experiment or theory?

[axiomofchoice]

For someone who is not entirely sure about whether going into experiment or theory (in hep)... I'm somewhat inclined toward theory, although nothing too crazy as to be out of touch completely with experiment (no string theory!), but all my past research experiences are in hep-ex and I did really well in it (my advisers in a top program basically invite me to join the group as a grad student; so I'm hoping for good rec. letters). So for the grad schools that specifically asked for interest in experiment or theory, should I indicate (hep) experiment just to be safe, since hep theory is much harder to get into? Or should I be frank about my inclination (though I'm not completely uninterested in hep-ex) and try my luck?

[HappyQuark]

For someone who is not entirely sure about whether going into experiment or theory (in hep)... I'm somewhat inclined toward theory, although nothing too crazy as to be out of touch completely with experiment (no string theory!), but all my past research experiences are in hep-ex and I did really well in it (my advisers in a top program basically invite me to join the group as a grad student; so I'm hoping for good rec. letters). So for the grad schools that specifically asked for interest in experiment or theory, should I indicate (hep) experiment just to be safe, since hep theory is much harder to get into? Or should I be frank about my inclination (though I'm not completely uninterested in hep-ex) and try my luck?

The consensus of the forum seems to be that you should never indicate to strongly that you only want to do one thing and, at the same time, that you need to indicate to them your areas of interest. In practical terms, this means that you should speak to all of your HEP-Ex background and that you, through your research, have decided you want to go into this and related fields. You can then explain that one of the areas that intrigues you is <fascinating topic in theoretical particle physics> and that this is the type of research you would be interested in working on.

[kroner]

Your username is "axiomofchoice" and you're only somewhat inclined toward theory?

[axiomofchoice]

Your username is "axiomofchoice" and you're only somewhat inclined toward theory?

lol'ed My grad school app won't have such a username. But truly, I occasionally have doubts about doing theory (on the lines of whether I'd really like it); thus the "somewhat" part.