Physics GRE Discussion Forums

I am currently a pre-final year undergraduate student of physics at a university outside the US. I would like to know how much importance is given to individual grades scored in courses, especially in advanced courses. I got a 'C' grade in my Intro. to QFT course which I took with a lot of Ph.D students. Even though my scores were well above the class average, the grading was done on an absolute scale resulting in most of the class getting 'C' or below. I feel my grade would end up giving a wrong impression that I was amongst the lowest performers in the course. My overall GPA is still pretty okayish at ~3.6/4.0

I would like to know if there is anything I could do to convey the situation clearly. Should I mention this on my SOP? I've also read about some students handing in grade statistics along with their applications. Are these really considered by the admissions committee?

Thanks in advance for your help!

I recommend to everyone that you ask one of your letter writers to spend some time explaining your academic record (class average, courses where everyone got bad grades, etc). I think that's the best way to handle things like this.

dude. u're doomed. forget the top-10 & probably the top-20 too.
appl to lots of 50-100 univs.

dude, no need to worry - nobody at my school even took QFT in undergraduate, so it's almost a leg up. : ) Assuming that's your only C.
That said, don't just apply for top 10 schools. They are difficult to get in. Do the shotgun approach and apply for a couple of safety schools, just in case.