Physics GRE Discussion Forums

So if we don't hear anything after March 15, does that imply we are on a waitlist of some sort?

-Maxwell's Demon

Negative.

You should contact the school(s) in question.

Just found out I am on the waitlist for Notre Dame.

UIUC said that they are waiting for responses from their first wave before starting their second. Is that a sort of wait list? I would think that means my application was good enough for a second look, but maybe they are not sending out any rejections yet (for those interested, this is UIUC astronomy department, not physics).

astrofan wrote:You should contact the school(s) in question.

Just found out I am on the waitlist for Notre Dame.

UIUC said that they are waiting for responses from their first wave before starting their second. Is that a sort of wait list? I would think that means my application was good enough for a second look, but maybe they are not sending out any rejections yet (for those interested, this is UIUC astronomy department, not physics).

I got the same kind of response from NMSU. They basically said they typically make 2-3 second round offers each year and I have a fairly good chance of getting one of them. I was like, "Uuuuuuuummmmmmkay. So, am I maybe possibly sorta getting in then?"

I can't help wonder if they've actually looked at my file yet. I know there has been an overwhelming number of applicants this year, and so perhaps this is the reason that I haven't heard from anyone (well, actually, I heard from Santa Cruz-- no go.) Do you think that most programs are still looking at new files or are reviewing old ones for 2nd/3rd round offers?

According to NYU, they are still making offers.

I contacted McGill, NYU, Stony Brook, and Michigan Applied Math. They are all still making offers.

Wait a second, Stony Brook is still making offers? I was under the impression that long island had just fallen into the ocean.

PhysicsPdx wrote:I contacted McGill, NYU, Stony Brook, and Michigan Applied Math. They are all still making offers.

Stony Brook must be sending out one acceptance letter at a time and waiting for the return response before sending out another.

coreycwgriffin wrote:

PhysicsPdx wrote:I contacted McGill, NYU, Stony Brook, and Michigan Applied Math. They are all still making offers.

Stony Brook must be sending out one acceptance letter at a time and waiting for the return response before sending out another.

Hahahaha, Hilarious!

it is so weird that the British Columbia's Open House is just one week away and they still say: "The Committee is now reviewing a very large number of applications. You will be notified as soon as the decision is made on your application."
as far as i know no PhD admission has been released so for. so i am wondering if they expect me to get a visa within 1 day? ( in the case of admission, of course )

and one note about TAMU: their webpage indicates that applicants are notified by the end of February. i guess it is mid-march, and they still tell me thet my application is still under review. i guess i just sent them transcripts, reference letters, SoP,etc.... so why the hell it takes that long!! it is just a couple of papers... it should not be taking 3 months, for God's sake...

coreycwgriffin wrote:

PhysicsPdx wrote:I contacted McGill, NYU, Stony Brook, and Michigan Applied Math. They are all still making offers.

Stony Brook must be sending out one acceptance letter at a time and waiting for the return response before sending out another.

Well said!!

Stony brooks has been really very irritating.

babazula wrote: it is so weird that the British Columbia's Open House is just one week away and they still say: "The Committee is now reviewing a very large number of applications. You will be notified as soon as the decision is made on your application."
as far as i know no PhD admission has been released so for. so i am wondering if they expect me to get a visa within 1 day

They are being slow. I heard back form them last week but only because I emailed them and mine was for the Msc not the Phd so probably different. But I do know they send out notifications by mail and i still haven't received mine and was told it was sent almost two weeks ago, so keep in mind that canada-us mail times are apparently quite slow. The rad sec there and the grad admissions chair are both helpful and usually receptive to emails.

Really can't believe I'm still waiting for anything from UCLA/UCSD, I thought this torture would have been over weeks ago, alas

Imperate wrote:Really can't believe I'm still waiting for anything from UCLA/UCSD, I thought this torture would have been over weeks ago, alas

I agree... it feels like I've been waiting months instead of weeks.
Another Friday has come and will soon be gone...

ucla waiting people: at least you didnt get rejected yet like the rest of us. so youre probably 2nd rounders. cheer up. call them and ask for the status of your application.

Yeah, I haven't heard from UCSD either. Though when I called them a week ago, they said they already notified everyone, and might send out 2nd rounders later. So dunno...

-Maxwell's Demon

Davis sort of said I am rejected, as they said that they were waiting on their first round of offers and I was low on their list of applicants. They do a point system, from 1-10, and anyone with a 7.5 or more got an acceptance letter. I had a 6.

Sorta surprised I was given this much detail.

