will PGRE help?

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hasanb07
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Feb 18, 2014 1:41 am

will PGRE help?

Post by hasanb07 » Tue Feb 18, 2014 4:20 am

Hi,
i am newly registered to this forum though i have reading the posts here.
I have question i would like to get sorted.
I have done my bachelors in electronics & communications ( the degree is called Btech in India) and want now to do MS in physics from a good uni. I want to know whether i can or not. Will PGRE help me in securing admission in my dream stream?

Thanks in advance!

kathiravangg
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Nov 18, 2013 12:19 pm

Re: will PGRE help?

Post by kathiravangg » Tue Feb 18, 2014 10:44 am

hasanb07 wrote:Hi,
i am newly registered to this forum though i have reading the posts here.
I have question i would like to get sorted.
I have done my bachelors in electronics & communications ( the degree is called Btech in India) and want now to do MS in physics from a good uni. I want to know whether i can or not. Will PGRE help me in securing admission in my dream stream?

Thanks in advance!
Physics GRE is one of the ways you can prove that you know some basic Physics since your undergrad is Engineering. You can try Internships / Summer Research at some good institutes in India in their Physics Departments. This, plus a good score on the GRE and Physics GRE will definitely get you admission. However, shortlisting the schools needs a lot of work. You can start off with US News Rankings website; then check out the websites of the various schools to see if they have mentioned that they are open to students from engineering background. You can email them. Based on your scores and grades you can further narrow down your choices. In conclusion, having an engineering degree would not work against you - PROOF - you can see my profile! 8)

Also, you may wanna note that PhD is the most common terminal degree as far as graduate studies in Physics is concerned. And most schools do not encourage MS degree applicants in Physics; financial support might also be limited for MS.

hasanb07
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Feb 18, 2014 1:41 am

Re: will PGRE help?

Post by hasanb07 » Fri Feb 21, 2014 6:29 am

kathiravangg wrote:
hasanb07 wrote:Hi,
i am newly registered to this forum though i have reading the posts here.
I have question i would like to get sorted.
I have done my bachelors in electronics & communications ( the degree is called Btech in India) and want now to do MS in physics from a good uni. I want to know whether i can or not. Will PGRE help me in securing admission in my dream stream?

Thanks in advance!
Physics GRE is one of the ways you can prove that you know some basic Physics since your undergrad is Engineering. You can try Internships / Summer Research at some good institutes in India in their Physics Departments. This, plus a good score on the GRE and Physics GRE will definitely get you admission. However, shortlisting the schools needs a lot of work. You can start off with US News Rankings website; then check out the websites of the various schools to see if they have mentioned that they are open to students from engineering background. You can email them. Based on your scores and grades you can further narrow down your choices. In conclusion, having an engineering degree would not work against you - PROOF - you can see my profile! 8)

Also, you may wanna note that PhD is the most common terminal degree as far as graduate studies in Physics is concerned. And most schools do not encourage MS degree applicants in Physics; financial support might also be limited for MS.
Thanks for your reply.
I am open to options as of now. I am thinking of MS in physics as it was my dream.
2 new doubts that your reply has caused , care to shine some light on it ..
1. what do you mean by "most schools do not encourage MS degree applicants in Physics" ?
2. what is this "US News Rankings website" that you have mentioned?

kathiravangg
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Nov 18, 2013 12:19 pm

Re: will PGRE help?

Post by kathiravangg » Fri Feb 21, 2014 7:47 am

hasanb07 wrote: Thanks for your reply.
I am open to options as of now. I am thinking of MS in physics as it was my dream.
2 new doubts that your reply has caused , care to shine some light on it ..
1. what do you mean by "most schools do not encourage MS degree applicants in Physics" ?
2. what is this "US News Rankings website" that you have mentioned?

1. Most schools prefer PhD applicants to MS applicants - as you might be aware, after undergrad PhD takes 5 years typically; enroute to ur PhD you will earn MS - this is the typical scenario. Enrolling for MS as a terminal degree is less common than enrolling for PhD (this applies only to Sciences not engineering).

2. This is the US News website http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandr ... s-rankings where the schools are ranked; top ranked ones are difficult to get into, obvi. One way you could shortlist schools is based on the average P GRE scores they have posted in their websites.

hasanb07
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Feb 18, 2014 1:41 am

Re: will PGRE help?

Post by hasanb07 » Fri Feb 21, 2014 10:02 am

Thanks for your help.
I have done my btech in electronics & communications from NIT Silchar, which as usual isn't famous for its physics department. I went through your profile and found a few similarities, like i have worked in IT sector too, which was again unrelated to physics. As you mentioned internships etc so, Will it be of any help if i go for summer internship in NITS ( provided there is any opening) ? Will attending seminars, workshops by Physics department of the same help build my CV ?
Thanks in advance



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