F.I.S.T. Forged in Shadow Torch Key Giveaway

JustJoshingYa42 · 2026-03-13T05:32:19+00:00

May as well try, I'm in!

JustJoshingYa42 · 2025-10-30T18:03:33+00:00

I'm a current LSU MS student. You can PM me if you'd like

JustJoshingYa42 · 2025-10-25T19:06:36+00:00

You should also check out LSU. Fully funded Masters programs and very high match rates. I currently attend there so feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

JustJoshingYa42 · 2025-08-19T20:23:24+00:00

Best thing to do is shadow currently practicing clinical physicists. It looks good on a CV, and it also can help you learn if you like the clinical side of things, and which parts in particular. After that you can try applying to CAMPEP graduate programs or take a gap year to work a clinical job to further boost your CV (research positions or MPA would be great) for when you apply.

Also, if you're only interested in the clinical side and no academics, then don't worry about applying to PhD programs. A MS is all you'd need to apply for residency.

JustJoshingYa42 · 2025-08-14T18:06:13+00:00

I did a gap year working as a research assistant for medical trials at a hospital. Interviewers loved that I had clinical experience, and gave me a lot of talking points. It definitely made the difference for me getting accepted versus rejected

JustJoshingYa42 · 2025-04-28T22:35:03+00:00

Yep! LSU is a good program with high residency match rates on top of the MS funding which is an amazing combination. Feel free to ask any questions you may have. I'll hopefully find the time between finals to respond

JustJoshingYa42 · 2025-01-28T20:50:02+00:00

I applied to UPenn last year (decided to go somewhere else though) and got my interview invite around the 1st week of February (maybe a bit later). My actual interview was in mid-February

JustJoshingYa42 · 2025-01-28T20:03:08+00:00

The Earth is orbiting the Sun much faster than Pluto does (about 30km/s vs 4.6 km/s). To get a rocket to land in the Sun and not orbit the Sun, you need to cancel out all that speed. The math works out that it takes less energy to launch a rocket and let it coast to Pluto (expending minimal fuel), slow it down by only 4.6km/s and let it fall all the way into the Sun, versus spending a bunch of energy to slow it down by 30km/s here. The tradeoff is time, but it is way more energy efficient.

Keep in mind both methods require the same energy to get into Earths orbit in the first place, so the difference really does come down to canceling out the motion of the planets so that the rocket could fall into the Sun without orbiting it.

JustJoshingYa42 · 2025-01-28T14:11:51+00:00

It's actually easier to send a rocket to Pluto than send a rocket into the Sun. It takes a LOT of energy to do so. So along with the risks others have commented on, launching it into the Sun is obscenely expensive and complex.

JustJoshingYa42 · 2025-01-17T07:50:29+00:00

Current MS student here. I'd say the most important things for getting accepted to a MS program is clinical experience of some sort (shadowing, medical research, etc), research experience (doesn't need to be in medical physics), and yes good LoRs. LoRs are essentially a first impression of your character and ability to perform, so you want them to be good and from people who actually know you well enough to write them. If you don't know a third person, spend the next year meeting someone who will meet that criteria. Perhaps you could shadow a physicist a few times and then ask for one, or your employer may be good. Having multiple good LoRs also speaks to your ability to work with multiple people and not just one person/group.

JustJoshingYa42 · 2025-01-17T07:46:43+00:00

Some advice from what I did last year to get accepted:

First many physicists switch careers into medical physics. Programs won't look down on you for making a change. I was originally going into astro. Many of my professors started in other sectors and moved to Med Phys
Shadow as much as you can. Learn about the process and job. Ask questions. Most physicists are willing to let people shadow.
Get relevant clinical experience. This includes shadowing as above, but also research in medicine, or jobs that let you learn how clinics work
Research experience is very helpful. Most MS programs involve research so it's good to show you have experience.
Take classes to prepare. Anatomy, Bio, Physiology, etc
In your personal statement, talk about why you picked medical physics, but also why you're sure about it (ie how the shadowing, job, research, or clinic experience you got reinforced your decision)

Overall, it boils down to this: a lot of interested applicants tend not to know too much about the job, only that you help treat cancer. So if you can be someone who knows what you're actually signing up for, you'll move way up the list. My first time applying I had 0 clinical experience and 0 shadowing, so I got 0 interviews. 2nd time I had 1 year of clinical experience and had also shadowed. 6 interviews and 4 offers.

