==> Sticky: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

[adityaphysicsbhu]

Undergrad Institution: BHU top 10 in Indian Universities.
Major(s):Physics
Specialization: Condensed Matter Physics
GPA in Major:65.1/100
Length of Degree: 2 Years
Type of Student: Asian
GRE Scores:
Q: 730
V: 330
W: 2.5
P: 540(22%)

TOEFL: 98/120
Research Experience: One paper in Arxiv. One in ICM-2010 Conference and an Experimental project in M.Sc

Applying to Where:
Northwestern University -applied Physics(CMT)- rejected
Northeastern University -Physics(CMT)-
University of Nebraska -Physics(CMT)-rejected via mail 3/26/2011
University of Tennessee -Physics(CMT)-
University of Kentucky -Physics(CMT)-
Arizona State University-Physics(CMT)-
University of Minnesota -Physics(HEPT)-rejected 5/03/2011

[cosmos281]

Undergrad Institution: Top ten, public
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 3.91
Overall GPA: 3.91
Length of Degree: 4 Years
Position in Class: near top
Type of Student: white domestic male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%)
V: 660 (94%)
W: 5.5 (94% - apparently I'm consistent)
P: 760 (67% - sigh)


Research Experience: Two summers at a national lab doing observational cosmology. Worked with the group throughout the school year as well. Coauthor on a paper to be submitted.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Scholarship from physics department, dean's list.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for physics second semester senior year. By the time this was confirmed, all but two applications were submitted.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Not that I can think of offhand.

Special Bonus Points: Nope.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Participated in Engineers Without Borders developing a cooking system for third world nations. Senior year I started taking the upper-level sequence of astronomy classes, which is close to an astronomy minor, but not quite there.

Applying to Where:

Research interests in observational cosmology and extragalactic astronomy.

UC Berkeley - Astronomy - Rejected 2/17 via email
Ohio State University - Astronomy - Waitlisted 3/2 - Accepted 4/12
University of Texas Austin - Astronomy - Waitlisted 2/16 - Rejected 4/4 via email
University of Virginia - Astronomy - Waitlisted 2/9 - Withdrawn
Penn State University - Astronomy - Accepted 1/29 via phone call.
University of Washington - Astronomy - Waitlisted 2/18 - Withdrawn
University of Michigan - Astronomy - Accepted 2/9 via email. - Declined
University of Maryland - Astronomy - Accepted 2/16 via email. - Declined

UC Davis - Physics & Astronomy - Accepted 2/13 via application website. Will attend.
University of Pennsylvania - Physics & Astronomy - Rejected 3/4 via email (funny, I was going to withdraw this one....)

[Tuguldur]

______________________________________________
Undergrad Institution: top 15 public
Major(s): Astronomy
Minor(s): Mathematics
GPA in Major: 3.4
Overall GPA: 3.3
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: top
Type of Student: international

GRE Scores:
Q: 780
V: 390
W: 4.0
P: 10th%


Research Experience: At school, NOAO, STSci. A LOT LOT LOT LOT of time. Total of 9 different projects! 7 publications, 2 first author 5 co-author (all less than 5 authors) and another 2 in preparation. Turbulence, Hydrodynamics. 3 conferences, 7 talks, 4 posters.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's List and bunch of scholarships from the department.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Research Assistant

Special Bonus Points: connections, grad classes, famous recommenders

Applying to Where:

UCSC - Astronomy - Hydrodynamics, Radiative Transfer - Accepted, 1850$/mo
UCB - Astrophysics - Turbulence
UCLA - Astronomy - I don't even know why I applied here
Caltech - Astrophysics - Hydrodynamics
UCSB - Physics - Hydrodynamics, Radiative Transfer

A note to future applicants: as you can see I did a rather extreme approach. I have spent most of my time to research (since my 1st semester) and end up with bad grades and poor pgre. That being said I always believed if you have your ideas and passion, don't get restricted to anything. I missed a lot of classes to attend colloquiums and seminars, but I never regret. Of course being balanced with research and also classes would be very safe, but no pain no gain. You have to take the risk, put everything you have in what you think is awesome and challenging. If you want to be exceptional, then BE exceptional.

[gBrRiIf]

Undergrad Institution: Tiny Liberal Arts School, No Physics Reputation
Major(s):Physics
Minor(s): Chemistry, Math
GPA in Major: 3.81
Overall GPA: 3.78
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Near top of very small department
Type of Student: Domestic Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 480
W: 4.5
P: 640


Research Experience: About 1.5 years in my school's accelerator lab, but no publications or major talks.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: High Honors, Sigma Pi Sigma

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutored in physics and chemistry; Student Advisory Board Chair for Physics Dept; Worked in Tech Support after graduation

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Have a strong chemistry background, so could help with Condensed Matter

Special Bonus Points: I’m expecting pretty strong letters, since my professors got the chance to get to know me well at a small school

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

Applying to Where:

Brandeis University - Physics - CME - Rejected 3/26 by postal mail
Northeastern University - Physics – CME/Nanophysics - Rejected 5/5 by e-mail
University of Massachusetts - Amherst - Physics - CME - Accepted 3/10 by e-mail and ATTENDING!!
University of New Hampshire - Physics - CME - Accepted 2/17 by e-mail
University of Rhode Island - Physics - CME - Accepted 2/18 by e-mail
Worcester Polytechnic Institute - Physics - CME - Invited for visit 3/17

[440hz]

Undergrad Institution: University of South Florida
Major(s): Physics
Overall GPA: 3.94
Type of Student: domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 550
W: 5.5
P: 620 (36th percentile)

Research Experience: REU at University of Florida. Also had a summer internship at MIT, run by the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. No publications, but I presented a poster at the APS Division of Plasma Physics meeting from my MIT internship.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: The only grade I had in college that wasn't an A was Calculus 2; I got a B. The rest (including my upper-level undergrad physics classes) have been A's.