Dunno, sorta encouraging mail from U Mass. PLEASE anyone who KNOWS they're not going to U Mass or U Pitt PLEASE decline your offers !

Ugh, so I counted it up and I have yet to receive any news from six, count 'em SIX schools otherwise 4 rejections, 1 acceptance). Lots of waitlists I guess? Guess I could write but I don't know if they'd tell me anything new...

Andromeda wrote:Ugh, so I counted it up and I have yet to receive any news from six, count 'em SIX schools otherwise 4 rejections, 1 acceptance). Lots of waitlists I guess? Guess I could write but I don't know if they'd tell me anything new...

here too... 6 schools still, but i will be gone for nearly a week before i can check my mail for the small envelope.

What's going on with UCLA???

UCLA is accepting very few students this year. Seems like they made 1st round offers. you should call in and ask about the status of your application.

Waitlisted at Oregon, though the email made it sound like if a spot opens up I will get an offer. Fingers crossed someone declines Oregon or suffers a terrible accident

Anybody has any idea about Harvard Applied Physics. The thegradcafe.com message has expired and still no sign of any activity. I suppose they would be sending their notifications by snail mail... but what is taking them so long??????????

So far all I have is my safety acceptance, and I'm waiting on UCLA (which I guess is going to be a rejection, given that UCSD just rejected me, and apparently UCLA have sent out first rounds and aren't accepting many people this year).

I called Harvard Applied Physics like 10 days ago or so. All they told me to do was to wait until March 15th...

-Maxwell's Demon

Imperate wrote:So far all I have is a USC acceptance, and I'm waiting on UCLA (which I guess is going to be a rejection, given that UCSD just rejected me, and apparently UCLA have sent out first rounds and aren't accepting many people this year). I really only put USC as a safety though, all I know is it's ranked in the 40's and seems to have a few people studying string there (although I'm not sure about the quality of these people), can anyone tell me anything more about it? (either academic wise or the place itself would be great)

I am currently an undergrad at USC. Actually the string portion of the department is larger group the theory side of the department. There are about 5 to 6 people working on different aspects of it. you have to look at the publications. They are an interesting bunch, they are really good teachers for the most part and even human beings to some extend. The place, well, most grad students i know live either close to campus (price inflation) or somewhere between campus and santa monica, so you will need a car to get to and from home. One of the grad students told me that with the stipend you will have enough money to buy a car in about 3 to 6 months. the campus itself is undergrad dominated. the physics buildings are nearly all in the engineering part of campus, but pretty old. the area around the campus well... i dunno.. urban living area in a high crime rate. if you want any more details shoot me a pm.

OK guys im confused need help interpeting,
My friend is visiting his girlfriend at northwestern right now and stopped and talked to their grad sec and asked when notifications were going out. The guy told him he was in the first wave ( of acceptances and rejections) and those people will be notified within 72 hours. Then when he asked about me he said I'm in the second wave and I'll be notified in like a week. Now I'm confused cause I thought first waves were usually early and then the second wave was after some of the first had turned down spots there. If they're only a week apart whats the difference here, could they both still be acceptances? Is second wave just people who were decided on later???

I wonder what took UCLA and Berkeley so long...
I made inquiries about my status to both of them two days ago, yet, no reply...

babazula wrote: and one note about TAMU: their webpage indicates that applicants are notified by the end of February. i guess it is mid-march, and they still tell me thet my application is still under review. i guess i just sent them transcripts, reference letters, SoP,etc.... so why the hell it takes that long!! it is just a couple of papers... it should not be taking 3 months, for God's sake...

TAMU is really strange...waiting for decision, too

clytze_pp wrote:

babazula wrote: and one note about TAMU: their webpage indicates that applicants are notified by the end of February. i guess it is mid-march, and they still tell me thet my application is still under review. i guess i just sent them transcripts, reference letters, SoP,etc.... so why the hell it takes that long!! it is just a couple of papers... it should not be taking 3 months, for God's sake...

TAMU is really strange...waiting for decision, too

Problem is that their open house is March 26-29, and no one is going to decline their offer before first visiting. Thus, they can't start making their second round of offers until the first wave rejects them. I understand the frustration of waiting, but I think you will have to wait at least another week to find out more.

Emailed university of Florida. There are 450 applicants for 25 positions.

I think TAMU is still making offers since I just got mine yesterday. They said they sent it friday but it bounced back. Call/email them. I did so last week and they told me that they still had not made a decision on my file.

Is it me, or are things way harder and crazier this year than previous years?

It is. Lots of schools saw jumps in applications, some as much as a third!, and they're more stingy with acceptances lest their class is too big (much better to let ppl of the waitlist if it's a serious concern). That or there might be a lot less money altogether.

