queries

[crash]

Hello everyone,
I am from India and am a 3rd year undergraduate student of B.Tech Engineering Physics at one of the best universities my country has to offer. This summer I am going to work under a professor on a research project in medical physics/biophysics - the area of my choice, at one of the top universities.
I have two more years left for my college and I can not think of a career other than physics. And thus, in this time I have decided to be single-minded for GRE preparation. Everything about this test is still unknown to me.

I would request the kind moderators and members to kindly clarify few of my basic doubts. I'd never forget your favor.

1. For applying to an MS degree at top research institutions at, say, US; what all tests under GRE do I have to take? All three - verbal, quantitative and subjective?

2. What do you suggest is the best way to prepare for the verbal and quantitative tests?

3. In your view, what would be a reasonable score to study my Master's in Physics in say, the top 30 research institutions in the US?

4. For candidates who marry after their graduation, do the universities in the US have a provision to accommodate such master's candidates?

5. What is the weight-age of a good GPA versus the research work you have involved yourself in during your 4 years as an undergraduate?

6. For physics, what would be the top universities in the states?

I'd be grateful to receive a kind and prompt reply.

Thank you so much!

[TheBeast]

You may want to rethink your application strategy. Most top research universities in the US don't accept applications for an MS in physics; you apply for a PhD and may be awarded an MS en route to the PhD or if you do not finish your program.

With regards to your query about couples and graduate accommodation, some schools have a very limited amount of graduate accommodation reserved for couples, but this is an exception. Most places will expect you to sort out housing through private housing not affiliated to the university.

For all of your other questions, please show some initiative and undertake the proper research yourself. People will be more inclined to respond to you if you've shown that you've made some effort in trying to find an answer (especially for questions that have been asked many times before). Google and the forum's search feature are your friends.

[grae313]

Hello everyone,
I am from India and am a 3rd year undergraduate student of B.Tech Engineering Physics at one of the best universities my country has to offer. This summer I am going to work under a professor on a research project in medical physics/biophysics - the area of my choice, at one of the top universities.
I have two more years left for my college and I can not think of a career other than physics. And thus, in this time I have decided to be single-minded for GRE preparation. Everything about this test is still unknown to me.

I would request the kind moderators and members to kindly clarify few of my basic doubts. I'd never forget your favor.

1. For applying to an MS degree at top research institutions at, say, US; what all tests under GRE do I have to take? All three - verbal, quantitative and subjective?

2. What do you suggest is the best way to prepare for the verbal and quantitative tests?

3. In your view, what would be a reasonable score to study my Master's in Physics in say, the top 30 research institutions in the US?

4. For candidates who marry after their graduation, do the universities in the US have a provision to accommodate such master's candidates?

5. What is the weight-age of a good GPA versus the research work you have involved yourself in during your 4 years as an undergraduate?

6. For physics, what would be the top universities in the states?

I'd be grateful to receive a kind and prompt reply.

Thank you so much!

The first thing you should do is google a few famous graduate programs and see what they require of their applicants.

You'll generally see:
1) An undergraduate degree or equivalent coursework in the standard curriculum of physics
2) A minimum 3.0 GPA
3) The general GRE (a single test that includes a quantitative, verbal, and writing section)
3) The subject GRE
4) Three letters of recommendation
5) TOEFL for international applicants from non-English speaking countries.

You can find answer to many of your questions by searching these forums. There is an entire subforum devoted to preparing for the subject GRE, and there are many threads about preparing for the verbal and quantitative exams.

In the US, many top schools do not even offer a masters degree, and if your ultimate goal is a PhD you should be applying directly to PhD programs.

3) For an international applicant, over 800 maybe, over 850 is ok, over 900 is better, but for US admissions this is only one small part of your application. Everything in your application matters so a good score guarantees you nothing.

4) Generally no.

5) There is no standard answer for this and you'll find it will vary from institution to institution and from student to student. They are both very important however, and I think once your grades are above a certain threshold, your research is absolutely more important. Basically, bad grades will keep you out but good grades won't necessarily get you in. Excellent research can make up for mediocre grades but not vice versa.

6) use google.

[crash]

thank you very much for the replies.
i'm sorry to have shown haste, i should have had a look at the other topics as well.