My final test of gradschool, the comprehensive exam, is in just a couple of weeks. Today I talk a bit about what that is, and how I've been preparing. If you'd like to become a patron of the channel: / andrewdotson
You look really stressed and nervous Andrew. Don't worry too much about it, we (your viewers) have faith in you and you are probably going to pass the exam. I'm more or less at the same stage of the career as you are (different universities) and I can tell you have a pretty good understanding and remember a great deal of the content. At least, that's as far as I can tell from your videos. Don't worry about the long periods of time between videos, we will still be subscribed after you take the test. Good luck!
Yep, just to add on to this: I passed my equivalent PhD exams, and I would say the #1 thing that helped was making sure to just do a TON of example problems. Take those previous exams and modify the question a bit and solve them. Make sure you practice, practice, practice! Even if you have every equation that will be on the exam on your study guide, at the end of the day you will need experience using them. Time is a significant factor on these exams, you really don’t want to find yourself having to derive things from scratch in my experience. These exams are tough, but with enough practice you should be fine. The key is that the questions often require a little bit of out-of-the-box thinking before they can be solved, but if you have practice solving interesting variations on previous exam questions then you will be prepared to make that jump and understand what the question is asking of you. Spend time really thinking about what the question is asking and why it’s being asked, then dive into the math.
@@GirtonOramsay Fair, let me rephrase: They will be the most difficult exam you will ever take, but if you put in the time and effort and you are already at the point you are taking these exams then you absolutely can pass them.
Cosmology exam prof: Please do not memorize any formulas. The point of the exam is to test your knowledge but not your memorization skill. Me : Ok Exam Q1a): Please write down the Friedmann equation for a flat universe. Me: f*** True story :)
Ahh, it's almost been 3 years, it's crazy how much time has passed. I remember asking you for advice when you were still a senior but now we're both in graduate school. Good luck on your comprehensives. Got preliminaries in two weeks!
This is f*ing crazy. Come to Germany, we don't even really have written exams after undergrad and there are no "final tests". And if you do well in your thesises (is that a word?) you have a great chance to get a paid position to do your PhD. I almost feel lazy from seeing what you have to go through. Still, I believe in you my man, you will do it!
I understand very little of the topics you are talking about, except some things that cross over with chemistry, but it was very fascinating. I hope you do well in the exam and hopefully all the work you put in will pay off.
“I’m going to shut up and take it”? Please reword that, good sir 😂 But seriously, I just finished a Ph.D. in mathematics and the hardest part was the stupid qualifying exam. Ours was two 4-hour exams in abstract algebra and real analysis. Then after that, we had to take the area exam. The area exam is an oral examination on the field of study you want to specialize in. For example, my field is differential geometry so I was tested on my knowledge of that. Ugh...graduate examinations suck HARD! But I’m proud of you for pushing forward and you can do this! I believe in you, the finish line DOES exist!
Solve Integrals With Me Sure! I would be happy to answer any questions you might have about studying higher level mathematics. You can email me at Troy100389@aol.com.
Yo Andrew, get as technical as you want/need. This video is helping you organize your thoughts for an upcoming big knowledge check. As your viewers, we want the best for you and will gladly hear your brain ramble on Lagrangians and partition funtions for hours if it helps you get past this successfully.
Me, in grade 9: I think I'll take physics, seems easy enough. *a few years of ignoring air resistance, taking sinx=x Me, in grade 11: That dumb bastard, why does he get to ruin my life. All this knowledge is pain *after killing the ender dragon, finding inner peace on this pale blue dot. Me, in grade 12: Wasn't that bad of a choice, at least I know how the universe works. *opens e&m book Me: shouldn't have said that, should not have said that.
When andrew said "I am just gonna shut up and take it" I felt it in my soul Because I am supposed to finish my 5 online exams due tuesday but it's ANDREW!! It's worth it And good luck for your comperhancive exams
@@PapaFlammy69 My life would be pure gray if i didn't see you texting eachother like this everytime. Btw Jens, I love your screams. I myself scream pretty often and seing you do the same makes me feel less retarded. Thanks.
I have my qualifying exam (same as your comprehensive exam) coming up in about a month for PhD in Aerospace engineering! Good luck bro! We can do this!
I am so sad seeing American fetishisation of classical E&M and Classical Mech in graduate studies. Here in Europe and in Japan rarely in graduate studies you find those topics and I think for a good reason. Theoretical degrees here have a lot of QM, QFT, GM and Stat Mech, none cares about E&M unless it is QED or related to Condensed Matter Physics. I think you would enjoy European way of studying more than in the US, as I think your strong points seem to be QM and Stat Mech
At my University in my physics department, a little over half the students in the year previous to mine failed the comprehensive exam -- or what we call prelims. It absolutely can happen. Thankfully, here, you have two chances to pass them all. If you fail three of them, you have to take all of them again, but if you pass two or more, you only have to take the remaining ones you failed again the next Summer. A friend of mine at Duke University also said that they had the qualifying exams, but no one takes them seriously there, so you can still stay even if you fail it. At my University, we didn't even have one, so it's not always the same.