Damn economy crashing just when we want to go to school! I also resent all you people who decided to apply just because getting a job is harder now, as I was going to apply ANYWAY.

Andromeda wrote: Damn economy crashing just when we want to go to school! I also resent all you people who decided to apply just because getting a job is harder now, as I was going to apply ANYWAY.

I've been talking to a few people about that topic and I wonder if more people applied or did not apply based on job outlook. The stock market crashed in September so I guess people would have a chance to take the physics gre and apply to grad school in November and December. However, I'm guessing that there will be even more applicants next year since people graduating this spring will have a very hard time finding work.

Andromeda wrote:It is. Lots of schools saw jumps in applications, some as much as a third!, and they're more stingy with acceptances lest their class is too big (much better to let ppl of the waitlist if it's a serious concern). That or there might be a lot less money altogether.

Damn economy crashing just when we want to go to school! I also resent all you people who decided to apply just because getting a job is harder now, as I was going to apply ANYWAY.

this is the only reason why i don't feel like a complete dumbass right now. i'm still waiting on rutgers, upenn and nyu.

I searched BU physics on Gradcafe and someone posted that they were rejected via the website. I logged into my application and couldn't even find where an acceptance/rejection would be posted. Anyone else know?

I wouldnt trust a single instance on gradcafe collectively its a little more trustworthy

waitlisted at oregon and colorado school of mines. Also I emailed Washington today and all they had to say was that they already sent out some acceptances and will send out a few more before march 30th. No idea if I can expect one of these, but I guess I'll know in 10 days

Is there anyone here still waiting for response from UC Berekeley?
I made an inquiry on Monday and I haven't recieved any reply...

isobelojalvo wrote:I searched BU physics on Gradcafe and someone posted that they were rejected via the website. I logged into my application and couldn't even find where an acceptance/rejection would be posted. Anyone else know?

The BU Graduate School of Arts and Sciences does not maintain an online application status. If you're rejected, BU will send you a letter from their department (and perhaps a second one from the school, I can't remember that bit from last year).

Ulquiorra wrote:Is there anyone here still waiting for response from UC Berekeley?
I made an inquiry on Monday and I haven't recieved any reply...

Call Donna. They had missed sending out my e-mail (or it got lost on its way through the internet.) Either way, you can call and she'll tell you your status.

pd wrote:Call Donna. They had missed sending out my e-mail (or it got lost on its way through the internet.) Either way, you can call and she'll tell you your status.

Donna is the one whom I e-mailed to...
Anyway, some mentioned about her that she's quite kind, aint?
I'll call her. Thx pd.

Haven't heard from Rutgers yet!! Seriously, common!!!!!! Just give-me any new so I can move on with my life!!

Has anyone??

ffalieri wrote:Seriously, common!!!!!!!!!!

MUST RESIST URGE TO BE SPELLING NAZI.

Did anyone here apply to Applied Science & Technology at Berkeley? I'm yet to hear from them, and am wondering if anyone you know has received word -- positive or negative.

ffalieri wrote:Haven't heard from Rutgers yet!! Seriously, common!!!!!! Just give-me any new so I can move on with my life!!

Has anyone??

I e-mailed them two week ago (received a reply on the 10th) and they said that I'd hear from them "shortly." I'm probably going to try calling tomorrow because it's getting ridiculous at this point. At least the other school I have not heard back from stated that they were waiting to see what the first round did before deciding to send additional offers, which I understand and respect. I'd be much happier waiting if Rutgers would say something about why they haven't made a decision yet.

pd wrote:

ffalieri wrote:Haven't heard from Rutgers yet!! Seriously, common!!!!!! Just give-me any new so I can move on with my life!!

Has anyone??

I e-mailed them two week ago (received a reply on the 10th) and they said that I'd hear from them "shortly." I'm probably going to try calling tomorrow because it's getting ridiculous at this point. At least the other school I have not heard back from stated that they were waiting to see what the first round did before deciding to send additional offers, which I understand and respect. I'd be much happier waiting if Rutgers would say something about why they haven't made a decision yet.

Same here!!! I wonder if they are done making offers and our rejection letters are sitting on someone's desk somewhere. I emailed them a few weeks ago and haven't heard any response whatsoever, so that's not really encouraging.

I will say this though... I live in NJ and our budget is seriously effed up! Maybe they are waiting to see if they can fund any more grad students. I see some excellent profiles on this site that haven't heard from Rutgers yet and they would have no doubt gotten in last year.