APPLYING FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL

Students planning graduate study in physics should begin working on applying by the end of their junior year. While most graduate schools accept applications until late winter each year, they usually begin processing applications and awarding fellowships and assistantships early in the year (January and February). Most graduate admissions, offers of fellowships, teaching assistantships, etc, are closed after April 15, the deadline for those who have been offered admission to accept or decline their offers.

Typically students apply to three or more graduate schools. To decide which, you will have to find out something about them. For those applying to physics departments, the physics advisers and other faculty members can provide information. The American Institute of Physics publication, Graduate Programs in Physics, Astronomy and Related Fields, contains a wealth of detailed information about United States graduate programs. It can be consulted in the Physics Advising Office. The next step is to obtain application forms and full information on what is required of applicants from the schools in which you are interested. Information and forms for many graduate programs, including the University of Washington, can be found and downloaded from the Web.

Physics graduate schools usually base their selection of students and the award of support on three types of information. The first is the undergraduate record. Here grades in courses, generally advanced physics courses, are most important. Ordinarily you will be expected to have a transcript of your record sent directly to the graduate school by the Registrar of the University of Washington.

Next, most physics graduate schools use the results of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE). In some cases, the general aptitude test is used. In almost all the advanced physics test is used. The GRE is given periodically on the University of Washington campus through the Educational Assessment Center (Roosevelt Commons B, 4311 11th Ave NE, Suite 430). You must apply to take the tests several weeks in advance. To have the results of these tests available in January or February, the tests must be taken early in the autumn. Most appropriate is probably the test usually administered in early October. You may want to consider taking the test "for practice" late in your junior year. After the practice test, you should spend some time reviewing possible weak areas in the three months before the actual test. The maximum possible Advanced Physics score is 990. To enter the best graduate programs, your score should be around or above 800 points. Scores below 650 are marginal. While essentially all physics graduate students are supported by Teaching Assistantships or Research Assistantships, the prestigious fellowships go to students who demonstrate through grades and test scores that they are capable of performing in the highest percentiles.

Finally, most graduate schools ask for three letters of recommendation from faculty members familiar with your work. Likely sources for these letters are your instructors in the more advanced physics classes you have taken, or faculty members who have supervised independent study you have undertaken.

Some graduate schools also put some weight on the undergraduate school in which you have studied. You should have no concern in this respect since University of Washington physics graduates have established excellent reputations in the nation's best graduate schools.

Many graduate schools ask for a written statement of your goals. Write something not very long. Keep what you say down to earth. These statements serve primarily to identify potential problems. For example, a long, philosophical statement listing the global problems that might be solved if you manage to get a PhD in physics is likely to be taken as revealing an undesirable tendency to live in a dream world.

It generally is considered wise to do graduate and undergraduate work in different institutions. This is because of the danger of getting into intellectual ruts by hearing too much of one viewpoint and too little of others.

Most physics graduate schools do not expect you to have decided in which branch of physics you expect to do thesis research by the time you enter the school. If, however, you do have a strong preference for a particular field, you will want to consider carefully which graduate schools offer work in that field.

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