<p>What is a competitive GPA for a top 25 physics grad school? Son is at UVA with about a 3.3 GPA (double major in physics (BS program) and french). Just looking for a ballpark and assuming competitive GREs, ECs, intern experience etc. My wife and I are professionals and come from the med/law school world where generally 3.5 plus (and sometimes a big plus) is needed for the top schools. Is this the same in physics or due to the difficulty of the curriculum is a lower GPA competitive assuming the other factors are in the range. Thanks.</p>
<p>We went thru the mathematics grad school process, so don’t know how different that is. I would say that a 3.3 is way too low for top programs. </p>
<p>When S1 went thru, even his (ha ha) safeties were only accepting 10% of applicants. He was lucky to be accepted to an elite school that only accepted about 2% of applicants. He had a 4.0 GPA, 1570 GRE (800Q, 770V), great LORs, and research, and a very high math subject GRE (don’t remember the exact number)… </p>
<p>BTW…the med school app process has gotten a lot harder. Just went thru that with S2 (thankfully with successful results). A 3.5 GPA is often not high enough. A 3.8+ BCMP GPA and cum GPA is recommended.</p>
<p>A 3.3 overall GPA is low for the most competitive physics graduate programs. You would want a 3.5 or higher to assure that admissions committees take the time to read your application seriously.</p>
<p>That said, overall GPA is not the most important criterion for physics PhD programs. There might be an initial GPA threshold for further consideration. The admissions committees are looking for evidence that you will be successful in physics research. Summer research projects and senior thesis research projects are essential. They will enable your professors to write strong and specific letters of recommendation. They will also help you write a convincing statement of purpose. You want high grades in math and physics courses, but can have occasional B’s in non-science courses. An applicant with a 3.7 GPA and excellent research experience would trump an applicant with a 4.0 and little or no research.</p>
<p>There are well over 100 physics PhD programs in the U.S. An applicant with a 3.3 GPA might get accepted at some of the less competitive programs.</p>
<p>The other two posters are correct. I write letters for our undergraduate physics majors who apply elsewhere and make admissions decisions for our physics Ph.D. program at Illinois Institute of Technology. I have seen our top students with 4.0 and excellent research and letters of recommendation be denied from many of their first choices even though they get into other top 20 programs. If a student has a weak spot, either GPA, Physics GRE or research experience, it is enough to not even be considered at the most selective programs (MIT, Harvard, UC Berkeley, Stanford, etc.) but they get into programs which are just as good (this year, Cornell, Columbia and so on). These programs simply have so many applicants that they have to triage somehow and so many truly strong students are not even considered.</p>
<p>That sounds bleak, however, don’t despair. There are a lot of excellent physics Ph.D. programs which are not nearly as selective and which have outstanding faculty in a few areas (instead of across the board in all areas). Your success after the Ph.D. depends on your advisor more than anything else. If you find one who has a good funding and publication record, you can do very well even if the university is not in the top 20 or even 40.</p>
<p>A 3.3 GPA with good research experience and a strong General GRE score will probably be competitive for physics programs in the 50-100 range according to whatever ranking you use. I like to encourage my advisees to look at the National Research Council rankings even though they are a bit old (2007 data). These can be found at [PhDs.org:</a> Jobs for PhDs, graduate school rankings, and career resources](<a href=“http://phds.org%5DPhDs.org:”>http://phds.org) I find that the US News rankings for graduate programs are merely a popularity contest but at least the NRC study has some quantitative measures. Once you identify the universities which are appealing, take a look at the faculty. Look them up on Google Scholar and see how many articles and citations they have. This will help you figure out if the program is worth applying to.</p>