Ouf! This got me pretty stressed out even though I’m still 17 and i am already going through college curriculums by myself. Pretty scary stuff, kinda motivates me to do even more P.S good luck man! You’re definitely an inspiration
@@thephysicistcuber175 I kid you not, I had a textbook that, for one section (I think it was a problem using the WKB approximation - it's been over 30 years), said to use the approximation i = hbar. No, that's not a typo. This same text had a problem involving a periodic dirac delta function potential and energy bands. All well and good, except that the graph showed the potential as a series of spikes of height infinity, which was marked on the vertical axis; the axis continued past that point. Don't underestimate how far physicists will bend mathematics to suit their needs. A quick search found it: Introductory Quantum Mechanics by Liboff.
I haven't even finished my undergraduate in physics yet and I'm already panicking about this test. I hope this will go well for you. I'm taking my first dedicated quantum mechanics class next semester and it is going to be basically self taught due to Covid-19 online. Can't imagine taking grad school classes during all of this.
I'll be taking a comprehensive exam in about 3 semesters for seismology (I believe we typically take it 2.5 years in, as opposed to 2 in many cases).... Jesus Christ Andrew those latex notes look amazing. I imagine I'll look like that Charlie meme studying for it, my notes always have been physical. I wish you the best for it, I personally find it terrifying, but I am certain you'll do well, as for me we'll see D:
Thanks for inspiring and exiting me in every video Andrew. I'm in high school and the syllabus is mostly boring. You keep my passion for physics alive.
Hey Andrew, can you make your notes available publicly too, maybe? They look so good and could help people in other universities in their comprehensive too. I am also going to give my comprehensive in coming few months and your notes could be very helpful in the preparation.
Good luck on comps dad! It’s so weird how different comps are across universities; at my uni in CO our comps are 100% research based and are basically pre-vivas
Thank you for this video. It is such an excellent explanation of what the comps are. I don't think anyone who hasn't taken them or isn't facing taking them has an appreciation for what exactly it means. You definitely have a great study method and seem incredibly organized. In my experience, reading and taking notes was important, but the single most important way of studying was doing problem after problem all day every day. On the days of the exams, I made sure to get a good night's sleep and have a relaxed morning with a good breakfast followed by 1-2 warm-up problems to get my brain going for the day. Of course everyone operates differently. In any case, best of luck! Even getting to the exam is a huge accomplishment. And once you are done, it will be such a huge relief.
Hey andrew! I wish you all the best for your test which you will contest to research at your best. That came out nice, anyway dont be stressed or overwhelmed just write a sticky note stick it at your desk stating your plan of action and half a week before your exam reflect what all ya did and u MUST he golden.
I have a physics PhD, a couple of postdocs, and (alas only) about 130 citations. The prospect of taking an 8 hour test let alone a 3 day one on all that scares the living shit out of me. You're already doing better than I would have, keep it up!
Hello! Recent high school graduate and soon to be cs student here. No clue what any of this means or how to do it but it showed up on my recommended tab on RU-vid so all I can really say is good luck and I hope you do well on your exam!
Have you heard about the Landau's TheorMinimum exam in Russia? It is an INSANE exam, covering the entire theoretical physics (its name is fully misleading and quite ironic) , it consists of about 10 exams, each of which is based on one book from Landau's and Lifshitz's course, which you probably heard of, and oh boy not an easy read it is. So, if you want motivation, remember that some Russian students remember literally ALL the physics for their exams.
I'm still in high school (in Germany it's called different but anyway), but I want to study physics later. I didn't understand a word what you talked about, your content on one hand somehow motivates and fascinates me, but on the other hand it scares me 😅😂 anyway I wish you good luck!
Drexel got rid of it's "Qualifying exam" which is like Andrew's Comprehensive exam and I think that was a great idea. There are grade requirements and other things, but no big written test that could end your career, god bless
I really hope that you'll keep making videos up until finishing PhD. It really helps me stay on track of what to do, and expect going through this "want to be a physicist" journey. But you helped me(us viewers) a lot already. much love
plot twist: Jesse kyle is actually a super genius playing dumb, but he's actually helping Andrew with stat mech and classical. also, Jesse unified quantum field theory and general relativity 2 months ago because he was bored during the quarantine. also good luck Andrew we all have faith in you but the most important thing is to have faith in yourself, also if you have any doubts on any topics just ask jesse kyle.
