2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

  • This has become our largest and most active forum because the physics GRE is just one aspect of getting accepted into a graduate physics program.
  • There are applications, personal statements, letters of recommendation, visiting schools, anxiety of waiting for acceptances, deciding between schools, finding out where others are going, etc.

threebodyproblems
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2023 3:19 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by threebodyproblems » Mon Jan 30, 2023 3:50 pm

Undergrad Institution: Big public school in europe, top 2-3 in country, very good physics reputation (especially in my field)
Major(s): physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: school doesn't provide detailed grades for this, but probably 3.8-3.9
Overall GPA: 3.8
Length of Degree: 3 years
Position in Class: 11 out of 160

Master's Institution: same as undergrad
Major(s): quantum science
Minor(s): mathematics, computer science, physics
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 4.0
Length of Degree: 2 years
Position in Class: top 5 out of 70

Type of Student: international white male

GRE Scores: -


TOEFL: 116 (R: 30, L: 30, S: 29, W: 27)


Research Experience: Research on theoretical simulation of quantum circuit architecture for bachelor's thesis at associated research institution on campus (6 months, full time), continued after finishing thesis for 6 months (part time) to publish paper (1st author, good journal) & theoretical research on rydberg atoms in tweezer arrays for master's thesis (1 year, full time) at Harvard (ongoing) (no publication yet, but planned); no conferences yet, but planning to attend soon

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: scholarships from my university and a national scholarship that was awarded after application deadline, so not featured

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: research scholar at harvard (full time) and research institution associated with my university (part time)

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I also took part in a 2-year research program outside of physics during my undergrad. It's not at all related to my field, but I participated in seminars on project and research management. I guess it highlights my commitment also outside of physics because I invested a lot of time and hosted a few events

Special Bonus Points: took a lot of grad classes during my master's; I already have a lot of connections because my supervisors are well known and connected in my field; I also contacted a lot of professor when I was applying for my master's thesis, so I'm not an unknown face for some professors that I already talked to

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I think that my statement of purpose was a bit unconventional because I highlight my interdisciplinary involvement in different projects outside of physics and how it motivates me to pursue research in the beginning

Applying to Where:

Research Interest for all of them: Quantum many-body physics and computational methods, but mostly in the broad context of theoretical quantum optics

Harvard University - Physics - Feb 16: waitlisted
Harvard University - Quantum Science and Engineering - Jan 25: contacted for interview (spontaneous request because I know the prof) - Feb 22: REJECTED via website/mail
University of Chicago - Quantum Science and Engineering - Jan 17: contacted for interview on Jan 18, Jan 24: ACCEPTED for Ph.D via mail and contact by faculty member ($40.8k fellowship)
University of Chicago - Physics - Jan 27: REJECTED via website/mail (in favor of other program)
CU Boulder - Physics - Jan 25: ACCEPTED for Ph.D via website/email (~$36k fellowship + $6k award) (no interview)
Caltech - Physics - Feb 14: REJECTED via website/mail (no interview)
Princeton - Physics - Feb 17: REJECTED via website/mail (no interview)
UC Berkeley - Physics - Feb 23: REJECTED via website/mail (no interview)
UC Santa Barbara - Physics - Mar 28: REJECTED via website/mail
Stanford - Physics - Feb 3: REJECTED via website/mail (no interview)
MIT - Physics - Feb 14: REJECTED via website/mail (no interview)

Munich Quantum Valley - PhD Program in Quantum Science and Technology - Feb 13: contacted for interview for late Feb/early March - Mid Mar: REJECTED via website/mail
International Max-Planck Research School (MPQ) - PhD Program in Quantum Science and Technology - Mar 27: REJECTED via website/mail

Comments:

Feb 16: I find it a bit weird to get waitlisted for Harvard's graduate program in physics. I was asked about my preference and specifically told them that I would rather join their graduate program in QSE. Their response was that they usually go with the student's preference because you only get accepted into one of the two programs.
Feb 22: Honestly, I was a bit surprised to see that I was rejected from the QSE (but not physics) program at Harvard because I stated that this was my preference (to which the professor who interviewed agreed) and was told that they usually go with that. Well, it didn't work out unfortunately. Still on the waitlist, but given the fact that I would likely not receive any offer before mid April, I will go with another option that I really like. I was very lucky to get into two programs anyway
Mar 28: As you can see, I got into two very good programs and was waitlisted for another one. Although it is sad to be rejected from so many places, I still got very lucky. Keep in mind that a lot of this process is arbitrary to some degree (not to take anything away from anybody though). Other people mentioned this as well, but I want to highlight the importance of contacting the people you are interested in beforehand. I did not do this, but only did so after the deadline. It turns out that except for one case, every place that I was rejected from, the faculty members I contacted were not on the admission's committee. In the case of my admissions (or waitlist) they were. This is also important, so they can tell you if they plan to take students. Also: try to coordinate your applications closely with the people writing letters of recommendation for you. 1. They can help you decide which places might be suitable for your interests and 2. they can make their LoR more specific knowing what you are putting into your application materials etc.

Congrats to everybody who made it into a program :) for future applications, good luck applying, don't lose hope and try to explore other options as well!
Last edited by threebodyproblems on Tue Mar 28, 2023 10:21 am, edited 14 times in total.

yikesyikes
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Aug 08, 2022 3:25 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by yikesyikes » Wed Feb 01, 2023 3:24 pm

Undergrad Institution: Top public school in Mexico
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.86
Overall GPA: 3.86
Length of Degree: 4.5 years
Position in Class: Probably near top 5-10, but im just guessing
Type of Student: International-Male

GRE Scores: N/A


TOEFL: (R: 30, L: 26, S: 22 , W:27 )


Research Experience:

1 first author publication in HEP and 1 on review at the moment of application, 1 talk at national physics congress. I've done research since my 3rd year of college in theoretical physics related topics, 1 summer research project.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
1.Graduated with high honors
2. Awarded an institutional diploma given to the students with outstanding acomplishments during their BSc thesis research.
3. Got an scholarship to study my MSc in Germany but I had to decline for personal reasons.
4. Undergrad scholarships (schools, summer research) x3

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
1. Thermodynamics, Nuclear physics TA
2. Physics RA

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

1.won a national theoretical physics competition for BSc and MSc students twice, placed 7th/50 in an international theoretical physics competition (PLANCKS).
2. Reviewer for Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle physics x2

Special Bonus Points:

1.Took three graduate courses (QFT, QFT II, diff geo and topology for physicists)

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

1.This is my second time applying and I started working on my application in Juny, so my SOP might be a lot better than before.
2. Even when I took a gap year I didn't stop doing physics (I was continuously involved in research with my advisor) and I explained how all the competitions I attended helped me to keep improving my problem-solving skills.
3. Did a lot of research about my possible advisors and only applied to schools that seemed to be a good match.

4. Made this profile mainly to encourage int students, specially latino students that just like me check this forum to know whether they have a chance. If you are reading this try your best, u are more than enough and you'll make it sooner or later. And if you are reading this to know whether you should apply next year: YOU SHOULD :)

Applying to Where:

HEP-TH, HEP-Pheno. Tried to apply to school with research related to electroweak symmetry breaking, vacuum decay, topological solitons applied to cosmology and particle physics, EFT applications.

UChicago - Physics - HEP-TH Jan. 27: (Rejected via website/email)
UT Austin - Physics - HEP-TH (Jan. 30: ACCEPTED for Ph.D via website/email)
UToronto - Physics - HEP-T
UI-Bloomington - Physics - HEP-TH (Feb. 7: ACCEPTED for Ph.D via email)
UPittsburgh - Physics - HEP-TH (Feb. 8: ACCEPTED for Ph.D via email)
UMinnesota - Physics - HEP-TH (Feb. 10: ACCEPTED for Ph.D via email)
ASU - Physics - HEP-TH (March 15: ACCEPTED for Ph.D via email)
RiceU - Physics - HEP-TH (Feb. 10: ACCEPTED for Ph.D via email)
Last edited by yikesyikes on Wed Apr 05, 2023 2:17 am, edited 5 times in total.

daseinzigwahre
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2023 5:56 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by daseinzigwahre » Wed Feb 01, 2023 6:16 pm

Undergrad Institution: Very Large US Public School, not well known for physics
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Math, Computer Science
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 3.95
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: NA
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores: NA

TOEFL: NA

Research Experience:
Worked at research lab at home university for 3 years, 1 summer internship at large national laboratory. 1 conference poster given during internship.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Not really, just stuff for high GPA

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
No

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
Good volunteer hours, involved in sports and many school clubs.

Special Bonus Points:
Known recommender in a small subfield. Personable.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
No

Applying to Where:

University of Colorado Boulder - Physics (Jan. 30: ACCEPTED for PhD via website + $3,000 Fellowship)
University of Rochester - Physics (Feb. 6: ACCEPTED for PhD via email)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Physics (Jan 16: Contacted for interview via email, ACCEPTED Feb. 14)
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor - Applied Physics (Jan. 27: ACCEPTED for PhD via email + $3,000 Fellowship)
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor - Physics (Feb. 9: DECLINED via email)
Carnegie Mellon - Physics

>>>> Note: If you're an undergrad who is planning to apply to grad school in the future and reading all these applications is making you discouraged, you shouldn't be! The reason I'm using this forum is to compare monetary offers and look at dates that schools are sending out acceptances/rejections. Don't compare yourselves to others, focus on improving yourself and your own application. <<<

Updates:
Happy I got into Michigan; I'm strongly considering attending. Good luck everyone!
Got into Boulder and Rochester now, super happy. Still fingers crossed about MIT though!
Got into MIT :)
Last edited by daseinzigwahre on Tue Feb 14, 2023 10:59 pm, edited 6 times in total.

Troubleddwarf
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2023 6:11 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by Troubleddwarf » Wed Feb 01, 2023 8:02 pm

Undergrad Institution: Indian university (well renowned for engg. and Bio, not so much for physics/astro)
Major(s): Maths, Mechanical Engg.
Minor(s): X
GPA in Major: School does not issue a Major GPA
Overall GPA: 3.31
Length of Degree: 5 years
Position in Class: Top 25%ile in either major
Type of Student: Indian Male

GRE Scores: Not Taken


TOEFL: Not Taken, exempted for students with an Indian degree and undergraduate education in English


Research Experience:
1. 1 summer internship at a top Israeli university on massive star evolution. (Observational+Developed a Pop. synthesis code)
2. Worked remotely under a Research Scientist at JPL in the Astrophysics division (preparing a first-author paper validated in LoR) using CNNs to study planet formation in Protoplanetary Disks. (ML+Simulations)
3. Worked with a prof from my university for a semester on Bayesian techniques for Neutron Star parameter estimation. (Observational+Statistical)
4. Worked with a prof from my university (well renowned in his field, ModGrav/Cosmo-Th) for a year on modified gravity theories. Led to a second-author paper in A&A, and a third-author paper submitted to MNRAS. (Simulations)
5. Worked with a prof from my university for a semester on Mathematical theories of wave propagation in complex media. Led to a second-author paper in a Q1 journal in the field. (Analytical)

6. Currently working with a Research Scientist from CCA, Flatiron on GNNs to infer galaxy cluster physics. Working with him for the last 3 months.(ML+Simulations)
7. Working on my thesis with a prof from a top Australian university (very well renowned in MHD turbulence, Structure Formation, ISM) on investigating the effect of underlying MHD turbulence on Cosmic Ray propagation in Multiphase ISM. Working with him since the beginning of Jan '22. (Simulations)

8. A couple of engineering projects, mentioned only fleetingly in terms of tools learned (scientific code development, image processing)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions/Accomplishments:
Captain of the university team participating in a national automobile competition (finished first among new teams, 10th overall among 200 teams).
Vice-Captain of the rocketry team participating in an international rocketry competition (Among only 4 Indian teams and 150 teams globally to qualify for the competition finals, was our first entry into the competition).

