My Advice to International Students
Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2021 11:37 am
As an international student involved in many applications, I want to share my experience to the future applicants. This may discourage you however so take it with a grain of salt!
If you studied in a US school although you are international then your chances are same as with a domestic student.
Otherwise, as an international student your chances are not that great. Statistics show that a domestic student who has about the same qualifications with you has %50 more chances. (Unless you are female).
If your major was not physics and if you are directly applying to PhD (especially to a theoretical position) then don't bother applying . (One exception is if you have an engineering background and you are applying for an applied physics/experimental position)
If you have master's degree in physics in US, then your chances are mehh. If you have master's degree in physics outside US, then your chances are less then mehh.
If you are from India or China then PGRE score less than 900 means rejection. (Unless you are female).
If you dont have a published paper or a research experience then dont bother applying even if your scores are great. One thing people do is to join a research group and have their names on a random paper, just do a similar thing.
Admission committee do not know and care how good your school is in your country. To them, it is just a low-quality non-US random school.
If you are from China then try to apply for a Chineese PI. Similar for other countries. I am sorry but this is the reality . If you want an evidence take a look the following page https://sites.brown.edu/xiaolab/people/
If you studied in a US school although you are international then your chances are same as with a domestic student.
Otherwise, as an international student your chances are not that great. Statistics show that a domestic student who has about the same qualifications with you has %50 more chances. (Unless you are female).
If your major was not physics and if you are directly applying to PhD (especially to a theoretical position) then don't bother applying . (One exception is if you have an engineering background and you are applying for an applied physics/experimental position)
If you have master's degree in physics in US, then your chances are mehh. If you have master's degree in physics outside US, then your chances are less then mehh.
If you are from India or China then PGRE score less than 900 means rejection. (Unless you are female).
If you dont have a published paper or a research experience then dont bother applying even if your scores are great. One thing people do is to join a research group and have their names on a random paper, just do a similar thing.
Admission committee do not know and care how good your school is in your country. To them, it is just a low-quality non-US random school.
If you are from China then try to apply for a Chineese PI. Similar for other countries. I am sorry but this is the reality . If you want an evidence take a look the following page https://sites.brown.edu/xiaolab/people/