where to apply

[eigenspace]

hi friends,
I gave the physics test on november7 this year(2009), for the first time.
i achieved a very poor score of 790 (71percentile)
I am an undergraduate student and so failed to answer 20 questions which were mainly from quantum and particle physics, which my college havent covered yet.(attempted 79, 9 got incorrect, so they deducted 2 making formula score 68)
so me being an international student, can i be accepted in any good institute? i do not have a fair economic background and so cannot decide where to apply. also i come from a rural area and do not have much knowledge / people who can help me in this regard. any help will be heartily welcomed. thanks.

[blackcat007]

hi friends,
I gave the physics test on november7 this year(2009), for the first time.
i achieved a very poor score of 790 (71percentile)
I am an undergraduate student and so failed to answer 20 questions which were mainly from quantum and particle physics, which my college havent covered yet.(attempted 79, 9 got incorrect, so they deducted 2 making formula score 68)
so me being an international student, can i be accepted in any good institute? i do not have a fair economic background and so cannot decide where to apply. also i come from a rural area and do not have much knowledge / people who can help me in this regard. any help will be heartily welcomed. thanks.

Well just incase you didn't know, PGRE is taken mainly by undergraduates who want to do graduate studies in North America (some schools in Canada also require PGRE scores)
and the most important, you are very late in your application process. you should start it immediately.. since last date for most of the schools are 15th jan.
search this forum for schools not requiring PGRE, If I remember Florida State University and Syracuse are the two who don't require the PGRE. if you have research and all, apply immediately to those schools.. but if you are aiming for the top schools, then I would recommend you to take PGRE again next year, and try to have better research and all in the mean time..

Hope this helps

[vicente]

At this point in time, I'd recommend that you apply next year, i.e. during the fall of 2010. This will give you time to study for the Physics GRE and boost your score. In the meantime, you should ask professors at your university if they need any help during the coming year. If that doesn't work, you should be looking for a job to save up money for the plane ticket.

Don't worry about having a fair economic background, as physics departments will typically pay your tuition and give you enough money to live off of. What's more important to the department's admission committee is that you have good letters of recommendation and, especially for highly populated countries, the committee might look at the school's reputation, for example, I'd guess that graduates of IIT's probably have a higher chance of admission.

I know someone at my current U.S. grad school who comes from a remote village in Nepal, so yes, it is quite possible for rural people to get admission to U.S. universities!

Best of luck,
Vince