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Volunteer for a central government-run NGO

Special Bonus Points: 2/3 recommenders are very well renowned in their field, 3rd recommender is early-stage and starting to get recognition but JPL so a good affiliation.

Applying to Where:

Applying to Computational Astro research programs focussing on BH Accretion/Jets/Outflows, or Structure formation and evolution across scales

API, UvA - Astronomy - Black Hole Accretion and AGN jets (Pre-interviewed on 1/7, interviewed with prof's collabs 2/5 and 2/7, in-person recruitment days held on 2/13-2/14, Accepted over call 2/17) 30.5k EUR in the first year rising to 39k EUR in the final year, 16.3% EOY and Holiday bonus + Allowances - WILL ATTEND
Leiden - Astronomy - (Interviewed on 2/3) (rejected on 2/12)
Harvard - Astronomy - Extragalactic/Cosmological structure formation (rejected on 2/7, email to check portal)
Oxford - Physics (Astrophysics) - Expressed interest in 3 projects: UHECR, Galaxy evolution, LSS (rejected on 2/10, emailed rejection letter)
UT Austin - Astronomy - Expressed interest in 3 labs: Massive star evolution, Star Formation + ISM, Galaxy clusters (rejected on 2/9, portal updated without email)
CU Boulder - Astronomy - Expressed interest in 3 labs: SMBH/AGN clusters, Stellar Dynamos, Black Hole Accretion/Outflows (rejected on 2/10, emailed rejection letter)
UArizona - Astronomy - Expressed interest in 3 labs: Galaxy evolutions/CGM, Planet Formation, Galaxy evolution+ML (Emailed rejection letter on 17 Feb)
Stony Brook - Astronomy - Expressed interest in 3 labs: Planet Formation, ISM/Star Formation, SNe dynamics+env Accepted on 2/26 No interview
Vanderbilt - Astrophysics - Expressed interest in 3 labs: IMBHs, SMBHs/SMBH-Pulsar binaries + ML, Numerical Relativity
UVirginia - Astronomy - Expressed interest in 3 labs: ISM+CR+Star Formation, Galaxy evolution, Black Hole Accretion (Interview invite for 3/6 received on 3/2 - withdrew from Interview wrt offer elsewhere)
Durham - Physics (Astronomy) - Expressed interest in 3 projects: Galactic Archeology, AGN Feedback and Galaxy evolution, ML for large astro datasets (Interview invite for 2/21 received on 2/19 - withdrew from Interview wrt offer elsewhere)

Comments:
  • It does look like PhD admits is a game of fit more than anything else after landing interviews in programs with over 400 applicants but getting outright rejected among 250-300.
  • If you're desperate for admits, you might want to be more diplomatic while answering the questions about where you place the program on your priority. I was honest with my Leiden interview about doing research in Plasma-PIC kind of studies for my PhD, which placed other programs at higher priorities and maybe contributed to the leiden reject, even though they were impressed with my ModGrav work.
Last edited by Troubleddwarf on Sat Mar 04, 2023 1:05 pm, edited 10 times in total.

Skulduggery
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2023 11:28 am

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by Skulduggery » Thu Feb 02, 2023 11:38 am

Undergrad Institution: Small, domestic, private, research university. Most known for optics and particle physics.
Major(s): Physics and Astronomy
Minor(s): Math, French
GPA in Major: 3.8
Overall GPA: 3.77
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Not given class rank, most likely slightly above average within major
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores: N/A


TOEFL: N/A


Research Experience: 1yr of biophysics research at home institution, presented research at one SPS zone conference.
1yr of computational, theoretical astrophysics research at home institution

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Sigma Pi Sigma, Dean's List

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Physics TA for 3 years, Tutor for 2 years, On executive board of Astronomy Club for 3 years.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: N/A

Special Bonus Points: I think I had pretty strong recommendation letters; the professor I do research with currently is fairly well-known in the public sphere as far as astrophysicists go. I took one graduate class (E&M) during my Senior Fall.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: N/A

Applying to Where:

Washington St. Louis - Physics - Astronomy/Biophysics/Undecided (Jan 27: ACCEPTED for Ph.D via website + 35k yr stipend)
Harvard - Physics - Astronomy/Biophysics/Undecided (Feb 24:REJECTED)
UPenn - Physics - Astronomy/Biophysics/Undecided
Last edited by Skulduggery on Fri Mar 10, 2023 5:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.

lvb5
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2023 7:04 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by lvb5 » Thu Feb 02, 2023 7:23 pm

Undergrad Institution: small liberal arts school in midwest, basically no physics rep
Major(s): Physics, Math
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 4.0
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: assume near top
Type of Student: Domestic male

GRE Scores: haha


TOEFL: n/a


Research Experience: Two REUs in high energy experiment (one in high-energy nuclear, the other in particle), some research in physics education at home university, capstone project in mathematical physics / computation. Given a few talks virtually from my high-energy research, including one poster-presentation at a national conference.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Several departmental awards in physics and math and university honors for highest GPA and Dean's list, etc.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor for physics and math and TA for intro physics

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: I think my letters are quite strong; two from my home university who I have closely worked with and a letter from each of my REUs.

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

Note: Was debating if I wanted to post or not because this site has been a big stressor over the past few years, but I hope this shows that it's possible to get into grad school without any publications and only getting a BA at a very small liberal arts school. Good luck everyone!

Applying to Where:

(all physics, hep-ex except for RIT)

UT Austin (Jan. 30: ACCEPTED for Ph.D. via email, $32,000 TA) (declined)
Columbia (Mar. 15 REJECTED)
Stony Brook (ACCEPTED Feb. 14, $27k TA guaranteed for four semesters) (declined)
UW Madison (Jan. 29 ACCEPTED for Ph.D. via email, $2,750 scholarship + $25,555/9month TA or $34,073/12month RA) (declined)
Yale (REJECTED Feb. 14)
NYU (Jan 27. ACCEPTED for Ph.D. via email, $32k/9month fellowship + $1k relocation + $10.5k summer research + potential TA) (declined)
Northwestern (Interview Feb. 7; Waitlist Mar. 7, Unofficial acceptance, Apr. 11) (declined)
University of Washington WILL ATTEND!!! (Feb 7. ACCEPTED for Ph.D. via email, $23,274/9month + $5k fellowship + $10k provost award)
RIT - mathematical modeling (Jan 27. request for interview, Feb 3. interview held) ACCEPTED Feb. 13 (declined)
University of Oregon (Feb. 3 ACCEPTED for Ph.D. via email, $19.7k/9month TA + summer RA) (declined)
Last edited by lvb5 on Tue Apr 11, 2023 12:40 pm, edited 15 times in total.

eggsandwich
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2023 6:00 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by eggsandwich » Fri Feb 03, 2023 8:53 pm

Undergrad Institution: Small liberal arts school
Major(s): Engineering and physics combo major
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: good
Overall GPA: good
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: no idea
Type of Student: domestic white female
GRE Scores: nope

Research Experience:
worked at a big lab and learned a lot, no publications though

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
couple of department scholarships

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
paid research position, TA for 2 years

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
don't think so

Special Bonus Points:
I think my rec letters will be quite good

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
connections at two schools I'm applying to

Other comments:
didn't really take on a leadership role in research until spring of my junior year. Took senior fall off to focus on research full-time. Much more outreach and teaching experience than research.
>> Wasn't planning on posting here, but I talked to some underclassmen at my university and they think that this board is discouraging. So I'm posting to show that publications aren't necessary (at least for exp), so long as you make good use of your time and contribute to the field in some capacity

Applying to Where:
applying to all reach schools.. it's going to be a wild ride

Harvard - Physics (astro exp) [interview, accepted 2/15 via phone]
MIT- Physics (QIS exp) [rejected 2/14 via email]
Caltech - Physics (astro exp) [accepted 2/4 via portal]
Stanford - Physics (astro exp) [accepted 2/4 via portal]
Yale - Physics (QIS exp) [accepted 2/14 via portal]
UChicago - Physics (astro exp) [accepted 1/27 via portal]
Northwestern - Physics (astro exp) [interview, accepted 2/5 via portal]
BU - Physics (cm exp) [accepted 1/26 via portal]
UCSB - Physics (astro exp) - [interview, accepted 2/13 via phone]
Maryland - Physics (QIS exp) - [interview, accepted 2/11 via email]
Purdue - Physics (astro/QIS exp) [interview, accepted 2/17 via email]
Berkeley - Physics (astro exp)

advice to people reading this:
1.) read @mcentag's comments on the first page. Completely agree with everything
2.) literally stop wasting your time on this website. Come up with a list of schools and review it with your advisor. Their advice will be better than that of overly-competitive internet strangers
3.) get someone to proofread your personal statement. Ideally this would be one of your letter writers
Last edited by eggsandwich on Fri Feb 17, 2023 3:33 pm, edited 11 times in total.

ripinthepthstudents
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2023 6:25 am

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by ripinthepthstudents » Sat Feb 04, 2023 6:45 am

Undergrad Institution: Imperial College London
Major(s):Physics
GPA: High First Class (basically a 4.0)
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: top 15%
Type of Student: Male

Masters Institution: Cambridge University(Part III maths)
Major: Applied maths
GPA: Merit
Length of degree: 1 year

GRE Scores: Didn't do GRE


Research Experience: MSci thesis resulted in a preprint on arxiv, supervised by a giant in string theory. Currently writing up a paper in CFT with another prof. which will be submitted to a journal

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: First year Deans list, some monetary bursaries for string thoery research in undergrad

Special Bonus Points: My one recommendation letter is from a prof who works with professors at many unis I am applying to. My upcoming paper will answer a minor unsolved question in CFT that many Profs. are familiar with.

NOTE: This is my second year applying. Last year I didn't get a SINGLE PhD! If you are an international applying for Hep-Th it is EXTREMELY hard to get in anywhere half decent. This year my application should be better cos I have an interesting pub in hep-th in preparation and my one recommender is writing about this pub in my reference letters... I just want to say to anyone who gets no acceptances this year: if your heart lies in physics do some research and reapply, you can do it!

Applying for Hep-TH to:

- Boston University - Accepted!! Stipend is >$38000 guaranteed for 5 years
- Stanford - Rejected
- Caltech - Rejected
- Yale - Accepted Stipend starts at $40530 plus I get health insurance provided by Yale, had a pleasant informal interview in January
- NYU - Rejected
- Cornell- Rejected
- McGill
- UWashington
- UCB-Rejected
- UCLA
- UCSB
- Stony Brook - Rejected
- Kings College London - Withdrew
- Oxford - Rejected

Update 15 February - After no acceptances last year I have an acceptance at my top choice (Yale)!!!! I guess dreams do come true, don't be disheartened if you don't get anything in your first season, just try do some good research and reapply!
Update 24 February - Expecting the rest to be rejections besides Yale and UBoston at this point. Just shows you that you can get into a good uni and still have a very low acception rate, so its good to apply to lots. However, its worth noting that my upcoming publication is very relevant to Profs at both Yale and Boston, so your research experience and its relevance can help boost your application a lot.
Last edited by ripinthepthstudents on Fri Mar 17, 2023 10:45 pm, edited 5 times in total.

hellomahts
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2023 11:12 am

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by hellomahts » Sat Feb 04, 2023 7:09 am

Undergrad Institution: BSc: Foreign, European country, semi-well-known, Master's: Top UK uni with good reputation in maths/phys
Major(s): BSc: Physics (and technically mathematics, but didn't do a thesis), Master's: Applied mathematics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: Highest mark in all classes for my bachelor's
Overall GPA:
Length of Degree: 3 + 1 years
Position in Class: Definitely top 1 for my bachelor's, no idea for my master's
Type of Student: International, female

GRE Scores: -
TOEFL: -

Research Experience: (At your school or elsewhere? What field? How much time? Any publications (Mth author out of N?) or conference talks etc...)
1. One publication (1st author) after a paid/funded research internship, however not in my field + one talk about it
2. Currently doing a research project from a pure mathematical point of view
3. Bachelor thesis which yielded new results in my field (currently writing a paper about that)
4. Several research experiences in computational hep since I was in high school, including internship at CERN at 16
5. Specialised in research for my bachelor's which for example meant taking classes in reading/writing papers and extra quantum mechanics classes

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Several research grants/funding/awards from outside school + one outreach/leadership prize from our King

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: No, but always been student representative and engaged in committee work both for my undergrad and master's

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Funded a national non-profit to reduce the gender inequality in STEM, might help? Doing a lot of (global) outreach related to this as well. In Europe I really don't think this matters though

Special Bonus Points:
I think all of my recommendation letters are quiet strong and highlights my research capability. I'm LGBTQ and a woman but again, wouldn't count that as a "bouns point" lol

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
I have a lot of anxiety so I don't expect me to do well in interviews + I was ill for a long time while writing the applications (basically writing all of my US apps in one day... would not recommend) so if anyone is reading this and seeing that I got rejected, please don't worry. I think I'm good at doing research but it's not the only thing people care about (as they should!).

