Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

  • 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.

Mataka
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by Mataka » Sat Feb 13, 2010 9:46 am

terrence wrote: Thank you, looking at the profiles thread it seems to me that this year admission at Cornell was even more competitive than usual: there is someone who has already gotten into both Harvard and Caltech but was rejected from Cornell...
To clarify, Cornell's website explicitly states that admission of students with a master's is 'unusual', as far as I know they are a special case though.

Also, I got into NYU on 02/12.
Congratulations for NYU !

I also noticed the guy that got into Harvard and Caltech but got rejected by Cornell, it's a bit odd. There is also a guy that got into MIT but got rejected by Cornell ...

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grae313
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by grae313 » Sat Feb 13, 2010 12:29 pm

A friend of mine here at Cornell got accepted into Harvard physics recently.

TrueBLUE
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by TrueBLUE » Mon Feb 15, 2010 12:06 am

Finally finally .. an acceptance from Cornell in CME, one of my top choices via email dated 13/02/10. great relief 8) That evil site grad cafe almost made me believe i was going to be rejected... May be myself being an international explains the late acceptance a bit. Waiting for other results and good luck to all. Don't lose hope until you've specifically heard from them.

higgs_boson
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by higgs_boson » Mon Feb 15, 2010 1:31 pm

Has any international applicant got accepted or invited to open house by UT-Austin? It looks like they send some acceptances in early February which were all domestic.

blackcat007
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by blackcat007 » Mon Feb 15, 2010 2:02 pm

higgs_boson wrote:Has any international applicant got accepted or invited to open house by UT-Austin? It looks like they send some acceptances in early February which were all domestic.
I don't think any intl would have got any reply.. in their FAQ page they clearly mentioned that they won't be giving out any decisions for intls until march or even April..
its very odd since they had 1st December as their deadline :?

DividedSky
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by DividedSky » Mon Feb 15, 2010 5:21 pm

Accepted into UIUC (nice surprise!), rejected from Yale (unpleasant surprise).

Mataka
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by Mataka » Mon Feb 15, 2010 7:20 pm

Is anyone going to the Cornell open house ?

They offer prospective students to stay at a current grad student accommodation, but I don't know, I'm thinking that depending on who you get this could be incredibly awkward ... did any of the older students used that option ? Would you recommend it ?

abeboparebop
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by abeboparebop » Mon Feb 15, 2010 7:38 pm

They offer prospective students to stay at a current grad student accommodation, but I don't know, I'm thinking that depending on who you get this could be incredibly awkward ... did any of the older students used that option ? Would you recommend it ?
The two schools I visited last year that had programs like this were Berkeley and Stanford. I suppose it could be pretty awkward but as long as you're a reasonable human being I wouldn't expect it to be a problem. At Stanford I stayed on a couch in an apartment which had four or five physics PhD students. At Berkeley I stayed in a grad student's room at a co-op, which had the potential for awkwardness (theoretically it was the clothing optional co-op but there weren't any naked people running around -- just plenty of weed and granola).

Neither of them were in fact awkward, other than the normal awkwardness of meeting lots of new people really quickly, and I felt that both of them offered interesting slices of life at their respective schools that I didn't get when I visited, say, Santa Barbara. Consider that if you end up staying in a hotel, you're going to be sharing a room with another prospective student anyway, at least if the school is paying for it. If the option to stay with a current grad is there, I'd recommend you take it.

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grae313
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by grae313 » Mon Feb 15, 2010 8:02 pm

Mataka wrote:Is anyone going to the Cornell open house ?

They offer prospective students to stay at a current grad student accommodation, but I don't know, I'm thinking that depending on who you get this could be incredibly awkward ... did any of the older students used that option ? Would you recommend it ?
All of the visiting students stay with current grad students here. When I visited Cornell I stayed in the spare bedroom of a current student who I'm friends with now. It was really great and not awkward. My boyfriend and I hosted a student last year who is now a good friend of ours and we really enjoyed the experience, and this year we offered to host two students since we have the room. All the students here are pretty cool, in my opinion, and it's a great chance to ask lots of questions and get the real grad student perspective. If they put you up in a hotel you're probably sharing a room with someone anyways and that has just as much potential for awkwardness.

