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Physicsisphysics

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Everything posted by Physicsisphysics

  1. Check the thread below, that's the one for this year!!
  2. Hoping it's today and not next Friday...any guess what time, since it's past 8:30 AM CT?
  3. Also nervously waiting. Hoping we hear back this week!
  4. There's not many stats on the Ford in general. But there's a press release of all the winners from last year (http://nrc58.nas.edu/FordFellows20/ExtRpts/PressReleaseRoster.aspx?RptMode=AW&CompYr=2019&Layout=wwwLibs%2fUtil_Web%2fPageLayouts%2fApplPrintLayout) which you can browse.
  5. It's kind of annoying a lot of visits are cancelled. It certainly is for the best, but it doesn't make things any easier!
  6. Does anybody have any idea when we should hear back? I read at some point, and I'm unsure how accurate this is, that they only release results on Tuesday and Thursday. Is this true?
  7. Oh wow, that's really selective. At least it's higher than the Soros...I think this year the acceptance rate is about 1.5%. Fingers crossed for all of us!
  8. Yeah! I wish there was more talk about fellowships other than the GRFP, but of course, the Ford is targeted towards an entirely different audience. By the way, does anybody know what the acceptance rate is for the Ford? I'm sure it's selective, but I have no clue and couldn't find anything online!
  9. Still waiting as well! I emailed them and they said decisions will go out in late March to early April.
  10. Hey y'all! So I've been waiting on some fellowship decisions (NDSEG, Ford, and a few others), and I've been fortunate enough to hear some good news from some grad schools, a couple of which are well-known in the field. Would it be wise to contact the fellowship offices and to tell them this information? Would it help my application at all?
  11. Hey! Great to see other people who have applied ☺️. I agree with you, a lot of these national fellowships really have some steep requirements if you're an undergrad: you need to have a clear idea of what you want to do and study. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I've read how these fellowships can give you pretty significant leverage when it comes to grad admissions. We'll know soon enough, the coordinator said decisions should be out around mid-March.
  12. Anybody else apply to this fellowship?
  13. Wow, less than 10%! I thought the acceptance rate would be higher since the NPSC doesn't seem to be as well-known as all the other fellowships. Do you know when we should expect to hear back?
  14. I'm really nervous and stressed about my apps. I've been working on them non-stop since May, since I got back my physics GRE score from the April administration and found out I didn't do so hot. I re-took and didn't do any better. I'm decently confident in my app, but every so often I just get deeply worried, stressed, and anxious that all my four years of work might mean nothing to my dream schools because of this one test. Literally been working on trying to optimize every parameter of my app since May just because I'm so damn nervous and anxious. I don't think most people start until October.... IDK if anybody would be open to a chance me, but if so, just message me or check the GRE subforum where I posted my stats there.
  15. Hey! So I'm applying for Physics PhD programs. I'm currently a senior majoring in math & physics. Looking at competitive places (Harvard, MIT, Columbia, etc.) * GPA: 3.78 Overall, 3.72 in my major, 4.0 in my junior year overall * GRE: 163V/165Q/5.0AWA. Got a 780 on my physics GRE, which is my biggest worry ? * School: An Ivy * Years and quality of research experience: I've spent four and some years doing research. This includes research I did at a uni during sophomore year of high school, the summer between HS and college, every subsequent summer after, and research during the semester as well. I have 2 publications, one in the works, and several conference presentations, with several more in the works for this year. I've dipped my hands in a lot of hardware and software work, so I hope my background in different types of work makes me competitive. IDK how much this counts for, but all this work was done at Ivy+ places and national labs. * Work experience: I spent a year grading psets as an official grader for a math course. * Underrepresented status: Middle-eastern, first-gen, low-income, male * Interests: Very interested in low-energy particle and nuclear physics. The work I want to do bridges between AMO and traditional particle and nuclear physics. * Awards: Won some prestigious scholarships for being low-income, took classes in high school at an Ivy through a selective program, won some fellowships that have supported my work and that are specifically aimed at underrepresented students. * Misc: Also president of the physics club at my school and have done a lot of work on that which I plan to mention in my diversity statements. Also planning to give a big talk at my high school soon to discuss physics and possible future careers in the field. Applying to about 5 fellowships, and I've mentioned this on my apps where I've been asked to. I also attended a winter school this past year that is relevant to my field of study. * LoRs quality: Strong letters, all 3 are from my previous research mentors. Two are really big names in particle and nuclear, one is well-known in AMO. When possible, I try to submit a fourth from my current research advisor. Advisors are all from well-known institutions (all Ivy+ institutions) and some have done their grad/undergrad at Ivy+s as well. * Posters/Pubs: 2 small publications, 1 in prep on my senior thesis work. Have many poster/oral presentations at my school but also at international/national conferences. I have 4 more at my school this year and possible one national conference in the future. * Networking: I've been in contact with several faculty at the school, and I've stayed in touch. When possible, I've tried meeting them in person. Also taking a class at my school currently with someone who is pretty famous in the field I want to enter, and I've mentioned this on my apps. * SOP: Been drafting this for about 5 months now and have showed it to several professors, and I think it's at a good point - it conveys my previous experiences, what I've learned from them, what problems I overcame, how they led me to my current interests, and whom I'd like to work with. My dream schools are Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Columbia, Cornell, Brown, JHU, Duke. Reach is UMD. Matches are BU, Penn State. I know my app is good, but I'm just really, really worried about my physics GRE score...been eating at me for like the last few months, and I wonder if maybe the rest of my app can't make up for it.
