<p>This fall I will be starting my college carear at CMU. I plan on triple majoring in physics, math, and computer science. I planning on going to graduate school for my PhD in physics. As of now, I want to become a theoretical particle physicist(mabye work on string theory) but I might shift towards experimental high energy physics. What do I have to do over the next four years at CMU for me to have a real shot at getting into MIT, Princeton, Caltech, Hardvard, Stanford, University of Chicago, etc? Do I need a 4.0 or is anything 3.7+ acceptable?</p>
<p>Highest possible gpa , internships during the summer, research during the school year as soon as possible and throughout your college career.</p>
<p>I found this document (from CMU's CS school, nonetheless) to be very helpful (I'm in a similar position). <a href="http://www.cs.cmu.edu/%7Eharchol/gradschooltalk.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~harchol/gradschooltalk.pdf</a>
Pay particular attention to page 8. While it's specifically for CS, I doubt it's much different for the other areas your interested in.</p>
<p>Thanks for the document booboisie, it was really interesting.</p>