Applying to Where:
All hep-th

US:
MIT Physics Rejected 14/2 via email
Stanford Physics Rejected 4/2 via website/email
Harvard Physics Rejected 25/2 via website/email

Europe:
Cambridge Theoretical Physics
Oxford Mathematical Physics Invited for interview 28/1, Interview 3/2 ACCEPTED 28/2 WITH FUNDING 13/3 – WILL ATTEND!
Oxford Theoretical Physics Invited for interview 7/2, Interview 14/2
King's College London Invited for interview 10/3 withdrew
Queen Mary Physics
+ ... (will add more when/if I apply to more)

update: I will attend Oxford!! So happy that I received funding :) it was my dream PhD!
Last edited by hellomahts on Tue Mar 14, 2023 7:47 am, edited 5 times in total.

siriusblack
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2023 3:10 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by siriusblack » Sat Feb 04, 2023 3:30 pm

Undergrad Institution: Top 3 institutes in Canada, good physics reputation
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 4/4
Overall GPA: 3.9/4
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Near the top. Top 5% in faculty of science, not sure within the department.
Type of Student: International Asian Female

GRE Scores: V: 165, Q: 168, W: 3.5, submitted to all schools whose GRE is optional.


TOEFL: (R: , L: , S: , W: ) Waived


Research Experience: 8 months of condensed matter experiments at my school and 8 months in medical physics at a public research institute. 8 months of condensed matter theory at my school.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Some school/departmental awards.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Such as tutor, TA, SPS officer etc...) TA for three undergraduate courses. 2 computer science, 1 physics lab.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Did some education/equity research.

Special Bonus Points: (Such as connections, grad classes, famous recommenders, female or minority status etc...) only 1 grad class but no grade when I submit my transcript

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: N/A


Applying to Where: condensed matter theory/experiment. Amo experiment.

Super reach:
PSI:
Princeton:
Caltech (Applied Physics): Interviewed on Feb. 2. Bombed the interview, really sad. Rejected Feb 10
Harvard:
MIT (MEMP): Rejected via email, Jan 13
Stanford (Applied Physics):
UCBerkeley:
Yale (Applied Physics): Interviewed on Jan 17. Accepted via email to check portal Feb 13 Very exciting! Will probably go to Yale.

Reach/Match:
Cornell:
Toronto (Medical Biophysics): Accepted Feb 7.
Toronto (Physics):
UBC (Master):
Maryland: Accepted Feb 11 38k for first two years.
John Hopkins:
UIUC:

Safe:
McMaster (Master): Accepted Jan 12
Waterloo (Master): Informal acceptance from PI, will make an official offer if I accept


Super anxious right now so I wrote the post.
Last edited by siriusblack on Mon Feb 13, 2023 8:28 pm, edited 3 times in total.

planetarywoes
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2023 11:44 am

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by planetarywoes » Wed Feb 08, 2023 11:55 am

Undergrad Institution: Big U.S. state school, no real reputation for physics
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Mathematics
GPA in Major: 3.75
Overall GPA: 3.95
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: unknown
Type of Student: Domestic female

GRE Scores: Didn't take

Research Experience: 4+ years experience, 1 first-author publication

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Several local awards

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for one semester

Applying to Where (all astro unless specified):

U. Arizona - Astronomy - Accepted early Feb, no interview
Caltech - Astronomy - Interviewed mid Jan, Rejected 2/10 via email
UC Boulder - Astronomy - no word
Leiden University - Astronomy - no word
UC Santa Cruz - Astronomy - no word
Harvard - Astronomy - rejected 2/6 from email telling to check portal
UMass Amherst - Astronomy - Interviewed early Feb, Accepted 2/13 via email
Rutgers - Physics and Astronomy - Interviewed late Jan/early Feb
UC Berkeley - Astronomy - Interviewed early Feb
Johns Hopkins University - Astronomy - no word
U. Washington - Astronomy - Interviewed late Jan, accepted early Feb
Yale - Astronomy - Interviewed late Jan
Last edited by planetarywoes on Tue Feb 14, 2023 9:59 am, edited 1 time in total.

accidentalchemist
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2023 8:05 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by accidentalchemist » Wed Feb 08, 2023 8:58 pm

Here to add myself for the other imperfect and ambitious students. Good luck and reminder that this is just another career step, not a statement on your worth! (also you should probably get off these types of pages, its not good for your mental well being I promise... but I understand the anxiety)

Undergrad Institution: US R1 university
Major(s): Physics, ACS Chemistry
Minor(s): Math
Overall GPA: 2.98/4.0
Length of Degree: 5 yrs (see double major 😅)
Type of Student: domestic white "woman"

GRE Scores: N/A

Research Experience: 1 summer NSF REU in glass physics, 1 summer DOE SULI in laser physics, ~2 years part time analytical/physical chem. In general have a wide variety of research skills (some computational, mostly experimental) *no publications*

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Made Dean's list Fall 2021

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Been with SPS for 3 years now (current Pres, former VP and treasurer), TA in charge of a physics 1 lab, 2 years of tutoring experience

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: One grad course fall '22, one of my recommenders directly told me my letters were stellar, and that his impression of me lived up to them

Special Bonus Points: All 3 of my letters are from research mentors, late dx learning disability, technically queer but didn't include that on every app (def have ~feelings~ about this as "bonus points" but whatever)

Other context: I know I make a significantly better applicant to Materials Science than to Physics, one mat sci prof reached out to me directly via LinkedIn. Went to PhysCon 2022 and met a variety of people there. Personal statement included context for poor grades (family death, complications with learning disability support, pandemic, etc)

Applying to:

U of Maryland - AMO (no official rejection but was told they've made their offers already)
CU Boulder - AMO Rejected via portal 2/28
U of Michigan - AMO Rejected via email 2/07
UMass Amherst - Nuclear Rejected via portal 4/01
George Washington University - Nuclear Rejected via portal 2/10
University of Virginia - Material Science Accepted via portal 1/26, invited to recruitment weekend 1/23, offered Olsen Fellowship 32k/yr with a 2k/yr raise for passing quals

I guess my conclusion here is if you have more interdisciplinary interests, check out materials science instead lol
Last edited by accidentalchemist on Wed Apr 12, 2023 11:28 am, edited 5 times in total.

centarsirius
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun Apr 04, 2021 11:37 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by centarsirius » Thu Feb 09, 2023 9:28 am

Undergrad Institution: non-IIT known for engg, but not physics, India
Major(s): Engineering physics
Minor(s): Space and atmospheric sciences
GPA in Major: 3.98 (may not be accurate cos of 10 scale), but this is from scholaro
Overall GPA:3.25
Length of Degree: 4, 1 gap year (job in industry)
Position in Class: average
Type of Student: Intl male

GRE Scores: nope

TOEFL: (R: 27 , L: 28 , S: 24 , W: 28)


Research Experience: A LOT, started amateur radio and obv data analysis in 2nd year, was already proficient in python by 2nd year, did instrumentation during covid and during gap year too, 3rd year summer intern at a major US astrophysics research center, remote project during gap year for 10 months now

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: honorable mentions for ML application in fluids and physics, Member of huge grant proposal team.
1 1st author conf paper related to MLxFluids, 1 research note, 1 1st author MNRAS almost submitted

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: was mentor for several groups and organizations in both data science and astro

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: N/A

Special Bonus Points: quite a few grad classes and a very upwards climbing gpa after crashing and burning; no special connections but contacted every PI where I applied to until I got replies

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

Applying to Where: (all for astro, esp computational astrophysics)

Reach:
Michigan - Physics (rejected on 10/2 via mail, saw it coming after acceptances were sent in jan end)
Yale - Physics (rejected on 14/2 via mail, I tried)
MIT- Physics (rejected on 14/2 via mail, saw it coming after no interview invite)
Carnegie Mellon - Physics (in the second waitlist , rejected after so long -_- )
Northwestern - Physics (unofficial rejection through grad prog coordinator )

Moderate:
Minnesota - Physics (rejected on 13/2 via mail, was hoping for MIfA)
PSL Paris - astro (formal interview invite on 20/2, rejected for PhD on 26/2 via mail, offered masters with stipend, declined)
Georgia Tech - Physics (Accepted 15/2, WILL ATTEND), but stipends at non-ivies are so low :(
Pittsburgh - Phys. & Ast.
UIUC - Physics (rejected on 2/3 via mail, BIG OOF)

ok ig, but not safe:
Connecticut - Physics (Accepted 8/2, no interview, 20.5k base stipend+6.7k fellowship, DECLINED)
Texas A&M - Physics
Alabama - Phys. & Ast. (mp rejected at this point cos my 3rd reco did not reach them)
Utah - Phys. & Ast. (rejected, BIG OOF cos I met the PI at a conference and talked to them a lot about research)
Kentucky - Phys. & Ast.

Note for Indian students and for others too ig - the 1 year I worked was depressing af, job was ok, but I didn't like it, but then I can't just sit at home doing nothing and RAs here are paid peanuts, so choose industry to sustain yourself but do research on the side. Do take a gap year if needed and you think you can do it, before splurging for a masters ( I can't a spend a penny more on education after btech). And we may have to deal with toxic PIs taking advantage of our situation, but don't rebel, be smart and get *** done. You can deal with them once you have something in the bag.

Update - This cycle has been bittersweet, more sweet than bitter though, cos I finally got into grad school and that too into one of my top choices, but I'd liked more choices (not talking about rejections, but those that ghosted me). Choices do make decisions pretty hard tho.
Last edited by centarsirius on Thu Apr 13, 2023 12:30 am, edited 13 times in total.

bos(sbaby)on
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2023 2:55 am

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by bos(sbaby)on » Fri Feb 10, 2023 3:20 am

Undergrad Institution: US State School, smaller but high-performing department
Major(s): Physics, Math
Minor(s): -
GPA in Major: 3.93
Overall GPA: 3.92
Length of Degree: 4yrs
Position in Class: Near top
Type of Student: White male domestic (Jewish but I didn't mention that since overrepresented)

GRE Scores: Didn't take


Research Experience: No publications, ~2yrs HEP research with very well known professor on future collider detector development

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: A couple distinguished university scholarships, one major distinguished external scholarship, several minor university scholarships

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 1 term TA, 1 term physics demo room

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Did research at CERN/DESY for month last summer under well-known researchers.

Special Bonus Points: I'm confident all 3 LORs were good, 2 from well known profs, one being my PI who is very well known. My PI has a significant connection to Stanford, one of my other writers has a connection to Chicago

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Honors College, writing an undergrad thesis. Potential negatives: 1 C+ freshman year and a withdrawn CS class Sophomore year during covid

Reached out to 2 profs at Cornell, aside from that, nothing else before applying.

