What grad schools in USA and Canada do I have a shot at getting accepted?

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starship_neutrino
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2020 9:41 am

What grad schools in USA and Canada do I have a shot at getting accepted?

Post by starship_neutrino » Sat Dec 12, 2020 2:07 pm

I just finished my three years of undergraduate with double majors in maths and physics at one of the group of 8 universities in Australia. I am doing honours next year. I have a GPA of 3.65 (the online classes and staying away from family affected my grades this year) and a WAM of 82%. I have done two research projects- one in phenomenology (My supervisor said I am average) and one in astroparticle physics (supervisor praised my work). I am hoping to do a project in Astro/astroparticle physics in honours. I am interested in astroparticle physics and want to do a PhD. Which grad schools do I have a chance of getting accepted into? Should I do a masters before PhD to improve my chances of getting into a better school (if I improve my grades)?

I am an Asian female.

Thanks in advance.

IaMkizzz
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2020 11:22 am

Re: What grad schools in USA and Canada do I have a shot at getting accepted?

Post by IaMkizzz » Sat Dec 12, 2020 4:22 pm

One advise I could give is that you should not even consider getting a master training here in the states. it is useless and you will waste your money.

starship_neutrino
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2020 9:41 am

Re: What grad schools in USA and Canada do I have a shot at getting accepted?

Post by starship_neutrino » Sun Dec 13, 2020 4:05 am

I meant doing a masters in Australia. It's 1 year-long after 4 years of bachelor.

IaMkizzz
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2020 11:22 am

Re: What grad schools in USA and Canada do I have a shot at getting accepted?

Post by IaMkizzz » Wed Dec 16, 2020 3:41 pm

starship_neutrino wrote:
Sun Dec 13, 2020 4:05 am
I meant doing a masters in Australia. It's 1 year-long after 4 years of bachelor.
Below is by no means general and only derived from my own experience as a master's student in the states and my collegues' expriences.

I think what is the best is to just join a group and work as a research assistant, if for whatever reason you dont want to jump into your PhD career rightnow, and try to get paid if it is possible. This helps you really get to know what research is like and a glimpse into your future life as a Ph.D. student. As a master's student, althought you also can be hands-on and do independent research, you will be busy with course, and you wont learn anything new from them. Instead, you learn stuffs from doing your research. So a master's student basically pays the school to do research. Hence, compared to just being a research assistant, you will obtain nothing more, if not less, than some research experience and a master's degree. Usefulness of a master degree in Physics in job market is certainly not comparable to an euqivalent degree in more applied fields (e.g. CS, EE).

However, if you still want to pursue a master's degree after all these being said, you could also look into UK or other places in Europe where they offer 2-3 years programs. Their master's study curriculum is more developed and you would have more time to really produce decent research works that strengthen your confidence and your profile (sorry i am not that familiar with Australian schools).



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