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What types of grad school should I apply?

Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2010 11:56 pm
by qubit
I am an international student currently studying in US. I have pretty good GPA. I have 3 summers of research experience, 1 semester of 2 researches (one in physics and one in maths)....Going to have about 2 papers published may be one by the end of this semester and other by the end of this year. Going to have pretty strong reco from my research prof...and others two recos are so gonna be strong too....I am Physics major, computer science and mathematics minor....

I am planning to apply for three different programs:

1. Particle physics
2. Medical Physics
3. Nuclear Engineering

For last two programs, I do not need PGRE but for particle physics, I need to take PGRE and I am preparing for it. I already took general GRE and got (Quan = 790 and Verbal = 420)....so, my question is what kinds of school should I try? I really want to get into top 10...what do you guys suggest?

Since my verbal is not good at all,so I am little bit concern about it. Moreover all my researches are not in the field that I am applying to.

Re: What types of grad school should I apply?

Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 11:42 am
by HappyQuark
qubit wrote:I am an international student currently studying in US. I have pretty good GPA. I have 3 summers of research experience, 1 semester of 2 researches (one in physics and one in maths)....Going to have about 2 papers published may be one by the end of this semester and other by the end of this year. Going to have pretty strong reco from my research prof...and others two recos are so gonna be strong too....I am Physics major, computer science and mathematics minor....

I am planning to apply for three different programs:

1. Particle physics
2. Medical Physics
3. Nuclear Engineering

For last two programs, I do not need PGRE but for particle physics, I need to take PGRE and I am preparing for it. I already took general GRE and got (Quan = 790 and Verbal = 420)....so, my question is what kinds of school should I try? I really want to get into top 10...what do you guys suggest?

Since my verbal is not good at all,so I am little bit concern about it. Moreover all my researches are not in the field that I am applying to.
When it comes to top ten schools, most if not all the students that get into these universities are, for all intents and purposes, perfect. They typically have a 4.0 gpa or near to it, extensive research with one or more publications and, in some cases, published as a first author. They typically get very high scores on the PGRE and GRE and their breath smells of lilacs and mint. The only way to compete with them is to be one of them. As such, unless a 3.95 is what you mean by a "pretty good GPA" and you can do very well on the Physics GRE, you should probably look at a number of safer choices.

Re: What types of grad school should I apply?

Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 12:18 pm
by qubit
Pretty good GPA is about 3.96....

So, I just started preparing for PGRE and it's on November...I don't know how well I will do but I think I will do decent...

Moreover I am leaning towards Nuclear engineering and Medical physics and they don't need PGRE for those...so with my present achievements, is it good to look for top 10 Nuclear engineering and Medical physics?

Re: What types of grad school should I apply?

Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 4:45 pm
by grae313
For medical physics or nuclear engineering I think you have a chance at top 10, particle physics is hard to say until you know your PGRE score. The research experience is key, and programs are going to want to see a strong research background in the subfield to which you apply. What area is your research in? You've got a shot at good schools, but don't forget to apply to a number of safeties. Choose schools that are a little lower in the rankings but have strong research groups in your area(s) of interest. Assuming your research experience is relevant and you score well on the PGRE, I'd suggest a few top 10, a few top 20, a couple top 30, and maybe on super duper safety.

Re: What types of grad school should I apply?

Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 5:01 pm
by twistor
Here's my advice:

Medical physics is *** -- don't waste your time. I'm presently a medical physics student.

Don't pick schools based on rating as it is not an indicator of the true value of the program nor how you will fit in at any given school. Pick schools that fit with your personality, academic and professional goals.

Re: What types of grad school should I apply?

Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2010 9:56 pm
by qubit
grae313 wrote:For medical physics or nuclear engineering I think you have a chance at top 10, particle physics is hard to say until you know your PGRE score. The research experience is key, and programs are going to want to see a strong research background in the subfield to which you apply. What area is your research in? You've got a shot at good schools, but don't forget to apply to a number of safeties. Choose schools that are a little lower in the rankings but have strong research groups in your area(s) of interest. Assuming your research experience is relevant and you score well on the PGRE, I'd suggest a few top 10, a few top 20, a couple top 30, and maybe on super duper safety.

