What are my chances at Physics PhD programs in the USA?

[helloworld1432]

I have a 3.29 in the major, research experience in my last year and should be published in the spring. Good recommendations… I’m so stressed…. Kicking myself is an understatement. I just want to get into a respected school, doesn’t have to be a top tier school obviously… just something respected with good research groups. Preferably in QFT… but I just have to get in. Where should I be looking?

Also, seems I will get a C in QM. Should I withdraw from QM, take another fall semester, and reapply with 2 more published papers, and a 3.6? My advisor said that wasn’t a good idea and just to apply now but I’m not sure that’s smart. I would assume more research and a higher Gpa would help my chances tremendously, but he said it would be unwise to wait longer. The C in qm is simply bc I was working to much during the start of the semester.

the reason for the low Gpa was simply that I had been in an extremely abusive relationship for 4 years up until my time at school, and my first year I was dealing with the repercussions of that, along with the suicide of a close friend that same year. Anyway… how should I construct my personal letter to convey this and that I will excel once I don’t have to work to live?

 

[hutchphd]

My advisor said that wasn’t a good idea and just to apply now but I’m not sure that’s smart.

Listen to your advisor.
It has been a tough time for everyone.

A daily breathing exercise: "Inhale the future...Exhale the past.."

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[berkeman]

Also, seems I will get a C in QM. Should I withdraw from QM, take another fall semester, and reapply with 2 more published papers, and a 3.6?

How are you going to raise your GPA from 3.3 to 3.6 so quickly?

The C in qm is simply bc I was working to much during the start of the semester.

Working a job while going to school is definitely hard. Can you look at taking out a student loan so that you can focus on your studies?

the reason for the low Gpa was simply that I had been in an extremely abusive relationship for 4 years up until my time at school, and my first year I was dealing with the repercussions of that, along with the suicide of a close friend that same year. Anyway… how should I construct my personal letter to convey this

Very sorry to hear about your friend, and abusive relationships can take a toll. I don't think that including that information in your applications will necessarily help, though.

 

[helloworld1432]

How are you going to raise your GPA from 3.3 to 3.6 so quickly?Working a job while going to school is definitely hard. Can you look at taking out a student loan so that you can focus on your studies?Very sorry to hear about your friend, and abusive relationships can take a toll. I don't think that including that information in your applications will necessarily help, though.

Hm, ok I wasn’t sure if I should explain any circumstances. And taking this semesters physics classes and next semester all As will give me a 3.6

 

[berkeman]

And taking this semesters physics classes and next semester all As will give me a 3.6

What year are you in uni? And is there an issue with QM, or do you have struggles with other courses in your studies?

Full disclosure -- I earned a low grade in Linear Systems in my EE coursework, and high grades in everything else. No clue why I didn't click in that class. I did great in my other EE and Physics classes, though, so I just absorbed the B grade and moved on.

 

[helloworld1432]

What year are you in uni? And is there an issue with QM, or do you have struggles with other courses in your studies?

Full disclosure -- I earned a low grade in Linear Systems in my EE coursework, and high grades in everything else. No clue why I didn't click in that class. I did great in my other EE and Physics classes, though, so I just absorbed the B grade and moved on.

I am a senior, working on grad applications right now. I have a 3.29, so many Bs.. just trying to get accepted into a decent school but very worried. I got Bs, just because i did what i needed to for a B and never put in the extra effort for and A, i understand all of the concepts though. Just carelessly skipped assignments and such. I independently studied many concepts during this time, so would accept bs while i studied what i wanted to, especially qft and some astrophysics. In addition to some fundamental problems with my health my first year. This semester I am just taking thermo, qm, optics, undergraduate research 3 credits, and working at the same time so I just have messed one exam up that will result in me getting a c.

 

[Choppy]

I would place a lot of weight on what your advisor is recommending. That person knows a lot more about the specifics of your program and the best strategies for its graduates than we do. And one of the big problems with delaying your application for a year is that you could run into a similar situation the next time around (i.e. if your marks don't improve substantially, will you see that as a wasted year?)

You could always apply this year and keep a victory lap as an option in case is doesn't work out.

If your lowest grades are in your first year, you could look for schools that weight admission GPAs more heavily toward more recent years. In Canadian universities it's common to calculate the GPA based on the last two years of the undergraduate program.

Another issue is the somewhat vague plan of wanting to get in "somewhere." If you're really interested in going to graduate school, in your final year of undergrad you should be putting a lot of effort into researching the kind of projects you really want to do, and what schools have such programs (and are accepting students). Look at those programs and look at where the recent graduates are ending up. What skills are graduates coming out with? What does your plan B look like if academia doesn't work out?

 

[helloworld1432]

I would place a lot of weight on what your advisor is recommending. That person knows a lot more about the specifics of your program and the best strategies for its graduates than we do. And one of the big problems with delaying your application for a year is that you could run into a similar situation the next time around (i.e. if your marks don't improve substantially, will you see that as a wasted year?)

You could always apply this year and keep a victory lap as an option in case is doesn't work out.

If your lowest grades are in your first year, you could look for schools that weight admission GPAs more heavily toward more recent years. In Canadian universities it's common to calculate the GPA based on the last two years of the undergraduate program.

Another issue is the somewhat vague plan of wanting to get in "somewhere." If you're really interested in going to graduate school, in your final year of undergrad you should be putting a lot of effort into researching the kind of projects you really want to do, and what schools have such programs (and are accepting students). Look at those programs and look at where the recent graduates are ending up. What skills are graduates coming out with? What does your plan B look like if academia doesn't work out?