Mataka
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by Mataka » Mon Feb 15, 2010 8:15 pm

Thanks for the replies, this is exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for.

mike164
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by mike164 » Tue Feb 16, 2010 3:24 pm

Has anybody here heard back from Rice University?

I received an e-mail last week saying that "Your application has been reviewed and is pending further consideration". What does this supposed to mean? Waitlisted ?

geshi
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by geshi » Tue Feb 16, 2010 9:31 pm

mike164 wrote:Has anybody here heard back from Rice University?

I received an e-mail last week saying that "Your application has been reviewed and is pending further consideration". What does this supposed to mean? Waitlisted ?
For what it's worth I did NOT get this email from Rice. I did get an email in January to the effect of "we have all your applicant materials."

I applied last year and made it onto the wait list. I did not get such an email last year. I only found out I was wait-listed after inquiring via email.

footy
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by footy » Tue Feb 16, 2010 10:55 pm

Anybody knows what "admitted without funding" really means at Purdue? Who admits a PhD student without funding??
Made no mention of being considered later.
I checked Gradcafe and saw posters with the same problem. Just wondering if anyone from last year had the same issue and what really happened later.

Mataka
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by Mataka » Tue Feb 16, 2010 11:42 pm

Is it just me or thegradcafe is getting more and more entertaining ? :lol:
Yale, physics, accepted : Suck it bitches.
Princeton, physics, accepted: 4.0 GPA, 990 PGRE, 5 LOR, 4 first author PRD... I'm *** awesome !

terrence
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by terrence » Wed Feb 17, 2010 10:31 am

Mataka wrote:Is it just me or thegradcafe is getting more and more entertaining ? :lol:
Yale, physics, accepted : Suck it bitches.
Princeton, physics, accepted: 4.0 GPA, 990 PGRE, 5 LOR, 4 first author PRD... I'm *** awesome !
It's fun indeed :)

I have noticed that at the moment there are no acceptances from Princeton in the profiles thread...not a single one!

Maxos
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by Maxos » Wed Feb 17, 2010 12:14 pm

terrence wrote:
Mataka wrote:Is it just me or thegradcafe is getting more and more entertaining ? :lol:
Yale, physics, accepted : Suck it bitches.
Princeton, physics, accepted: 4.0 GPA, 990 PGRE, 5 LOR, 4 first author PRD... I'm *** awesome !
It's fun indeed :)

I have noticed that at the moment there are no acceptances from Princeton in the profiles thread...not a single one!
gradcafé doesn't agree

terrence
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by terrence » Wed Feb 17, 2010 12:28 pm

@Maxos: yes, Princeton has already made several offers...I was referring only to physicsgre profiles

geshi
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by geshi » Wed Feb 17, 2010 2:02 pm

geshi wrote:
mike164 wrote:Has anybody here heard back from Rice University?

I received an e-mail last week saying that "Your application has been reviewed and is pending further consideration". What does this supposed to mean? Waitlisted ?
For what it's worth I did NOT get this email from Rice. I did get an email in January to the effect of "we have all your applicant materials."