  16. So the physics forum is completely dead, so I thought I'd post here for a chance me. I am applying this fall for admission in fall 2020. Here's the stats. Major: Math & Physics GPA: 3.79/4 Major GPA: 3.72/4. I had some Bs during frosh and soph year, but I focused on improving my study habits. I did way better in spring of 2nd year and got a 4.0 both semesters during junior year, which is when I also took my most rigorous coursework. Undergrad institution: Top 20 school, very prestigious, well-regarded in physics GRE: Haven't taken yet Physics GRE: 780/990 (retaking this fall) Research experiences: 0) I did some research in HS at a university with some friends for the science fair, and we got a peer-reviewed publication out in a small journal. 1) Spent summer after HS senior year doing work at a plasma lab. It was an internship for high schoolers, so I didn't get hands-on experience. Good experience, and got a poster presentation at the end of the program. 2) Spent summer between freshman and sophomore year at my school researching, worked with that professor during sophomore spring and junior year. No pubs, but it's a new lab, and got a lot of hands-on experience and understand what it's like setting up equipment and starting a new lab. I got a ton of hardware experience too, and I plan on emphasizing that in my SoP. I like the PI and he's also agreed to write a good letter. As part of program and course requirements, I did a few presentations with this PI, but far from a national conference or anything big. 3) Spent summer between sophomore and junior year at prestigious West Coast school with a well-known faculty member, getting a publication from that in an undergrad journal. Really liked the experience and PI has agreed to write a really strong letter. I did an oral presentation at the end of the summer. 4) Spending this summer at another well-regarded West Coast school doing some computational work. Part of the program involves attending two national conferences and three presentations. 5) I'll be researching with a new profesor this upcoming year for a senior thesis. Hopefully will be able to attend some more conferences, and we've already got a good working relationship. I will be asking professors 2, 3, 4, and 5 for recommendations hopefully. Awards/Honors: Attended an optics winter school, got a 4 year scholarship to my school for being FGLI, won a smaller scholarship to pay for expenses, and got fellowships each summer to support my work. Also got a fellowship to support my junior and senior academic-year work. Jobs: Worked as a course grader for one year in a STEM department. Other and Misc.: Doing short independent reading this summer. Extremely involved with my school's SPS and am currently president and have helped jump start a lot of new initiatives. Will be taking a graduate level class this year with a faculty who's well-known in my subfield of physics. I am also in the process of contacting faculty at schools I'm applying to. I'm trying to contact people doing work that interests me, and I plan to follow up with them in the fall and let them know I've applied. So questions I have: Is 4 letters recommended? Also, all my research has been in many disparate areas. My HS work was in chemistry, my earlier college work was in AMO and hardware, then I did quantum networking, and now computational work. And I want to pivot to a new subfield. I plan on asking my recommenders to address that and pose it as a strength; I've done a lot of different things, demonstrating my flexibility and ability to adapt to new challenges. Furthermore, since the field I want to enter is interdisciplinary, I plan on selling that in the statement. How is my profile, overall? I don't know what else to do other than draft my SOP, keep working, and take the GRE and physics GRE. Am I overly worried?
