You might consider a graduate program in physics

if…• You enjoy doing research• You enjoy teaching• You want to be a professor• You want a research job in industry or a

national lab• You want to learn more physics• You don’t mind being poor for 5+ years• You want to be a specialist in your field

How to apply to grad school• Make a list of schools to apply to. Consider:

– Geographic location– Interests of the faculty (if you know what yours are)

• Make sure it’s not just one person!

– Quality of the department– Going to a different school than for your

undergraduate degree– Application deadlines!

• Explore these things online:– At the webpages of schools– At gradschoolshopper.com (run by AIP)– AIP website (aip.org)

Recommendations

• Ask for recommendations EARLY– And be organized: give each referee a folder

containing forms, pre-addressed envelopes, & a to-do list

• Customize referees to institutions, when possible (e.g. if you know someone who attended or worked there)

• Stay within parameters of applications (if they say 3-5 letters, don’t send 7 or 2!)

Tests

• Register for the GRE (General & Physics) sufficiently early– Physics GRE in October & November: later date

may be too late for some deadlines– General GRE (computer-based) has rolling

administration

• Give plenty of prep time for Physics;– seek out study groups or review sessions for

practice– Look for patterns in sample questions (e.g.

positronium)!

The essay

• DO– Reflect your research

experience, style, and preferences

– Be confident: this is an advertisement!

– Introduce relevant material that makes you stand out (not necessarily physics, but transferable)

• DON’T– Lie or exaggerate– State things about

yourself without data (“peacock terms” in Wikipedia)

– Be arrogant or egotistical– Discuss unrelated topics– Be emotionally loaded

Once you get in, how do you decide?

• Visiting weekend– Talk to both professors and students (and

postdocs if you might work with them)– Realize that they’re being way nice to you &

calibrate– Consider the campus & surroundings (you have to

live there 5+ years)– Get contacts for further questions– Get a “feel” for how people interact in the

department: is it collegial? Antagonistic?

Ask about (in no particular order)

• Housing, • health care, • transportation, • athletic facilities, • student life, • departmental resources, • qualifying exams,• course requirements,• Your special needs (family, childcare, spouse/partner

support, disabilities, etc.)• AAAH!!!

Moral:

Graduate school involves your whole life for a significant fraction of its duration (~20%). Choose a school and environment that fit

your entire life, not just your professional life!