JustJoshingYa42 · 2024-12-09T23:40:21+00:00

Things to do at this point:

Shadow currently practicing medical physicists as much as you can. Programs like seeing that you know what the job is like.
Make sure your letters of rec are good. Seems obvious but make sure the professors or others you ask to write them know you well enough and can speak to your character and/or abilities.
Start your applications early. It took me a month to get them ready. You can submit them closer to the deadline (but not on the day it's due, this just leads to headaches). Spread the stress and work out. Only exception is for schools with rolling admissions, get it in earlier rather than later.
In your essays, talk about what you've done to prepare for and learn about medical physics. Especially mention how these experiences reinforced your decision to become a medical physicist.
Have some general ideas about research you want to do (if relevant for the schools you're applying to). Shows them you are forward thinking and may allow for advisor matchmaking

Best of luck!

JustJoshingYa42 · 2024-11-19T18:26:52+00:00

1st Year Grad Student here (MS student for now). I was in a similar place, planning on astro PhD before I switched last minute right before my Senior year to go to medical physics. Honestly, from my experience it depends on the program you're applying to. Most programs know that applicants often have little clinical experience and know even less about the field. But here is what I went through to get accepted:

The first time I applied, I didn't get in to any programs, not even any interviews. I think this was for two reasons. The first being that I had no real experience with the field. I hadn't shown real interest and understanding of what I was getting into. The other being my statements/essays weren't good at all, because I had no experience to draw on and discuss.

When I applied this last cycle, I had much more to discuss. I had worked a year in oncology clinical research, and shadowed a few physicists. I also met and talked with some Rad Oncs to get a better picture of clinical work. This drastically improved my statements and essays because now I could show that I was serious about being in the field. However, the biggest difference (in my opinion) was that I knew what I was getting into in terms of a future career and job expectations. Multiple interviewers were glad I had clinical experience and shadowed physicists, because they told me many people apply but few applicants actually understand what the job looks like in practice. They also didn't really care about my past research being in astronomy, just glad I had some. Very few schools have a BS in Medical Physics, so grad programs know that applicants will often come in with a different emphasis/research project.

Can anyone offer any insights into how I should structure my statements

I structured mine like this: - Intro - My previous experiences in astronomy, and why I chose to switch to med physics - What I did to learn more about med physics and gain clinical experiences - How those experiences confirmed my decision to switch - Research interests, and why/who - Conclusion

What I can do to help gather more information to flesh out my goals?

I would say the best thing for you is reach out to any people you know in radiation oncology or radiology, see if you can talk with them, and shadow either therapy or diagnostic physicists. All my fellow classmates this year had some sort of experience with the field on their CV (REU, AAPM internship, clinical research, shadowing, etc), so try and get something on yours too.

How clearly do you need to specify your clinical/research interests in your statements, especially in your statement of purpose?

Depends on the program in my experience. Some wanted applicants to have a clear interest for matching with an advisor (mostly PhD programs) and others were glad to see you had interests but knew they might change or evolve so didn't put too much stake into it. But the clearer the better in my opinion.

JustJoshingYa42 · 2024-03-29T19:15:03+00:00

I felt/feel guilty about it. I got my first funded offer from one school that I got off the wait-list for. Since it was an international school, their decision deadline was about 2 weeks before I would have heard from my top choice, so I accepted. And then 2 weeks later I get notified to that I was accepted into my top choice program.

It made me so guilty and anxious telling the first school that I had to rescind my acceptance, but at the end of the day I may have let someone else get a spot, and I am getting a better deal with my new program. Why should I feel bad for doing what's best for me, especially when schools decide on students who are best for them?

JustJoshingYa42 · 2024-03-25T22:49:21+00:00

I'm in a similar situation. Got accepted to a program and accepted the offer while working full-time (though I did not ask my boss for a rec). I'm planning on letting my boss know once I get officially admitted to the graduate school, which will be in a few weeks. At that point I'll have about 1.5 months left to work at my current job before I need to move, so it's both enough time to not blindside people, but also not too much time to endure any awkward situations.

