Grad School Admission and

GRE/PGRE

June 7, 2023

Admissions, GRE ,and pGRE

1. What to do to prep for grad school admission?
2. Application materials
3. Typical timeline for undergraduate program
4. What are the GRE and pGRE?
5. GRE - Graduate Record Examinations
6. pGRE - Physics GRE
7. Q&A

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

What to do to prep for grad school admission?

1. Academics
• Transcript
• Standardized Testing*
2. Research
3. Extra-curriculars
4. Cultivate your recommendation letter writers

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

Academics

1. Transcripts
• Many schools require 3.0+ GPA (e.g. Ohio State)
• Physics and astronomy curricula
• Relevant electives courses and labs
• Honors programs
• Related out of department courses or majors

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2. Standardized testing

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

Academics

1. Transcripts
• Many schools require 3.0+ GPA (e.g. Ohio State)
• Physics and astronomy curricula
• Relevant electives courses and labs
• Honors programs
• Related out of department courses or majors

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2. Standardized testing (many not requiring GREs anymore)

• GRE
• Physics GRE
• TOEFL
• You need to study if these are required

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

Research

• Find out if you enjoy scientific research
• Learn skills helpful for graduate school or post bachelor’s job
• Find the subfield you are interested in for graduate school
• Get letters of recommendation

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

Research

1. Never too early to get involved
• Email professors
• Try their offices
• Each research group will have a different onboarding process
2. Publications, posters, presentations
3. Summer REUs are a great way to explore more research opportunities

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

Research

1. Never too early to get involved
• Email professors
• Try their offices
• Each research group will have a different onboarding process
2. Publications, posters, presentations
• Not main goal of undergraduate research
• Some subfields do not even lend themselves to undergraduate authors
3. Summer REUs are a great way to explore more research opportunities

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

Research

1. Never too early to get involved
• Email professors
• Try their offices
• Each research group will have a different onboarding process
2. Publications, posters, presentations
• Not main goal of undergraduate research
• Some subfields do not even lend themselves to undergraduate authors
3. Summer REUs are a great way to explore more research opportunities

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

Extra-curriculars

• Clubs (e.g. SPS, Sigma Pi Sigma, SWiP, Polaris, SEDS, etc.)
• Outreach
• Teaching
• Do not need to be physics focused

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

Application

• Transcript
• Test Scores*
• CV (possibly)
• Statement of Purpose and/or Personal Statement
• Supplemental Essays
• Diversity Statement
• 3 Letters of recommendation
• Research related
• Academic related
• Research or academic

Every school will have a slightly different application but you should be able to reuse most materials for every one! Statements may vary school to school

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

Cost of application

• GRE: $220 + $30/school
• Physics GRE: $150
• Transcript costs: $7/school*
• Application fee: ~$100/school

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For ten school typically costs ~$2000

Can apply for fee waivers for school and tests

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Some schools have different pricing for international applicants

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Graduate School Application outside the US

• Canada: Similar, but they prefer you to apply to Int. PhD (MS + PhD) programs
• Europe: (In a lot of cases they prefer students who have a Masters)
• send an email to the professor asking for a PhD position
• attach your CV
• apply for a fellowship separately
• no GRE scores, sometimes no application fee
• some Europe schools have a program and therefore an application portal
• Other international programs are also good options, but follow similar processes as US or European schools

Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

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Introduction to

Graduate School Admissions

Year 1-4: Pursue research opportunities

Extracurriculars

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Year 3: Surveying graduate schools

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Summer before Year 4: Study for pGRE

Study for / take GRE

Begin statements

Reach out to professors at schools

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August Year 4: Drafts of statements

Ask for letters of recommendation

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September Year 4: pGRE

Statement editing

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October Year 4: pGRE

Fellowships due

Finalize statements

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November Year 4: Finalize applications

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December Year 4: Submit applications

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January – April Year 4: Results and visits

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GRE and pGRE

• What are the GRE and pGRE?
• GRE - Graduate Record Examinations
• pGRE - physics GRE
• Q&A

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GRE and pGRE

What are the GRE and pGRE?

