Should I take the Physics GRE subject test?
Posted: Fri Apr 05, 2019 8:19 pm
I plan on applying to PhD's in computational neuroscience this Fall. They're all very heavily based in math and physics.
Grades:
+ 3.3 GPA undergrad Physics Major (including the standard physics and math courses. Also 30 credits of philosophy. I was actually a physics-philosophy double-major, but, during my senior year, I was told one of my philosophy electives wouldn't count. So I graduated with only a physics degree.)
+ 4.0 GPA postbac (NIH IRTA) (including courses in math, computer science, biology, and neuroscience)
Research:
+ 4 years undergrad in bioinformatics lab (one summer in comp neuro REU and one summer bioinfo REU).
+ One research award from a national conference.
+ One first-author pub and one second-author pub
+ 2 years post-bac research (NIH IRTA): one year in bioinfo and one year in comp neuro.
+ For what it's worth, thousands of GitHub commits and dozens of repositories across math, physics, computer science, biology, neuroscience, and philosophy (logic, epistemology, and heuristics in science).
My grad school list is Wash U in St. Louis, Boston U, U Chicago, Caltech, U Washington, UCSD, USC, and UT-Austin. U Washington and CalTech are the only schools on my list that recommend applicants to take a GRE subject test of their field of study.
I understand my undergrad GPA is less than stellar. That's why I'm looking for anything I can do in any way possible to improve my chances. I want to do whatever it takes to prove as best as I can to graduate programs that I'm skilled in math and physics skills.
My question: Should I take the Physics GRE?
Grades:
+ 3.3 GPA undergrad Physics Major (including the standard physics and math courses. Also 30 credits of philosophy. I was actually a physics-philosophy double-major, but, during my senior year, I was told one of my philosophy electives wouldn't count. So I graduated with only a physics degree.)
+ 4.0 GPA postbac (NIH IRTA) (including courses in math, computer science, biology, and neuroscience)
Research:
+ 4 years undergrad in bioinformatics lab (one summer in comp neuro REU and one summer bioinfo REU).
+ One research award from a national conference.
+ One first-author pub and one second-author pub
+ 2 years post-bac research (NIH IRTA): one year in bioinfo and one year in comp neuro.
+ For what it's worth, thousands of GitHub commits and dozens of repositories across math, physics, computer science, biology, neuroscience, and philosophy (logic, epistemology, and heuristics in science).
My grad school list is Wash U in St. Louis, Boston U, U Chicago, Caltech, U Washington, UCSD, USC, and UT-Austin. U Washington and CalTech are the only schools on my list that recommend applicants to take a GRE subject test of their field of study.
I understand my undergrad GPA is less than stellar. That's why I'm looking for anything I can do in any way possible to improve my chances. I want to do whatever it takes to prove as best as I can to graduate programs that I'm skilled in math and physics skills.
My question: Should I take the Physics GRE?