What schools are(or may be) within my reach? looking for numerical relativity and gravity

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muke
Posts: 20
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2015 1:26 am

What schools are(or may be) within my reach? looking for numerical relativity and gravity

Post by muke » Mon Nov 23, 2015 11:33 am

Hi, guys, just received my PGRE score today and would like to post my profile here to get some suggestions on school selection.

Undergrad Institution: 300ish worldwide according to QS, 7th in China
Major(s):Physics
Minor(s):N/A
GPA in Major:92/100
Overall GPA:91.5/100
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: top 1
Type of Student: International Asian Female

GRE Scores : revised
Q:170
V:156
W:3
P:980


TOEFL Total: 104(Speaking 24)

Research Experience:
1.5 years doing graphene theory stuff, no publication.
9 months doing quantum computation theory, one 1st author paper about to submit.
Senior thesis on black hole thermodynamics, just started 1 month ago.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
just some awards for getting high GPAs.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
Nope.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
Summer school at Peking U, learning topological quantum states, got 98/100.
Summer school at Fudan U, learning QCD and strong interaction, got A(90-100).

Special Bonus Points: (Such as connections, grad classes, famous recommenders, female or minority status etc...)
Female and Asian may just cancel.
Grad classes:
last semester: QM, EM, Standard Model, Solid State.
This semester: Advanced Quantum Mechanics, Lie Group and Lie Algebra, Relativistic Astrophysics.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where: All for astrophysics, cosmology and gravitation.


Reach:
Cornell
Columbia
Umich
Maryland
UPenn

Match:
New York
Stony Brook
Rutgers
PSU
Minnesota
Florida

Safety:
UMass
UPitts
Last edited by muke on Fri Dec 18, 2015 10:13 pm, edited 3 times in total.

adamyos
Posts: 21
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 5:43 am

Re: What schools are(or may be) within my reach? looking for numerical relativity and gravity

Post by adamyos » Wed Dec 02, 2015 2:53 am

I think your profile is quite good, considering your PGRE scores and length of research experience.

I am also applying this year for computational gravitational physics/numerical relativity. I am an international applicant from India.

Based on my experience, I would advise that you could shift your safety schools slightly lower (maybe ~60-70) in the rankings, just to be safe.
But, you never know, maybe your current list is fine too. Just my view. Because pure theoretical fields are quite hard to get into.
Also, you could emphasize in your SOP etc. that you are interested in numerical relativity and stuff, so that broadens your application from just purely theory and increases your chances.

Can someone else give their opinion as well?

muke
Posts: 20
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2015 1:26 am

Re: What schools are(or may be) within my reach? looking for numerical relativity and gravity

Post by muke » Wed Dec 02, 2015 9:08 am

Hi adamyos, thanks for your advice! I have talked to some of my professors and got my list updated. How does it look now? Are UMass, UPitts and Milwaukee safe enough for me?
I agree with you that gravitational theory groups are hard to get into, and we really need a broad list to make sure we won't get rejected everywhere. But I noticed most safety schools have a 01/31 deadline, and according to gradcafe, a bunch of schools start to give out their offers at around 01/18. So I decided to apply to them if I don't recieve any offer by 01/31(which I hope will not happen :D ).



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