Applying to Where:

U Washington - Physics - HEP collider/DM detection (Feb. 14: ACCEPTED for Ph.D via website/email + $5k Fellowship + $23k/12 month TA)
Stanford - Physics - HEP collider/DM detection (Feb. 3: Rejected via website/email)
Cornell - Physics - HEP collider/DM detection
Yale - Physics - HEP collider/DM detection
U Chicago - Physics - HEP collider/DM detection (Jan. 27: Rejected via website/email)
UC Berkeley - Physics - HEP collider/DM detection
UIUC - Physics - HEP collider
Safeties:
U Alabama - Physics - HEP collider (Jan. 12: ACCEPTED for Ph.D via website/email + pending potential Fellowship + $27k/12 month TA)
U Florida - Physics - HEP collider (Jan. 31: ACCEPTED for Ph.D via website/email + $23k/9+3 month TA) (Declined)

Alabama has thus far been the only one to require an interview. UW has had 2 profs reach out directly to headhunt (hype).

Also, I have some inside info through the grapevine that U Chicago had slightly under 1k applicants this year, comparable to the peak of the post-covid bubble. This impending recession be hitting different.

apwbd
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2023 6:16 am

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by apwbd » Fri Feb 10, 2023 6:34 am

Undergrad Institution: Greek school, ranked 2nd in country, very good rep in Physics
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): -
GPA in Major: -
Overall GPA: 8.02/10
Length of Degree: 5
Position in Class: not provided

Grad Institution: same as undergrad but now MSc
Major(s): Computational Physics
Minor(s): -
GPA in Major: -
Overall GPA: 8.54/10
Length of Degree: 2
Position in Class: not provided
Type of Student: International Male

GRE Scores: did not take


TOEFL: 109 (R: 29, L: 28, S: 26, W: 26)


Research Experience:
  • BSc thesis: worked under a Professor on confirming the results of a published paper on finite temperature EoS (recalculated the paper equations by hand, implemented them using Python 3)
  • Worked with the same professor and a then PhD student on simulations of hot binary NS remnants (still ongoing)
  • MSc thesis: extended the TOV solver used in the LALSuite algorithm by LIGO/Virgo (merge request open and review process ongoing)
  • no pubs yet :roll:
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: recieved a merit based fellowship in the form of a TA job

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for a semester, also volunteered as grade assistant for a semester

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: member of the LIGO/Virgo SC

Special Bonus Points: -

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: first gen university student

Applying to Where:
  • University of Arizona - Astronomy and Astrophysics -- Rejected 2/20, no interview
  • Penn State - Astronomy and Astrophysics -- Rejected 1/26, no interview
  • Princeton - Astrophysical Sciences -- Rejected 2/8, no interview
  • Caltech - Astronomy -- Rejected 2/10, no interview
  • Northwestern - Astronomy -- Rejected 3/27, no interview
  • Georgia Tech - Physics -- Waitlisted 2/16, no interview
  • Columbia - Astronomy -- Rejected 3/3, no interview
  • Montana State University - Physics -- Accepted 2/17, interview on 2/16
  • UIUC - Astronomy -- Rejected 3/2, no interview
Last edited by apwbd on Mon Apr 03, 2023 7:48 am, edited 8 times in total.

Ali Mohammed Redha
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2023 12:22 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by Ali Mohammed Redha » Sat Feb 11, 2023 12:58 pm

Undergrad Institution: Foreign, Top Uni in country but very low ranking internationally.
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 3.98
Overall GPA: 3.94
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Near top (2nd)
Type of Student: International, Male, Arab.

GRE Scores: None


TOEFL: None [But I did IELTS, Results: (R: 7.5 , L: 9.0 , S: 6.5 , W: 6.5), Total: 7.5]


Research Experience: 4 months Senior Project (Gamma-Ray Bursts as testing tools for QG). 4 months part-time research in the same field. 1 pending publication (2nd Author).

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: First Class Honours and a few local awards.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA at my uni (this is my 2nd semester). Internship in a huge Aluminum company (Wasn't really related to physics).

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: PLANCKS participation? idk...

Special Bonus Points: One of my profs has connections with ICTP and CERN. But not sure if it will be a major factor in my applications.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Nothing too major.

Applying to Where: Theoretical Physics or Somewhere with full funding (preferably both).
Super Reach:
Perimeter Institute - PSI Program Mar 3: Rejected via email
Harvard University - PhD in Physics - Quantum Gravity/Astrophysics/HEP-th Feb 25: Rejected via email telling to check portal
Imperial College - M.Sc. in Physics Nov 11: Rejected. Tho now my application for QFFF is being processed. Not liking my odds for this one..
Imperial College - M.Sc. in QFFF Mar 1: Rejected. Not sad over it...

Reach:
University of Edinburgh - M.Sc. in Theoretical Physics. Nov 29: ACCEPTED! Need funding tho.. which might be difficult to get.
University of Alberta - M.Sc. in Physics - Astrophysics or Particle Physics (Could be Super Reach) May 4: Rejected. Expected.
ICTP - Postgraduate Diploma in High Energy, Particle and Astrophysics (Could also be Super Reach) Apr 7: Contacted for interview. May 2: Accepted with funding! Declined the offer.
University of Auckland - M.Sc. in Physics Apr 4: Accepted conditionally... huh?

Manageable:
KAUST - M.Sc. in Applied Physics. Did two interviews so far, last of which was on 24th of Jan. Liking my chances for this one. April 7: Accepted with full funding Fellowship. About time!

I feel like I missed a lot of opportunities by applying late. I should have starting my applications much earlier... Let's see how things pan out. Best of luck to everyone


Comments:
Mar 1: Imperial College application was a donation in hindsight. They did tell me that my profile meets their requirements but said that the competition is extremely high. Anyway, even if I get accepted I wouldn't have picked it as my top choice so I'm not sad over it. Waiting for other results to come out.
Apr 7: I can rest assured that I'll start pursuing post-graduate studies this fall. KAUST is pretty good. Also, the Auckland acceptance was very weird and caught me off guard. I didn't even submit the whole documents required for admission. They offered me a conditional offer. I will reject the offer since now I got one with funding.
May 5: And that ends the admission cycle. Turned out much better than I expected. I got offers from 4 places, 2 with funding and 2 without. It was very tough deciding between KAUST and ICTP. I went with KAUST but can see myself go with ICTP in an alternate universe. As I mentioned above when I first wrote this reply that I feel like I missed out on a lot of opportunities. I started my applications late and didn't really do my research well (as you can see by the scattered and almost random applications). I learned a lot from this however, my resume was not half bad, but my SOPs were very poor. Now that I have more experience and better awareness my next admission cycle will be more focused and hopefully will turn out better. Overall, I'm satisfied with what I got and I hope everyone else is satisfied with theirs too.

Final Decision: M.Sc. in Applied Physics at KAUST.
Last edited by Ali Mohammed Redha on Fri May 05, 2023 4:33 am, edited 12 times in total.

FLYMEB
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Apr 14, 2022 4:26 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by FLYMEB » Mon Feb 13, 2023 4:29 pm

Undergrad Institution: Top 5 LAC, very good physics reputation
Major(s): Physics
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 4.0
Length of Degree: (Are you graduating after 3, 4, or 5 years?) 4
Position in Class: (No numbers needed, but are you top? near top? average? struggling?) not listed but in top 10%
Type of Student: (Domestic/International, male/female, minority?) DWM

GRE Scores: nope

Research Experience: 2 semesters with Physics professor, 1 REU, 1SULI, Paper in prep [nTH author]

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Phi Beta Kappa, Churchill Finalist

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor

Applying to Where: Mostly Plasma/Fusion and/or HEPex

Columbia: Applied Physics: INTERVIEWED, ACCEPTED
Columbia: Physics: INTERVIEWED, APPLICATION WITHDRAWN
MIT: INTERVIEWED....ACCEPTED
University of Wisconsin [Madison]: REJECTED
UCLA: NO INTERVIEW, ACCEPTED
UCSD: REJECTED
UCI:APPLICATION WITHDRAWN
UT Austin: REJECTED
UMich Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences: invited to attend open house...agreed to attend, then reached out for interview.....ACCEPTED
UC-Berkeley Nuclear Engineering: APPLICATION WITHDRAWN
U Rochester: NO INTERVIEW, ACCEPTED
Last edited by FLYMEB on Thu Mar 16, 2023 9:37 am, edited 10 times in total.

arizonasky
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2023 4:13 am

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by arizonasky » Tue Feb 14, 2023 4:34 am

Undergrad Institution: 3rd best Iranian university in physics
Major(s): Physics
GPA in Major: 3 :(
Overall GPA: 3.2
Length of Degree: 4.5 years
Position in Class: top 30%
Type of Student: International white female bisexual

GRE Scores: 312 only submitted for programs that required it


TOEFL: (R:28 , L:27 , S:22 , W:25)


Research Experience: 1y, solid states lab, 3 projects

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: top 1% in the university entrance exam

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 7 months data scientist, 3 months RA, voluntary English teacher

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: 1 paper submitted

Special Bonus Points: 1 or possibly 2 good recommendations

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: good computer skills

Applying to Where: all physics departments

Simon Fraser University: Rejected May 2nd
University of California, Riverside: Rejected April 27th
University of South Florida (Applied Physics)
University of Mississippi (Ole Miss): Accepted April 26th for Ph.D. 20k/y + 2k summer for TA
York University (MSc.)

Feb 14th: I know I might seem a little ambitious, but I have a solid background in research and a good SOP. We will see how it goes!
Apr 26th: I applied super late and I had my first offer today at my safe school. I think I'm waitlisted everywhere except SFU and I will still wait to hear from them until May.
May 2nd: Unfortunately I didn't get the offer that I wanted at SFU. Will return next year!
Last edited by arizonasky on Tue May 02, 2023 7:11 pm, edited 8 times in total.

stinkyscience
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2023 8:25 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by stinkyscience » Tue Feb 14, 2023 8:42 pm

Undergrad Institution: Top 5 public school. Very large state school. Well known for fields outside physics (but good department)
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Business Admin
GPA in Major: 3.92
Overall GPA: 3.97
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: at or near top (I presume)
Type of Student: domestic white male

GRE Scores: didn't take
TOEFL: (R: , L: , S: , W: ) N/A

Research Experience: Research at my institution that led to co-authored publication and very helpful relationship with professor. Emailed some people for lower stakes research at Harvard Med School. Then did DOE SULI, which was very helpful for getting a letter of rec, learning, and experience but no publication.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: APS Department of Nuclear Physics poster presentation. Nothing else

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor, SPS officer, community volunteer

Miscellaneous Accomplishments: Division 1 athlete, ACC Academic Honor Roll

Special Bonus Points: well known recommendation writers

Other Info: Did some presentations via SULI and my research at home institution

Applying to Where: (in alphabetical order)

Berkeley (physics, ex-nuc): accepted Feb. 17th
Boulder (physics, ex-nuc): accepted Jan. 25th
Caltech (physics, ex-nuc): accepted Feb. 3rd (interview Jan. 18th)
Chicago (physics, ex-nuc): accepted Jan. 27th
Columbia (physics, ex-nuc): rejected Mar. 15th
MIT (physics, ex-nuc): accepted Feb. 14th
Maryland (physics, ex-nuc): accepted Jan. 31st
Michigan (physics, ex-nuc): rejected Feb. 9th
NC State (physics, ex-nuc): accepted Jan. 19th
Penn (physics, ex-hep): accepted Feb. 16th (interview Feb. 1st)
Stanford (physics, ex-hep): rejected Feb. 3rd
Tennessee (physics, ex-nuc): accepted Feb. 13th (interview Feb. 2nd)
UIUC (physics, ex-nuc): accepted Jan. 23rd
Washington (physics, ex-nuc): accepted Feb. 14th

Note: If I did not signify interview, then I did not have one. I primarily used this website to see the dates that people heard back, so I specified every date and included all information.