Applying to Where:

Just for laughs:

MIT - Physics - Rejected by email, 2/28 *
Princeton - Plasma Physics - Rejected by email, 2/3

* They had the wrong email address for me, for some reason. I didn't find out about it until exactly a month later.

More reasonable:

Univ. of Iowa - Physics - Accepted by letter, 2/14; confirmed by website, 2/17; rejected their acceptance by letter, 3/21
Univ. of Florida (UF) - Physics - Rejected by email, 3/8
Florida State Univ. (FSU) - Physics - Accepted by email, 2/24

Summary: Student from (basically) a no-name school with all A's (except for one B). Okay GRE General scores; not-so-great GRE Physics score. Two summer internships: one at University of Florida, one at MIT. No publications, but presented a poster at an APS-DPP meeting. Pretty sure letters of rec are positive. Never got around to making someone look at my statement of purpose, and I've never read one before (except my own). Missed some deadlines due to poor planning (University of Texas - Austin, University of Wisconsin - Madison).

[potato]

Undergrad Institution: Domestic State School, fairly well known in physics (transferred from local CC)
Major(s): Math, Physics
Minor(s): -
GPA in Major: 3.97
Overall GPA: 3.94 (3.71@CC)
Length of Degree: Lost track, 5ish years
Position in Class: Doesn't rank, but surely near top
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 610
W: 4.0
P: 860 (82% (i think))

Research Experience: 2 years with one exp. nuclear group in addition to some independent reading credits.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Some honors societies deans list etc.. nothing special

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: SPS officer, math/physics tutor

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: 3 publications, one as primary author

Special Bonus Points: Not really

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Long and confusing academic history. Attending college right out of high school for a year. Left for 2 years, returned to community college, returned to college.

Applying to Where: All for high energy theory

UC Berkley - Physics - Rejected by email 3/18
UC Davis - Physics - Admitted by website check 2/13
UCLA - Physics - Admitted by email 2/10~Attending
UC Santa Barbara - Physics - Rejected by website check 2/28, sad I was really hoping for this one...
Stanford - Physics - Rejected by email 2/24
Cornell - Physics - Rejected by email 2/16
Yale - Physics - Admitted by email 2/4
Harvard - Physics - rejected by post 2/iforget
Princeton - Physics - Rejected by email 2/17
U Maryland College Park - Physics - Admitted by email 2/18
Stony Brook - Physics -Accepted to masters w/o funding

[boba]

Undergrad Institution: Top 50 Liberal Arts College, no reputation in physics
Major(s): Physics, Math
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 3.6
Overall GPA: 3.5
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: Not sure, above average though
Type of Student: Domestic White Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%)
V: 610 (88%)
W: 4 (45%)
P: 780 (70%)

Research Experience: 3 summers at my university in nuclear physics. No publications.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's List for a couple of semesters

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Physics/Math Tutor and TA for intro physics, both for 2 years

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Nothing?

Applying to Where:

All Experimental Nuclear or Condensed Matter

Stanford - Physics Rejected by email 2/24
Bekeley - Physics Rejected
JHU - Physics
Maryland - Physics
UPenn - Physics Rejected
UNC - Physics - Waitlisted 2/24 Accepted. TA and Scholarship - 22k for the first year
UVA - Physics - Accepted 3/1. TA and Scholarship - 22k for the first year
Vanderbilt - Physics - Unofficially Accepted by email 2/15. TA - $20k/9 months

[tradster]

Undergrad Institution: Big state, top 20 in physics
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.9
Overall GPA: 3.7
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: Above average?
Type of Student: Domestic male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (Oct), 800 (Nov)
V: 360 (Oct), 440 (Nov)
W: 3.5 (Oct), 3.0 (Nov)
P: 990

Research Experience:
One year in a biophysics group at home school
One summer REU in CME
Two years in another biophysics group at home school

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Departmental scholarships, dean's list, teaching award, etc.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for intro physics class during senior year

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: A few grad classes, probably kick-ass recommendations

Special Bonus Points:

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

Applying to Where:

All in biophysics.

U Washington - Physics - Accepted via snail mail postmarked 2/9, TA
Berkeley - Physics - Accepted via email 3/10, TA
UCSD - Physics - Accepted via email 2/16, TA
CU-Boulder - Physics - Accepted via email 2/23, TA/RA
Georgia Tech - Physics - Accepted via email 3/7, RA + fellowship
RPI - Physics - Accepted via email 1/27, TA
Harvard - Physics - Rejected via email inquiry 3/4

Stanford - Applied Physics - Accepted via email 2/14, fellowship
Caltech - Applied Physics - Invited for visit/interview 2/8 - Accepted via email 3/11, fellowship
Cornell - Applied Physics - Application withdrawn 2/23

U Chicago - Biophysics - Invited for visit/interview 1/8 - Accepted via phone call 2/15, stipend

[lena]

Undergrad Institution: State University, top 10 in Russia, I know nothing about its position in the world.
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: 3.96
Overall GPA: 3.91
Length of Degree: 5.5 years
Position in Class: near top I guess
Type of Student: white female international

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%)
V: 470 (55%)
W: 3.5 (26%)
P: 2010 – 960 (92%), 2009 – 890 (85%)


TOEFL Total: 104 (R27/L28/S24/W25)

Research Experience: 2.5 years in an AMO group, participated in several conferences, no publication submitted

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Have an award for the best student's research project and several others not pertaining to physics

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (no activities)

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Almost life-time programming experience

Special Bonus Points: female?; at least two of my recommenders are known in their field

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: nothing?

