I just applied to UMN and I am applying to "the" OSU, largely because (1) they are still accepting applications (!), and (2) they have no application fees.
I'm using the Berkeley Letter Service (http://career.berkeley.edu/Letter/Letter.stm), so I just pay them $5 and they send copies of my letters of recommendations to the department of my choice. Pretty good scheme — I wish I started using it earlier. I would probably have applied to tons more places. Asking for letters of recommendation was probably one of the main limiting factors that prevented me from applying everywhere. That and application fees and the time required to put together an application. It takes me about a day to put together a graduate application. Not a full day, but I think I'd go bonkers if I tried to do more than one in a day. After doing the first one, it's pretty easy — just print out transcript, CV, detailed description of research, and tinker with the personal statement to customize it for the department. I suppose the actual tinkering with the personal statement goes pretty quickly too, but it takes a few hours to read through the published information about a department to find what's interesting, what people are working on, etc.
1. you're far too smart to be going to such a middling school (at least middling in physics).
2. the department here isn't really that happy of a place, in my opinion. and i left because of it. on the other hand, the department is also freakin' huge, so there are some good people to work with. :) but having a huge department also means there isn't a whole lot of cohesion. i have heard some terrible stories from friends who are grad students in physics here.
3. who are you looking to work with? i know most of the people in high-energy physics. and i know a string theorist taught one of the recitations my freshman year, but i can't remember his name for the life of me, and after looking through the faculty directory, i think he may have left minnesota.
4. if you visit, you'll have to let me know, of course. :)
It seems that the december/january deadline is really only the fellowship deadline for most places. I asked and they said that they were still accepting applications for admissions + the usual TA-ship gig.
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no subject
Date: 2004-03-12 01:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-12 01:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-12 05:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-12 05:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-12 07:27 am (UTC)1. you're far too smart to be going to such a middling school (at least middling in physics).
2. the department here isn't really that happy of a place, in my opinion. and i left because of it. on the other hand, the department is also freakin' huge, so there are some good people to work with. :) but having a huge department also means there isn't a whole lot of cohesion. i have heard some terrible stories from friends who are grad students in physics here.
3. who are you looking to work with? i know most of the people in high-energy physics. and i know a string theorist taught one of the recitations my freshman year, but i can't remember his name for the life of me, and after looking through the faculty directory, i think he may have left minnesota.
4. if you visit, you'll have to let me know, of course. :)
no subject
Date: 2004-03-12 09:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-03-12 05:31 pm (UTC)