Graduate school confusion?

Question

I just started college and I am looking forward to going to a graduate school. The thing is I don't understand how it works. Say I wanted to major in physics in college, and then get a Ph.D in it in graduate school, how would I go about this? Do I have to pick a specific branch of physics? Do you have to take a test to get into grad school? Are the acceptance rates low for such schools?

Answer 1

The process is very much like applying for college, only the field is often more competitive, and there are some additional factors you need to consider. If you were a physics major in college, by the time you are a senior you would probably have research experience and know what you are interested in. You still become a Ph.D. student in Physics, but you would probably choose a school where you could work with a professor that is doing work which interests you. This is one of the big differences - your experience is very much dependent upon your faculty advisor, because you work very closely with that individual. The admissions test for grad school is the GRE.

Acceptance rates for graduate schools vary; some are very competitive, while others have trouble finding enough quality students. Because their Ph.D. graduates are a bigger reflection of their own abilities than are Master's or Bachelor's students, many schools have absolute standards and would rather not admit any Ph.D. students in a particular year than admit someone who does not meet their standards. Another thing which is different is that because of the close work between faculty and students, there is a clear limit to the number of students that a program can support. A couple of years ago I was talking to a woman who had started as a student in a brand new doctoral program at a local university. Eager to get the program started, the school admitted about 4 times as many students as they had faculty to work on their dissertations with them. The woman I was talking to recognized this early on and grabbed a faculty member who promised to work with her, but she said that many of her classmates would never be able to finish their degrees because they wouldn't be able to find an advisor!

Answer 2

Once you decide on or declare a major you will be assigned an adviser in the field of your major. You will need to talk with your adviser about your questions regarding graduate school.
In general, there are four things to keep in mind as you progress through your undergraduate program. 1) Get great grades; but more importantly make sure you really learn the content (that means studying consistently throughout the semester) 2) If you have a chance to do research or work in a research lab as an undergraduate take it; esp. if you can get your name on a publication or two. 3) Think about what you want to study in graduate school and beyond and start orienting your experiences to be congruent with those subjects (courses, research work, visiting graduate programs, contacting people in the field). 4) Work with your adviser they have been through it; if your adviser isn't very helpful or the connection isn't there find your own; usually you will connect with at least one of the professors in your program of study.

Graduate school is about perseverance and planning.

Answer 3

First you will have to get your Bachelors degree. Then apply for Graduate school to get your Master degree then your PhD degree.

To get into a Physics graduate program you will need to take the GRE and get good scores on that. Get letters of recommendations from your professors. And have a high enough GPA.

You don't have to specialize until you get into graduate school. Acceptance rates vary from school to school.