<p>I am currently doing my undergraduate studies in mathematics and physics at a Swedish university. While I like the material in the classes I take, I feel they might not be as rigorous as they are, at say a prestigious high-ranking American university. For this reason, I am feeling regretful for never applying to high-ranking university in high-school. Indeed, I had perfect grades, but never bothered to apply to a university abroad, in the silly belief that the differences were not that great.</p>
<p>To compensate for this mistake, I have started looking into the possibility of doing my graduate studies in the U.S., or in another country with great universities for mathematics and physics. However, my fear is that I may not be qualified, and if I am, the my bachelor's degree may not be considered "solid" for not being issued by an top-ranking university. A contributing reason for the latter fear, is that the department where I am studying, employs a three point, letter based grade system, consisting of the grades "Passed with distinction", "Passed with no distinction" and "Not passed". The highest grade usually only corresponds to 80%+, which, while conversions between percentage scales can be quite arbitrary, corresponds to a mere "B" in the lower grade. Hence, while I get the highest grade in all classes in Sweden, my transcribed GPA might be a lousy 2.5, if a more adequate method for conversion cannot be applied.</p>
<p>However, I recently found out that U.S. universities consider GRE scores for graduate studies applicants. I usually do well on standardized tests, and I am fairly confident that I can get a good result. What I wonder though, is how much attention is paid to the GRE scores, and to what extent they can compensate for an inadequate GPA. I also wonder if (for no good reason) high school grades are considered in applications for graduate studies.</p>
<p>If anybody could shed some light on these issues, I would be very grateful.</p>
<p>“Hence, while I get the highest grade in all classes in Sweden, my transcribed GPA might be a lousy 2.5” They wouldn’t do this.</p>
<p>With your 3 point scale, however, I’m having difficulty seeing how you will distinguish yourself. That’s essentially like saying your entire Bachelor’s Degree was done on a pass/fail system.</p>
<p>My H did undergrad in Finland, not really even pure math, more some business applied type math and decided toward the end of his studies to be a math professor, went to a good grad school in the US and is now a prof at a pretty good US university and on their grad ad com.</p>
<p>We talk about this at home a lot since our D wants to major in math at college and won’t be attending one of the highest ranked US schools. He says the single most important part of your app is the GRE. It shows what you know. Of course, it’s easier to get ahead and learn a lot at a good school, but it’s not an absolute. Good students shine wherever they are. They see where you came from and if you are from an unfamiliar school they will look harder at all aspects of your app. Don’t know what school you are at, but letters of recommendation will be needed. Try to get good ones.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about your grading scale. They will be able to figure out what it means. They’re math professors, right?</p>
<p>@gameofthrones1
Thank you for your reply. However, don’t you think it’s a little unfair to say my Bachelor’s Degree will be done on a pass/fail system? After all, you can be rewarded grades roughly corresponding to “B”, “E” and “F”. Don’t you think a “B” is considerably better than an “E”? Would you also be able to elaborate a bit on your comment on the GPA? What would they do?</p>
<p>@celesteroberts
Thank you for your reply! It was an inspiring story you had to tell. </p>
<p>It is certainly reassuring to hear that GREs matter; I will probably take subject tests in mathematics as well as physics and make sure I do well on both to give strength to my application. </p>
<p>Went it comes to letters of recommendation, we have a few quite well-known professors at the department. I will try my best to make a good impression on them, in order to hopefully get strong letters of recommendation.</p>
<p>GRE scores don’t matter a whole lot, you basically need to get a certain cutoff score, other than that it doesn’t matter much. </p>
<p>What matters the most are your letters of recommendation and research experience. They are what can set you apart from other applicants, not your GRE score.</p>
<p>Hausdorff, I should have been more thorough in my first post, was just trying to give a basic idea of possibilities. What RR says does not exactly contradict my thoughts. Part of it depends on which schools you apply to. The top 5-10 depts in the US will care more about research or say if you have very good research but not so great tests, may balance things in consideration towards the good research as indicator of your ability. At most places in top 25, if you come from a school where you haven’t had research opportunities but the rest of app looks good, that won’t hurt you so much. That’s for math. Not sure about physics which may be different. But a high GRE will go a long way towards getting your app on the top half of pile since you did that all by yourself. With undergrad research it can be a bit murky. There may be several authors. The mentor may have done much of the work. If you have research, and especially research which is clearly primarily your own work, that’s good. If not, the letters take on more significance in terms of attesting to your ability to do research in the future.</p>
<p>@RacinReaver & celesteroberts
Thank you both for your replies! Could you elaborate a bit on what is usually meant by research experience in the U.S.? In Sweden, it is mandatory for all students to write a thesis at the end of their studies in order to get their Bachelor’s Degree. Depending on your field of studies, this thesis may of course take different forms, but in physics it usually involves experimental and/or theoretical work on various problems. In theoretical/computational physics, a project could for example be the study of protein folding. Apart from their thesis, most students will however not do any research in their undergraduate studies.</p>
<p>On an unrelated topic, is it possible to edit the title of the thread? It was originally intended to say “… a Swedish university”, but this was apparently too long, and so I thought I’d write “… Sweden”, but it turned out as “…a Sweden”.</p>
<p>It’s somewhat common for undergrads interested in pursuing graduate study to spend at least a summer working in a lab with grad students to help them get a feel for what graduate life is like. There’s also a small chance you might be able to get on a publication, which is always a nice feather in your cap.</p>
<p>One of your best resources is probably to talk to professors from your university and ask them what sorts of successes other students have had when applying to universities in the US. Also be sure to get your recommendations from those who you’ve worked most closely with. The schools are looking for insight into how you’ll perform as a researcher, not as a student taking classes.</p>
<p>Sorry for my late reply. In Sweden, it seems like these summer research programs for undergraduate students are fairly uncommon, at least in the fields of mathematics and physics. This may partly be due to the fact, that Masters and Phd programs are separated in Sweden, and its really in the transition from Masters to Phd studies that you have to prove your aptitude for research. However, I know a few undergraduates who have been able to arrange a research program themselves, and I will look into the possibilities of doing something along those lines. </p>
<p>As you suggest, I will try to find some information on the successes other students have had in similar situations.</p>
<p>By the way, my university has exchange programs with several universities, including UC, UIUC and UW in the U.S. Do you think an exchange year there would strengthen my appllication considerably, even if it meant doing it after completing my Bachelor’s Degree while working on a 1 year Masters’at my current university?</p>
<p>It’s hard for me to say. Some of the international grad students I know had studied in the US either for a year in high school or college. Is your schooling done in English or Swedish?</p>