what field and schools are you applying to
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twistor:
Yes, McGill is accredited. During my fellowship I met an alumni from McGill and he seemed to know his stuff. My mentor also spoke highly of the program.
My degree will be a BSc in Physics.
The mentor I had was certified in both imaging and radiation therapy. He let me borrow an AAPM study book for the boards and most of the questions I saw were based on clinical experience. It seemed pretty simple, but I guess he had a colleague who failed them twice.
Yes, McGill is accredited. During my fellowship I met an alumni from McGill and he seemed to know his stuff. My mentor also spoke highly of the program.
My degree will be a BSc in Physics.
The mentor I had was certified in both imaging and radiation therapy. He let me borrow an AAPM study book for the boards and most of the questions I saw were based on clinical experience. It seemed pretty simple, but I guess he had a colleague who failed them twice.
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In his case he traveled a lot because he didn't work for one hospital. Instead, he was given responsibility for many machines in a given region. I don't think he worked for any one company like GE or Siemens. I think he was contracted out by a private company who specialized in quality assurance of medical imaging equipment. Even when I was there he would get offers to QA dentist's x-ray equipment (he was on a list made by the state), but those jobs are small and wouldn't sustain a high enough income unless he traveled around. This was the only perspective I saw from the imaging side, but I am sure that there are many other ways to have a career in diagnostic imaging.
hchemist:
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Twistor:Sorry I didn't see this before. The way I understand is that unless you graduate from a CAMPEP program you have to have 3 years of work experience to take the exam (supposedly this will go into effect in 2012 as you said).
That is already settled. Right now, you need 3 years of clinical experience directly under the board certified medical physicist's supervision. However, if you're from CAMPEP accredited program, you only need 2 years of such experience. That is why most of us here will go through this same '***' again for admission into the residency program.
And the rumor I talked about is something different but much more serious, this is quote from Wikipedia
"As CAMPEP continues to gain support from bodies such as The American Association of Physicists in Medicine[5], the American Board of Radiology has specified that graduation from a CAMPEP accredited clinical training program be considered a requirement to sit for the ABR certification exams by 2012.[6][7][8]"
So go figure
That is already settled. Right now, you need 3 years of clinical experience directly under the board certified medical physicist's supervision. However, if you're from CAMPEP accredited program, you only need 2 years of such experience. That is why most of us here will go through this same '***' again for admission into the residency program.
And the rumor I talked about is something different but much more serious, this is quote from Wikipedia
"As CAMPEP continues to gain support from bodies such as The American Association of Physicists in Medicine[5], the American Board of Radiology has specified that graduation from a CAMPEP accredited clinical training program be considered a requirement to sit for the ABR certification exams by 2012.[6][7][8]"
So go figure
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funk: I was going to apply to McGill as well, but was turned off by the international student tuition (about $12k/year as opposed to $1.5k for Canucks). Also, it seems like they don't allow you to apply directly for the PhD program because you have to complete a masters first. Thus, there is even less of a chance to get funding. Anyhow, I hear the school is one of the best in Canada and North America. I have a friend that attends McGill and she loves it and the surrounding city very much.
Chicago said they don't consider GRE scores very seriously and that most of their admitted students are in the 50th percentile on the Physics GRE. They said they do consider GPA and school reputation very seriously. Chicago is accredited. You can verify that here:
http://www.campep.org/campeplstgrad.asp
I got Penn's financial offer today - tuition plus $18,000 stipend a year. That's not going to be enough considering I'm the worst driver in history and I need to pay for car insurance with that money.
http://www.campep.org/campeplstgrad.asp
I got Penn's financial offer today - tuition plus $18,000 stipend a year. That's not going to be enough considering I'm the worst driver in history and I need to pay for car insurance with that money.
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victory118:
Yeah it's really costly the first year. If you can make it through that, I think you become a resident and pay the $1,768 as a Quebec resident. The second year there is more financial aid available. As far as the PhD program, I spoke with an alumni who got into a PhD program with no problem, but after the first couple months got offered a six figure salary over in Vancouver so he took the job instead of getting his PhD. I have asked myself what I would have done in his situation and I think I am committed towards the doctorate, but it would be very tempting!