Applying to Where:

Columbia University - Physics - AMO - Accepted! 02/24/11 - (declined)
University of Colorado, Boulder - Physics - AMO - Accepted! 02/04/11 - (declined)
Yale University - Physics - AMO - Accepted! 02/04/11 - (declined)
University of California, Berkeley - Physics - AMO - Accepted 03/11/11 - Will attend!
California Institute of Technology - Physics - AMO – Rejected 03/16/11
University of Virginia - Physics - AMO - Accepted 02/15/11 - (declined)
College of William and Mary - Physics - AMO - Accepted! 12/26/10 - (declined)
Georgia Institute of Technology - Physics - AMO - Accepted! 03/07/11 - (declined)
University of Wisconsin–Madison - Physics - AMO - rejected 02/09/11, but later I received an offer by email - (declined)
The University of Chicago - Physics - AMO – Accepted! 02/17/11 - (declined)
Pennsylvania State University - Physics - AMO – Accepted! 03/09/11 - (declined)

[TR137]

Undergrad Institution: The University of Texas at Austin (Public, top 15 in physics, top 5 in plasma)
Major(s): Physics
GPA in Major: 3.8
Overall GPA: 3.6
Length of Degree: 4 Years
Position in Class: ?
Type of Student: Domestic male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 600
W: 3.5
P: 860


Research Experience:
Present: ~1 year paid research position with a plasma theory group, using analytic and numerical methods (PIC simulations) to investigate laser-driven particle acceleration schemes. Presented a poster at the 52nd APS Division of Plasma Physics. Co-author of a publication in press (but not in time to mention on applications, maybe someone will see it here! )

Past: ~1 year paid research position with an experimental biophysics group.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Several scholarships from the Department of Physics and College of Natural Sciences. Won best student poster at a physics department open house (biophysics). The usual honor societies, college honors etc.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
Peer mentor: 1 semester calculus, 3 semesters with the Department of Physics new Learning Assistant Program (Intro Mechanics, Intro Mechanics, Modern Physics)

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
Graduate course in Laser-Plasma interactions. Attended the 4th ITER International Summer School (IISS) in Summer 2010. I was an officer in our local SPS Chapter for two years, during which we had several large events, one of which was featured in the SPS Observer and mentioned in an APS News Backpage article. This was part of a broader effort to bring more undergrads to physics, which increased the student body by 25% in one semester.

Special Bonus Points:
Volunteer mentor for my high school's FIRST Robotics team. Lots of Matlab experience.

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

Applying to Where: (in no particular order)

Chicago - Physics - Theory/Computational
MIT - Physics - Plasma - Rejected
Princeton
Caltech - Applied Physics - Plasma
Stanford - Physics - Theory/Computational - Rejected
UCLA - Physics - Plasma - Waitlisted
UC Berkeley - Physics - Plasma
UMD College Park - Physics - Plasma
UT Austin - Physics - Plasma - Accepted 3/2 via Email and website
UW Madison - Physics - Plasma - Rejected

[DerekH]

b]Undergrad Institution:[/b] Moderately big state school, some reputation for physics
Major(s): Physics, Biological Sciences
Minor(s): Math, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
GPA in Major: Physics: 4.0 Bio: ~3.8 (I rarely calculate it anymore)
Overall GPA: 3.92
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Not officially reported but there are only 3 physics majors of which I'm at the top
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 640
W: 5.0
P: 870

Research Experience: Independent study for a year which grew into a research project in lattice QCD this year.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Sigma Pi Sigma, Phi Beta Kappa, Dean's list every semester but first, award for getting 4.0 2 semesters in a row

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 3 years at school tutoring center, tutoring math and physics, SPS Secretary 1 year, SPS President Current

Special Bonus Points: Recommendation from 1 well known professor and a professor well known in lattice QCD, currently taking grad quantum I, familiar with C, C++, Perl, Unix, and LaTex


Applying to Where:

University of Washington- Seattle - Physics - High energy particle theory (lattice QCD) Accepted! Postmarked 2/9, offered $1,879/month TA-ship and $5,000 fellowship
UCLA - Physics - High energy particle physics theory Accepted!
Washington University in St. Louis - Physics - High energy particle theory Accepted! Postmarked 2/9, offered $2,222/month
UCSD - Physics - High energy particle physics theory Accepted!
CalTech - Physics - High energy particle physics theory
MIT - Physics - High energy particle physics theory Rejected
Stanford - Physics - High energy particle physics theory Rejected

[Labienus]

Undergrad Institution: German University (good reputation in general relativity and mathematical physics)
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): (Math)
GPA in Major: 1.1 (on a 1 to 5 scale)
Overall GPA: 1.2
Length of Degree: 3 year bachelor
Position in Class: top
Type of Student: International, male

GRE Scores:
Q: 790
V: 490
W: 3.0
P: 810


TOEFL Total: 102

Research Experience: 2 years in experimental physics (semiconductor) -> two conference talks and one paper (IEEE Device Letters)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Fellowship of a German foundation

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: extra classes on Lie groups and differential geometry

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

Applying to Where: Mathematical physics and/or gravity + quantum theory

Princeton - Physics - Rejected 02/17/11
UC Santa Barbara - Physics - Rejected 02/28/11
UC Berkley - Physics - Rejected
Caltech - Physics - Rejected
Stony Brook - Physics - Accepted without financial support
Penn State - Physics - Rejected
Perimeter Institute - Physics - Rejected

[hamadahoda007]

Undergrad Institution: The American University in Cairo, not famous in science but near the best in the region
Major(s): Physics & EE
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 3.96
Length of Degree: 5 years
Position in Class: Top
Type of Student: International male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 440
W: 5.0
P: 940


IELTS Total: 8.0

Research Experience: 1 summer @ CERN with an internal publication, 1 year senior Research thesis in the physics of transistors, small astrophysics project + conferences. No publications, yet

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: National & Regional awards in Math, Chemistry and several awards in my university

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: co-founder of two science outreach clubs

Special Bonus Points: (Such as connections, grad classes, famous recommenders, female or minority status etc...) Good recommendations but not famous.. 3 grad courses..


