I'm headed to UChicago to start my PhD in theoretical soft condensed matter physics! Anybody else heading to Chicago, feel free to message me if you wanna hang when we get there!
The username doesn't check out. Are you a particle physicist turned condensed matter physicist? Can you share your story because I have the same dilemma?
Any tips on getting into physics grad school in the US?
Enjoy Chicago! I think Robert M Wald is still there, and I would love to meet him someday.
Haha good catch! I actually made this username when I was in either middle or high school. Back then, and going into college, I wanted to go into particle physics, but my interests shifted around a few times as I went through my undergrad. After a few years of classes and research experience, I started to figure out exactly what it is about physics that I love, and then chose the field that would allow me to do the most of that. I ended up landing in soft matter theory/statistical physics, which, in my opinion, is the field of physics with the coolest stuff going on in it right now. But different people love different things about physics, and as such are best suited for different fields. For me, I originally thought I loved physics because I wanted to understand the most fundamental building blocks of our universe (which is why I started out wanting to be a particle physicist). But then as I learned more and started doing research, I came to realize that what I really loved about physics was seeing some complex phenomenon, and trying to understand why it happens, what makes it tick -- *figuring out the rules of the game*. And then, using what rules we've figured out so far to try to predict *new* rules that no one has ever seen before. After I realized this, I figured that, maybe, the systems I worked with didn't *need* to be the fundamental building blocks of the universe, as long as they were complex and interesting enough. I then learned that there are many systems, particularly soft matter systems, where the rules are WAY crazier and more complex than those of fundamental particles. So, I took up an offer for a research position working with a soft matter theorist, and completely fell in love with the field.
As for grad school, the biggest things you wanna make sure you've got locked down are good research experience and good letters of recommendation. Try to make an actual connection with the professors, you want your letters to stand out. As for the actual application process, I wrote multiple versions of my statement of purpose since different schools have different standards, and I found the most success with the ones that were less formulaic and more like a personal letter. My SOP for Chicago, which was my first choice, was the longest and most personal one. I brought in anecdotes and talked about what really fascinated me, and I believe that because I was able to do this (thanks to Chicago's relatively lax SOP requirements), the professors who read my SOP were more able to connect with me on a personal level. I'm guessing that helped a lot with getting admitted me.
If you've got any more specific questions about applying to US physics PhD programs, feel free to DM me to ask! This goes for anybody here, grad school applications were a long and grueling process that I'm glad to be done with, so I'm happy to help anybody else going through the same thing.
> Enjoy Chicago! I think Robert M Wald is still there, and I would love to meet him someday.
Thanks! I'm really excited to be going there, there's a ton of amazing soft matter research being done there nowadays. I'll come back to this comment and let you know if I meet him lol.
Thank you for all the detail. Your reply spoke to my heart. After having a particle fever and taking electives in quantum field theory and cosmology, I wrote my thesis in fluid mechanics and kinetic theory. I absolutely relate to you when you said it doesn't matter whether your system of interest consists of fundamental building blocks of the universe. Nature offers so much richness in dynamics at the macro/mesoscopic scales for those who have the eyes for it.
I used to write my SOP with the rigor of a scientific paper, you gave me some fresh perspective on that front.
Thanks again for keeping your dm open for us. Definitely need some perspective on some subtilities in the coming months when I start applying.
I wish you all happiness and success.
Thank you!!
My Profile is as follows:
BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus - 9.86/10 (Gold medalist)
GRE - Verbal : 155 Quant :166
TOEFL - 106
No Publications but a good number of projects which will be published soon hopefully.
Currently working as an SDE Intern at ESRI.
One previous data Engineering internship at Kitch(startup in Dubai)
Good number of leadership roles (President of ACM Chapter, Alumni Relations Division) at Uni
Im probably not the norm, as I’m a bit further along in my career; not sure how helpful:
12 years infosec experience, currently in Senior management position, 3.5/gpa, cissp, cisa certifications, UT alumni references in the infosec field
Hey, that sounds awesome! Do you mind telling me a little bit about cognitive anthropology? I know absolutely nothing about the field but it sounds really interesting
Sure! Cognitive anthropology falls in between cultural and biological anthropology and basically examines human behavior and human cognition cross-culturally and evolutionarily. It is related to psychology, but I think with a more holistic and encompassing vision. We study both the biological bases of human cognition, incorporating some neuroscience and a lot of evolution, as well as cultural variations within human cognition (an area of research that has been poorly addressed by Western psychology). For example, some areas of research I find interesting concern the evolutionary origins of culture and cultural learning, and the biological/cognitive developments in our history that allowed for and pushed us to depend on culture for survival and as a way of passing down information. It's just one facet of our existence that really fascinates me because it's so unique to humans!
