PhD Applications in Europe Questions
Hello fellow physicists. I'm a Master's student in the US and just wanna get a feel for this (ideally from faculty members or current/former graduate students at European institutions). My undergraduate GPA was fine but nothing to write home about: 3.12. My Master's GPA is a lot more impressive: 3.94 (I seem to have found my footing a lot more in grad school). And I've been involved in novel astrophysics research at a world renowned lab over this past year and will continue with them for the next year and perhaps a little past graduation.
Do European institutions put much stock into how you performed in undergraduate study? I know almost all of the programs expect applicants to have a Master's by the time they arrive. So, do they generally just take a glance at undergraduate performance and look more closely at graduate work? I know the biggest part of my application will be my research and recommendations (I assume, anyway, that's how it works in the US). So, I know my lower undergraduate gpa shouldn't matter that much, but I assume other candidates will probably have done better in undergrad and will probably do similarly in graduate school.
This is perhaps a little unorganized. Please ask any clarifying questions. But I'm broadly asking how appealing I am to a given European PhD program, given what I've included. I know I didn't include specifics, but with my GPAs and two years of novel research at a good research institution - the details of that research shouldn't matter so long as it isn't on like a Nobel-winning project (it isn't) or something. My research mentor does have a pre-existing collaboration with Oxford though.
PS: I'm applying in Europe to avoid US institutions forcing me to get a second Master's.