The best thing to do when it comes to exams like this, that I've found, is just to keep doing problems. All the time. Do all of the problems from previous semesters, and then look through each subjects textbooks, jot down the subjects that you're kind of iffy on, and then work on problems that have solutions, work through it on your own, and then use the solutions to help you out if you get stuck. Same thing with old exams from previous courses; go over them, work through those problems again, and master them. Good luck!
Hi Andrew, I appreciate your picture of a mind in the process of being ground down by the wheel of physics education. I've had the opportunity to reflect on my time within the system and think it might help you and your viewers think about their choices from a new perspective. I serve up a bitter, somewhat controversial pill, but for some people, it is the right medicine. Some call my videos physics ASMR. Since I have almost no followers, any kind of boost you could give to my RU-vid channel would be highly influential for my progress in getting my thoughts out there. Best, Kirsten
The way it worked in my grad school for economics was that you had four different exams you had to pass. You can fail each of them once. You can take them in any order. What you are doing is insane. Basically all of physics and you only get one chance? Totally nuts. I don't know anyone in my grad program who didn't fail at least one exam. My best friend who crushed his first three exams failed the fourth.
I'm a physics PhD student too, and at my school we have the same exam your school calls the qualifier, but we call it the preliminary exam. You take it before your first semester. Then we have what you call the comprehensive, but we call it the qualifying exam. For us it is strictly oral and consists of a presentation to a room full of people after which you have to answer questions. It's sort of a thesis defense lite.
Good luck! Saw your videos in my senior year of undergrad and they helped me decide on pursuing a PhD. I'm studying for my 1st qualifying exam right now and feel that sense of being overwhelmed. Crush it!
Interesting, my university comprehensive exam is more of PhD topic presentation, the problem solving capabilities are examined in qualifying exam. I guess different universities have different approaches....
I’m pursuing a master’s degree in mathematics after finishing physics and a minor in mathematics but this video has made me reconsider and has given me a weird surge of motivation to study physics... good luck with your exam!!! Love your content it always makes me appreciate my field a little more
The test to end all tests....yeah I get to do that at the end of this year. I have the qualifying (your comprehensive) test at the end of my first year grad program. If I fail to pass that, then I have only one more chance to pass it at the end of next summer.
Hey just good luck man. Study hard, but be certain to get enough sleep. I blew more than one test by being brain-dead from sleep deprivation. I wish you the very best.
You videos are great! Keep them coming! I know schools do exams in different ways, but when I was in physics grad school (think MC Hammer time), there was no entrance type exam, and you could try the qualifier 12 months after starting. BUT, unlike what you’re describing, students were absolutely NOT allowed to work on any project, with any professor, until you passed the qualifier, period. No contact. This rule prevents professors from taking advantage of students, by having them work huge amounts of time in their labs even though they haven’t yet, and may well never, pass the qualifier. There’s also an obvious conflict of interest as your ‘advisor’ might try to influence how your qualifier is graded, good or bad. The first time profs were allowed to give us their pitch us was at the qualifier cocktail party for those who just passed, that’s where I first met the professor with whom I got a PhD.
Hi Andrew, I am a chemistry student, but i really like your videos. They are really informative and helpful, since we chemists use some physics too as you may know. I wish you all the best for your upcoming big exam. I am sure you will pass it with no problems.
All the best Andrew! I am sure that your exam will be very good. Watching your videos all these years has certainly made me more confident about appearing for my exams!! Best wishes, and eagerly await your video after this exam!!
I just finished my Comprehensive Exams. We have four 3hr written and then a 2 hr oral. In the oral they will ask random questions on your week points from the written. At the end of our 3rd yr we have our Prelims, which is a "presentation" and oral exam over the field we are specializing in.
At 5:00 you mentioned sharing your results with grad students (I presume for their qualification tests). As much, as I am a friend of sharing, I don’t think you should do that. After all the preparation is a fundamental part of the qualification. Just giving out shortcuts will not improve anybodies degree (as long as they don’t fail) and it will certainly not improve the reputation of the universities graduates in the long run. I entirely stopped taking those cheat sheets from colleagues because I also don’t know any better when I have the opportunity to go with ‚the easy way‘. But my mistakes from the past frequently catch up with me when revising material I could be more familiar with (if I hadn’t taken those shortcuts)...
Another great video Andrew! I got really sad watching it though because I’m in a place financially and academically where I simply cannot afford to go to grad school even though it’s my dream. My loans for undergrad already kill me and I was a very sub-par student in part because of my mental illness, though I definitely did not push myself to do the studying and double down so my grades suffered. Because of this when I applied for a masters program (on top of the PhD programs I knew I was grasping at straws for) I was next in line but my physics GRE score was not quite enough to take over the fact most of my undergrad grades were C’s. And I just can’t add more debt onto myself by getting a Master’s on top of what I have. I’m exceedingly sad about this but I hope it goes well for you!