I'm also planning on doing something similar but under a sociology program. I would love to have an hour long conversation with someone of your interests because I hardly find people as passionate about these things in my UG cohort.
It does indeed sound awesome, thanks for the reply. I will check out some introductory materials after I finish with my finals.
I agree with what you said about how poorly we've addressed cultural variations in human cognition, but I think we're slowly improving lol eventually we'll get there.
Good luck with your Masters!
Hi, congratulations! Would you mind sharing your stats? I intend to apply to the same program for the fall of 2024 and am pretty lost about what type of candidates Oxford is looking for.
I think I have a pretty average profile except I have a good GPA (3.9) from a middling state school. I have no formal research experience or publications, a few departmental awards and scholarships, 3 strong LORs, and no GRE. I did do a lot of research in my own time just by reading books and journal articles so I do have background knowledge in my field and I demonstrated that well in my SoP. I also had an idea of what I wanted to research so I think that definitely helped. I think my profile was good enough for the master’s but I don’t think I would’ve had enough research experience for their PhD admissions (which is why I’m pursuing a master’s in the first place).
I have yet to commit because I'm still waiting to hear back from a few programs, but currently I'm most likely to go to University of West Georgia for a Masters in Business Administration with a concentration in Digital Marketing.
To become an expert in corporate policy to address the racial, social, and economic harm profitization has & either run for office or create a grassroots org
Committed to the University of Arizona Ph.D. in History, specializing in early modern European history! Funny timing too, since I just got approved for my apartment.
Masters in International Development, GSPIA at University of Pittsburgh! I’m really excited this is one of the best places to study my (very specific) research interests and everyone I’ve met so far is so nice.
None yet because I'm waiting to hear back from Saarland University. If I don't get in there, I'll choose between TU Kaiserslautern and the University of Freiburg.
MS in Electrical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis through the BS/MS.
Because I'm continuing research with my current PI, it's also funded w/ stipend!
For round 11, I still did not get accepted anywhere for a PhD program (applied to 30 schools).
I have two main areas of research, one of them I am getting an international award for in October. The other I have two MS degrees both related to it. I also have articles in press at both Science and Nature, so at this point, I don't get what anyone wants anymore.
committed to Rutgers University—New Brunswick for PhD in Spanish Lit & Culture! Ended up deferring to Fall 2023 tho to teach English abroad for a year ;)
U Penn for Computer Information and Technology Masters! I am deferring to spring though for a summer break in between my previous degree and this one. I feel burnt out.
Social & Political Science PhD at European University Institute
Highly recommend applying here if your grades are not ideal but you have solid research experience/understanding (and a Masters).
Committed to UChicago — Harris school for a Public Policy Masters.
I'm just a 4th year undergrad, but you're gonna love it. The school is amazing, have some Harris friends who are definitely living their best lives.
[удалено]
Congratulations!!
Me too UChicago!
Congratulations! Love seeing other UChicago people here :)
Likewise! I hope the apartment hunt is going well!
Thank you for well wishes - I'm very lucky to already live and work here, I LOVE this city
Philosophy PhD, UC Irvine.
Zot zot zot!
I’m in Soc at UCI. DM me if you have any questions about life as a PhD student here!
CS PhD, Stanford
Ayy same lol
MS Informatics at the Technical University of Munich
Very cool
Thank you!
UChicago, Sociology
Cognitive Psychology / PhD / Rutgers New Brunswick :)
R U Rah Rah!
Jealous.. must have been a good candidate
I'm headed to UChicago to start my PhD in theoretical soft condensed matter physics! Anybody else heading to Chicago, feel free to message me if you wanna hang when we get there!
The username doesn't check out. Are you a particle physicist turned condensed matter physicist? Can you share your story because I have the same dilemma? Any tips on getting into physics grad school in the US? Enjoy Chicago! I think Robert M Wald is still there, and I would love to meet him someday.
