Choosing schools for string theory
Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2015 7:57 am
Hi, I am an international student applying to PhD programs. My profile's below:
Undergrad Institution: School in Asia - good repute for engineering in the country, no repute for physics
Major(s): Engineering
Overall GPA: ~3.2 - 3.4 (for privacy)
Position in Class: Above average
Grad Institution: Ivy school
Major(s): Engineering
Overall GPA: ~3.85 - 3.95 (for privacy)
Position in Class: Top 2-3
GRE Scores: not taken yet
Q:
V:
W:
P: 760 -770 (for privacy)
Research Experience: A couple of research projects in engineering (one summer, one 9 months) - not related to physics. Quite a few class projects. No publications
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: None
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: little tutoring
Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Did well on some entrance exams - does that even count?
Special Bonus Points: (Such as connections, grad classes, famous recommenders, female or minority status etc...)
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Haven't taken any physics courses apart from the intro to physics one. BUnch of math courses. Did some programming gig. Recommendations coming out of profs with whom I took classes - and did well on the class projects.
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I am interested in applying for HEP-th (string theory in particular). However, reading about the acceptance rate in the field, I think I'll want to apply to experimental fields and hope I can change later.
I was wondering if I could get some insight into choosing schools with strong string theory faculty but which are easier to get into an experimental field (may be they're not that good for some of their experimental fields?).
Any help is much appreciated.
Undergrad Institution: School in Asia - good repute for engineering in the country, no repute for physics
Major(s): Engineering
Overall GPA: ~3.2 - 3.4 (for privacy)
Position in Class: Above average
Grad Institution: Ivy school
Major(s): Engineering
Overall GPA: ~3.85 - 3.95 (for privacy)
Position in Class: Top 2-3
GRE Scores: not taken yet
Q:
V:
W:
P: 760 -770 (for privacy)
Research Experience: A couple of research projects in engineering (one summer, one 9 months) - not related to physics. Quite a few class projects. No publications
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: None
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: little tutoring
Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Did well on some entrance exams - does that even count?
Special Bonus Points: (Such as connections, grad classes, famous recommenders, female or minority status etc...)
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Haven't taken any physics courses apart from the intro to physics one. BUnch of math courses. Did some programming gig. Recommendations coming out of profs with whom I took classes - and did well on the class projects.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am interested in applying for HEP-th (string theory in particular). However, reading about the acceptance rate in the field, I think I'll want to apply to experimental fields and hope I can change later.
I was wondering if I could get some insight into choosing schools with strong string theory faculty but which are easier to get into an experimental field (may be they're not that good for some of their experimental fields?).
Any help is much appreciated.