I applied last year and made it onto the wait list. I did not get such an email last year. I only found out I was wait-listed after inquiring via email.
Well, I just got an email today (2/17) with an offer from them! :)

Maxos
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by Maxos » Wed Feb 17, 2010 2:21 pm

terrence wrote:@Maxos: yes, Princeton has already made several offers...I was referring only to physicsgre profiles
I see..... anyway I keep hoping that gradcafé is haunted by crackpots (which is certainly partially true) ahahaha

mike164
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by mike164 » Wed Feb 17, 2010 2:22 pm

mike164 wrote:Well, I just got an email today (2/17) with an offer from them! :)

Congrats on your offer. Pretty cool department.

ultraballer2000
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by ultraballer2000 » Wed Feb 17, 2010 5:28 pm

Admitted UC Davis physics via email. Word.

matonski
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by matonski » Wed Feb 17, 2010 6:47 pm

Accepted to John's Hopkins. The email was in my gmail spam box for a day.

campsoup
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by campsoup » Wed Feb 17, 2010 8:14 pm

in to UIUC via phone. happy!

lapen
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by lapen » Thu Feb 18, 2010 1:45 am

matonski wrote:Accepted to John's Hopkins. The email was in my gmail spam box for a day.
Thanks to your post I found my offer letter in my gmail spam box! Now I have exactly 12 hrs to notify them whether I am attending their open house or not.

betelgeuse1
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by betelgeuse1 » Thu Feb 18, 2010 2:52 pm

Is it still early? Have no answer yet, no acceptance nor rejection! Got the second PGRE 750 :( not too spectacular a jump from 710... I presume it was the exam stress... The tests went perfect at home... :?

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notnaps
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by notnaps » Thu Feb 18, 2010 6:05 pm

Accepted at UIUC! Invited to open house, offered 20K stipend for TA..

First acceptance, I'm definitely going somewhere for grad school! 8)

abcdefg
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by abcdefg » Thu Feb 18, 2010 8:08 pm

higgs_boson wrote:Has any international applicant got accepted or invited to open house by UT-Austin? It looks like they send some acceptances in early February which were all domestic.
I just heard from them today at their domestic open house that they haven't decided on international decisions yet. So keep the faith!

abcdefg
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by abcdefg » Thu Feb 18, 2010 8:09 pm

Also, acceptances to Brown and Michigan! Full funding...

mobytish
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by mobytish » Thu Feb 18, 2010 8:11 pm

betelgeuse1 wrote:Is it still early? Have no answer yet, no acceptance nor rejection! Got the second PGRE 750 :( not too spectacular a jump from 710... I presume it was the exam stress... The tests went perfect at home... :?
Hard to tell since you don't have a profile up in the thread, so I don't know which school's you've applied to.

Mataka
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by Mataka » Thu Feb 18, 2010 11:13 pm

Haha, here is another classic one from thegracafe ;)
MIT: Accepted : Gotten into 9/10 of the top ten schools so far, each with extremely prestigious fellowship offers. I'm so much better than all of you!

PBPHUDMD
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by PBPHUDMD » Fri Feb 19, 2010 1:07 am

notnaps wrote:Accepted at UIUC! Invited to open house, offered 20K stipend for TA..

First acceptance, I'm definitely going somewhere for grad school! 8)
+1 same offer. and it's also my first school, so nice relief

signminus
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by signminus » Fri Feb 19, 2010 2:42 am

Mataka wrote:Haha, here is another classic one from thegracafe ;)
MIT: Accepted : Gotten into 9/10 of the top ten schools so far, each with extremely prestigious fellowship offers. I'm so much better than all of you!
There's been a quick backlash against this guy and another hotshot who posted...mildly entertaining.

Anyway, here's my favorite gradcafe quote so far (from a poli sci applicant, so people might have missed it):
Stanford: Rejected via Postal Service on 6 Feb 2010:
OMG STANFORD WTF? YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE MISSING! YOU WILL REGRET THE DAY YOU REJECTED ME!!!

geshi
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by geshi » Fri Feb 19, 2010 3:02 am

Mataka wrote:Haha, here is another classic one from thegracafe ;)
MIT: Accepted : Gotten into 9/10 of the top ten schools so far, each with extremely prestigious fellowship offers. I'm so much better than all of you!
This is my favorite:
ITT Technical Institute Physics, PhD (F10) Rejected via Phone on 9 Feb 2010 A 9 Feb 2010 First author on two papers, rec letter by Nobel laureate... It was my top choice... :(

blackcat007
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by blackcat007 » Fri Feb 19, 2010 7:10 am