Edit: very excited. If I can offer advice, develop an introspective focus. Do what you can to better oneself, and do not compare yourself to others. Discover your true interests. Don't get distracted and obsessed with what other people are doing. College is a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience all sorts of things: clubs, basketball games, tailgates, drinking, things that are less attainable afterwards. Make the most of it.
Last edited by stinkyscience on Tue Mar 21, 2023 4:14 pm, edited 6 times in total.

infinite_potato
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2023 9:31 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by infinite_potato » Tue Feb 14, 2023 9:53 pm

Undergrad Institution: midwest liberal arts, not known for physics, v small department
Major(s): Physics, Math, Chemistry
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.9ish
Overall GPA: 3.91
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: top-ish
Type of Student: domestic white female

GRE Scores: nope

Research Experience: 1 year physical chemistry, 2.5 years AMO physics, some presentations and 1 second author pub not submitted at time of app

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Goldwater, a few department awards (both physics and chem), normal boring grades stuff

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: tons of tutoring experience, TA for 4 years, SPS officer

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: super no

Special Bonus Points: had connections (mostly small ones) at several schools

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I know all three letters are really good, wrote my SoP kinda fast though so less great in that department

Applying to Where:
CU Boulder - Physics - AMO exp: Accepted Feb 14 via email to check portal
Kansas State - Physics - AMO exp: Accepted Jan 27 via email
Indiana U Bloomington - Physics - Nuc exp:
Michigan State - Physics - Nuc exp: Accepted Jan 27 via email
MIT - Physics - AMO exp: Rejected Feb 14 via email
Purdue - Physics - AMO exp:
Rice: Physics - AMO exp: Accepted Jan 30 via email to check portal
Stanford: Physics - AMO exp: Accepted Feb 3 via email to check portal
Stony Brook: Physics - AMO exp:

BounPhys
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2023 10:56 am

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by BounPhys » Wed Feb 15, 2023 11:28 am

Undergrad Institution: Top University & Physics Department in Turkey.
Major(s): Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Physics
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 3.95
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: Near Top
Type of Student: International.

TOEFL Total: 110/120
PGRE: 990/990

Research Experience: Nothing excessive. Joined several winter and summer schools, mostly online due to COVID. I enjoy self studying, didn't bother professors at my school about my research much. Have a single author manuscript on string field theory. Did not submit to any journal or arXiv but added sent to the professor whom I am interested in working with.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Several awards and scholarships. All national level.

Special Bonus Points: I had several interesting conversations with a particular professor whom I met at an online winter school. We still email each other to discuss several problems. I specifically mentioned his name in my application that I wanted to work with him if I am accepted.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Recommendation letters should be strong.

Applying to Where:

Interested in string theory. I am happy with my research subject, the environment and the university. So I just applied to one school which I thought would be worthwhile to go.

Top hep-th department in the USA (and probably the world) - Physics Department - hep-th.- Accepted - Feb 14

flingy
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2023 5:30 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by flingy » Wed Feb 15, 2023 5:51 pm

Undergrad Institution: Big state school, great physics rep
Major(s): physics, applied math
Minor(s): cs
GPA in Major: 4
Overall GPA: 4
Length of Degree: 3.5
Position in Class: top
Type of Student: domestic white male

GRE Scores: didn't take

TOEFL:

Research Experience: 3 years in experimental condensed matter at home institution, 2 talks, no pubs yet (2 in the works)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: a bunch of physics awards within school

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: tutor, TA for 2 sems, research assistant 3 yrs

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: main recommender is well known in field

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

Applying to Where:

UIUC - Physics - CMX/QI: Rejected 3/16 via email
Columbia - Physics - CMX: Rejected 3/15 via portal
Harvard - Physics - CMX/QI: Rejected 2/24 via portal
Harvard - QSE: Rejected 2/22 via portal
Caltech - applied physics: Rejected 2/27 via email
Berkeley - Physics - CMX: Rejected 2/23 via portal
UCSB - Physics - CMX: Rejected 3/28 via portal
UPenn - Physics - CMX: Interview 2/10 Accepted 2/24 via email
JHU - Physics - CMX: Rejected 3/1 via portal
Princeton - Physics - CMX/QI: Rejected 2/17 via portal
UCLA - Physics - CMX/CMT: Accepted 2/3 via email
UT Austin - Physics - CMX: Accepted 1/30 via email/portal
Colorado Boulder - Physics - CMX/QI: Accepted 1/31 via portal
UChicago - Physics - CMX/QI: Accepted 1/27 via portal
OSU - Physics - CMX: Accepted 1/24 via portal
Cornell - Physics - CMX: Accepted 2/15 via email/portal
MIT - Physics - CMX: Rejected 2/14 via email
Yale - Physics - CMX/QI: Rejected 2/14 via portal
Stanford - Physics - CMX: Rejected 2/3 via portal
Last edited by flingy on Tue Mar 28, 2023 12:10 pm, edited 6 times in total.

chiyu
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2023 1:08 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by chiyu » Thu Feb 16, 2023 10:02 pm

Undergrad Institution: US Top 50 Private School
Major(s): Physics, Mathematics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 4.0 (both)
Overall GPA: 3.93
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: don't know, near top I guess
Type of Student: International female

GRE Scores: pgre 920


TOEFL: (R: , L: , S: , W: ) Waived


Research Experience:
- 2 yrs in high energy experiment at home institution, result in 1 presentation and a n-th author pub that is not submitted before application
- 6 months AMO at CERN, potential n-th author pub
- 6 months high energy theory at home institution, 1 presentation in conference

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Nothing valuable

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Student mentor for incoming freshmen, high school Math & Physics tutor

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: I guess all LORs are pretty strong, one of them is closely connected with other hep-th professors, but personally I did not get in touch with any prof prior to application. Took some grad courses i.e. QFT & Group Theory (Algebra)

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

Applying to Where:

All for hep-th

Stanford: Rejected 2/3 via portal
Harvard: Accepted 2/15 via email
Princeton: Interviewed 1/20 Accepted 2/14 via email
Caltech: Rejected 2/14 via email
MIT: Rejected 2/14 via email
UC Berkeley: Rejected 2/23
U Chicago: Rejected 1/27 via portal
Cornell: Rejected 2/21
Yale: Interviewed 1.18 Accepted 2/14
JHU
NYU
Columbia
UW Seattle
U Maryland
Brown
UCSD
Last edited by chiyu on Sat Feb 25, 2023 6:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

WronskianCat
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2023 10:59 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by WronskianCat » Thu Feb 16, 2023 11:13 pm

Undergrad Institution: T100+ State School
Major(s): Physics and Electrical Engineering
Minor(s): Nanotechnology
GPA in Major: 3.93
Overall GPA: 3.93
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: N/A, but probably in top 10%
Type of Student: Domestic white male
GRE Scores: Did not take

Research Experience: Doing research in devices for 3.5 years with my main lab on-campus. I’ve completed an REU at a T20 university with a collaborator and a visiting researcher with a collaborator abroad. I have three publications, two are first authored, and I have twenty plus citations. I’ve presented at two conferences and I’ve been on many conference papers.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Goldwater scholarship, dean’s list, first prize at poster session, 1st prize hackathon, some other internal school awards

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Internship at Microsoft, tutor / tutoring leadership within IEEE

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I have some rather cool hobbies that I included on some of my SOPs

Special Bonus Points: Two of my letters are super super strong and my third is pretty good.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I reached out to various POIs but haven’t really heard back. Some of my SOPs don’t actually mention any professors.

Overall, I didn’t apply to enough safety schools probably, but we’ll see what happens I guess.

Applying to Where:

MIT - EECS - Rejected 3/8/23
Caltech - Applied Physics - Interview 2/2/23 / Rejected 2/27/23
Harvard - Applied Physics - Rejected 2/16/23
Stanford - Applied Physics - Rejected 2/17/23
CU Boulder - Physics -Rejected 2/28/23
Last edited by WronskianCat on Wed Mar 08, 2023 4:21 pm, edited 4 times in total.

Shabby
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2023 1:30 am

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by Shabby » Fri Feb 17, 2023 3:40 am

Undergrad institution: Public State School (Ranked around 50th-ish?)
Majors: Physics and Astronomy
Minor: Math
Major GPA: 3.91 (physics), 3.79 (astronomy)
Overall GPA: 3.84
Length of Degree: 4 yrs
Position in class: no idea
Type of student: domestic south asian male
GRE score: did not take

Research experience: Experimental soft matter physics at home institution for 2 yrs (currently working on senior thesis), summer internship in QI exp, summer REU in nuclear physics instrumentation. No publications, one conference presentation.

Awards/honors/recognitions: dean's list for a lot of semesters

Pertinent activities/jobs: TA for several different classes, peer mentor in physics dept for 2 years

Misc accomplishments: nothing really

Other info: Reached out to PIs at every school I applied to. Some responded and some didn't. Got the chance to do zoom calls with a few of them too. Also applied for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (I'll hear back in April if I got it or not)

Applying to where (All HEP ex and/or astrophysics experiment):

Donation School: (Realistically I am just giving them money with my app)
Caltech: Rejection on 2/14
Harvard: Rejected on 2/24
MIT: Rejection on 2/14
Stanford: Rejection on 2/3
Princeton: Rejection on 2/17

Reach:
Columbia: Rejected on 3/15
Cornell: Rejected on 2/24
Johns Hopkins: Waitlisted on 3/2 - declined
Yale: Rejection on 2/14
Dartmouth:
Duke: Rejected on 3/3
UIUC: Rejected on 3/2
UPenn:Interview on 2/9
Rutgers: Rejected on 3/3
Carnegie Mellon: Rejected on 4/6
UC Berkeley: Rejected on 2/24
Brown: Accepted on 2/8, no interview, $42k for 5 yrs funding - will attend!!
Tufts: Rejected on 2/24

Target:
University of Southern California: Rejected on 3/9
Stony Brook University: Rejected from PhD but offer to join unfunded masters on 3/6 - declined
Boston University: Accepted on 1/26, no interview, $38k for 5 yrs funding - declined
Purdue: Accepted on 2/17, no interview, $21k for 1 yr funding (to be renewed yearly) - declined
Vanderbilt: Accepted on 3/10, no interview, $35k for 5 yrs funding - declined
University of Rochester: Waitlisted on 2/10 - declined

Safety:
UConn: Accepted on 2/3, no interview, $26k for 1 yr funding (to be renewed yearly) - declined
University of Rhode Island: Accepted on 2/7, no interview, no idea for funding as of now - declined
Brandeis: interview on 1/24, declined going to open house for 2nd interview

Note:
I applied to a lot of reach schools because if I got into just one of them then I'd be happy. I am posting here to show people that even with no publications and completely unrelated research experiences its still possible to get into grad school for what you want to study. Good luck to everyone!