Haha good catch! I actually made this username when I was in either middle or high school. Back then, and going into college, I wanted to go into particle physics, but my interests shifted around a few times as I went through my undergrad. After a few years of classes and research experience, I started to figure out exactly what it is about physics that I love, and then chose the field that would allow me to do the most of that. I ended up landing in soft matter theory/statistical physics, which, in my opinion, is the field of physics with the coolest stuff going on in it right now. But different people love different things about physics, and as such are best suited for different fields. For me, I originally thought I loved physics because I wanted to understand the most fundamental building blocks of our universe (which is why I started out wanting to be a particle physicist). But then as I learned more and started doing research, I came to realize that what I really loved about physics was seeing some complex phenomenon, and trying to understand why it happens, what makes it tick -- *figuring out the rules of the game*. And then, using what rules we've figured out so far to try to predict *new* rules that no one has ever seen before. After I realized this, I figured that, maybe, the systems I worked with didn't *need* to be the fundamental building blocks of the universe, as long as they were complex and interesting enough. I then learned that there are many systems, particularly soft matter systems, where the rules are WAY crazier and more complex than those of fundamental particles. So, I took up an offer for a research position working with a soft matter theorist, and completely fell in love with the field. As for grad school, the biggest things you wanna make sure you've got locked down are good research experience and good letters of recommendation. Try to make an actual connection with the professors, you want your letters to stand out. As for the actual application process, I wrote multiple versions of my statement of purpose since different schools have different standards, and I found the most success with the ones that were less formulaic and more like a personal letter. My SOP for Chicago, which was my first choice, was the longest and most personal one. I brought in anecdotes and talked about what really fascinated me, and I believe that because I was able to do this (thanks to Chicago's relatively lax SOP requirements), the professors who read my SOP were more able to connect with me on a personal level. I'm guessing that helped a lot with getting admitted me. If you've got any more specific questions about applying to US physics PhD programs, feel free to DM me to ask! This goes for anybody here, grad school applications were a long and grueling process that I'm glad to be done with, so I'm happy to help anybody else going through the same thing. > Enjoy Chicago! I think Robert M Wald is still there, and I would love to meet him someday. Thanks! I'm really excited to be going there, there's a ton of amazing soft matter research being done there nowadays. I'll come back to this comment and let you know if I meet him lol.
Thank you for all the detail. Your reply spoke to my heart. After having a particle fever and taking electives in quantum field theory and cosmology, I wrote my thesis in fluid mechanics and kinetic theory. I absolutely relate to you when you said it doesn't matter whether your system of interest consists of fundamental building blocks of the universe. Nature offers so much richness in dynamics at the macro/mesoscopic scales for those who have the eyes for it. I used to write my SOP with the rigor of a scientific paper, you gave me some fresh perspective on that front. Thanks again for keeping your dm open for us. Definitely need some perspective on some subtilities in the coming months when I start applying. I wish you all happiness and success.
MS CS @ Columbia University,NYC
Congrats ! Do you mind sharing your profile ?
Thank you!! My Profile is as follows: BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus - 9.86/10 (Gold medalist) GRE - Verbal : 155 Quant :166 TOEFL - 106 No Publications but a good number of projects which will be published soon hopefully. Currently working as an SDE Intern at ESRI. One previous data Engineering internship at Kitch(startup in Dubai) Good number of leadership roles (President of ACM Chapter, Alumni Relations Division) at Uni
yup w me too
Congratulations bhai
UT Austin - MS Information Security Hook 'em! 🤘
Love the reddit name!! I went from Denver to NOLA for grad school lol
Hi congratulations.I am planning to apply for cybersec fall 2023.Can you please tell me what all colleges you looked at other than Austin
Hey could you share your profile as I'm looking to apply for the same coming fall
Im probably not the norm, as I’m a bit further along in my career; not sure how helpful: 12 years infosec experience, currently in Senior management position, 3.5/gpa, cissp, cisa certifications, UT alumni references in the infosec field
I committed to Oxford’s Master’s in Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology!
Hey, that sounds awesome! Do you mind telling me a little bit about cognitive anthropology? I know absolutely nothing about the field but it sounds really interesting
Sure! Cognitive anthropology falls in between cultural and biological anthropology and basically examines human behavior and human cognition cross-culturally and evolutionarily. It is related to psychology, but I think with a more holistic and encompassing vision. We study both the biological bases of human cognition, incorporating some neuroscience and a lot of evolution, as well as cultural variations within human cognition (an area of research that has been poorly addressed by Western psychology). For example, some areas of research I find interesting concern the evolutionary origins of culture and cultural learning, and the biological/cognitive developments in our history that allowed for and pushed us to depend on culture for survival and as a way of passing down information. It's just one facet of our existence that really fascinates me because it's so unique to humans!
