Physics GRE Discussion Forums

So, for most top schools, their admissions websites say you can only apply to one dept. Which means you have to pick, before applying, physics or applied physics. For those of you who have already applied, what went into the decision making process? Why choose physics over applied physics, or vice versa? (especially for schools like Harvard , Stanford, CalTech...which have good dept.s in both pure and applied physics)

I do not understand why Harvard's engineering or applied physics program is so higly rated. If they were any good, would not they be on a top 10 list of the US news ranking( the engineering program) given that they already have a name factor associated with them.
I am not discouraging anybody from applying to Harvard. In fact, I am applying there too and you already know why.

Speaking of Harvard, it has a relatively small engineering & applied physics school, but I believe what little it does have is of high quality. So, I think applied physics at Harvard would be a good option only if one is particularly interested in the research of particular applied physics faculty members.

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funny, I thought Applied would be more popular because of the higher probability of getting a job, at least in industry.

Some applied physics programs don't require the physics GRE

There are a lot of applied physics projects that are theoretical. I would take a look at the course lists for both departments and also research. For instance, I am interested in atomic physics, and basically am choosing which department of the two includes this in their department's research.