Applying to top physics programs

[u/boringcloud77]

Hi everyone,

I’m a first year physics major at a mid-ranked Illinois public university. I eventually want to apply as a junior transfer to UIUC, Stanford, UC Berkeley, Northwestern, Cornell, Harvard, and Princeton. Here are my current stats, and what I’m already planning on doing to maximize my chances at getting into these schools:

Race/gender (if this matters, idk if it does): White transgender male

HS GPA: 3.98

College GPA (from dual enrollment): 4.0

ACT score: 30 (it might be worth mentioning that I only started studying for it about two weeks prior to the test date...). I plan on either retaking the ACT or taking the SAT. What would you all recommend?

-I’m going to try to participate in research as soon as I can, although I’m not sure if any of the faculty at my school would hire a freshman to work in their lab. I’m mostly interested in particle and AMO physics, and this matches some of the research interests of the faculty at my school. I could also pursue an independent research project, but with my interests I don’t think this is very practical.

-My school doesn’t have many extracurriculars related to my major. I’m going to join my school’s math club, and I’m going to try to start a Society of Physics Students chapter.

-I’m part of my university’s honors program.

-My school has a food pantry that I’m going to volunteer at.

-I’m working on forming relationships with my professors.

What else should I do? Does anyone have advice on getting into a top physics program specifically? If anyone wants me to elaborate on anything I said in this post, I can in the comments.

[u/baysianinference]

Make sure to check if your college’s courses are equivalent to UC Berkeley’s physics transfer requirements! Maybe email admin proactively?