fiziks__

Yeah, I'll be there for Applied Physics!

I would say to keep continuing the conversation even when you feel like both of you had "made a decision." Although I am lucky that I actually am ending up in the same city as my girlfriend, before we knew that we would talk almost every two weeks about what our life plans were and how we envisioned those things playing out, whether we ended up in the same place or not. It just helped to know where we stood. When it was uncertain, it could be sad, it could be happy, and it was always a difficult conversation. But because we honestly communicated with each other there were know surprises and we were able to set realistic expectations.

Hello everyone. Now that I am accepted into a grad program I am already starting to think about fellowships for the next 5-6 years. I consider myself a conscientious objector, and would hope that I have enough opportunities in my career to do as little research as possible that supports military goals whether they be violent or not. I know that in the United States physics research is often supported by the military either through direct funding or some sort of facilities use, collaboration, etc. and am aware that this might not always be an option for me. Nonetheless, I am not yet ready to abandon my principles and would like to see what avenues exist for funding that are not connected to the military. I am trying to find Physics fellowships, especially those related to quantum information and computing or optics, that do not have direct ties to the military. Any leads?

Hello all, I have gotten an offer for my Ph. D. (yay!) that I will be accepting, and probably will be moving around the beginning of June to start working in the summer for a potential advisor. I am currently working full-time and now am trying to find the right time to quit my job and move out. It's hard to plan exactly when I leave my job without talking to my manager, but I don't want to let on too much too soon because I am due to collect a bonus check sometime in May, and I don't want to get the axe before that. That being said, the company is expanding rapidly and really busy, and take a long time to hire people. I don't want to blindside them and leave them short-handed. It's hard to keep it a secret in general because my manager has been really encouraging about my future career (he doesn't know that I applied to Ph.D.) and even encouraged me to look at other jobs that might allow for more advancement. If you were working full-time before heading off to your Ph.D., when and how did you tell your managers/bosses when you were leaving the job?

This might sound weird, but hear me out. I recently found an email from the career advisor at my undergrad in my spam inbox (Gmail). Now I am worried that I might have missed an important communication regarding my applications because it went to spam, and if it was over 30 days ago, I have no way of knowing. Would these communications be reflected in the application portals for UCLA, UIUC, Northwestern, University of Oregon, or University of Arizona? Am I just going crazy? Can you tell how much this whole waiting game is stressing out???

Still nothing, besides my one rejection.

Same boat for me. I heard one rejection and the rest are under review. One program hasn’t started sending anything back yet according to the results page, and the rest have seen a few admits. I talked to POIs at almost every university before submitting an application, so I’d hope that is the reason I haven’t been contacted for interviews. Keeping my fingers crossed and trying to just forget about it, but failing miserably lol.

unsure i just know he got an offer for PhD.

I know one person who got in.

Hey guys, I applied to a number of programs in physics for fall 2021 (UChicago, UO, UCLA, UIUC) along with (Applied Physics, Northwestern) and (College of Optical Sciences, University of Arizona). I think I was a middle of the road applicant (3.26 GPA from Reed College) with a lot of research experience (undergrad thesis in quantum optics, Mat.Sci. paper published in Nat. Comm.) and three recommenders, all from research positions, willing to sing my praises. I graduated in 2020 and applied for 2021 so I could focus on my undergraduate thesis. Now im working as an electron microscopist in a semiconductor plant. I spoke to POIs at UChicago, UCLA, UIUC, and NW and attended the Winter School at UA in 2019 where I had a chance to speak with many professors. I emailed professors from UO and UA but never heard back. I didn't take any standardized test because of COVID. I got denied from UChicago, and haven't heard anything from anywhere else. Anyone else waiting it out? Anything you suggest doing to make it easier? best, fiziks_.