Some tips for applying

  • This has become our largest and most active forum because the physics GRE is just one aspect of getting accepted into a graduate physics program.
  • There are applications, personal statements, letters of recommendation, visiting schools, anxiety of waiting for acceptances, deciding between schools, finding out where others are going, etc.

Post Reply
occamsshaver12
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2020 6:52 pm

Some tips for applying

Post by occamsshaver12 » Mon Dec 13, 2021 11:24 pm

Here is a post for prospective students containing some of the information I was given and I think everyone should know. Here are some other great advices: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=182004

1) Look at your profile realistically. I don't mean that you need to make a judgement whether you will get admitted or not, but just look at your profile and think what you could improve, what you would like to improve but can't and what is amazing about your profile. I applied to theoretical physics with an engineering undergrad, but I minimized the number of times my undergrad was mentioned in my profile. I did have other great things in my profile but obviously this was big negative. However, during the three interviews I had no one brought this up. It is as if they didn't even register the fact I didn't do my undergrad in Physics. They had my transcripts so they knew about my undergrad, but I guess minimizing the number of times I mentioned my undergrad allowed them to look at my positives and focus on it. And I think you can make calls like this if you are fully aware of how your profile is, both good and bad.
2) Include even the smallest (but relevant) achievement in your CV or SOP.
3) For SOP, this is the post you should read. viewtopic.php?f=24&t=182003&p=256794#p256794. I learned some of the things mentioned in this post the hard way.
4) Do not apply to schools based on ranking. You will most likely set yourself up for failure. I understand sometimes it is hard to not to think this way, and I think the reason we end up thinking this way is because by not exclusively applying to high ranking schools we think we are admitting that we might not be good enough, which is most likely not true. Also, you have no idea what these good but not great ranking schools have to offer because you don't want to give them a chance. You should also understand that your potential advisors are people who are looking for someone to work with for the next 5 years and people in your field will associate your advisor to you. So they want people genuinely interested in them, not the ranking of the university. And they can see through it, so by mainly thinking about the ranking you might actually be lowering your chances.
5) Email professors. Just have a friendly chat with them via email where you mention you like their work, you want to work with them and if they are taking any students. Always ask professors if they are taking students so you don't apply to places where they are not even taking students in your sub field.
6) Letters can greatly increase your chances (maybe even get you an admittance) of getting in if it is written by someone known in the field and they write you a good letter. So try to do research and have good relations with your advisor.
7) Check your spam folder!
8 Use grammarly to check for spelling mistakes. But if you do end up making a spelling mistake, it is alright. If a program is not willing to admit you based on a spelling mistake, you don't want to spend 5 years of your life there. But tbh, no one cares.
Last edited by occamsshaver12 on Tue Dec 14, 2021 12:03 pm, edited 2 times in total.

geekusprimus
Posts: 144
Joined: Sat Jun 08, 2019 1:10 pm

Re: Some tips for applying

Post by geekusprimus » Tue Dec 14, 2021 1:10 am

6) Letters can greatly increase your chances (maybe even get you an admittance) of getting in if it is written by someone known in the field and they write you a good letter. So try to do research and have good relations with your advisor.
I can't emphasize this enough: get letters from professors affiliated with your research projects, not your coursework. I'm a fellow grad student, not an admissions official, but think about putting yourself in the shoes of an admissions committee. You already have access to an applicant's transcripts. Unless you already know the professor pretty well or did some really outstanding project in the class, what is a letter from your quantum mechanics professor going to tell the committee that they don't already know?

Also, having a letter written not just by a research mentor, but by a mentor in the field you're applying for, is absolutely invaluable. I only applied to a handful of schools during my admissions cycle, so take this with a grain of salt, but the one school on my list that rejected me was the only school where my advisor's name would have had no weight at all. He's not a famous researcher by any stretch of the imagination, but he's well connected in my field and has a reputation for good work. Having someone like that able and willing to vouch for you can be a substantial boost to your application.

occamsshaver12
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2020 6:52 pm

Re: Some tips for applying

Post by occamsshaver12 » Tue Dec 14, 2021 11:47 am

And to add to what geekusprimus said, I believe there are two kind of students who apply. One kind are those when you look at their profile, you know they will do well. They have utilized every opportunity that came their way, it doesn't matter if they came from an unknown undergrad university, you see their profile and you know they are driven and will do best. These are the kind of students who get admitted into almost every university they apply even if they came from nowhere or if they didn't have research experience. Then there are students, which constitutes the majority and probably includes you too, who are great but their CV is not dripping with a million scholarships. Since most of the students belong to this category, your letter becomes important because it acts like a stamp of approval. So if you work with someone whose approval has value, your chances increases. And the corollary to this is, apply to places where your advisor is known. While I don't like the idea of safeties, these places will be your "safeties". I think I read a profile on this site where a student who had a GPA like 2.8 or something, and had taken a longer time to finish their undergrad but one of their research advisors was a professor emeritus, and they got into an amazing university. It goes to show how much your letter can help you. In my opinion, however bad you think your profile is, getting a good letter from the right professor will make all the weaknesses of your profile irrelevant.

If you read any profile where you think they don't have a "great" profile but got accepted by a great university, there is a letter which worked in their favor.



Post Reply