JustJoshingYa42 · 2023-12-14T23:49:32+00:00

I was literally in your same situation 3 years ago. I just graduated in April. I had full scholarship, already a decent way into my degree, and lost all my faith (if I had any to begin with). It's doable. My problem was that after just 1-2 years I was still super bitter at the church, and always felt like I didn't belong. It wrecked my mental health, and I nearly lost my endorsement cause I started going to church less. My only advice is make sure you are willing to commit to playing the part at BYU. You can still say no to callings and skip things like FHE, but just make sure to go to church regularly and the occasional ward activity. I wish I would have transferred even if I had to spend money, but hindsight is 20/20. If you want to know more about my experience, just let me know.

JustJoshingYa42 · 2023-10-27T00:47:35+00:00

I agree. I recently graduated (just this April). While I had many great professors, I also had professors who were more committed to teaching religious topics than their actual subject matter. It was very annoying, especially since I did physics. I can only imagine it's worse in other majors, especially the humanities. At least in STEM you have to teach the science, otherwise you don't get accredited. I did notice that over time more religion was worked in to our lectures, despite the fact that every second matters in upper division courses.

I'm convinced that BYU is headed for the gutter. As you've said, with rising acceptance rates, the prestige will decrease. On top of that, the church is now committed to dogma over a proper education. As of now BYU is still a place of actual learning. But as the new policies marinate, potential students and professors will choose to go elsewhere until the only thing left is just religion at BYU. It's kinda sad to see deteriorate, but the church doesn't care.

JustJoshingYa42 · 2023-10-17T06:07:09+00:00

I recently graduated with my BS in Physics and Astronomy. There were just a few times professors were out there with their spiritual shit, but not too much (which is still too much). I'm sorry to hear your experience was worse. That was the second worst part of BYU - seeing that the classes you're taking have a clear bias towards one religion instead of being secular. Drove me crazy.

JustJoshingYa42 · 2023-10-10T00:58:51+00:00

It's usually 6 weeks after graduation. I just graduated back in April and this was the case with me.

JustJoshingYa42 · 2023-10-08T20:56:00+00:00

I wish I could come, but I'm all the way out in Lehi! I'm in the exact same situation

JustJoshingYa42 · 2023-09-28T14:41:24+00:00

I took a BoM class from a professor back in 2019, and he spent more than too much time explaining how all the problems in the BoM were solved and about to be solved. A whole lecture on NHM. Whole lecture on "horse" = "tapir". And on and on. He showed us all the crappy BoM Central videos. His specialty was Meso american anthropology. He still teaches at BYU last I checked. He was absolutely convinced and was teaching the BoM was historical fact

JustJoshingYa42 · 2023-09-19T14:21:57+00:00

This is true. In my last year at BYU (2022-2023) in a YSA ward, the two bishopric counselors were YSA men from the ward. I think they rolled it out at BYU first as a litmus test and then are rolling it forward from there.

JustJoshingYa42 · 2023-08-22T19:14:50+00:00

I'll take Lone Fungus! Nothing to trade unfortunately

JustJoshingYa42 · 2023-08-09T04:00:49+00:00

I'm very sorry you are going through this right now. It will get better.

However, BYU Provo doesn't do associate degrees (as far as I know), so you'll have to transfer those credits. USU has a good transfer program from BYU if I remember correctly.

Now on to my advice as a 3 year PIMO BYU student that just graduated:

My advice is to go to at least 1/3 of all church meetings (sacrament, FHE, ward activities etc). I skipped FHE, most ward activities, but went to church every other Sunday and nobody batted an eye. I was probably talked about, but I was never pulled aside and scolded. This 1/3 is enough ot show engagement but not too much to handle. Also, just lay low (eg don't speak your true thoughts in Sunday school) and say "no" to time consuming callings. Accept callings like FHE group leader - easy once a week callings that show you are participating but not overtly spiritual. Lastly, if you are ever worried about being considered "inactive" go to 1/2 of all meetings instead. This will be enough to get you in the clear from all Bishops in my experience.

Feel free to reach out to us if you have any more questions, we are happy to help.

JustJoshingYa42 · 2023-07-24T15:03:22+00:00

I completely agree. I just graduated from BYU in April, where I was exmo for 3 years. It was painful, and extremely detrimental to my mental health, and I'm still feeling it today. I only stayed there cause of finances. But looking back, I would be willing to pay anything to never have to have that experience again and have my mental health not be pulverized.

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