WalterSobchak

As much as I LOVE Southern California, I'd go to Cornell. Also, Ithaca is a very underrated place to live. (It's actually quite beautiful and the cost of living is far from outrageous for a college town) edit: I should add that I lived in Ithaca for five years.

Sorry to hear that, but fear not, once you get an official acceptance letter from the graduate school (one that was actually intended for you and not someone else), I think you are good to go.

Thanks to everyone for the kind words. I got into Columbia and Vanderbilt, so I'm over it

Hello, all. So, I am a prospective medical physics graduate student for the fall of 2015 and I have been accepted into two of my top four choices: The 2 year M.S. program in Medical Physics at Columbia and the four year DMP (Professional Doctorate of Medical Physics) program at Vanderbilt. Both programs would require massive student loans and both would be extremely expensive. Also, from everything I can gather, both programs have stellar reputations. To those of you familiar with the medical physics field and with the prospects of the somewhat uncommon DMP degree in particular, do you think the guaranteed residency is worth taking out loans for an extra two years? What would an M.S. graduate from Columbia's program do with his/her life if he/she didn't get into a residency program? Are there "junior" medical physicist jobs available for such unfortunate souls? etc, etc. Any information from people currently in the field would be greatly appreciated. One additional concern I have is that I will be turning 30 this coming summer. I need to get my career going. The biggest thing that worries me about the DMP is the extra two years and having to go even further into debt for a residency experience that I would be paid for elsewhere. The biggest thing that worries me about the Master's program is that admission into medical physics residencies is absurdly competitive, and without a CAMPEP accredited residency, one can not become a board certified medical physicist. Thanks in advance.

I lived in Ithaca from fall 2003 - spring 2008 (undergrad at Cornell). I loved it. Wegmans >>>>>> The math department is in Mallot Hall. It's kind of right between the ag quad and the arts quad. If I remember correctly, the Bus stops very close (less than a 5 minute walk for sure) to Mallot Hall Edit: The Bus goes right down the center of campus (right down University Ave)

Hello, friends. I registered just to share my horror story with all of you. Last Monday (February 9th), I received an email from the program director of Duke University's Medical Physics program congratulating me on being "recommended for admission" by the "Medical Physics Admissions Committee" to the M.S. program in medical physics. Furthermore, the email (along with an additional email from someone else in the department) formally invited me to participate in an open house for admitted medical physics students being held on the weekend of March 6th - a trip that was to be fully paid for by Duke (up to $500). I was even sent a formal itinerary for the open house and I was explicitly encouraged to make travel arrangements (in my case, book plane tickets) ASAP in order to keep the cost of the trip to a minimum. I was incredibly excited because Duke was one of my top choices. I told my parents. I told my girlfriend. I immediately booked a round-trip, non-refundable (after 24 hours) plane ticket. After all, I was in . . . Right? WRONG. Five days later, I received a short email from the same program director explaining to me that the graduate school had decided NOT to heed the recommendation of the Medical Physics Admission Committee and that the decision was final. So . . . it can happen.