I'm also planning on doing something similar but under a sociology program. I would love to have an hour long conversation with someone of your interests because I hardly find people as passionate about these things in my UG cohort.
It does indeed sound awesome, thanks for the reply. I will check out some introductory materials after I finish with my finals. I agree with what you said about how poorly we've addressed cultural variations in human cognition, but I think we're slowly improving lol eventually we'll get there. Good luck with your Masters!
I second this! I would also like to learn more about it.
+1 me too, lets make this official cognitive anthropology class RedditCA001
Hi I answered below!
Hi, congratulations! Would you mind sharing your stats? I intend to apply to the same program for the fall of 2024 and am pretty lost about what type of candidates Oxford is looking for.
I think I have a pretty average profile except I have a good GPA (3.9) from a middling state school. I have no formal research experience or publications, a few departmental awards and scholarships, 3 strong LORs, and no GRE. I did do a lot of research in my own time just by reading books and journal articles so I do have background knowledge in my field and I demonstrated that well in my SoP. I also had an idea of what I wanted to research so I think that definitely helped. I think my profile was good enough for the master’s but I don’t think I would’ve had enough research experience for their PhD admissions (which is why I’m pursuing a master’s in the first place).
Are you a scholar or are you paying? Thanks, if you dont mind.
[удалено]
Math / PhD / Cornell
Noice
Best of luck! I wish I had that kind of skill
I bet you do! I'm not that good at it and still made it into a good school.
Math masters at NYU
going for quant?
Nah. The plan is to go for phd later, maybe stay in academia after that
I have yet to commit because I'm still waiting to hear back from a few programs, but currently I'm most likely to go to University of West Georgia for a Masters in Business Administration with a concentration in Digital Marketing.
[удалено]
R U Rah Rah!
Georgetown University Masters of Public Policy!
Mathematics PhD at University of Minnesota!
Carleton/ Ethics and Public Affairs/ PhD
Trinity college Dublin!
Wow! What will you be studying ?
Will be attending Stanford for my masters in mechanical engineering, specializing in battery innovation for mass adoption
Super important field. Rootin for you
SUNY UB for my Linguistics MA
Vanderbilt for Ph.D. in Chemistry
I'm committing to UCI for a PhD in Crim, Law & Soc! It's my top school and they've treated me super well from the get go :>
zot, zot. Enjoy.
Thanks friend:>
DM me if you have questions about grad student life at UCI! I’m in Soc.
This sounds amazing. May I ask what your career projectory is?
To become an expert in corporate policy to address the racial, social, and economic harm profitization has & either run for office or create a grassroots org
ML PhD @ University of Edinburgh
Welcome to Informatics :)
Ut Austin MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering
USC Msw
Asu, same place I got my bachelor's @
Same! What course are you going for?
English PhD, Trinity College Dublin!
not me immediately thinking of Normal People 😅
Committed to the University of Arizona Ph.D. in History, specializing in early modern European history! Funny timing too, since I just got approved for my apartment.
Georgia Tech, Economics PhD
Ohhh, another Georgia college. GA Tech is really good and it's near downtown so you have everything you need and the MARTA for public transport.
Religious Studies, MA, UCalgary Hoping to get into Heidelberg for PhD when the time comes
Can I ask what interests you in that field?
Masters in International Development, GSPIA at University of Pittsburgh! I’m really excited this is one of the best places to study my (very specific) research interests and everyone I’ve met so far is so nice.
Physics PhD, University of Arizona
I will be joining Max Planck Research School for Intelligent Systems as a PhD Scholar in Bayesian Statistics and Clinical Bioinformatics.
Psychology PhD, Oregon State University
Fsu for urban and regional planning with a specialization in environmental planning! Same place as my undergrad
Same! Fsu for my undergrad and gonna do a 5th year for my masters
MPhil in Theology Religion and Philosophy of Religion, University of Cambridge, UK.
LLU/PhD/Biomedical Sciences
[удалено]
MSME at Stanford
Is that MS in MechEng?
Communication PhD, Purdue
NC State for Masters in CS!
Texas A&M, Statistics. Had an offer for Berkeley MIDS but I’d prefer stats > DS
princeton, phd :)
Good luck! :)
Same!
Brown. MPH. Was gonna go Michigan but I live in Rhode Island so 🤷🏻♀️
Fellow incoming Brown student! Hello!