• The SATs of graduate school
• GRE is required for some graduate programs
• The physics GRE is a subject test that is required for some physics graduate programs*
• Need to be taken within 2-2.5 years of applying

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GRE and pGRE

GRE

• Three sections: verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, analytical writing
• 3 hours and 45 minutes (10 minute break halfway)
• All sections taken on a computer
• Percentile score is what matters, as well as writing score
• Tends to not play a huge role
• many schools say this can only help your application, not hurt*

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GRE and pGRE

GRE: verbal reasoning (vocabulary)

• Two sections
• 20 questions per section
• 30 minutes per section
• Typical section questions:
• 6 text completion
• 4 sentence equivalence
• 10 critical reading
• Scored 130-170

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GRE and pGRE

GRE: quantitative reasoning (math)

• Two sections
• 20 questions per section
• 35 minutes per section
• Typical section questions:
• 7-8 quantitative comparisons
• 12-13 problem solving items
• Covers: arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis
• You may not have done this math in four years
• Check ETS website for exact directions- a pdf is available
• (e.g. all numbers are real)
• Scored 130-170

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GRE and pGRE

GRE: analytic writing

• Two sections
• Issue task
• Argument task
• Issue task (30 minutes)
• Essay arguing position on a given statement
• Argument task (30 minutes)
• Essay critiquing an argument
• All past topics are online (ets.org)
• Scored 0-6

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GRE Warning

Beginning September 22, 2023, the testing time for the GRE® General Test will be reduced by half

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GRE and pGRE

GRE: study tips

1. Overall
• Become familiar with question format take practice tests
2. Verbal reasoning
• Vocab apps (Magoosh) - only “common” and “basic” words
• Princeton Review and Barons High Frequency list
3. Quantitative reasoning
• Review high school math concepts and the pdf
4. Analytic writing
• Check website for sample responses and their scoring
• Become familiar with what they are looking for in each essay type
• They do not care about your own opinion
• They do care about the structure of your essay

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GRE and pGRE

GRE: study tips

5. Preparing:
• Free paper test (ets.org)
• Get familiar with question types
• POWERPREP Online has two free practice tests (ets.org)
• Practice book “5 lb book of GRE practice problems” - helps with speed - questions are typically harder than actual GRE
6. The GRE is an adaptive test so questions on the day of will likely be harder than the ones you practice with

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GRE and pGRE

GRE: test taking tips

1. Stay calm
2. Take the break
3. Answer every question (no guessing penalty)
4. Use process of elimination
5. Do the easy questions first
6. Get a good rest the night before

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GRE and pGRE

pGRE

“As important as the physics GRE is, there is no correlation between a high score and grad school success. Its weakness lies in that it can only really test quick calculation, as opposed to deep reflection or creative, physical insight.” – Dartmouth Astronomy

Emily

Rob

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GRE and pGRE

pGRE Currently

• 100 five-choice questions
• 170 minutes
• No calculator
• Brief sheet of constants and formulae given
• Guessing penalty (1/4 a problem)
• Graded in percentiles (200 to 990)
• ~750 is 60^th percentile which is generally considered “good”
• Offered three times per year (April, September, October)
• Take it twice if possible
• Be aware of registration dates
• Covers all of undergraduate physics + special topics
• Be careful about the dates and location

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PGRE Warning

Beginning September 2023, the testing time to take the PGRE will be 2 hours, and people will be able to take the test electronically.

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GRE and pGRE

pGRE Content

• Classical Mechanics (20%)
• Electromagnetism (18%)
• Optics and Wave Phenomena (9%)
• Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics (10%)
• Quantum Mechanics (12%)
• Atomic Physics (10%)
• Special Relativity (6%)
• Laboratory Methods (6%)
• Specialized Topics (9%)

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GRE and pGRE

pGRE Study tips:

• Review physics courses
• Learn basic concepts and equations for courses you have not taken
• Flash cards
• Practice problems
• Prep books
• Start early and go slowly (entire summer)
• Study group

• Goal is to get used to concepts, key formulas, Table of Information, and question formats in order to solve problems quickly

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GRE and pGRE

pGRE Study tips:

• Six previous tests online*
• Take under realistic conditions
• Suggest taking one to start (2001)
• Use the rest sparingly
• 1990s are extra hard (percentiles reflect this)
• Go through each problem solution in detail (even those you get right) 🡪 a quicker way may exist
• After doing them all, OSU has problems arranged by subject
• 2017 one is probably closest to this year’s test
• PGRE website has an official practice test

Solve quickly and guess intelligently

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GRE and pGRE

pGRE test taking tips:

• First time through, skip anything you do not know how to do immediately
• Mark problems to return to
• Use process of elimination -> guess if you get to two choices
• Use your time wisely

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GRE and pGRE

pGRE test taking tips:

1. Dimensional analysis!!!
2. Scaling analysis
3. Limiting behavior
4. Limiting values

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GRE and pGRE

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