The problem with my research is that it's not at all related to particle physics. Being an international student, it's really hard to get a REU, so I basically did research with my college prof on Stat Mech (basically coding simulations, running them, data analyses....I think the technique that I learned and practiced for 3 summers doing Stat Mech (Polymer physics) research can come handy in particle physics simulations as well as nuclear fission/fusion simulation.

@twistor: Which school are you in? (If you don't want to openly can you please pm me).
Is med physics really that bad?

Re: What types of grad school should I apply?

Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 8:15 pm
by qubit
More suggestions plzz..

Re: What types of grad school should I apply?

Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 11:37 pm
by WhoaNonstop
Let me throw something out there:

You can find a roster of physics departments on AIP. There will be approximately 190 in total.

This is your decision, not any of ours, so I highly suggest you look through those schools and do the research yourself.

http://www.gradschoolshopper.com is also useful.

I have spent much time researching each of these schools for my own preferences.

I think you should write down your preferences and figure this out as I'm sure most don't have the time to do this for you.

If from there you have found some schools and want to ask general opinions about them, I'm sure most people will help you, but nobody wants to do your homework.

-Riley

Re: What types of grad school should I apply?

Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 5:55 pm
by qubit
WhoaNonstop wrote:Let me throw something out there:

You can find a roster of physics departments on AIP. There will be approximately 190 in total.

This is your decision, not any of ours, so I highly suggest you look through those schools and do the research yourself.

http://www.gradschoolshopper.com is also useful.

I have spent much time researching each of these schools for my own preferences.

I think you should write down your preferences and figure this out as I'm sure most don't have the time to do this for you.

If from there you have found some schools and want to ask general opinions about them, I'm sure most people will help you, but nobody wants to do your homework.

-Riley

I think you got me wrong. I have already done my homework. I have selected my fields already and I have selected schools too. I just wanted some suggestions about the med. physics program (which twistor wrote is not worth going into) and I was mostly looking at top schools so I just wanted to know with my present credentials should I look at top Nuclear Engineering /med physics schools or not.

For your kind information, I do my own homework and since it's a forum for group of people doing physics I thought I would just get some more voice on my situation. So, I brought my case here.

Re: What types of grad school should I apply?

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 4:48 am
by guthria
who the *** says 'for your Kind information' any more? that was something we said when I was in primary school.

Re: What types of grad school should I apply?

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2011 4:38 pm
by WhoaNonstop
guthria wrote:who the *** says 'for your Kind information' any more? that was something we said when I was in primary school.
Even more interesting is someone who registers for a forum to scold them about it. =P

-Riley

Re: What types of grad school should I apply?

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 12:21 am
by guthria
For your kind information, I have been registered since time immemorial. Ever since primary school, in fact.

Re: What types of grad school should I apply?

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 12:33 am
by kroner
If you were in primary school in October 2010 then I think you have some time before you need to start worrying about grad applications.

Re: What types of grad school should I apply?

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 1:27 am
by twistor
WhoaNonstop wrote:
guthria wrote:who the *** says 'for your Kind information' any more? that was something we said when I was in primary school.
Even more interesting is someone who registers for a forum to scold them about it. =P

-Riley
I've never heard that phrase before. Never.


To OP:

I hope you were able to come up with better reasons not to go into medical physics than the fact that I said it was ***. I hope my comment inspired you to do more research on your own after which you determined the field just wasn't right for you.

Re: What types of grad school should I apply?

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 8:09 am
by guthria
kroner wrote:If you were in primary school in October 2010 then I think you have some time before you need to start worrying about grad applications.
I grow fast. And I doesn't worries about application. I laughs at yous who does.

Re: What types of grad school should I apply?

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 8:28 am
by guthria
Hi everyone,

I'm really sorry- my password to this forum was saved on my computer, and my friend thought it would be funny to post using my ID.

@Riley- I registered so that I could ask for some advice related to my grad applications. I PM'd a couple of people on these forums, and got some very good advice.

@qubit- I'm sorry - those comments were not meant to offend you. They were not meant to upset anyone except me!

I have now changed my password.

Thanks,
Guthria