Are undergrad school programs scrutinized for grad admissions? Like will they look closely at whether or not I attended a school with a good physics program if I’m planning to do astrophysics or is what I accomplish at my school more important?
Physics programs are very similar across the US. The most important things for graduate admissions are the rigor of your program (1 year of quantum, 1 year of electrodynamics, at least 1 semester of classical mechanics and 1 semester of statistical mechanics) and the research experience you get during your undergraduate program. Most universities will have research opportunities on campus but if you are doing your undergraduate degree at a research university, you might have the opportunity to work alongside graduate students on a funded project.
(@hyponova, @xraymancs is actually a prof w/ experience of physics PhD admissions, so pretty much the ne plus ultra of sources)
…but I will add, that afaik, what you have accomplished at your school only matters in so far as it relates to the program you are applying to. So, being 1st violin in the orchestra- not so much. Being seen as a star by your major advisor, yes.
A physics major from pretty much any accredited university will do to meet the requirements, but the physics GRE can do you in. For reasons that I still don’t get, there is very little in the way study material available, and it is a brutal exam. I know rather a lot of physics students who have ended up taking a summer or a postgrad year to work in a lab and just study for the physics GRE (the timing of the physics GRE relative to grad school admissions is also terrible).
@hypernova Just as a real life example, as an UG my ds attended a U ranked around 130 with a physics dept ranked in the 80s and is now in grad school for theoretical cosmology at a top 5 program in his field. He had advanced coursework with a 4.0 (GPA will matter), on-campus research, 2 REUs, high PGRE scores, and excellent LOR.
In his dept, most of the other grad students are from top ranked UG programs, but there are a few other students like him. So it is definitely possible. It takes making the most of your UG experience. Study hard and make good grades. Actively seek out on-campus research. (Ds spent 18+ hrs per week on research.) Apply to summer REUs. (This is a good read to understand the process: https://astrobites.org/2013/01/05/so-you-want-to-apply-for-an-reu-heres-how/ )
Yes and no. What you accomplish is generally more important. However, they do want to know that you are academically prepared. Great accomplishments at a decent physics department is better than decent accomplishments at a great physics department. Grad schools want to know whether you can succeed at research, and that you have the right background, or at least, can catch up in a year or so (my graduate program in Ecology accepted a couple of Psychology majors who did very well).
Physics is pretty specific about their expectations, and strong marks in the core classes are necessary- as a subject it is a lot less flexible than ecology. The physics major & physics GRE establish that the applicant has the necessary background. After that it’s research & recs.
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Having an expert on hand is always a very good thing!
PS. As an aside, Ecology background is somewhat flexible, but also very broad, since there are a large number of required courses, especially in the life sciences, that a Psych major would not be doing (biochem, molecular biology, genetics, advanced evolutionary biology, etc)
Clearly the Physics GRE is an important exam but many physics departments are re-evaluating the emphasis they put on it for two reasons: 1) the predominant predictor for the PGRE is the ability to do well in courses and on written exams, and 2) it tends to be biased against underrepresented minorities and women. The ability to be a successful researcher is not necessarily correlated with the PGRE.
The problem is that in highly selective departments, there are so many outstanding applicants and some simple metrics are needed to cut down the number of applicants to the finalists whose applications will be thoroughly evaluated in detail. This means that the PGRE and the GRE as well as the GPA play an outsized role.