Applying to Where:
All favoring HET

Boston University - Physics Accepted via email, 3/31
Columbia - Physics
Harvard - Physics Rejected, response to email inquiry 3/9
Maryland - Physics Rejected, response to email inquiry 3/15
MIT - Physics Rejected via email, 2/28
Ohio State - Physics Accepted via email, 2/16
Penn State - Physics Accepted via email, 2/25
Princeton - Physics Rejected via email, 2/17
Stony Brook - Physics Accepted but with no 1st year financial support via email, 4/5
Texas A&M - Physics
UCB - Physics Rejected, response to email inquiry 3/16
UCSB - Physics Rejected via email, 2/28
U of Chicago - Physics Rejected via email, 2/17
U of Florida - Physics Accepted via email, 3/7
U of Minnesota - Physics Accepted via email, 2/18
UPenn - Physics Rejected via email, 3/4
UT Austin - Physics
UW Madison - Physics Rejected via email, 2/10

Perimeter Institute - Perimeter Scholars International program Rejected via email, 4/1

[ach]

Undergrad Institution: Caltech
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): English
GPA in Major: 3.6
Overall GPA: 3.6
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: No idea
Type of Student: Domestic male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%)
V: 620 (89%)
W: 5.5 (94%)
P: 830 (78%)

Research Experience: All at Caltech:
SURF in submillimeter astronomy simulations
2 years + 2 SURFS in radio astronomy instrumentation -> Conference talk
1.5 years research in exoplanets/low mass stars -> Conference poster

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for Sophomore Physics Lab

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: Recommenders all very prominent in their fields, direct connections to Berkeley, Hawaii, MIT, Chicago

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

Applying to Where:

All for astronomical instrumentation

Arizona - Astronomy - Radio/AO - Accepted 1/28 via phone
Berkeley - Astronomy - Radio - Accepted 2/1 via phone
Chicago - Astronomy - Radio - Accepted 2/8 via email
Harvard - Astronomy - Radio/Submm - Accepted 2/4 via phone
Hawaii - Astronomy - Optical/IR - Accepted 2/1 via email
Maryland - Astronomy - Radio/Submm - Accepted 2/16 via email
Ohio State - Astronomy - Optical - Accepted via phone 1/11
Santa Cruz - Astronomy - Optical/AO - Accepted 2/8 via email

MIT - Physics - Radio - Accepted 2/2 via email
Princeton - Physics - Radio - Rejected 2/17 via email

[lazcisco]

Undergrad Institution: Big State School, Small physics department, top 25% in physics.
Major(s): Physics, Math
Minor(s): Music
GPA in Major: 3.89
Overall GPA: 3.92
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Near Top
Type of Student: Domestic Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800/94%
V: 570/80%
W: 5/84%
P: 990/95%

Research Experience: Working in an experimental nuclear group since freshman year, including first two summers. 1 Publication (1st author) and a few presentations of that paper at national nuclear conferences. Also an REU at CERN for a summer.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Goldwater, departmental award, Phi Beta Kappa, Pi Mu Epsilon

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for Intro Phys and Numerical Techniques in Phys, SPS president senior year, tutor pretty regularly

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: Taken grad math and physics classes

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Got pretty bad grades in Advanced Lab classes

Applying to Where:

Berkeley - Physics - Particle Theory Accepted 3/3
Caltech - Physics - High Energy Experiment Accepted 2/24
Cornell - Physics - Particle Theory Accepted 2/10
Harvard - Physics - Particle Theory I'm Guessing Rejected
MIT - Physics - Particle Theory Rejected 2/28
Perimeter Scholars International - Physics - Particle Theory Accepted 3/3
Princeton - Physics - Particle Theory Rejected 2/17
Stanford - Physics - Particle Theory Rejected 2/24
University of Chicago - Physics - High Energy Experiment Accepted 3/1
University of Michigan - Physics - High Energy Experiment Accepted 1/23
UC Santa Barbara - Physics - Particle Theory Rejected 3/1

It's quite evident it's easier for me to get into experiment programs.

[Golcate]

Undergrad Institution: International, Europe
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Mathematics
GPA in Major: 4.85/5
Overall GPA: 4.9/5
Length of Degree: 5 officially (BSc + MSc)
Position in Class: Maybe top-5
Type of Student: International, white, male

GRE Scores: 2010
Q: 770 (87%)
V: 410 (38%)
W: 3.5 (26%)
P: 810 (74%)

TOEFL Total: 103

Research Experience: I've been a full-time RA since May 2010 but no experience before that. In December 2010 I had one paper sent to PRL (but not yet accepted at that time) and one paper under preparation (it was submitted in January). I was writing my MSc thesis during the winter.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: No.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Besides being an RA, I've been a TA sometimes.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I did my BSc degree in 2 years and will do the (BSc+MSc) in less than 4.

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

Applying to Where: All physics and CMT
UC Berkeley - Rejected
Caltech - Rejected by e-mail 3/15
UCSB - Rejected by website 2/28
Stanford - Rejected by e-mail 2/24
Chicago - Rejected by e-mail 2/17
UIUC - Rejected by website
Princeton - Rejected by e-mail 2/17
Yale - Accepted by e-mail 2/4
Maryland - Rejected by e-mail 4/15
MIT - Rejected by e-mail 2/28
UPenn - Rejected by website 3/4
PSU - Withdrawn
SUNY Stony Brook - Withdrawn

[sphy]

Grad and Undergrad Institution: Mediocre International school in India with somewhat little reputation in physics.
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Mathematics and Chemistry
GPA in Major: Grad: 68.20% and Undergrad: 74.70%
Overall GPA: Grad: 68.20% and Undergrad: 71.30%
Length of Degree: Undergrad: 3 yrs and Grad: 2 yrs
Position in Class: Average
Type of Student: International, Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 720
V: 470
W: 3.0
P: NA


TOEFL Total: 097

Research Experience: Nah

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Nah

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Nope

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Got highest mark in Quantum Field Theory.

Special Bonus Points: Recommendations are good. (I presume so)

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: And a great Procrastinator. Trying very hard to be Punctual.