Yeah it's really costly the first year. If you can make it through that, I think you become a resident and pay the $1,768 as a Quebec resident. The second year there is more financial aid available. As far as the PhD program, I spoke with an alumni who got into a PhD program with no problem, but after the first couple months got offered a six figure salary over in Vancouver so he took the job instead of getting his PhD. I have asked myself what I would have done in his situation and I think I am committed towards the doctorate, but it would be very tempting!
That's a tricky situation. I might have taken the cash. It would depend on the job and it's prospects.
Is that on their website? I looked and I couldn't find it. Or is that just their standard RA salary? I'm sure they pay more because they admit fewer people....Chicago is $26,000 a year plus tuition. If it's not enough I'll probably just take out a loan or two to make it enough.
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twistor,
http://www.physicsgre.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=987
I emailed both schools, and got a response from one saying that my application was complete. That's all. So I don't know what is up with the GAPFAS. Some of my apps had little check boxes to click "Would you like to be considered for financial aid?" Duh....
Marten
I know, I saw the same info for two of my schools in the AIP data. Here is the response I got to my post:OMG
I was reading Chicago's web page:
Quote:
The Graduate and Professional School Financial Aid Service (GPSFAS) application form must accompany requests for financial aid.
I didn't fill this out! Was I supposed to? I thought aid was automatic!
http://www.physicsgre.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=987
I emailed both schools, and got a response from one saying that my application was complete. That's all. So I don't know what is up with the GAPFAS. Some of my apps had little check boxes to click "Would you like to be considered for financial aid?" Duh....
Marten
Yeah, there is a lot of interesting stuff happening in the field right now. I like it because it's a mix of experimental work, clinical work, and physics research. The programs are really small and very focused and I don't think it suffers from the academic snobbery that so plagues so-called "pure" physics. I think part of that is due to the fact that medical physicists actually have to remain in contact with the real world and deal with everyday people and that keeps them grounded. So far everyone I've talked to in the field has been awesome, incredibly helpful and a wealth of information. I don't get that same vibe from the purists.I work at a non-profit that deals with medical technologies. This morning I saw an awesome presentation on some new imaging and radiotherapy equipment. The whole thing (and this thread) kind of makes me wish I had applied to some medical physics programs.
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I just got rejected from Stanford Biophysics but accepted from Duke.
Duke says, they will admit me as a master student first with financial aid limited to maximum 10,000 and minimum 2000 us dolors. So now, I've heard from all 7 schools except Chicago.
Duke says, they will admit me as a master student first with financial aid limited to maximum 10,000 and minimum 2000 us dolors. So now, I've heard from all 7 schools except Chicago.
Last edited by hchemist on Mon Feb 11, 2008 8:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I've never heard of someone being accepted for a degree they didn't apply for. I actually think that Duke's offer to you both is very insulting. $10,000 is a slap in the face. Any decent school will offer you twice that in financial aid.
What do they expect you to do the rest of the time to support yourself? Part-time job at Wendy's?
This makes me glad I didn't apply to Duke. I saw they were accepting only a few Ph.d. students a year and I knew something had to be up. So this explains it. They're turning down Ph.d. students and trying to get masters students. It doesn't really make sense. You're good enough to pay us money for two years but not good enough for us to let you do some real work?
*** Duke.
What do they expect you to do the rest of the time to support yourself? Part-time job at Wendy's?
This makes me glad I didn't apply to Duke. I saw they were accepting only a few Ph.d. students a year and I knew something had to be up. So this explains it. They're turning down Ph.d. students and trying to get masters students. It doesn't really make sense. You're good enough to pay us money for two years but not good enough for us to let you do some real work?
*** Duke.
I don't know anything about Duke's program. All I know is Duke (the entire university) is pretty well respected, but you can only take that so far. Being selective doesn't necessarily mean they have a big program. In fact, I'm guessing they're not doing too much research if they can't support a fair number of graduate students.
I know a girl who applied Northwestern as a Master, but she was offered Ph.DI've never heard of someone being accepted for a degree they didn't apply for
I didn't. I really didn't follow Chicago application to the mighty detail after hearing from UCLA.how many of you who applied to Chicago submitted a writing sample beyond the personal statement?
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