Rejected from Stony Brooks via email 02/19 first rejection is soooo painful.

bibimbop
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by bibimbop » Fri Feb 19, 2010 7:28 am

edit: lol nvm
Last edited by bibimbop on Thu Feb 25, 2010 2:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

geshi
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by geshi » Fri Feb 19, 2010 2:28 pm

Rejected from Michigan today, woot! (2/19)

Wish more programs would hurry up and reject me if I'm gonna be rejected ...

blackcat007
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by blackcat007 » Fri Feb 19, 2010 5:24 pm

Rejected from Princeton.. it was quite far fetched for my profile.. 2/19
Last edited by blackcat007 on Fri Feb 19, 2010 5:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

delton
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by delton » Fri Feb 19, 2010 5:43 pm

Rejected from Princeton. No big surprise there. rejections 2/13 , acceptances 0/13 =/

blackcat007
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by blackcat007 » Fri Feb 19, 2010 5:57 pm

delton wrote:Rejected from Princeton. No big surprise there. rejections 2/13 , acceptances 0/13 =/
same here too bro.. :(

Mataka
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by Mataka » Fri Feb 19, 2010 6:21 pm

Rejected from Princeton as well, no big surprise here too. I couldn't care less though, I sort of got used to the idea of going to Cornell, so the sooner I get rejected from all the other places I applied, the better it is ;)

terrence
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by terrence » Fri Feb 19, 2010 6:27 pm

Rejected from Princeton via email too

geshi
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by geshi » Fri Feb 19, 2010 6:40 pm

Accepted to Lehigh today via email.

rp
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by rp » Fri Feb 19, 2010 6:59 pm

Rejected from Michigan as well.
I get the feeling that beefing up applications is becoming a very refined art and a life purpose :(

Maxos
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by Maxos » Fri Feb 19, 2010 7:05 pm

terrence wrote:Rejected from Princeton via email too
me too.....

I knew but it hurts

fc_pga
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by fc_pga » Fri Feb 19, 2010 10:02 pm

Rejected from Princeton by email.

kroner
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by kroner » Sat Feb 20, 2010 1:52 am

There is literally a page straight of rejections from Princeton in the physics results on gradcafe....

Dowx
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by Dowx » Sat Feb 20, 2010 6:53 am

Hi, anyone applies for cosmology/hep-th got acceptance to UPenn? Thanks.

wmwolf
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by wmwolf » Sat Feb 20, 2010 1:51 pm

I got an e-mail from UCSB 12:30 AM their time telling me to check admissions page. I was indeed accepted, but they were completely mum on financial aid, and now their department website's page is down... The ambiguity is killing me, as they are one of my top choices.

Still cool, though!

terrence
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by terrence » Sat Feb 20, 2010 2:17 pm

wmwolf wrote:I got an e-mail from UCSB 12:30 AM their time telling me to check admissions page. I was indeed accepted, but they were completely mum on financial aid, and now their department website's page is down... The ambiguity is killing me, as they are one of my top choices.

Still cool, though!
Congrats! Regarding funding, I don't think it's a common practice for graduate programs in physics to admit students without funding. Moreover, it's still early, so I am pretty sure you are not one of their last choices, some sort of funding should be implied...unless this year's financial situation is incredibly harsh for California schools.

By the way, did anyobody hear of an international student accepted to UCSB so far?
Last edited by terrence on Sat Feb 20, 2010 2:20 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Alesonny
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Re: Physics updates/acceptances (2010)

Post by Alesonny » Sat Feb 20, 2010 2:17 pm

wmwolf wrote:I got an e-mail from UCSB 12:30 AM their time telling me to check admissions page. I was indeed accepted, but they were completely mum on financial aid, and now their department website's page is down... The ambiguity is killing me, as they are one of my top choices.

Still cool, though!
Same here!



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