I have a huge collection of links to articles, blog posts, Google docs/spreadsheets, scholarship calls, etc that have come in handy over the years. Some are no longer relevant to my life directly (for instance, all my undergrad bookmarks) so I’ve decided to place them here, in hopes they might help someone else.
These are aimed at students in physics/astronomy but other STEM folks or other grad students might find them useful too!
This list is constantly under update. I have a LOT of links, so I add a few here and there as I find time.
Undergrad
GRE
Physics GRE solutions – Worked solutions to all the officially released sample Physics GRE exams.
Ohio State guide to the PGRE – the de facto guide. Follow this and you’ll probably do better than I did! It starts 12 weeks before you take the PGRE, so plan ahead!
PGRE requirements at various Astronomy graduate programs – a crowdsourced cheat sheet maintained by James Guillochon.
REUs/Research experiences
REU search – find NSF-funded REUs in all the sciences here. This is the official listing. You may stumble upon REUs at places not listed on this page–those may be non-NSF but still good opportunities.
Euroscholars – Research abroad! Something I found but never pursued.
Graduate School
TIMELINE for preparing for and applying to graduate school – astronomy-focused, but useful for all the sciences
PhysicsGRE prospective grad forms – check here for an annual thread where students post their stats, schools they applied to and where they got in.
Questions to ask – some questions to ask schools during visit weekends (or by email if you don’t get a visit)
An Open Letter to New Graduate Students (Pastebin), Brian Croxall, Emory University
Mentoring Graduate Students through Social Media (Pastebin), Julie Meloni (I think an actual better description is: Using social media for mentoring, networking and learning about your field as a graduate student.)
NSF GRFP
The National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, a highly coveted 3-year fellowship for STEM grads. US citizens only. Canadians, this is similar to your NSERC; except the NSF GRFP cannot be taken to another country, unlike NSERC.
Alex Lang’s tips for the GRFP – one of the top go-to websites for GRFP tips
Claire Bowen’s tips for the GRFP – another; she has helped many win the fellowship
Mallory Ladd’s tips for the GRFP
Social Issues/Diversity/Inclusivity
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein’s decolonizing science reading list
Assessing graduate programs (for woman-friendliness) – from APS
Research Skills/Tips
Getting Started with Zotero (1, 2) – Amy Cavender
List of common journal abbreviations (and associated LaTeX commands)
Citing a poster – for some reason no one ever talks about this and there seems to be no accepted format, but you might have cause to do it (e.g. if something you’re applying to demands citations for everything, and you have just posters on your CV as an undergrad.)
LaTeX
LaTeX is the standard for writing scientific papers. Learn it as an undergrad and you’ll have a small edge.
List of common journal abbreviations (and associated LaTeX commands)
Detexify – draw the symbol you want, website produces the LaTeX command
Astronomy Specific Stuff
AstroBetter (Wiki) – mixed bag of whether a section is complete or not, but the section on graduate life is pretty well filled out. Site contains a blog and everything from tips for setting up a Mac for data reduction to details on specific telescopes.
FITS support office – learn about the standard astronomical data file type.
How to read the Clear Dark Sky charts – you’ll need these for observing.
Thinking about graduate school in astronomy? Another view. – Really old, but a sobering document that you should think through.
Fellowships, Internships, Scholarships
Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program – Through AAS (link is an example from 2017)
Fun Stuff and Cool Tools
Zooniverse – Participate in citizen science and contribute to real scientific research! Everyone can help–no science degree needed! Projects in everything from Astronomy to Zoology!
Physical constant calculator – ever wish your TI-89 had a button for h, G or m_e? I do!