Applying to Where:

School - IUB
School - FSU
School - UIC
School - TAMU
School - OSU: Wait listed.
School - UTD
School - UTA
School - NCSU Rejected on 18th of march, Crap. It was one of my favorite schools.
School - USC
School - SUNY B: Accepted with No funding on 02/23/2011
School - U Iowa: Rejected on 03/17
School - U Utah

All are in the Particle Physics area.And all rejectedme this time. *** happens.

[Dayton1903]

Undergrad Institution: Large private university, not a strong reputation in physics
Major(s): Physics (BA), math (BS)
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 3.85 in each
Overall GPA: 3.84
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: Average GPA at my school is ~3.2, that's all I know
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94th)
V: 760 (99th)
W: 6.0 (99th)
P: 860 (82nd)

Research Experience: Two summers and two school years in a computational group. Two posters and one paper, co-lead author (two people with equal contribution) out of five. One of those summers was funded by an REU. Second REU at CERN. School-year-long self-study project senior year for credit.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Phi Beta Kappa, full academic scholarship all four years, druss and sundry other little scholarships

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Freshman year as calculus grader

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: On my school's debate team. Do a lot of work with urban schools starting debate teams.

Special Bonus Points: Person I worked for moved to U Chicago.

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

Applying to Where: All physics, CMT, especially bio-related stuff at schools that have it

UC San Diego - Unofficially admitted (2/16) TA + 10k first year (3/15)
CalTech - rejected
UC Santa Barbara - Admitted (2/23) via website ~$17,000/9 months
Stanford - rejected
UC Berkeley - Admitted (3/3) TA+1.5k every year+1k first year - attending
UIUC - Admitted (2/24) $20,000/11 months
U Chicago - Admitted (2/12) with 30k fellowship
U Penn - rejected
MIT - rejected
Harvard - rejected via snail-mail
Cambridge - Physics MASt - Admitted without funding (sometime in October)
ETH Zurich - Physics Master - Admitted (2/18) no funding

NSF Fellowship - Got it
Hertz Fellowship - Made it to first round interview, no further
Rhodes Scholarship - Nominated by school, no further
Marshall Scholarship - Nominated by school, no further
Churchill Scholarship - Nominated by school, no further
Fulbright Fellowship (for Masters at ETH Zurich) - Rejected
Gates-Cambridge - Rejected

[guthria]

Undergrad Institution: Small school, not known
Major(s):Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.8
Overall GPA: 3.6
Length of Degree: 5 years
Position in Class: Near top
Type of Student: International

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 740
W: 5.5
P: 990


TOEFL Total: 114

Research Experience: Masters' project, summer project. Nothing of great impact.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Awards for highest grades in my class at times. No external awards

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: none

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: none

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

Applying to Where:

University of Arizona - Physics - AMO - Accepted, 15K TA
University of Arizona - Optics - Physics - Rejected by email
University of Colorado - Physics - AMO - Accepted, 20K- Attending
University of Rochester - Physics - AMO - Accepted, 24K TA
University of Maryland - Rejected by email
University of Waterloo- Accepted
______________________________________________

[ck]

Undergrad Institution: Mid-sized Canadian University
Major(s): Physics Honours
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: 3.82
Overall GPA: 3.82
Length of Degree: 5 years
Position in Class: near top?
Type of Student: Canadian/American Dual Citizen. Female.

GRE Scores:
Q: 780
V: 430
W: 4
P: 720


Research Experience: Two summers spent at TRIUMF working on a nuclear physics experiment: preparing for the measurement of the electric dipole moment in radon. No publications but a number of conference talks.
A year spent on project for honours thesis: design and development of a magnetic particle imaging system. No publications but a number of conference presentations.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Awards for GPA and volunteering. A number of awards for conference presentations. National undergraduate research award.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for intro physics. President for student society for three semesters, now forum representative.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Lead organizer for medium-sized regional physics conference.

Special Bonus Points: Two grad classes. Female.

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

Applying to Where: All are experimental...

University of McGill - Physics - Condensed matter - Accepted 2/2 - Declined
University of Toronto - Physics - Condensed matter - Accepted 2/17 - Will attend for one-year master's
University of Waterloo/Guelph - Physics - Biophysics - Accepted 2/7 - Declined
University of Washington - Physics - Nuclear physics
UC Berkeley - Physics - Condensed matter - Accepted 3/11- Deferred acceptance to attend UofT
UC Santa Cruz - Physics - Condensed matter - Accepted 2/24 - Declined
UC Santa Barbara - Physics - Condensed matter - Accepted 2/22 - Declined
UC San Diego - Physics - Biophysics - Accepted 3/3 - Declined
UCLA - Physics - Plasma physics - Accepted 2/16 - Declined
Caltech - Physics - Condesnsed matter - Rejected 3/11
Stanford - Physics - Condensed matter - Rejected 2/24
University of Chicago - Physics - Particle physics - Rejected 3/3
Princeton - Physics - Condensed matter - Rejected 2/17
Columbia - Physics - Condensed matter - Wait listed 3/25 - Declined
Boston University - Physics - Condensed matter - Accepted 2/25 - Declined
Harvard - Physics - Atomic physics - Rejected 3/4
MIT - Physics - Atomic physics - Rejected 2/28

I applied to so many schools cause my boyfriend (also in physics) and I want to end up at the same school, or at least in the same city.
My research interest is all over the place because I don't quite know what I want to specialize in. I just found specific research projects that I was interested in at each university.

[fredri36]

Undergrad Institution: Big Ten school, Hotspot for HEP & Nuclear
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Computer Science
GPA in Major: 2.7
Overall GPA: 2.97
Length of Degree: 5
Position in Class: Average
Type of Student: Bland white domestic male

GRE Scores:
Q: 770
V: 510
W: 3.0
P: 780 (70%)



Research Experience: 2 HEP research groups in the span of 1 year, including summer. 1 DZero note coauthor (currently in review).

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's list one semester, SMART grant one semester (if that counts).

