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LMU TMP vs. UHamburg vs. BielefeldU for Mathematical/theoretical physics

Posted: Tue May 01, 2018 7:22 pm
by KingHypernova
I've been researching schools for the past few months that check off very specific criteria:
- Application Period has NOT past (For winter)
- Is Free OR Very cheap
- Has mandatory Theoretical physics classes, such as QFT & GR, or at least offered (It seems many programs require only Solid-state
physics and Quantum II, Solid-state sounds boring and I've already taken quantum II). I really want to be able to take a GR and supersymmetry
class, but it seems A LOT of programs are experimental materials-based.
- Has research advisers actively into Theoretical cosmology (Dark energy AND/OR structure of spacetime itself), Gravitational Theory, Quantum
Gravity, or String Theory (I have still yet to decide which one is for me).

My Specs
- BS Physics Arizona State University (2017)
- GPA: 3.38 (overall), 3.15 (in major)
- last semester grade, 3.8 (5 PHY classes)
- PGRE scores come in 3 weeks, should be around a 750
- TA for 1 semester in undergraduate mechanics
- 1 REU summer school for geometric analysis of hyperbolic PDE's
- 1 Workshop for credit in using python for imaging techniques, selected and taught by a nobel prize winner
- worked on one project for credit, in which I collaborated with my professor in making a correction on one of his past semiconductor research (15
dense pages of calculation).
- I sat in graduate QFT (unofficially), but did a 1 credit project research for a toy model of quantum gravity using a relativistic newtonian potential
to build an action for a Feynman integral
- Private tutor for physics/math
- Misc - I worked in a cryonics lab for 2 years

Schools I applied to
- UMAss Dartmouth - already applied (applied for scholarship)
- Technion (Isreal) - already applied (applied for scholarship)
- PSI - Rejected

For the reason of it needing to be cheap, and a still-active application period, I've been looking into German Schools.
Schools I'm thinking of applying to
- LMU TMP
- UHamburg Mathemtical Physics MSc.
- UBielefeld Mathematical and theoretical Physics MSc.
- UHeidelberg Physics MSc. (probably the cosmology specialization)

Questions
- For Germany, am I picking too many reach schools? UBielefeld seems to be the only non-reach for me, but I'm not sure.
- Does anyone know of any other schools that meet my criteria, Germany or elsewhere?

Sorry for the long post, it's been difficult finding exactly what I want, thank you for your help! :D