Super happy with my decision to go to Brown. I visited the school and I really like the department and the research thats going on there.
Last edited by Shabby on Mon Apr 10, 2023 10:45 am, edited 8 times in total.

beepSinaloa
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2023 3:33 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by beepSinaloa » Fri Feb 17, 2023 4:14 pm

Undergrad Institution: Big R1 State School in California, known for research but not particularly in physics
Major(s): Physics with a Concentration in Astrophysics, Anthropology
Minor(s): Archaeology
GPA in Major: 2.65
Overall GPA: 3.09
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: No official number, but I know I’m on the lower end
Type of Student: Domestic, female, disabled, Hispanic/Latino, first-gen

GRE Scores: Didn’t have to take

TOEFL: (R: , L: , S: , W: ) N/A

Research Experience: Summer at UCSD Center for Energy Research lab working on laboratory astrophysics. I spent three months doing the actual experiment and learning things in the lab and then processed data up until October. Presented at the APS conference

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: National Science Foundation S-STEM Scholarship Recipient for 2 years in a row

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
1. Astronomy Club Event Planner
2. Started a DEI Book Club based on STEM barriers and obstacles; book club operates alongside SPS
3. Worked as a resident advisor in the dorms since 2020 (this is my third year in the job and I have to re-interview every time)
4. Mentor for lower-division physics students

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: interesting major combinations make me a DEI person lol

Special Bonus Points: minority status lol (we out here fighting to be seen most of the time), met with PIs through my recommendation writers, one of my recommenders is center director for the Center for Mass Under Extreme Conditions

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
My grades were highly impacted by COVID and my mental health which I communicated in my essays, I’m also the child of two Mexican immigrants (one finished high school, the other didn’t)

Applying to Where:
UC San Diego - Plasma Physics/HEDP-exp (applied under their MAE program since the lab I want to work with is listed there)
UC Irvine - Plasma Physics
UCLA - Experimental Plasma Physics
University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) - Applied Physics (Plasma) - Feb. 13: Rejected via Email
University of Rochester - Laboratory Astrophysics/Plasma Physics - Feb 10: Waitlisted via Portal

Big Reaches:
MIT - Plasma Physics/HEDP-exp - Feb. 14: Rejected via Email
MIT - Nuclear Engineering and Science - Jan. 18: Interview Offered, Feb. 6: Rejected via Email
Princeton- Plasma Physics - Feb. 17: Rejected via Email

Y-2-H
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2023 1:46 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by Y-2-H » Sun Feb 19, 2023 2:25 pm

MSc Institution: Big state school, decent physics reputation
Major(s): Physics
GPA: 4/4
Length of Degree: Graduating this May after 2.5 years
Type of Student: International, male

GRE Scores: Did not submit

TOEFL: R: 29, L: 28, S: 30, W: 27

Research Experience:
  • 1.5 years research experience in black holes and holography + currently working on a research project in CMT with a professor in my institution.
  • 1 HEP-TH publication, corresponding author with 1 professor
  • 3 talks
Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
  • Graduate fellowship at my MSc institution
  • Award for highest GPA at my previous institution
  • 2 research grants
  • Scholarship from French government for my previous (engineering) degree
Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
  • 2+ years TA experience in a big state school
  • Founder of a graduate physics club
  • Some charity work in my home country
  • Active member in the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
Special Bonus Points: Already finished 2 years of graduate coursework and passed the qualifier exams at my current institution.

Applying to Where (All Physics PhD, Subfield HEP-TH):

Brown U. - Rejected
Cornell U. Rejected (email on Feb. 20). Had brief contact with a professor there who expressed admiration for my research. Extremely sad and disappointed. I had some hopes after surviving the 1st wave of rejections last week. :cry: :cry: :cry:
Johns Hopkins U. - Rejected. Email on Mar 7 after nagging those ass0les without a response for over a month!
McGill U. - Expecting to get rejected since PI’s are not responding to my emails. Very rude and unprofessional! Update: received official rejection in mid-April.
Pennsylvania State U. (Penn State) - Rejected
SUNY Stony Brook - Rejected (email on March 1). Not an "official" rejection but was told by Donald that all acceptances have been sent out and the committee only foresees sending MSc offers in the next weeks.
UC Davis - Rejected. Asked DOG about my status and she told me that they’re not sending out rejections now, but all decisions have been made. Why not just let us know without us having to nag you, this is very frustrating!!
UC Los Angeles (UCLA) - Rejected
UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) - Rejected
U. of Chicago - Rejected
U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) - Rejected (email on March 2 from stupid piece of sh!t director that ignored all my previous emails. Don't be a graduate director if you don't want to be a freaking graduate director you j3rk!)
U. of Massachusetts-Amherst (UMass-Amherst) - Upon inquiry got a very weird email with no piece of useful info in it. DGS said they wanted to send out around 50 offers and already sent out 45 then said best regards. Not sure if this means they’re done or not. Update: received official rejection.
U. of Michigan Ann-Arbor (UMich) - Rejected. Very sad. Was interested in a large number of profs., some of whom told me they will be taking new students. Don’t understand why I wasn’t even given a chance at an interview! :(
U. Pennsylvania (UPenn) - Rejected
U. of Virginia (UVa) - Accepted 2/6/’23 through portal. Will probably not go. $32k/year ($24k/9 months) + health insurance coverage + $5k additional scholarship for 1st year, and no TA duties for the 1st year. Very tempting TBH. Declined.
U. of Washington (UW) - Rejected
U. Wisconsin-Madison - Accepted on Feb. 23. $34k/year ($25.5k/9 months) + health insurance coverage + $4k scholarship ($2k when I arrive, $2k after 1st year). Guaranteed funding for 5 years. Will go.
Yale - Rejected
Last edited by Y-2-H on Sat Apr 29, 2023 6:07 pm, edited 17 times in total.

siriusblack
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2023 3:10 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by siriusblack » Sun Feb 19, 2023 5:54 pm

siriusblack wrote:
Sat Feb 04, 2023 3:30 pm
Undergrad Institution: Top 3 institutes in Canada, good physics reputation
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 4/4
Overall GPA: 3.9/4
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Near the top. Top 5% in faculty of science, not sure within the department.
Type of Student: International Asian Female

GRE Scores: V: 165, Q: 168, W: 3.5, submitted to all schools whose GRE is optional.


TOEFL: (R: , L: , S: , W: ) Waived


Research Experience: 8 months of condensed matter experiments at my school and 8 months in medical physics at a public research institute. 8 months of condensed matter theory at my school.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Some school/departmental awards.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Such as tutor, TA, SPS officer etc...) TA for three undergraduate courses. 2 computer science, 1 physics lab.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Did some education/equity research.

Special Bonus Points: (Such as connections, grad classes, famous recommenders, female or minority status etc...) only 1 grad class but no grade when I submit my transcript

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: N/A


Applying to Where: condensed matter theory/experiment. Amo experiment.

Super reach:
PSI:
Princeton, Feb 16 :
Caltech (Applied Physics): Interviewed on Feb. 2. Bombed the interview, really sad. Rejected Feb 10
Harvard:
MIT (MEMP): Rejected via email, Jan 13
Stanford (Applied Physics): Rejected via email, Feb 16
UCBerkeley:
Yale (Applied Physics): Interviewed on Jan 17. Accepted via email to check portal Feb 13 Very exciting! Will probably go to Yale.

Reach/Match:
Cornell:
Toronto (Medical Biophysics): Accepted Feb 7.
Toronto (Physics):
UBC (Master):
Maryland: Accepted Feb 11 38k for first two years.
Johns Hopkins:
UIUC:

Safe:
McMaster (Master): Accepted Jan 12
Waterloo (Master): Informal acceptance from PI, will make an official offer if I accept


Super anxious right now so I wrote the post.

physicsgoat
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2023 11:56 am

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by physicsgoat » Fri Feb 24, 2023 12:58 am

Undergrad Institution: Top 50 R2 University. Not sure on physics reputation.
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Math
GPA in Major: 3.89
Overall GPA: 3.83
4.0 for upper level physics and math classes
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: No clue. Probably above average for grades and about average for research experience.
Type of Student: American white male

GRE: Quantitative 169 (93%), Verbal 169 (99%), Analytical Writing (91%)
Physics GRE: 810 (66%) (Classical Mechanics 66%, Electromagnetism 69%, Quantum 79%)
Submitted to all programs that would take GRE scores. In hindsight probably not worth submitting scores to any programs except the one that required it since I doubt it helped.

Research Experience: 3 semesters experimental AMO. 1 summer at national lab through SULI program. No publications.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, honors thesis/degree.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Not really. 1 year in industry after graduation, I don't think that helps though.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Nope.

Special Bonus Points: No.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: No.

Applying to Where: Experimental AMO and/or experimental Condensed Matter for all. Applied to a lot of programs since I’ve gone through an entire application cycle for summer research programs without acceptances before.

UC San Diego: 2/3 Accepted
University of Maryland: 1/31 Accepted
Rice University: 4/3 Rejected
University of Virginia: 2/6 Accepted
CU Boulder: 2/28 Rejected
UC Santa Barbara: 2/3 informal interview with PI, 3/28 Rejected
University of Florida: 1/27 Accepted
University of New Mexico: 3/1 Accepted
Northwestern University: 2/7 interview, 2/16 Accepted
Georgia Tech: 2/15 Accepted
UC Santa Cruz: 2/9 Accepted
Virginia Tech: 2/14 Accepted
University of Washington (I assume rejected since acceptances out and open house over)
UC Riverside 3/29 Contacted by Professor, withdrew my application
Washington State University: 2/8 Accepted
University of Oregon: 2/16 Accepted
Penn State: 2/6 Accepted
UIUC: 3/16 rejected
UC Davis: 2/15 Interview, 2/24 open house invitation. 3/9 accepted.
Dartmouth: 2/16 Offered interview but declined and withdrew application, 3/13 formal rejection
Georgetown: 2/17 Accepted

2/23: Expecting rejections from the rest since acceptances have already been posted for most. But this has gone far better than anticipated.
3/21: That's a wrap I think! very excited for the future.
Last edited by physicsgoat on Mon Apr 03, 2023 7:40 pm, edited 5 times in total.

AlexDedaulus
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Jan 26, 2023 11:11 am

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by AlexDedaulus » Fri Feb 24, 2023 2:21 am

Undergrad Institution: Private University. Ok physics reputation.
Majors(s): Physics and Biomedical Engineering
GPA in Major: 3.57
Overall GPA: 3.32 :( (Struggled to transition from high school to uni in the beginning. Tanked my grades)
Length of degree: 4
Position in class: N/A

Grad Institution: MSc at State University. Pretty well know research institute.
Major(s): Optical Sciences
GPA in Major: 4.0 (Definitely makes a difference to be financially stable and more mature :D )
Overall GPA: 4.0
Position in class: N/A

Type of student: Domestic, Hispanic male

GRE Scores: Took them 4 years ago. Scored very low

Research Experience:
  • Undergrad thesis (1.5 years): Worked on analyzing data from accelerator lab in Germany. Mainly did analysis on DAQ software and its performance. No pubs, just a thesis and presentation
  • Senior Design Project (1.5 years): Wasn't really research per se, but good experience in learning hard skills such as CAD, FEA analysis, hand tools and data measurement
  • MSc Thesis (1.5 years): Worked on analyzing the efficiency of solar-to-hydrogen production. No publication, but did present at an industrial conference hosted by home college
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Deans list two semesters, School scholarship at undergrad institution, best senior design project in department award.

Pertinent Activates or Jobs: Not really. Have not had experience teaching at the higher ed level, but whenever the opportunity presents itself I try to volunteer for outreach programs for grade school.

Anything miscellaneous: Coming out of undergrad I went to work. I worked as a technician in a utility company. Never really used by background in engineering and physics, but gained a lot in terms of soft skills: project management, time management, team collaboration, etc..
Also pursued my MSc while working full time. Not sure this really helps my app. If anything it might hurt it since physics is not as open to non-traditional backgrounds from what I've been hearing..

Applying to where:
Super Reach:
UC Berkeley - Physics (CM Exp) - Rejected 2/23 via portal
UC Boulder - Physics (Chem Phys) Rejected 2/28 via portal
UMaryland - (CM Exp)
Georgetown - (CM Exp) Waitlisted 3/10 via portal

Reach:
Colorado School of Mines - Physics (CM Exp) - Interview for RA position. Went well, but still waiting for acceptance letter.
University of Arizona - Physics (CM Exp) Rejected 2/28 via email
Oregon State - Physics (CM Exp)
Penn State University - Physics (CM Exp)
University of Arizona - Optics Waitlisted

Safety
George Washington University - PhD Mech E.
ASU - Physics (CM Exp) Accepted 2/28 via email
University of Arizona (PhD Material Science) Accepted 2/21 via email
Last edited by AlexDedaulus on Sat Mar 11, 2023 1:47 am, edited 4 times in total.

trailmix
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2023 11:15 am

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by trailmix » Tue Feb 28, 2023 11:46 am

Undergrad institution: Small-ish LAC, in the top 75 in US
Majors: Physics, Mechanical Engineering
Major GPA: 3.4 (physics), 3.26 (Mech Eng)
Overall GPA: 3.33
Length of Degree: 4 yrs
Position in class: idk
Type of student: hispanic male
GRE score: did not take

Master's institution: small technical school in the US
Majors: Nuclear Engineering
Major GPA: 3.85
Overall GPA: 3.85
Length of Degree: 1.5 yrs
Position in class: near top
Type of student: hispanic male

Writing this for all the non-traditional and/or low-gpa people out there.
Research experience: 2 yrs astronomy research, 1 year machine learning + nuclear engineering, 1 year radiation physics

Awards/honors/recognitions: physics department merit based award, several (small) university internal research grants

Pertinent activities/jobs: Worked in R&D roles in industry for 5+ years

Other info: Reached out to PIs at rougly 50% of schools I applied to. Had zoom calls with 3 prior to applying.

