Do grad schools look closely at undergrad schools/programs?

collegemom3717
Fri, 12 Apr 2019 07:40:44 +0000

(@hyponova, @xraymancs is actually a prof w/ experience of physics PhD admissions, so pretty much the ne plus ultra of sources)

…but I will add, that afaik, what you have accomplished at your school only matters in so far as it relates to the program you are applying to. So, being 1st violin in the orchestra- not so much. Being seen as a star by your major advisor, yes.

A physics major from pretty much any accredited university will do to meet the requirements, but the physics GRE can do you in. For reasons that I still don’t get, there is very little in the way study material available, and it is a brutal exam. I know rather a lot of physics students who have ended up taking a summer or a postgrad year to work in a lab and just study for the physics GRE (the timing of the physics GRE relative to grad school admissions is also terrible).