Astronomy Grad School Profile: too ambitious?
Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2017 12:42 am
Major: Physics (B.S.)
Concentration: Astrophysics
Minor: Mathematics
Year: Senior (5th year in 5-year program)
GPA Overall: 3.65
GPA in Major: 3.72
School Details: Low-radar private university ranked ~90s nationwide.
Research Experience: 21 months full-time (15 of which are relevant to astronomy) research experience, 18 months part-time (during classes)
Letters: Each of my three letters is from a professor I have done over 6 months of physics research with
Extracurricular: Good community involvement, good role model in the department, selected for various in-house awards, Society of Physics Students (ex-President)
Presentations: Given two scientific talks in addition to 7 poster presentations at various events/regional and national conferences.
GRE
V: 154 (65%)
Q: 165 (89%)
W: 4.5 (82%)
PGRE
770 (64%)
Applying to: Physics/Astro Departments for Fall '18 enrollment in pursuit of a PhD in astronomy with a focus on doing observational/experimental/computational research on stellar/planetary dynamics/evolution of some sort
In somewhat of a particular rank, below are my probable schools to apply to. I realize these are difficult schools, but it's important to me that I get into a program good enough to make the PhD in Physics/Astronomy worthwhile.
Boston University
Columbia University
New York University
University of Pennsylvania
University of Maryland - College Park
Penn State University
Stony Brook University
Dartmouth College
University of Colorado - Boulder
Cornell University
Rutgers - New Brunswick
And thinking about throwing a dart at either Princeton or MIT
Any advice based on knowledge of the schools/programs or your experiences? Thanks!
Concentration: Astrophysics
Minor: Mathematics
Year: Senior (5th year in 5-year program)
GPA Overall: 3.65
GPA in Major: 3.72
School Details: Low-radar private university ranked ~90s nationwide.
Research Experience: 21 months full-time (15 of which are relevant to astronomy) research experience, 18 months part-time (during classes)
Letters: Each of my three letters is from a professor I have done over 6 months of physics research with
Extracurricular: Good community involvement, good role model in the department, selected for various in-house awards, Society of Physics Students (ex-President)
Presentations: Given two scientific talks in addition to 7 poster presentations at various events/regional and national conferences.
GRE
V: 154 (65%)
Q: 165 (89%)
W: 4.5 (82%)
PGRE
770 (64%)
Applying to: Physics/Astro Departments for Fall '18 enrollment in pursuit of a PhD in astronomy with a focus on doing observational/experimental/computational research on stellar/planetary dynamics/evolution of some sort
In somewhat of a particular rank, below are my probable schools to apply to. I realize these are difficult schools, but it's important to me that I get into a program good enough to make the PhD in Physics/Astronomy worthwhile.
Boston University
Columbia University
New York University
University of Pennsylvania
University of Maryland - College Park
Penn State University
Stony Brook University
Dartmouth College
University of Colorado - Boulder
Cornell University
Rutgers - New Brunswick
And thinking about throwing a dart at either Princeton or MIT
Any advice based on knowledge of the schools/programs or your experiences? Thanks!