Physics GRE Discussion Forums

Hey guys,
It seems that I got a problem in school selection. I got two offers--physics@ Boston U and Rice U.
Rice ranks higher in both physics and overall(17 vs 56 in overall and 29 vs 36 in physics). I probably not intend to continue my research in CMP after PhD. Heard that Boston is a really nice place and has many job opportunities.
Do you have any ideas about Rice and BU? I am all ears~~

Boston is definitely a great place to live. Walkable, good public transport especially if you live near a rapid transit (aka "T" ) stop, lots to do (even on a grad student budget). It's an expensive place to live, though, so take that into consideration when you compare financial offers.

quark314 wrote:Boston is definitely a great place to live. Walkable, good public transport especially if you live near a rapid transit (aka "T" ) stop, lots to do (even on a grad student budget). It's an expensive place to live, though, so take that into consideration when you compare financial offers.

Thx...Guessing money won't be a problem...Does any one come from one of these two schools and tell me the strength of their physics department...cause I think only through viewing their homepages can not get an all-round evaluation...

I don't really know much about BU's condensed matter group, but when I went to their open house I was very unimpressed with the department. Their physics program is not strong at all. I would definitely NOT trust their website either. I applied in HEP, and the website had a very large list of people in the group along with a description of some semi-decent research. When I visited I found out that half of the people listed were either "technicians" or faculty that hardly did anything.

I would probably go with Rice if I were in your situation.

kittycat wrote:I don't really know much about BU's condensed matter group, but when I went to their open house I was very unimpressed with the department. Their physics program is not strong at all. I would definitely NOT trust their website either. I applied in HEP, and the website had a very large list of people in the group along with a description of some semi-decent research. When I visited I found out that half of the people listed were either "technicians" or faculty that hardly did anything.

I would probably go with Rice if I were in your situation.

Thx...just curious: what do you mean about "hardly did anything"? They don't work or they are not productive?

quantumele wrote:

kittycat wrote:I don't really know much about BU's condensed matter group, but when I went to their open house I was very unimpressed with the department. Their physics program is not strong at all. I would definitely NOT trust their website either. I applied in HEP, and the website had a very large list of people in the group along with a description of some semi-decent research. When I visited I found out that half of the people listed were either "technicians" or faculty that hardly did anything.

I would probably go with Rice if I were in your situation.

Thx...just curious: what do you mean about "hardly did anything"? They don't work or they are not productive?

A little bit of both. The research they did didn't really mean much and they don't produce many papers or grad students.