Hey guys! I am currently pursuing a B.S. degree in nuclear engineering. I plan to go on to graduate school to study plasma physics. Is there any advice or recommendations on what will make me a good candidate for these Ivy Leagues? Thanks!
You need not limit yourself to Ivy League schools for good graduate programs in physics.
- Earn high grades.
- For upper division physics courses where your nuclear engineering major does not cover similar material, take them as technical electives.
- Do undergraduate research and get good recommendations.
Also, forget about the Ivy League - it really is just an athletic conference. There are many other elite universities that might be better suited for your interests and career goals than one of those 8 universities. Other top programs in physics are at Berkeley, MIT, UCSB, Caltech, UChicago, Penn State, Boston U, Stanford, UC-Irvine, Michigan, Rice…the list goes on. Just look for top/excellent programs in the field that will satisfy your goals rather than simply looking at a specific set of schools defined by an arbitrary linking factor.