Applying to Stanford?

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keineangst
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Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 12:03 am

Applying to Stanford?

Post by keineangst » Tue Nov 06, 2007 12:23 am

I would like some advice about whether I should apply to grad school this fall (as in right now) or take a year off and work on getting research experience and a better GRE score. The situation is I'm a female Physics and German double major at a liberal art school. I have a 3.7 overall GPA and a 3.9 GPA in Physics. I spent my junior year in Germany studying (no science) and I just took both the general and subject GREs. On the general I got a 670 in both verbal and math. I also had a summer internship at SLAC / Stanford. I've been sort of bent on going to grad school at Stanford and I'm not sure if it is worth applying. I didn't have alot of time to prepare for the subject GRE and I got somewhere between a 620 and a 720 by my best guess. Should I apply? Does it hurt my chances to go there in the future if I apply and get rejected now?

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grae313
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Joined: Tue May 29, 2007 8:46 pm

Post by grae313 » Tue Nov 06, 2007 2:14 am

By how much do you think you could raise your scores with a year of studying? In my opinion, unless you made an extraordinary impression on a professor during your internship, you won't get in with those scores, particularly the quantitative. Especially since this tests a very basic sort of math knowledge/intelligence. This is just my opinion, however, and I'm just a nobody. I'd recommend talking with a professor or advisor who knows you well. Perhaps you can spin your experiences in Germany, as this is certainly something that makes you unique and valuable to a graduate program.

Bottom line, Stanford accepts around 10 to 15% of its applicants, and the pool they choose from is among the best in the world. I have no idea as to the effects of applying a second time after being rejected. Good luck, and remember, there are plenty of EXCELLENT schools out there besides Stanford, and your research group and the work you do in it is more important to your future than the name of your school.

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will
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Post by will » Tue Nov 06, 2007 10:50 am

Good luck, and remember, there are plenty of EXCELLENT schools out there besides Stanford, and your research group and the work you do in it is more important to your future than the name of your school.
Agreed.

On the other hand, your scores are probably quite below the average for Stanford applicants and your application might not even get read,... then again, it also might, so put a lot of heart in it! The year in Germany might be touchy, though. Schools like students with unique experiences, but they hate to see a whole year without physics. On the other hand, if you think a year of pure physics research and studying will improve your chances then by all means, go for it. But apply anyway; getting an application rejected will not hurt your future application chances at all. Just because you can't prove you're good enough one year doesn't mean you won't be able to prove it the next.

Also like the previous comment suggested, Stanford ain't the only fish in the sea and if you can't do the work you want to do there, it's better to up and do it somewhere else.



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