Applying to Where:

College of William & Mary - Physics - Experimental Condensed Matter - Accepted 2/16 by phone, Decent TA stipend.
NCSU - Physics - Experimental Condensed Matter - Accepted 2/15, Haven't heard how much for fellowship / TA.

UNC - Physics - Experimental Condensed Matter - Applied, haven't heard back yet.
UMD, College Park - Physics - Experimental Condensed Matter - Applied, haven't heard back yet.

Duke - Physics - Experimental Condensed Matter - Rejected 2/16.

[mfedderke]

Undergrad Institution: University of Cape Town, South Africa (UCT)
Major(s): Mathematical and Theoretical Physics (BSc(Hons)); Physics and Applied Math (BSc)
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 100% (BSc(Hons)), high 90% for BSc majors
Overall GPA: 100% BSc(Hons), c. 98% BSc
Length of Degree: 4 years total --- 1 year BSc(Hons) coming after a 3 year BSc
Position in Class: Top
Type of Student: International Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 790
V: 710
W: 5.5
P: 980


Research Experience: No publications, but completed a research project/thesis for my Honours degree and some holiday work at the cyclotron facility in Cape Town (iThemba LABS)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Top student in Science Faculty at UCT in my years of graduating for both BSc and BSc(Hons). Multiple scholarships/bursaries. Top achiever in most classes taken.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: First year tutoring

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points:

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

Applying to Where:

Stanford - Physics - HEP Th --- Rejected 24/2 email
Princeton - Physics - HEP Th - Rejected 17/2 email
Columbia - Physics - HEP Th - Accepted 24/2 email ($31k TA fellowship + full tuition) Offer Declined
CalTech - Physics - HEP Th - Rejected 16/3 email
Berkeley - Physics - HEP Th - Rejected 16/3 email
Harvard - Physics - HEP Th - Rejected 1/3 mail
Chicago - Physics - HEP Th - Accepted 1/3 email ($25k TA fellowship + full tuition) Offer Accepted

[MrButtons]

Undergrad Institution: Trinity College Dublin, well-known Irish school
Major(s): Physics w/ Astrophysics
Minor(s): some Chemistry and Maths
GPA in Major: First Class Hons
Overall GPA: First Class Hons
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: top 3-5
Type of Student: International white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 740
V: 580
W: 4.0
P: 740

(All Taken Nov '10)


Research Experience: Funded summer research internship in UCSB in biophysics, no publications; Final year research project on Asteroseismology done with top researcher in field in Aarhus, Denmark, no publications

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Awarded prestigious scholarship of Trinity College - up to 5 years tuition, accommodation and a daily meal; funding for summer research project

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Experience giving private tuition

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Attended some additional research-based courses/seminars abroad (UK, Sweden), partly-funded

Special Bonus Points: perhaps the status of my final year project referee

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: bilingual, good at languages and multicultural integration maybe, went to a somewhat lower class secondary school

Applying to Where:

Berkeley - Physics - Cosmology, single-molecule biophysics - Rejected
Columbia - Physics - Exoplanets, Stellar physics - Rejected
Harvard - Physics - Asteroseismology, single-molecule biophysics - Rejected via posted letter 8 March
NYU - Physics - Cosmology - Accepted by unofficial email 22 Feb; official email 25 Feb - 4-year MacCracken Fellowship
Stanford - Physics - Helioseismology - Rejected 24 Feb via email; via posted letter 3 March


Was also accepted to do PhDs in Trinity College Dublin, King's College London, University College London and Aarhus University but have decided to go to NYU as I do not wish to commit to a specific project yet. NYU also allows you to choose an advisor who does not have any appointments with the Physics Department so you can do a project in any group and even in any University near it e.g. Columbia.

[Ateowa]

Undergrad Institution: Big State University (Top 25 in Physics), although I spent my first two years of Ugrad at a small state school
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Math
GPA in Major:3.2
Overall GPA:3.12
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: I would guess in the lower 50%
Type of Student: Domestic, white, male

GRE Scores:
Q: 770
V:620
W:4.5
P:730



Research Experience: A semester doing General Relativity at smaller state school; Semester working with QFT with a loop quantum cosmologist; Worked in a computational condensed matter group, this summer to present. No publications

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: None, really.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: None, really.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:Internship with the Sierra Club?

Special Bonus Points: One of my recommenders is pretty well-known in general (Cosmologist), and the other is well known in the field I'm applying to (CMT).

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

Applying to Where:

University of Florida - Physics - CMT --Accepted, Feb 2; Will Attend!
UC - Davis - Physics - CMT --Rejected, March 1
Oregon State University - Physics - CMT/Education--Withdrew Application, March 3
North Carolina State University - Physics - CMT --Unofficially accepted, Feb 12; Declined
Arizona State University - Physics - CMT --Accepted, March 2; Declined
Boston University - Physics - CMT --Waitlisted
University of Pittsburgh - Physics - CMT --Withdrew Application, Feb. 13
Northeastern University - Physics - CMT --Withdrew Application, Feb. 13
New Mexico University - Physics - CMT --Withdrew Application, Feb. 13
_________________________________________

Just want people to know that there's still hope, even if your application is a bit rubbish (Although having to spread out my options really hurt my banking account). Just make sure you get some good research experience!

[et]

Undergrad Institution: Mid-size Canadian university
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Math
GPA in Major: 4.22/4.33
Overall GPA: 4.21
Length of Degree: 5 years
Position in Class: Top
Type of Student: Canadian white male

GRE Scores:
Q:800 (94%)
V: 780 (99%)
W: 5.0 (84%)
P: 830 (78%)


Research Experience: 3 summers and 2 semesters total.
Summer after 2nd year: National research award to work on a (mostly) numerical project on cosmic strings.
Summer after 3rd year: Research award at TRIUMF, the cyclotron in Vancouver, working on a precision measurement experiment.
Summer after 4th year: National research award to work on superconductivity experiment. Am still working with the same group and am in the process of finishing an honours thesis. Also, simultaneously worked on an extension of final project on pattern formation from nonlinear physics class with the prof of that class. Somehow, no publications, just a bunch of talks!

