What are the most important factors that graduate schools consider for physics applicants?

Graduate School
1

I want to get a poll going…
When U.S graduate schools consider applicants for physics, what are the most important factors they consider in admissions? —RANK THEM—

*Consider both theoretical and applied applicants.

2

My ds went through the grad school process for theoretical last school yr. In no particular order the key strengths of his application were his GPA, courses taken, UG research (both on his home campus and at REUs), PGRE and GRE scores, and LOR.

3

Thanks @Mom2aphysicsgeek, but you’ve listed literally all the factors that graduate schools consider. I’m looking for which items out of those you listed are most important, and in what order of importance(roughly).

4

@thecfitz Bc they all matter. Grad school admissions is competitive, and depending on the program, different thresholds are going to matter. What factor are you hoping to not need?

If you spend some time on gradcafe you can see GPA and test scores of people who report them and some post comments about research in the side bar. https://www.thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php?q=Physics&t=a&o=i

Astrobites has some good info on REUs. https://astrobites.org/2013/01/05/so-you-want-to-apply-for-an-reu-heres-how/

5

They all count more or less equally. This is because for highly selective programs, the GPA and test scores are used for initial winnowing of the applicant pool and then the LORs and Research experience become more important when the applications are being reviewed fully.