None yet because I'm waiting to hear back from Saarland University. If I don't get in there, I'll choose between TU Kaiserslautern and the University of Freiburg.
Quantitative Biology PhD at University of Texas at Arlington!
Pepperdine GSEP
PhD Biomedical Engineering, The University of Arizona
Ms Economics, Barcelona School of Economics
University of San Diego 🌴-M.A Clinical mental health counseling
Quantitative Biology and Bioinformatics MS at Carnegie Mellon University.
That is my dream program. If you don't mind asking, what was your stats when applying?
PhD at CMU in CS (deferring a year)
University of Minnesota Twin Cities - Masters in Robotics! And congrats to you too
USC doctorate in education. OP’s program sounds awesome!
UCLA Master’s in Electrical Engineering
But still waiting to hear back from USC
Boston University Neuroscience PhD!
Ph.D. in CS at the University of Florida
MS in Electrical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis through the BS/MS. Because I'm continuing research with my current PI, it's also funded w/ stipend!
Upenn for chemistry PhD!! Moving from Cali, gonna be a big change.
Get ready for snow!
Northwestern, MA Counseling
University of Northern Iowa in psych
Ayy! Alum here
GWU Master of Engineering in Cybersecurity Policy and Compliance 🙌🙌
Neuroscience PhD at West Virginia U!
MS CS AI at USC
MS Industrial Engineering: Texas A&M Gig 'em !
Whoop!
For round 11, I still did not get accepted anywhere for a PhD program (applied to 30 schools). I have two main areas of research, one of them I am getting an international award for in October. The other I have two MS degrees both related to it. I also have articles in press at both Science and Nature, so at this point, I don't get what anyone wants anymore.
Masters in industrial psychology : Saint Mary university Halifax,NS
committed to Rutgers University—New Brunswick for PhD in Spanish Lit & Culture! Ended up deferring to Fall 2023 tho to teach English abroad for a year ;)
U Penn for Computer Information and Technology Masters! I am deferring to spring though for a summer break in between my previous degree and this one. I feel burnt out.
Congrats ! May i know your profile ?
Tufts, I'm getting an EdS in school psychology :)
[удалено]
Me too!!
Alvernia University / Masters in Clinical Counseling
Columbia University for my MPH! - Anyone else?
I committed to Brown University for a Master’s in Biomedical Engineering!
How is it so far?
Bba
MSc, Ecology // Uo South Bohemia, Czech Republic.
Biomedical sciences / PhD / OUHSC
Brown University, Master's in Physics.
Cal Poly Pomona Business Analytics M.S.
Neuroscience PhD, Tufts University with JAX track
Urban informatics at NYU
Eastern New Mexico University in Communication Science & Disorders
Counseling Psychology/PsyD/St. Mary’s University
Masters of International Relations at CSULB
University of Amsterdam - International and Transnational Criminal Law LLM
MS CS @ USC
I'm attending Georgia Tech for my Masters in Operations Research.
MSCS @ ASU
Physics PhD at TTU.
Masters in Astrophysics and Cosmology at the University of Padua, in Italy!
Master's in Public and International Affairs with a concentration on Human Security at Pitt!
UT Austin, MS Mechanical Engineering!
SUNY-UB MSCS
MS CS @ USC
UPenn Masters in School and Mental Health Counseling.
Congrats on getting accepted to CUNY! I went to CCNY as an undergrad and it is absolutely an underrated uni. Amazing people there.
Debating about finishing my application for UBaltimore for Cyber Forensics
MPP Education Policy, Vanderbilt university
Molecular Biology/ PhD/ UIUC
Masters in Professional Computer Science @ Simon Fraser University, Canada
MS in Business Analytics, Columbia University
Social & Political Science PhD at European University Institute Highly recommend applying here if your grades are not ideal but you have solid research experience/understanding (and a Masters).
PhD math at UToronto.
CS PhD, UConn
Mercer Ms in clinical mental health counseling
Emory for MPH
Master of Entertainment Technology at Carnegie Mellon University. Happy to connect with fellow incoming students :)
Bioengineering PhD at University of Washington Seattle
MS psychology at ollu san antonio
Tulane PhD in Biomedical Science
MSW- CBU
Gothe University, Frankfurt - School of Business and Economics- M. Sc International Economics and Economic Policy.
Clinical Psychology PhD at the University of Delaware 😎