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Full ride at my school (not that much in Canada!), lots of smallish internal awards, school's nominee for Rhodes scholarship, talk competition prize.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for 3rd-year computational physics class in my 4th year.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Two-time provincial soccer champion, placed 2nd in provincial strings competition at age 15 or something.

Special Bonus Points: Apparently very strong recommendation letters from people who know me very well. I haven't seen them, but the Rhodes people said that was the strongest part of my application.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Not on my application, but 2-body problem.

Applying to Where:

Perimeter Scholars International (PSI) - General theory (Master's) - Accepted 3/3 via email (will attend)

All the rest are CME:
Caltech - Accepted 2/24 via email (declined)
U Chicago - Accepted 2/12 via email (declined)
Columbia - Rejected 3/15 via email
Harvard - Rejected 3/1 in response to email inquiry
McGill - Accepted 2/2 via email (declined)
MIT - Rejected 2/28 via email
Stanford - Rejected 2/24 via email
Princeton - Accepted 2/17 via email (declined)
UCB - Accepted 3/3 via email (deferring to attend in fall 2012)
UCLA - Accepted 3/2 via email (declined)
UCSB - Rejected 2/28 via email
UCSC
UCSD
U Toronto - Accepted 2/17 via email (declined)
U Washington - Accepted 2/7 via email (declined)

[Arash]

Undergrad Institution:University of Tehran(the largest in Iran)
Major:Electrical Engineering
GPA in Major:3.1
Overall GPA:3.1
Length of Degree:4
Position in Class:average
grad Institution:Sharif University of Technology(the most prestigious in Iran)
Major:Physics
GPA in Major:4
Overall GPA:4
Length of Degree:2
Type of Student:International,male
GRE Scores:
Q:790(91%)
V:430(43%)
W:3.0(10%)
P:990(95%)
TOEFL Total: 93

Research Experience: I did some research mentioned in my SoP but no publication

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: silver medal in math,some prizes for best philosophical paper!

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: I was tutor from 17,almost taught everything

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I read a lot of math courses.

Special Bonus Points: Passing QFT1&2,CFT,Advanced QM and Advanced SM and other courses in my M.Sc.

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

Applying to Where: all HEP theory
UIUC - Rejected
UC San Diego -Rejected
UC Davis Rejected via website 3/2/2011
Washington University,St.Louis Accepted via email 2,222$ offer 2/1/2011 Decline
University of Washington SeattleRejected
Carnegie Mellon UniversityRejected
University of PennsylvaniaRejected
Pennsylvania State UniversityRejected
Texas A&M University Accepted via email 1,850 TA ship + 2k Fellowship 3/1/2011 Offer Accepted
RutgersRejected
SUNY Stony BrookRejected
University of FloridaWait list
University of MinnesotaRejected
McGill UniversityRejected
Perimeter Scholars International(PSI)-Master's Rejected

[jaybarthewise]

Undergrad Institution: Ivy, top 20 in Physics
Major(s): BA Physics, MSE Nanotechnology
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.83 in Physics, 4.00 in Nanotechnology
Overall GPA:3.70
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: Near the top
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 650
W: 5.0
P: 990


TOEFL Total: Not taken

Research Experience: one semester in biomedical optics, 2 summers and 5 semesters in experimental condensed matter/biophysics lab. Somewhere down the author list of a NanoLetter that gets pretty decent citations. Two poster presentations.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Membership in some school honors programs that no one will have heard of.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Participation in some science education outreach to local high school teachers.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: Bachelors and Masters in 4 years, including 12 graduate courses. Recs from well-known professors that know me and my work very well.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: A sub-par grade in a chemistry class, which I ended up retaking.

Applying to Where:

All in Physics, with interests in experimental and theoretical condensed matter.

CalTech-Accepted
Cornell-Accepted
Harvard-Rejected
MIT-Rejected
Princeton-Accepted
Stanford-Accepted
UChicago-Accepted with fellowship
UC Berkeley-
UC Santa Barbara-Accepted
UIUC-Accepted
UPenn-Withdrawn

[idontknow]

Undergrad Institution: Large Public, top 40 in Physics
Major(s): Physics
GPA in Major: 3.9
Overall GPA: 3.7
Length of Degree: 5-ish
Type of Student: Domestic female

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 750
W: 4.5
P: 840

Research Experience: Research at my school, one REU, posters but no publications.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA
Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Many Grad Classes?
Special Bonus Points: Noup.

Applying to Where: All CME
Johns Hopkins - Accepted, Jan 25, Declined
UCSD - Accepted in Early Feb - Will Attend
Rutgers - Accepted, Feb 10, Declined
NYU - Accepted, Feb 25, Declined
UCSC - Accepted, Feb 24, Declined
UCR - Accepted in Early Feb, Declined

UCB - rejected in response to a phone inquiry, March 28
Columbia - rejected in response to a phone inquiry on March 23, then waitlisted by email on March 25, and rejected by email on April 15
Caltech - rejected by email, March 15
Stanford Applied Physics - rejected by snail mail, March 3
Harvard Applied Physics - rejected by snail mail, March 18

[TheBeast]

Master's Institution: Arguably the top Canadian school, depending on who you talk to
Major(s): Experimental High Energy Physics
GPA in Major: 4.00
Overall GPA: 4.00
Length of Degree: 2 years
Position in Class: Tied for top, I guess
Type of Student: Ethnic Canadian Male

Master's Qualification Institution: Same as Master's
Major(s): Physics
Overall GPA: 3.88
Length of Degree: 1 year

Undergrad Institution: Another Canadian school; others argue that this is the top school
Major(s): Engineering Science (Physics Option)
Overall GPA: 3.12
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Just below the middle

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 640
W: 5.5
P: 620

Research Experience:
- MSc thesis in experimental particle physics
- Several months working in the operations group of a major particle physics experiment
- Course based research project
- Summer research project
- Member of the author list of major particle physics collaboration (~9 publications, though none are based on my own work)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: A few small university fellowships, some major national scholarships when I was an undergrad.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for a couple of years. Had a lucrative career as an engineer for three years after undergrad.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I had to do a self-funded graduate qualifying year before my current institution would allow me into their MSc program.

