Can I get into grad school?

Graduate School
1

So I did an internship this past summer at UCSD which was really awesome in informing us about everything we would want to know about grad school (in addition to doing research). Obviously, I am currently an undergraduate and I just transferred from CC to Cal. I had a 3.8 when I transferred, but now I am expecting my GPA to drop now that I am in upper division physics courses (my major is physics).

During my internship, I was left with the impression that ANY grad school is very competitive and difficult to get into, since each school averages about 8 - 10 students per year (acceptance-wise). When I met with my major advisor, she told us that if we want to get into a top two-tier school, we need to get at least a 3.8 in both of our math and physics courses.

I am a single parent and I am part of DSP (disabled student program). I was also told that we need to do a year long internship to be able to have sufficient time to actually conduct research. Being my first semester, I am very overwhelmed and have absolutely no idea how all of this is going to be possible, on top of extra-curricular activities. As of right now, I am focusing on getting through the heavy course-load I am taking, however I am also considering my future as well.

I cannot help but get anxiety about actually getting into grad school, especially knowing that my GPA is going to drop. Is it a possibility that no school will accept me for grad school, even if I complete every necessary class? Or is it more like the fact that I can get into one, but it just won’t be a very “good” school? I am not so worried about the latter option. Will grad schools take into account that I got my degree at UC Berkeley, or is that going to be irrelevant to the decision making process?

After my internship, I was also left with the impression that if we don’t get good GRE scores, it can prevent us even more so than grades, and that even if I get accepted to grad school, if my GRE scores aren’t high enough, I will not receive free money for school.

I had high hopes of attending grad school before I took this internship, and now that it is over and done with, I feel like it is more and more unrealistic for me. I am a first generation college student, low-income, female in science, and a DSP student, (plus I’ve experienced several other disadvantages) and my educational journey thus far has been motivated by me overcoming obstacles, and it would mean the world to me to show my daughter that she can do whatever she wants no matter what. But I feel like I may have met my match here.

My worst case scenario is that I teach high school physics after getting a bachelor’s (of course after earning teaching credentials), which obviously isn’t horrible, but I would like to show my daughter what it is like to be a strong female leader. Another question is, what other things can I do besides teach, with a bachelor’s in physics? Are there ways to improve my chances of getting into a grad school, even after I’ve been rejected (i.e., if I wait a year or two to improve my CV by doing more research, etc)?

I really just need to know what to expect in the future and have a backup plan so that I can take care of my daughter the best I can in worst case scenarios.

2

First of all, congratulations for everything you have been able to accomplish so far. i don’t really know anything about graduate school for physics specifically, or what the graduate school competition landscape is today.

My advice is more to help you with your current state of anxiety about your future. It seems like you are trying to think about and solve all of the variables all at once rather than break things down and take one step at a time. Right now you are adjusting to your transfer and upper level courses. You don’t know whether your GPA will go down or not at this point in the term even. Try to break the process of getting to graduate school down into steps for your next few terms and get those steps accomplished. Then see where it takes you. You can’t predict at this moment how things will turn out, and that is scary. Keep working hard toward your goals, one step at a time, and see where it takes you.

3

@NaomiizMommy

First, you have to narrow down what you mean by “grad school.” I don’t think you mean “professional school” (law, medical, dental,…), but admission to PhD program is very different from admission to MS/MA program. It helps members here to answer your questions if they know what you want.

The first thing to do is to read the information re. grad programs on universities’ websites. Different schools have different requirements/rules/philosophies.

For PhD admissions, research experience, letters of recommendation, GPA, and GRE scores are important, more or less in that order.

For PhD programs, the info is mostly correct, except maybe for the number of students accepted. The number of students accepted depends on the size of the school, the size of the department, the availability of potential advisors, and most importantly, the availability of fund (which no one outside the department knows, nor can anyone predict).