Applying to where (a mix of astro and nuclear engineering):

Reach schools:
Michigan Nuclear Engineering: Waitlisted upon inquiry, 4/3
Berkeley Nuclear Engineering:
MIT Nuclear Engineering: Rejected 2/6 via email
Wisconsin Physics: Rejected 1/29 via email
Maryland Physics: Waitlisted upon inquiry, 4/3, Rejected 4/14 with notice to check portal
Columbia Applied Physics:


Target:
Wisconsin Nuclear Engineering: Interview 2/13, waitlisted upon inquiry 4/3
Wisconsin Astronomy: Interview 1/5, Waitlisted 1/23 via email
Michigan Applied Physics: Rejected 3/1 via email
Michigan State Astrophys: Rejected 1/13 via email
Florida Nuclear Engineering: Accepted 1/17 via email
Minnesota Astrophysics: Waitlisted 2/27 via email, Rejected 4/14 with notice to check portal
Last edited by trailmix on Fri Apr 14, 2023 8:47 am, edited 3 times in total.

bounje
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2023 3:26 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by bounje » Tue Feb 28, 2023 3:39 pm

Undergrad Institution: University of Pittsburgh (USA)
Major(s): Physics and Astronomy with Grad school prep
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: N/A
Overall GPA: 3.0
Length of Degree: 4yrs
Position in Class: N/A (average?)
Type of Student: Domestic White Male

GRE Scores: N/A

TOEFL: N/A

Research Experience: Worked on a summer project researching condensed matter physics. Worked in a lab but mostly fixed code and built databases/GUI for the experiments at the lab. These coding assignments were done remotely. No papers or talks from it. Also did independent astronomy research and presented at a poster session. Both were at my school.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Nothing besides Deans list a few times

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Worked every summer/some school years waiting tables or bartending

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: N/A

Special Bonus Points: Took roughly six graduate courses with B or higher obtained.

Applying to Where:

Physics PhD Schools (applied for condensed matter)

U Arizona - Declined Feb 28 via email/portal
UIUC - Declined Mar 2 via email
U Minnesota - Declined Feb 13 via email
U Utah - Declined Mar 5 via email
NC State - Declined Jan 27 via email

Medical Physics Schools (master's only)

LSU - Declined Feb 18 via email
VCU - Accepted Feb 17 via email/letter - Will attend!
U Penn - Declined Feb 21 via email
Hofstra University - Accepted Mar 6 via portal
Duke - Declined Mar 13 via portal
Georgia Institute of Technology - Declined Dec 15 via email
Last edited by bounje on Mon Mar 13, 2023 9:17 pm, edited 4 times in total.

beepSinaloa
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2023 3:33 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by beepSinaloa » Tue Mar 07, 2023 11:31 pm

beepSinaloa wrote:
Fri Feb 17, 2023 4:14 pm
Undergrad Institution: Big R1 State School in California, known for research but not particularly in physics
Major(s): Physics with a Concentration in Astrophysics, Anthropology
Minor(s): Archaeology
GPA in Major: 2.65
Overall GPA: 3.09
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: No official number, but I know I’m on the lower end
Type of Student: Domestic, female, disabled, Hispanic/Latino, first-gen

GRE Scores: Didn’t have to take

TOEFL: (R: , L: , S: , W: ) N/A

Research Experience: Summer at UCSD Center for Energy Research lab working on laboratory astrophysics. I spent three months doing the actual experiment and learning things in the lab and then processed data up until October. Presented at the APS conference

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: National Science Foundation S-STEM Scholarship Recipient for 2 years in a row

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
1. Astronomy Club Event Planner
2. Started a DEI Book Club based on STEM barriers and obstacles; book club operates alongside SPS
3. Worked as a resident advisor in the dorms since 2020 (this is my third year in the job and I have to re-interview every time)
4. Mentor for lower-division physics students

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: interesting major combinations make me a DEI person lol

Special Bonus Points: minority status lol (we out here fighting to be seen most of the time), met with PIs through my recommendation writers, one of my recommenders is center director for the Center for Mass Under Extreme Conditions

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
My grades were highly impacted by COVID and my mental health which I communicated in my essays, I’m also the child of two Mexican immigrants (one finished high school, the other didn’t)

Applying to Where:
UC San Diego - Plasma Physics/HEDP-exp (applied under their MAE program since the lab I want to work with is listed there) - Feb. 28: Accepted with funding
UC Irvine - Plasma Physics
UCLA - Experimental Plasma Physics
University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) - Applied Physics (Plasma) - Feb. 13: Rejected via Email
University of Rochester - Laboratory Astrophysics/Plasma Physics - Feb 10: Waitlisted via Portal

Big Reaches:
MIT - Plasma Physics/HEDP-exp - Feb. 14: Rejected via Email
MIT - Nuclear Engineering and Science - Jan. 18: Interview Offered, Feb. 6: Rejected via Email
Princeton- Plasma Physics - Feb. 17: Rejected via Email

Brianhsu5187
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Mar 12, 2023 8:21 am

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by Brianhsu5187 » Sun Mar 12, 2023 9:20 am

Undergrad Institution: Top astro + physics
Major(s): Astrophysics and Physics
Minor(s): Math
GPA in Major: 3.97
Overall GPA: 3.89
Length of Degree: 4 years (gapped 1 year between 3rd & 4th)
Position in Class: No idea
Type of Student: Domestic Asian male

GRE Scores:
TOEFL:

Research Experience:
Close to 3 years of research in observational astrophysics. One semester of accessibility research. 4 papers in total (2 1st 2 Nth). 3 conference talks + 1 poster, 4 invited presentations in other research groups.


Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 2 summer research fellowships from my school, award for best junior thesis, 2 conference funding (1 from AAS, 1 from school)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 6xTA (4xintro-level linear and 2xintro-level astro), telescope operator for 2 semesters, math tutoring during gap year, President/treasurer for astro club, diversity & accessibility research assistant

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: have a lot of managerial level jobs before college and during my gap year that might help? Idk

Special Bonus Points: 2 graduate courses in astro (radiative and stars), very strong LORs from top professors in their respective fields

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

Applying to Where: (all astro except for UCSB for physics)

Arizona - Accepted 2/1 ($37k/year stipend) - will go in the fall!
Berkeley - Interviewed 2/1 - Waitlisted 3/12, got off but declined
Caltech - Interviewed 1/18 - Rejected 2/10
Columbia - Rejected 3/3
Cornell - Accepted 2/20 (~$44k/year total stipend), declined
Harvard - Rejected 2/6
Northwestern - Interviewed 2/14 - Accepted 2/24 ($37k/year stipend), declined
Princeton - Interviewed 1/13 - Rejected 2/7
Penn State - Accepted 1/24 + University Graduate Fellowship ($31.5k/year, no TA for first two years), declined
UoA (Toronto) - Interviewed 1/27 - Waitlisted 2/13
UCSB - Interviewed 2/9 & 2/10 (yes they made me interview twice) - Accepted 2/1 ($40k/year stipend), declined
UW - Interviewed 1/23 - Waitlisted 2/2

Ended up much better than I had anticipated!
Last edited by Brianhsu5187 on Mon Apr 10, 2023 12:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

qcqi23
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Mar 13, 2023 5:51 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by qcqi23 » Mon Mar 13, 2023 6:03 pm

My profile:

Undergrad Institution: UC, very strong physics reputation
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: 3.87
Overall GPA: 3.82
Length of Degree: 2 + 3 (transferred from a community college)
Position in Class: Top 10%?
Type of Student: Domestic Asian Male

GRE Scores: Didn’t take

TOEFL: N/A

Research Experience: 1 year of quantum algorithms at two Asian universities, publication in preparation. 1.5 years of quantum photonics at home institution. 6 months of superconducting quantum hardware at another UC.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 4x Dean’s list. Two-year funded fellowship, widely recognised by Californian colleges. Another award in poster competition. Won a grant for my PI.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: tutor for Thermodynamics, grader for statistical mechanics and condensed matter physics.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: an n-author conference paper. Many independent projects.

Special Bonus Points: first-gen immigrant. I have taken 8 grad courses

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Apparently my PI is well-known in photonics

Applying to Where:
MIT EECS - quantum photonics and quantum devices
(Rejected March 08)
Stanford Applied Physics - quantum photonics (Accepted Feb 17th, no interview, 48k first year)
UC Berkeley Physics - superconducting qubits (Rejected Feb 24th)
UCSB ECE Master’s - photonics
UW ECE - photonics (Accepted Mar 14th)
CU Boulder Physics - Quantum Information Science (Accepted Feb 09th, No interview)
Yale Applied Physics - Quantum Information Science (Interviewed, Accepted Feb 13th, 40.3k/year + 3.5k fellowship for 3 years)
Caltech Applied Physics - Photonics and Quantum Devices (Interviewed, Accepted Feb 10th, 45k funding every year)

Advices:
I would say for the 3 out of 4 schools I got accepted to, I had really good fits and I described very detailed what I would like to do there.

Research experience is as important as it gets. If you do a lot and show that you have led projects based mostly on your ideas, your LoRs will be really strong.

GPA is quite important, but won’t entirely break your apps unless you go for theory.
Last edited by qcqi23 on Wed Mar 15, 2023 2:21 pm, edited 2 times in total.

priyashmistry
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2023 12:34 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by priyashmistry » Wed Mar 15, 2023 12:53 pm

Undergrad Institution: Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat, Gujarat, India.
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): -
GPA in Major: 9.37
Overall GPA: 9.04
Length of Degree: 5 Years (Integrated Master of Science)
Position in Class: 12th (Total 41 students)
Type of Student: International (India), Male

GRE Scores: NA
TOEFL: NA (IELTS: 6.5)


Research Experience:
1. Master's thesis on "Statistical Analysis and Ephemeris Refinement of Exoplanets" (Duration: 1 Year)
2. Self Initiated Project VaTEST (https://sites.google.com/view/project-vatest/home)
One first authored research paper on the discovery of exoplanet TOI-181b published in MNRAS
Another first authored paper about discovery of 16 exoplanetary systems is under revision in Astronomical Journal.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: -

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Project Leader and Coordinator

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: -

Special Bonus Points: -

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

Applying to Where:

Research Interest: Exoplanet

1. Penn State University - Rejected
2. University of Arizona - Rejected
3. California Institute of Technology - Rejected
4. Rice University - Rejected
5. University of New Mexico - Wait Listed
6. University of Texas Austin - Rejected
7. University of Wisconsin-Madison - Rejected
8. University of Maryland College Park - Rejected
9. University of Washington - Rejected
Last edited by priyashmistry on Mon Apr 03, 2023 8:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

ttx
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2023 8:13 am

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by ttx » Sun Mar 26, 2023 8:55 am

Undergrad Institution: University of Hong Kong
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): -
GPA in Major: 4.3/4.3
Overall GPA: 4.3/4.3
Length of Degree: 5 Years (took gap year)
Position in Class: 1st
Type of Student: International (Chinese), Male

GRE Scores: 337 (sent to a few)
IELTS:8


Research Experience:
1. Condensed Matter Theory projects, with a chair professor in my home university, produced two PRB. This accounts for one letter.
2. High Energy Theory, in axion detection. No Pub. With professor from University of Chicago. This accounts for another letter.
The third letter is about course performance.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: some university-level award.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: -

