters or publications.
If I can't get a good score in PGRE, I think it is good for my future to find other fields haha

 

[beatji]

Does anyone know about the pure math field?
Is it more desperate or better or just about the same compared to hepth?

Some professors in math department have strongly related research fit to mine (the way to study Yang- Mills existence).

 

[Vanadium 50]

As I understand it, your pre-graduate exposure to math is less than in physics. Why are you looking into this? Is your Plan A not hard enough?

 

[beatji]

As I understand it, your pre-graduate exposure to math is less than in physics. Why are you looking into this? Is your Plan A not hard enough?

Yes, exactly.

But I think the research fields are strongly related. (Only few professors in the US are related including top~good schools.)

They also deal with the field theory and the approaching methods are what I exactly did in my paper.
Of course, physics does not express it rigorously in mathematical language but I understand the methodology since I did the same thing.

I thought I could have a strong connection with those regardless of my background but if it is competitive enough, I don't need to consider it.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Sure, maybe your research interests align. But they aren't going to give you a PhD in math unless you know what a PhD in math knows. And you don't even have the prerequisites for that.

I don't want to sound discouraging, but your application is already marginal. Making it even more marginal is not the right direction.

 

[beatji]

Sure, maybe your research interests align. But they aren't going to give you a PhD in math unless you know what a PhD in math knows. And you don't even have the prerequisites for that.

I don't want to sound discouraging, but your application is already marginal. Making it even more marginal is not the right direction.

Thanks, Is it (non-trivialy) helpful if I attend to program like this in the US?
https://www.slmath.org/summer-schools (which I can't but just for an example)

One more question,

I have been studying physics only for 3 years. (1 undergrad + 2 M.S.)
This could be a weakness but, according to my research experience, I think this also can be a strength in terms of potential if I well explain it in my SOP. What I'm curious about is SOP doesn't matter in the physics admission process?

What do you think about the importance of SOP?

 

[Vanadium 50]

I think you're not going to learn the entirety of an undergraduate degree in a summer.

I also think you're not the first person here to plan on this, but thus far, nobody has succeeded. A plan that requires you to learn material an order of magnitude faster than mere mortals is not a good plan.

Finally, I am beginning to think you aren't serious. If you were serious, you'd be telling us how you did on a practice PGRE (there has been plenty of time to take one) and will be listing actual schools you are targeting. You have plenty of work ahead of you, and I don't see you doing it.

 

[beatji]

I think you're not going to learn the entirety of an undergraduate degree in a summer.

I also think you're not the first person here to plan on this, but thus far, nobody has succeeded. A plan that requires you to learn material an order of magnitude faster than mere mortals is not a good plan.

Finally, I am beginning to think you aren't serious. If you were serious, you'd be telling us how you did on a practice PGRE (there has been plenty of time to take one) and will be listing actual schools you are targeting. You have plenty of work ahead of you, and I don't see you doing it.

Thanks a lot, I just wanted to consider the holistic aspect of admission.
But I agree that it's time to list the specific schools and start to study PGRE.

This is a list of schools which are related to my research field (Holography)
I sort them into some groups by possibilities.

Donation
MIT, Stanford, Caltech, Havard, Princeton, Berkeley

Super reach
Chicago, Cornell, USCB, Michigan, Wisconsin Madison

Reach (targets in my mind)
UIUC, JHU, UT Austin, UCLA, Colorado U, SUNY, UCSD

Target (realistically)
UC Davis, Brown, Purdue, U Virginia, Arizona State, Virginia Tech, Northeastern U, Massachusetts Amherst

I think the rest of the schools don't have the professors I related to.
As you mentioned, I can find the ranking up to 12th but others are just my guess. (with general physics ranking)
The red color denotes the school which has a professor whose recent research is similar to mine.

I also found some materials for PGRE and I'll start to study it from now on.

 

[Vanadium 50]

It's good that you are starting to look at schools. However....I think you have them all about two or three categories off. UIUC? Super-reach. UMass? Super-reach. Davis? Reach to super-reach.

You need to be looking at Illinois Tech, Kentucky, Kent State etc. and find some place that matches your research interests. You have a low GPA from a #200 school - that means you need to cast a wide net, and a wide net does not mean "I guess I'll shoot for #6 and not #1".

 

[beatji]

It's good that you are starting to look at schools. However....I think you have them all about two or three categories off. UIUC? Super-reach. UMass? Super-reach. Davis? Reach to super-reach.

You need to be looking at Illinois Tech, Kentucky, Kent State etc. and find some place that matches your research interests. You have a low GPA from a #200 school - that means you need to cast a wide net, and a wide net does not mean "I guess I'll shoot for #6 and not #1".

Thanks, I'll modify the list.
I found Kent U has a good program but others are not. Simliar schools or low-ranked schools don't have program similar to mine.

What I realized is.. my school is not that bad than I thought.. We have 3 string professors with 15 grad students and post docs which the similarly ranked schools in the US don't have.

But I think it is not gonna change my situation haha

 

[advhaver]

Thanks, I'll modify the list.

The red color denotes the school which has a professor whose recent research is similar to mine.

Hi, I do not have the experience of the others here, but since I just finished applying (I expect to start August/September 2024), let me chime in my 2 cents, and maybe it will help.

My takeaways from my experience:

1. Do not assume anything. Apply, apply, apply. Do not let your "profile" or "resume" limit you. If you manage your time well and start early, applying to as many as 20 universities can be done. I have three friends who applied to 15, 17, and 20 universities (all in physics). If you do not apply, your chances are 0. If you do, the chances are greater than 0. I would apply to MIT and U Mass (Amherst), for example, because they have a "professor whose recent research is similar to yours." Fit is more important than most anything else.
2. Your research, SOP, and LORs will carry more weight than your grades. Yet I would recommend that you do the GRE and PGRE. Especially since you think your GPAs are low, the GREs allow you to redeem your grades.
3. Manage your time. I did not do a perfect job. I need a lot of improvement. I missed out on a few applications due to poor time management. Since you are applying for 2026, you have more time than I gave myself.
4. Email/Talk to every professor you can find in your field. Don't be afraid to "cold call." I emailed several and was surprised that so many responded. Many of them asked me to read up on a topic and set up a second remote meeting to question me on the matter they asked me to read. This was a very pleasant exercise.
5. Keep your head down and work. Even after my applications were all out (December 15th), I continued to work on my research through Christmas. I suspect that professors get an intuition about the depth of your interest when they talk to you.
6. Do not forget to sincerely thank every professor you talk to. Many have very busy lives, and taking 20-30 minutes to help an unknown student should be considered a privilege. A little courtesy goes a long way. I am a fellow Asian, and I am often quite taken aback by the habits of some of my US-born classmates. For example, they put their feet on a sofa or chair (and even their bed) with shoes on.
7. Do consider the cost of living and the stipends offered. Some places are more expensive to live in than others. For example, I did not apply to NYU or the UCs because the cost of living would not be sustainable (for me).
8. Lastly, all these ranking systems are gamed (rigged). US News, QS, Times, and Shanghai all mean nothing. They only mean something to people who do not understand your field of study. Aim for the professors who do active research in your field of study. That's all that matters.