Fall 2018 Applicant (Double Major Mathematics & Physics)

[Evanh]

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[kbl2017]

Hi! (To you and others applying in the fall)

Start researching sponsoring facilities now! Watch who gets interviews and if people are willing to share who hires a math/physics major. There are a lot of engineering majors on here - you'll have to look around for some physics and math majors! I suggest reading into what the research labs do. One of your essays will be along the lines of "why should we hire you" (the wording wont be straight forward like that) and you'll want to be able to discuss your top three facilities and why youd be a great fit there. It is extremely important and seems to be overlooked.

As a masters degree applicant you'll be judged more on your essays and experience than you'll be judged on your classroom scores and test grades.

[Evanh]

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[almueller32]

I have a physics degree as well! And I was also looking for others to see what their interview success rate is... still waiting to hear from any of the SFs.

[Evanh]

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[almueller32]

Thank you for the response.

Please feel free to hijack my post and let me know how the process goes for you.

If you are willing, could you share any information regarding your chosen SFs, how far you are along in the process(past first round I assume?) and anything else pertinent to the process. We could always use more data!

Thanks in advance for any information you can share.

Evan

Certainly, Evan! I am applying for funding for an MS in Applied Physics. I am a semi-finalist (top 50% of applicants in my category, of which I don't think there were many) and have yet to hear from any SFs. I believe I stuck with regional preferences rather than specific SFs, because at the time, I knew very little about the selection process. My preferences were 1) West, 2) Midwest and 3) NE. Essentially, I thought being general would allow me to be considered for more positions, which I have since learned is not really the case.

I'll update this thread as I learn more. I am not too optimistic, since I think more offers are made to other areas of study, but you never know!