I applied to graduate school in physics in the fall of 2020 to be accepted into the fall of 2021. Deciding what to do and when was hard for me. Hopefully this might help others on their own journey.

The Timeline Link to heading

Freshman/Sophomore Year Link to heading

The biggest thing to do freshman year is to decide if you want to go to graduate school. To be more specific, you need to decide if you do NOT want to go to graduate school. Getting into graduate school will change how you approach your classes and how much you should care about your grade. It may also change how you interact with others.

How do you decide you want to do graduate school? That is a tough question. I decided I wanted to get a PhD in physics in 8th grade and haven’t changed my mind since. Maybe you really like your classes and want to wade deeper into academia. Maybe you want to investigate new modern phenomena as a part of research! Maybe you want to get a job in the industry and want a PhD to boost your salary. All of us have different reasons but at the end of the day, we are all trying to do what we love.

Now, if you’ve decided you want to go to graduate school, there’s a few things you might want to consider doing. Attending seminars, speaking to other professors, and making friends in hard classes are all different ways to explore the physics community and figuring out what you’re interested in. It’s an exciting time where you can set your path towards physics and decide which subject interests you the most.

Junior Year Link to heading

By now, you should have taken your foundational classes (Classical, Statistical, Quantum Mechanics with maybe Electromagnetism). It is then the perfect time to take the GRE! Buy a version of “Conquering the PHysics GRE” by Yoni Kahn and Adam Anderson and you’re set. It takes maybe a month or two of studying to do well so don’t sleep on it! Some people wait until senior year which is fine, but doing it junior year gives you space to take it again so it unloads a lot of pressure.

It’s around this time you should be thinking about your recommendation letters. They are almost definitely the most important part of your application and require you to speak and converse with professors andshow them that you are worth vouching for. It’s a good idea to start thinking about what kind of research you want to do in the future and see if a professor can help you explore that field. If that means they send you a few textsbooks, so be it. If it means you get a research project, great!

During the summer, you will likely want to start research and exploring what you like about different fields. That could mean sending out cold emails to professors for work or trying to find out what is interesting in a certain field. If you have a ceratin school or research group in mind, it’s important to get to know them during this time. Making an effort and showing your motivation towards becoming a member of their research group is important. In addition, you’ll learn a lot by exploring what types of research you like. When I was in this phase, I finally looked seriously into other types of research within condensed matter and found that my intersts were a lot more varied than I thought.

On top of that, it is important to also exploring different departments. For example, the applied mathematics and engineering departments are much more similar to physics department with regards to research. Making sure you cover all your bases in exploring different options is imperative.

An important part of doing any kind of work is writing it up. Try to update your resume, cv, or create a website where you can keep track of your classes, publications, and manuscripts. If you can’t show it off, how will they know about it?

Finally, in the summer after your junior year, try to write a draft for your graduate school essays. Common questions are:

Why do you want to go to graduate school at a <YOUR_COLLEGE> University

What have you done to prepare you for doing <YOUR_MAJOR>_ at <YOUR_COLLEGE> University

Senior Fall Link to heading

Here is where the grind for applications begins. First thing you need to do is establish who will write your recommendation letters. Look through the graduate and fellowship applications to see how many recommendation letters you need. Usually it is good to have 4 or 5.
After that, you just need to be organized enough to submit your work on time. Keep a checklist or excel sheet with deadlines so you can keep track of recommendation letters, due dates, and more. Most graduate applications drop around early September but most fellowship applications start in September. It’s likely best that you write your fellowship applications first and then go on to write your graduate applications. There’s not much more to say other than try to get friends and professors to read your writing. Part of a professor’s job is to help young students to go on and succeed so don’t be afraid to ask.

Senior Spring Link to heading

You’ve made it! You’re done now. Now picking a graduate school is the next best thing.

How do you choose which graduate school to look for? This is a personal decision and I think people focus on intellectual and social merits of different departments in different ways. I don’t have much to say here. Some things to consider for academic success:

  • Pick an advisor with a personality you get along with. No one wants to be stuck working with someone they dislike for 4-5 years.

  • Look at the most recent (last few years) publications to see if they interest you.

  • Keeping in mind a professor’s age is important. Do you want to work with someone young and active but not as used to advising? Or with someone older who has historically advised many students to successful PhDs?

  • Attend a Group Meeting. Does it allow for healthy conversation? Are students happy? Fellow graduate students are quite honest about their work environment so ask away!

  • Take a look at where graduate students in that group go after they graduate? If most of them go into academia again, that is great. If they go into industry, that might mean that a lot of the students are getting burnt out in that research group.

  • Merit: Unfortunately, we live in a meritocracy where the status of your university matters greatly in publishing, making connections, and getting a job. Don’t ignore the status of a University when picking a school!

What next? Link to heading

I don’t know… go to graduate school and find out!