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: -

Special Bonus Points: -

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

Applying to Where: All Physics PhD (Physics and QSE for Harvard)

Research Interest: Condensed Matter Theory (HEPTH for Chicago)

1. University of Chicago - Accepted on Jan 27th (I think they release the results on the last Friday of Jan every year), with 2-year fellowship, 50k per year. (I think I got in because one of my advisors is an established person there), No interview
2. University of Maryland - Accepted on Jan 26th, with QUICS fellowship, No interview
3. California Institute of Technology - Rejected on Feb 14th
4. Yale-Rejected on Feb 14th
5. Harvard - Rejected
6. University of Texas Austin - Accepted on Feb 1st, had an informal interview last year (2022)
7. Stanford - Accepted on Feb 3rd, with 3-year Stanford Graduate Fellowship, will attend. No interview
8. Berkeley - Accepted on Feb 18th, No interview
9. University of Washington
10. University of Pennsylvania
11. Columbia University
12. MIT- rejected on Feb 14th
13. UCSD- Rejected after interview (which happened in late Dec) (ridiculous, only have one head count in CMT direction, heard that they sent out altogether 4 offers in CMT this year. Just stop raising the salary of the football coach!!!!!!!!!!!)
14. UCSB
15. Cornell- Accepted on Feb 18th, guaranteed six-year funding
16. Princeton- Rejected on Feb 14th, had an interview in Jan, didn't went well
17. UIUC- Rejected
18. Johns Hopkins- Accepted on
19. University of Michigan- Accepted on Feb 11st

psychepath
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Dec 04, 2022 3:09 am

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by psychepath » Sat Apr 08, 2023 11:45 am

Undergrad Institution: University of Delhi (reputation: meh)
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: N/A
Overall GPA: 6.865/10
Length of Degree: 3 years
Position in Class: average

Master's Institution: Indian Institute of Technology (reputation: not so sure)
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: N/A
Overall GPA: 8.39/10
Length of Degree: 2 years
Position in Class: average

Type of Student: International Male

GRE Scores: Nope

TOEFL: 104 (R: 30, L: 29, S: 24, W: 21)


Research Experience: Undergraduate thesis in Relativistic QM,
Summer Project on Feynman diagrams for \phi^4 theory,
Master's Thesis in W^\prime phenomenology,
Currently working on Anomaly detection in Collider Physics.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: No scholarships, got some recognition in international competitions.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: None officially, but used to tutor high school and undergraduate students

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Good programming experience outside of physics.

Special Bonus Points: Not sure how good my recommendations were, but the fact that I got accepted anywhere, they must be alright!

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Good experience in Machine learning and Deep learning.

Applying to Where (All hep-ph/hep-ex):

SUNY Buffalo: Accepted (26 Jan) + 23k TA + 2.1K summer Considering
Nebraska-Lincoln: Accepted (26 Jan) + 22k TA + 4K summer Declined
UT Knoxville: Waitlisted
Kansas State: Waitlisted .... Rejected 12 Apr
Vanderbilt: Waitlisted .... Rejected 12 Apr
Wayne State: Waitlisted
Tufts: Waitlisted .... Rejected 7 Apr
UKansas: Rejected
Notre Dame: Rejected
Rice: Rejected
VirginiaTech: Rejected
Oregon: Rejected
Pittsburgh: I have no idea what they're doing, tbh
Last edited by psychepath on Thu Apr 13, 2023 3:27 am, edited 2 times in total.

Finally_Home
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2023 5:23 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by Finally_Home » Mon Apr 10, 2023 12:14 am

Undergrad Institution: Small-ish private US school, small physics dept mostly known for astro
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Creative writing
GPA in Major: 2.76 (physics classes only; at time of application)
Overall GPA: 3.05 at time of application; 3.17 after fall grades released
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Idk
Type of Student: Domestic queer Asian female

GRE Scores:
General: V160, Q167, W5.5
PGRE: did not take

TOEFL: N/A

Research Experience:
Spring '22 at school; worked on PCBs to be used as antennae in HIRAX project
Summer '22 at REU; worked on optics setup to minimize focal averaging

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
None at time of application; Dean’s list w/ high honors after fall grades released

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
None in physics; TA for Chinese classes, translate webnovels in free time (mentioned in some supplementary essays)

Program Interest:
Mostly AMO, some condensed matter if AMO was not an option, or applied physics if the school had it

Schools (arranged by alphabetical order):
Boston University - Rejected Feb 27
Columbia - Rejected Mar 15
Duke - Rejected Feb 23
Georgia Tech - Rejected Mar 3
K-State - Accepted w/ + $21600 stipend Jan 27 - Will go but defer one year
Northwestern - Rejected Mar 4
NYU - Interview Mar 10 for NYU Shanghai - Rejected Mar 16
Penn State - Rejected Mar 23
Rice (Applied physics) - Rejected Jan 25
Rochester - Rejected Feb 10
RPI - Yet to reject but pretty much rejected
Texas A&M (Applied physics) - Implied rejection Apr 5
UChicago - Rejected Jan 27 (this one’s my fault, one of my recommenders didn’t get his letter in, but he told me he did, so I trusted him and didn’t check for myself...)
UIUC - Rejected Mar 2
UMD College Park - Rejected Mar 27 upon inquiry
UNC Chapel Hill - Yet to reject but pretty much rejected
USC - Interview Jan 17 - Rejected Mar 9
UT Austin - Rejected Mar 31
UVA - Rejected Mar 27
Virginia Tech - Rejected Mar 6
Yale (Applied physics) - Rejected Feb 13

Experience/Reflections:
I think this year was just a bad year for everyone :( but I also had a low GPA and little research experience. As a long-time lurker, I made an account to post this just so that people in the same position as me (aka no amazing accomplishments and painfully average) would feel a little less alone hahaha. Honestly maybe a few years earlier or later I would have gotten into more than one school, but it is what it is.

I also think I should have just omitted everything I mentioned about mental health. It's true that I did struggle with mental health issues and that's part of why my GPA is so low, but I'm wondering if there was a way to put that in context of... less mental health issues, per se, and more external circumstances? Because truly, I feel like academia doesn't want to admit that they're a large part of the problem lmao.

Advice:
Ask for help when you need it! For real! This is said so much that it's a cliche by now but it's so important :( a lot of us who struggle probably feel like we deserve it and that we're unworthy of help but I promise you asking for help will make your life so much easier. If it's less pressure, you can ask your friends or go to peer tutoring; I definitely found peer tutoring less intimidating than going to office hours, but office hours should still be your first choice imo. Most professors are very willing to help you, like that's why they have office hours in the first place; their job is to help you learn the material, not to judge you for needing help, even if you feel like they are (although tbh that's probably your insecurity talking).

Also, get into research early, like freshman year if possible. That way, if you stick with the same prof for several years, you have a great connection/recommendation letter. If you decide you don't like that kind of research or that particular prof, you're also at liberty to switch and try out new things before senior year sneaks up on you and you have to decide what subfield you want to go into.

And most importantly, Prioritize Your Health. Yes, that's mental AND physical health, like getting enough sleep, consuming a balanced diet, and hydrating regularly. Part of the reason I'm deferring my offer and taking a gap year is because I screwed up my physical health so badly over the past four year due to (mostly) sleep deprivation. It's also very easy, when you're already mentally unwell, to fall into a vicious cycle of mental health affects physical health affects mental health, etc, especially when you feel like you don't have time for anything. But making sure you get enough sleep/drink enough water/eat healthy food will at least make you feel slightly better.

I was basically given this same advice as a freshman/throughout undergrad but I never really took it seriously until junior year. And even then, junior year was so busy that I didn't take care of my physical health until the summer, during which I had a health scare and realized I needed to get myself together. But again, fall semester of senior year was incredibly busy and my health just got worse :( I really hope that those of yall reading this will take care of yourselves because trust me, this degree is not worth your health.

mbuskirk
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Apr 17, 2023 11:26 pm

Re: 2023 Applicant Profile and Admission Results

Post by mbuskirk » Tue Apr 18, 2023 12:08 am

Undergrad Institution: Medium-big state school in the US, not at all a bad program but not sure if it's particularly well-respected
Major(s): Physics, Chemistry
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.56
Overall GPA: 3.66
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Maybe/probably above average? Not stellar though
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores: nope

TOEFL: (R: , L: , S: , W: ) nope

Research Experience: ~1.5 yrs computational chemistry research, basically produced nothing useful; 1 summer was through an REU, virtually. ~3 mos. condensed matter experiment, also nothing produced. ~9 mos. condensed matter theory, 1 poster presented with another student. 1 summer of virtual NIST-SURF on an unrelated EE-like topic (still interesting though!)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's list (GPA > 3.5 in one term) a few times

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Learning assistant for chemistry 1 term, graded for an upper-division physics class

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: Applied to Stony Brook for AMO, and the professors I did my REU with also does AMO. I also talked with another professor there via ZOOM that helped me turn to AMO instead of condensed matter. But, I got rejected there.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Although I never did AMO as an undergrad, from talking to that professor (see above) and looking at research pages, I got the sense that AMO experiment has subtopics that often involve measurement that allow one to know something about the system of interest in great detail, whether it be precise, ultrafast, ultracold, etc. That's why I applied for AMO.

Applied to (all Physics, AMO experiment), west to east:
University of Colorado Boulder (Feb. 28: Rejected via email to check portal)
University of Wisconsin–Madison (Jan. 29: Rejected via email)
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Mar. 8: Rejected via email)
University of Michigan (Feb. 9: Rejected via email)
The Ohio State University (Apr. 14: WILL ATTEND for Ph.D.; Mar. 8: Accepted via email + $31020/(9 months TA + summer research) [originally $28368, increased on Apr. 6])
The Pennsylvania State University (Mar. 23: Rejected via email)
University of Maryland, College Park (Apr. 14: Rejected via email to check portal)
Stony Brook University (Mar. 6: Rejected via email)
University of Connecticut (Apr. 19: Rejected via email to check portal)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Feb. 14: Rejected via email)

My thoughts:
- Based on what I heard from my letter writers, 2 of the 3 seemed to be clearly happy with my research performance, so that probably helped.
- GPA wasn't great overall, but I got a ~3.9 through junior year in mostly physics & chemistry classes (improvement), which probably helped.
- Not having any AMO research experience probably hurt.
- Having a low amount of actually productive research experience also probably hurt.
- In my application, I claimed that I'd be interested mainly in ultracold atoms and precise measurement, but Ohio State doesn't focus on either. It seems that you should say that you're interested in a general subfield, but also know that you can't be sure you'll only be interested in that.

I think I had good personal motivation for applying, and my research advisor said that I would be a good fit for a Ph.D. Physics program. But I didn't have a lot of research experience (also not in AMO), and my GPA wasn't top-tier excellent. I don't know how my SOP affected my application - one of my letter writers reviewed it & said it was good, but I asked one of my other letter writers too late, and they didn't have time to offer more than general feedback. It could have been OK, it might have been bleh.

Maybe do this when you apply:
- Apply to more "safety" schools. For AMO people, I would have likely also applied to University of Oklahoma, Kansas State, and University of Nebraska-Lincoln next year if I didn't get into Ohio State this year. All have multiple AMO professors and are probably great departments, but I feel they might be less competitive just from the lack of name recognition. I only found them while making my list for Fall 2024 around early March, thinking I wouldn't get accepted anywhere.
- Ask faculty at each school if they have spots open, especially if you're applying to a smaller subfield (I didn't do this at all!)
- Ask at least a few people (who know the application process) ahead of time to review your SOP
- Try to find a research group early on that you feel you can make progress in & produce useful results. Computational chemistry was a boring black box to me, and I got myself stuck in it over COVID.

All that reflection being what it is, I'm really excited to go to Ohio State this fall! I'm hoping to join an ultra-fast atomic physics & lasers group. Investigating what atoms do in detail (boooo chemists) is what gets me excited at the moment.



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