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Am I aiming too high (quantum info/computation)?

Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2017 6:51 am
by kwiksand
Hi, first post here. I've just looked through the applicant profiles from previous years and am now rethinking my choice of schools, especially as an international applicant. I'm not sure if I should switch out some of the higher ranked schools for more lower ranked ones. Here's my profile:

Undergrad Institution: Big Canadian School, good physics department.
Major(s): Honours Physics.
Minor(s): None.
GPA in Major: 3.9 in Math+Physics courses.
Overall GPA: 3.85.
Length of Degree: 4.
Position in Class: Near the top, but they don't rank us.
Type of Student: Domestic to Canada, international to America. Asian with Canadian citizenship.

GRE Scores : revised
Q:167
V:157
W:4
P:I'm taking the October exam, but I should be getting 800-990, based on the practice exams.


Research Experience: one summer full time with an experimental particle physics group, one 8month project in accelerator physics, 8 months full time research in superconductivity in CMT group at a Max Planck Institute. No publications, maybe 1 later this year but probably too late to mention on my application.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Some scholarships for good grades, 1 scholarship for being in top 5% in the faculty of science.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: None.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: None.

Special Bonus Points: Atleast 1 letter of recommendation is really great, other 2 I don't know but they should be good.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Unlikely.

Applying to Where: All in experimental quantum information/computation, and maybe in experimental condensed matter:
In order of preference:
MIT
Waterloo
Caltech
Maryland
Stanford
University of New Mexico
University of Toronto

As a side question, does anyone know other schools that have good research groups in QC?