  17. So the physics forum is completely dead, so I thought I'd post here for a chance me. I am applying this fall for admission in fall 2020. Here's the stats. Major: Math & Physics GPA: 3.79/4 Major GPA: 3.72/4. I had some Bs during frosh and soph year, but I focused on improving my study habits. I did way better in spring of 2nd year and got a 4.0 both semesters during junior year, which is when I also took my most rigorous coursework. Undergrad institution: Top 20 school, very prestigious, well-regarded in physics GRE: Haven't taken yet Physics GRE: 780/990 (retaking this fall) Research experiences: 0) I did some research in HS at a university with some friends for the science fair, and we got a peer-reviewed publication out in a small journal. 1) Spent summer after HS senior year doing work at a plasma lab. It was an internship for high schoolers, so I didn't get hands-on experience. Good experience, and got a poster presentation at the end of the program. 2) Spent summer between freshman and sophomore year at my school researching, worked with that professor during sophomore spring and junior year. No pubs, but it's a new lab, and got a lot of hands-on experience and understand what it's like setting up equipment and starting a new lab. I got a ton of hardware experience too, and I plan on emphasizing that in my SoP. I like the PI and he's also agreed to write a good letter. As part of program and course requirements, I did a few presentations with this PI, but far from a national conference or anything big. 3) Spent summer between sophomore and junior year at prestigious West Coast school with a well-known faculty member, getting a publication from that in an undergrad journal. Really liked the experience and PI has agreed to write a really strong letter. I did an oral presentation at the end of the summer. 4) Spending this summer at another well-regarded West Coast school doing some computational work. Part of the program involves attending two national conferences and three presentations. 5) I'll be researching with a new profesor this upcoming year for a senior thesis. Hopefully will be able to attend some more conferences, and we've already got a good working relationship. I will be asking professors 2, 3, 4, and 5 for recommendations hopefully. Awards/Honors: Attended an optics winter school, got a 4 year scholarship to my school for being FGLI, won a smaller scholarship to pay for expenses, and got fellowships each summer to support my work. Also got a fellowship to support my junior and senior academic-year work. Jobs: Worked as a course grader for one year in a STEM department. Other and Misc.: Doing short independent reading this summer. Extremely involved with my school's SPS and am currently president and have helped jump start a lot of new initiatives. Will be taking a graduate level class this year with a faculty who's well-known in my subfield of physics. I am also in the process of contacting faculty at schools I'm applying to. I'm trying to contact people doing work that interests me, and I plan to follow up with them in the fall and let them know I've applied. So questions I have: Is 4 letters recommended? Also, all my research has been in many disparate areas. My HS work was in chemistry, my earlier college work was in AMO and hardware, then I did quantum networking, and now computational work. And I want to pivot to a new subfield. I plan on asking my recommenders to address that and pose it as a strength; I've done a lot of different things, demonstrating my flexibility and ability to adapt to new challenges. Furthermore, since the field I want to enter is interdisciplinary, I plan on selling that in the statement. How is my profile, overall? I don't know what else to do other than draft my SOP, keep working, and take the GRE and physics GRE. Am I overly worried?
  18. Hey! Prospective physics applicant. Looking to apply to MIT Converge this fall to visit MIT. Has anybody done the program? If so, how was it?
  19. Hey! Recently got a 780 on my physics GRE. How strong is this score for competitive programs, considering my application/profile? Profile: 3.79 GPA Majoring in math & physics at an Ivy, on track for Latin honors 4 years of research, 1 publication out right now, 1 pending, and some acknowledgements on another URM: first-gen, low-income, racial minority I'm looking to do experimental physics, no theory for me. Will be retaking the physics GRE, but overall, how competitive will I be?
  20. Hey! So I'll be applying to grad schools this fall. Trying to make a list of schools that do tabletop fundamental physics experiments, e.g. microsphere levitation, atomic clock dark matter detection, etc. So here's the schools I'm considering that have (some) faculty doing this kind of research I want, I didn't list everyone: MIT: Winslow, Conrad UChicago: Collar Northwestern: Geraci, Gabrielse, Kovachy, everyone else at CFP Stanford: Gratta, Kapuitulnk, Irwin Columbia: Karagiorgi Princeton: Romalis Caltech: Hutzler I'm also looking to apply to Harvard, Brown, and UPenn, but I haven't been able to find people that really hone in on this subfield I want to work in. Does anybody know people in this field or schools that are strong in tabletop fundamental physics? I'm also interested in intersections with quantum info. science if that helps.
  21. So I got my physics GRE score back. I got a 780, which I'm happy with, but will it be competitive enough for schools like Harvard/MIT/Caltech? My profile: 3.76 GPA Majoring in mathematics and physics at an Ivy 4 years of research experience since senior year of high school, 2-3 publications URM: racial minority, first-gen, low-income, QuestBridge Scholar
  22. So I got my physics GRE score back. I got a 780, which I'm happy with, but will it be competitive enough for schools like Harvard/MIT/Caltech? My profile: 3.76 GPA Majoring in mathematics and physics at an Ivy 4 years of research experience since senior year of high school, 2-3 publications URM: racial minority, first-gen, low-income, QuestBridge Scholar
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