See, I would love the commodity of picking exactly the program I would like. I have done tons of research into what I would love to work in. However, the Gpa does not give me the luxury, thus I just want to go somewhere. I only want to study physics. There is simply nothing else I would rather do. If I can’t do academia I might as well just work as a school teacher. But I will be incredibly depressed if this is my only option.

 

[hutchphd]

The point is not to pick "the program you want". You have commodity: an upcoming degree in physics, an advisor to guide you and department that would like you to succeed. Does your advisor think you cannot get in anywhere? Does he/she think you are not capable of succeeding?
Seek advice from people who know you and then follow that advice. There are many very good people in "lesser"graduate schools who can be your mentors for an advanced degree.

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You need to tentatively choose some candidate schools today. If you wish you can share them here and ask for opinions. But you do not have the luxury of inaction, that is the recipe for failure. Ask your advisor for specific suggestions...make an appointment and discuss this with a favorite professor. The more the merrier.

 

[CrysPhys]

Hm, ok I wasn’t sure if I should explain any circumstances. And taking this semesters physics classes and next semester all As will give me a 3.6

But your spring 2022 semester grades won't be considered if you're applying now.

I am a senior, working on grad applications right now. I have a 3.29, so many Bs.. just trying to get accepted into a decent school but very worried. I got Bs, just because i did what i needed to for a B and never put in the extra effort for and A, i understand all of the concepts though. Just carelessly skipped assignments and such. I independently studied many concepts during this time, so would accept bs while i studied what i wanted to, especially qft and some astrophysics. In addition to some fundamental problems with my health my first year. This semester I am just taking thermo, qm, optics, undergraduate research 3 credits, and working at the same time so I just have messed one exam up that will result in me getting a c.

<<Emphasis added>> Now this shows that here you did poorly, not because of your various other personal issues, but because of a lack of discipline. This is under your control; how do you plan to rectify it?

See, I would love the commodity of picking exactly the program I would like. I have done tons of research into what I would love to work in. However, the Gpa does not give me the luxury, thus I just want to go somewhere. I only want to study physics. There is simply nothing else I would rather do. If I can’t do academia I might as well just work as a school teacher. But I will be incredibly depressed if this is my only option.

<<Emphasis added>> But positions in academia are few relative to the number of available candidates, and are highly competitive. So if you do study physics at bottom-tier Mediocre Swamp U. and then compete with students from first-, second-, and even third- tier universities, do you think you can avoid disappointment in the end?

 

[helloworld1432]

But your spring 2022 semester grades won't be considered if you're applying now.<<Emphasis added>> Now this shows that here you did poorly, not because of your various other personal issues, but because of a lack of discipline. This is under your control; how do you plan to rectify it?<<Emphasis added>> But positions in academia are few relative to the number of available candidates, and are highly competitive. So if you do study physics at bottom-tier Mediocre Swamp U. and then compete with students from first-, second-, and even third- tier universities, do you think you can avoid disappointment in the end?

So both things are simultaneously true. I did what I carelessly missed assignments because I was dealing with fundamental health issues. These have been fixed. As for the avoiding disappointment, I am still providing myself with the opportunity to study physics for life. Even if I have to go outside of the country, or work in a low tier university, if I am able to study physics for the rest of my life that is all I care about. I’m addition, I am giving myself more opportunity to succeed. My advisor told me stories of students who got their masters somewhere, published with good advisors, and then transferred to do their PhD at a top 20 school. So you believe if I get into a school with a 3.3 it will be swamp-u? That’s all I want to know. Can I get in? Do I stand any chance at getting accepted?

 

[Choppy]

Sure, with a 3.3 GPA, a publication under your belt, some good reference letters and a decent score on the GRE, you should be able to get in *somewhere.* But the probability of acceptance goes down as GPA goes down. All anyone can really say is that it tends to approach zero around the 3.0 mark because that tends to be the minimum cutoff schools use for before they'll forward the application to the admissions committee. Some students try to compensate for this by applying to a crazy large number of schools (> 10), but that gets expensive, and when you're apply to that many schools how much of an effort are you really putting into scouting out each one?

Admission is a competitive process, remember. To a rough approximation you can think of it this way. An admissions committee will from the onset say: we can afford/commit to take N students this year. M students apply. Of those M students, those who meet the minimum requirements are ranked. Students who rank from 1 down to N are offered admission.

That said there is more subtly to it. For example you have groups within your department. Let's say you apply to a school that has 1 professor who does QFT. She has room for 1 student. Your chances of admission depend on outranking the subset of applicants who expressed an interest in QFT. If that program has a big plasma physics group able to take on 10 students that year, even if you ranked 8th overall, student 11 gets an offer of admission and you don't because student 4 wanted QFT, and student 11 wanted plasma.

That's why its important to research the details of the schools you're applying to.

With regard to wanting to get in "somewhere" - this kind of attitude can show through like a laser on admission applications. And people tend not to look too kindly on it. Admissions committees want to know that you've researched their program, and there are specific reasons you want to study with them.

Finally beware of tying your happiness to a very narrow career path. To a rough approximation every professor will train about 10 graduate students of the course of their career. One of those will replace the professor eventually. What happens to the other 9?

 

[CrysPhys]

I’m addition, I am giving myself more opportunity to succeed. My advisor told me stories of students who got their masters somewhere, published with good advisors, and then transferred to do their PhD at a top 20 school.

<<Emphasis added>> Was he talking about the US, or about some other country? Remember, in many countries outside the US, after you complete your bachelors, you need to complete a masters program before continuing to a PhD program. So, perhaps outside the US there's some opportunity to compensate for a weak performance in a bachelors program with a strong performance in a masters program. But in the US, you can apply directly for a PhD program with just a bachelors degree; you do not need to complete a masters program first. I don't have any stats, but I don't think at US universities you will find many opportunities to follow the examples told by your advisor.