Current college: top 15 LAC
Entering as: junior
Major: physics/math
High School GPA: UW: 3.8 W: 4.35
SAT/ACT Scores: 2120
SAT II Scores: 800/800 math/physics
(GRE MATH SUBJ 830, PUTNAM 20) <= Should I even mention this?
AP nine 5’s and two 4’s
College GPA: 3.65 (I got C+ in Tutorial)
Major GPA: physics/math 4.0/3.62
US/Intl: International, male (do not need aid)
LOR: I’m overrated by physics profs, so I will get nice ones.
Credits obtained until 2016 Spring: 92 credits out of 124 (graduation req.), 44 of which is from AP
Math & Physics classes taken until Spring 2016:
Math: Complex Analysis, Senior Seminar, Fourier Analysis, Abstract Algebra, Representation Theory, (Senior Seminar), (Field Theory)
Physics: Mechanics, Electrodynamics, Thermo Statistical Physics, Quantum Theory, Mathematical Methods of Physics, (Advanced Quantum)
The first two physics classes are also upper-level ones, and classes surrounded by () are the ones to be taken in Spring 2016
If I will not transfer, I will have to graduate right after my junior year, since I don’t have any new classes to take. I don’t have research experience, but I will begin it from the last half of this semester. Although the definition of upper-level courses in my school is ambiguous, I took almost all the highest-level courses in math and physics departments, each of which is a really small department and have not sent their students to nice PhD programs. In order to get research opportunities and take more advanced courses, including grad-level ones, I think I should go to a research university.
Questions:
Could you recommend me any university (no LAC) which I have chance for and it satisfy the following conditions?
Does not have too much distribution requirements. Since I have taken only Tutorial, Intro Economics and Logic other than math and physics, I’m concerned with distribution requirements.
Has a nice program in either math or physics (so that I will be able to take nice classes/research and have higher chance for PhD)
By either taking all physics courses or taking some easier math courses in Spring 2016 semester, I can increase my cumulative GPA to 3.72. But is the spring semester grade really considered? Is it really worth?
I guess the AP credits (44!!!) fulfilled all your humanities requirements. I guess there are three options, transfer, get your degree and enter grad school, or take a lot of humanities classes which I assume was the reason you attended a LAC in the first place. Why aren’t you taking any?
I am thinking many colleges will balk at having you be a senior with those 44 AP credits as your only humanities classes and also at you only being present for one year, which likely is not enough. A research university that has a BS/MS program may consider you as a good candidate. Contact some,. maybe not even your first choices, and discuss options. Maybe your in-state flagship or other nearby schools you can visit for a few days.
Why did you transfer to this LAC? Was it the only place where you were admitted? You should have transferred to a larger university that offered a better program for your major.
You probably won’t be able to graduate at the end of this year even if you have taken all of the classes in your major. Most LACs like this one require you to study there for two full years before you get your degree.
You need to sit down with your professors and come up with a plan. Ask for their advice about the best ways to achieve your long term goals. All of your professors have friends who are working at research universities. They will have good ideas for you.
I think the suggestion of talking to your profs is a great one, especially if they think highly of you. They may be able to offer you some research based classes now, or in conjunction with a prof at another university, or may agree that you are best suited for a transfer and help you get some visits in at some good candidate schools.
I think this student went to a LAC for last 2 years, but is realizing it is not a good fit for his rather intense interest in physics and math and seeming lack of interest in non-STEM classes. While AP is great, you can take classes in the subjects you placed out of at a higher level, say in history or literature or foreign languages or governement, etc. Shame to go to a top 15 LAC and get no LA education … but if you are physics obsessed, you may, possibly, find some path to take you right into a PhD program.
I apologize for confusion and my mistake. I’m doing accelerated graduation, so I’m still a Sophomore but can graduate in 2017 Spring (not 2016 Spring, which is a typo). Since my school has an semi-open curriculum (slightly stricter than that of Amherst), I have to take only 6 classes (3 of which I have taken) outside math and physics due to my APs. If I will transfer, I will graduate in 2018 Spring, so I have to pay one more year of tuition, probably about $50k~60k.
Talk with your professors. It might be more cost effective for you to graduate, then spend a year or two as a technician or masters degree student in the lab of one of their pals before applying to the PhD programs that interest you.
So it looks like you will have 44 credits from AP and 48 credits from college courses to make 92 credits. This would put you in an odd spot to transfer. Counting all 92 of your credits, you would be a senior level transfer (although your transfer target school may assign different credit values for your AP scores), but not including the AP credits, you would be a sophomore level transfer. Neither seems to be as desirable as being a junior level transfer.
Having only 48 credits from college courses indicates that you have been taking minimum “full time” course loads of 12 credits per semester, rather than the 16 credits normally needed for 8 semester graduation.
Does your school have a cross registration agreement with a school with larger math and physics departments? If you actually were at Amherst, that would be the obvious thing to try (take courses at UMass), but since you are not, you need to check whether such opportunities exist at your school.