Last year my D was admitted to a PhD program at Cal, along with 3 others. This was only her sub-field. The whole department (a large one at Cal) admitted about 30 people, about half of which matriculated. This year 7 were admitted to her sub-field (almost doubling).

The reason the GPA needs to be high is competitive nature of the admissions process. The pool of applicants is full of people with high GPA. You don’t have to have 4.0, but it’s difficult for ad. com. to admit an applicant with low GPA than others. Read this: https://people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~jrs/apply.html

The first thing to note is that grad admissions committees don’t care about “extra-curricular activities,” except when the activities are closely related to the field you’re applying for.

“At least a year long” research makes sense, and is possible. My D entered Cal as a freshman, and started her research the very next summer. Her research lasted until she graduated (in 3 years). To become a research assistant at Cal, you need to be proactive. Do not wait until the position is posted; by then it’s probably too late.

My D got her research position by talking to a professor after attending his presentation at a seminar. He didn’t have any position open, thus introduced her to another professor. This professor in turn introduced her to a post-doc he happened to talk to the day before (the post-doc was not this professor’s advisee) who was in need of an assistant. The position she got was never posted. She stayed with the research for almost 3 years, even after she graduated, then left to start her own.

From what I know, the funding has nothing to do with your GRE scores.

Note that decent PhD programs always fund students (tuition + health/dental insurance + 20K - 25K per 9 months of the academic year). Funding for MA/MS programs is less “generous” and depends largely on the program.

Best wishes to your journey.

4

Your mentors are correct in that most physics programs only take a relatively small number of PhD students each yer. That is because they make a commitment to funding them throughout their studies. In this case, funding means a stipend as @Pentaprism mentioned plus full tuition paid.

Yes, it is important to have research experience for a strong application to a PhD program but you have had some over the past summer and if you can get involved a bit more during the academic year (if your family obligations permit) then that should be sufficient.

Regarding grades, yes a high GPA and a very strong GRE is needed to get into the most selective programs but there are plenty of programs that you can likely get into which are very solid. I hate this idea of a “good school”. There are big programs and small programs, highly selective programs and less selective programs, “good” is a much more difficult concept. Many students in physics have this idea that the only PhD program worth attending is one of the 10 most selective. This is just not the case and if you limit yourself to applying only to those, then you are selling yourself short. In graduate school, it is probably more important who your thesis advisor is than the name of the university on your diploma. It is that advisor who helps you get that first job and after that it is up to you to make your career. I have been a physics professor for over 30 years at Illinois Tech and we are certainly not listed among the “top” physics programs in the country mainly because we are small compared to the most well known programs. However, my PhD students have never had a problem getting a job whether it is in industry, national lab or university. I can say the same for most of my colleagues. If you have a GPA above 3.4 or so you will be a good candidate for many PhD programs. Just make sure to apply to a few dream programs and at least one you would be happy attending which you are pretty sure would admit you. When choosing the programs you are applying to, make sure that they cover the areas of physics you find most interesting by looking up the faculty and seeing what they publish.

I would say that most graduate programs will take into account that you studied at UCB. This kind of undergraduate program requires you to take a full range of upper division courses and is an excellent preparation for a graduate program.

Finally, the American Physical Society has something called the [url="<a href=“http://www.apsbridgeprogram.org/%22%5DBridge%5B/url”>http://www.apsbridgeprogram.org/"]Bridge[/url] program which you would be absolutely eligible for as a first generation college student and member of an underrepresented group (women) in physics. This will get your name in front of many good programs if you have not been admitted to the programs you apply to. Honestly, if you are starting out with a 3.8 and finish with an overall GPA that is 3.4 or so, plenty of programs will be admitting you.

Bottom line, don’t stress out so much. Do your best with your courses and try to get as much research experience as possible so that you can get strong letters of recommendation. In a year when you start applying for PhD programs, make sure that you apply to a range of programs which have the kind of research that appeals to you.

Good Luck!