Special Bonus Points: A bunch of grad classes, most of which are relevant to hep-ex. I've been in the "real world" and have transitioned back into academia (though this might be frowned upon).

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I'm currently a proofreader for a soon-to-be-published quantum textbook. Also, my undergrad GPA is teh suck.

Applying to Where:

I decided to avoid applying to US schools, mainly because I wanted to study outside of North America. Also, my PGRE score is weak. Profile might be useful for those thinking of studying abroad, or for those who have been out of school for a while.

McGill - Physics - Experimental Particle Physics Accepted March 11th via application portal - Declined
Oxford - Particle Physics - Experimental Particle Physics Invited for Interview on Dec 31st - Interview on Feb 9th - Accepted March 6th via email - Will Attend
Cambridge - Physics - Experimental Particle Physics Rejected by email Jan 31st
University College London - Physics - Experimental Particle Physics Accepted March 10th via post - Winner of ORS/GRS Scholarship March 28th - Declined

[Four Minus Epsilon]

I've possibly a vaguely useful profile for people applying to US and UK universities, so:

Undergrad Institution: Best in Ireland
Major(s): Theoretical Physics (via a Mathematics degree)
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: A very high first class honours
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: Top
Type of Student: International white male

Grad Institution: Cambridge
Major(s): Part III (Master of Advanced Study in Applied Mathematics), doing HEP/GR courses
GPA in Major: Not applicable at time of application
Length of Degree: 1
Position in Class: (bemused edit long after applications are over) Top ten in a class of 260ish, don't you want me now America???

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%ile)
V: 720 (98%ile)
W: 5.0 (84%ile)
P: 790 (72%ile)

Research Experience: 3ish summers working with a lecturer in my undergrad university, 2 publications (in theory); one summer on the DESY summer students programme.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Various scholarships and university prizes (placed first in a university wide exam once upon a time) and some other random things from national organisations.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Gave maths helprooms, does that count?

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Certainly not.

Special Bonus Points: One recommender is I think quite well known.

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

Applying to Where:

In the US, all Physics departments and theory as research interest

Caltech - rejected by email 15/04
MIT - rejected by email 28/02
Stanford University - rejected by email 24/02
SUNY Stony Brook - accepted by email 24/02, declined 11/03
UC Berkeley - rejected by email 19/03
UCSB - rejected by website 28/02

and on the side of the pond which doesn't care about GREs:

Cambridge - DAMTP - HEP/GR groups accepted 10/02 by email, fees paid by departmental research council funding, college scholarship for maintenance (place/funding conditional on Part III exam results) - will be attending
Durham - Centre for Particle Theory - semi-accepted-ish by email 24/02, declined (was asked to commit to going so I could be put forward for a university scholarship, otherwise no chance of funding)
Imperial College London - Theoretical Physics - would have been interviewed but they have no funding for non-UK students
Oxford - Physics - Particle Theory - accepted 04/03 by email, fees paid by departmental research council funding, college scholarship for maintenance, declined 30/03

[a1613395]

Undergrad Institution: SLAC
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 3.75
Overall GPA: 3.65
Length of Degree: 4 Years
Position in Class: Unknown, probably top 10%
Type of Student: Domestic White Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 770
V: 650
W: 4.0
P: 750


Research Experience: A few years of astronomy research at college. Summer of research at another university.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
TA

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: None

Special Bonus Points: None


Applying to Where:

Harvard - Astronomy - Rejected
Princeton - Astronomy - Rejected
Berkeley - Astronomy - Rejected
Chicago - Astronomy - Accepted
Cornell - Astronomy - Accepted
Johns Hopkins - Astronomy - Accepted
UMichigan - Astronomy - Accepted
Yale - Astronomy - Rejected

[baxter5759]

Undergrad Institution: UC - Santa Cruz (Medium sized (16k w/ grads) public university, UC system, good Astrophysics grad school)
Major(s): (Astro)Physics BS
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 3.50
Overall GPA: 3.50
Length of Degree: 4.5 Years
Position in Class: Not sure exactly, but received Honors in the Major.
Type of Student: Domestic Male.

GRE Scores:
Q: 780
V: 600
W: 4.5
P: 590 (yea...that hurts)


TOEFL Total: N/A

Research Experience: Worked with pulsar search group at Santa Cruz Inst. for Particle Physics as part of the Fermi Gamma-Ray Satellite Group. 1.5-2 years with group. Astrophysics research.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Honors in Major.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Worked with Data Monitoring team at SLAC for Fermi Collaboration.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: Good recs.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Eagle Scout (not sure if that helps or not...)

Applying to Where:

Clemson - Physics & Astronomy - Astrophysics: Accepted w/o offer of support.
LSU - Physics & Astronomy - Astrophysics: Accepted w/ $26,000 RA position.
Northwestern - Physics & Astronomy - Astrophysics: Rejected via website 02/24/2011.
PSU - Physics - Astrophysics: Rejected via email 05/25/2011.
UC - Boulder - Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences - Astrophysics: Rejected via email 03/16/2011.
U Maryland - Physics - Astrophysics: Rejected via website 04/13/2011.
UNC - Physics & Astronomy - Astrophysics: Accepted w/ $1840/mo TA position.
U Washington - Physics - Astrophysics: Rejected via email 03/30/2011.
UW - Madison - Physics - Astrophysics: Rejected via email 02/09/2011.

[mrplayswithsquirrels]

Undergrad Institution: Top US physics school
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.9
Overall GPA: 3.9
Length of Degree: Non-degree program
Position in Class: N/A
Type of Student: Domestic White Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 520
W: 5.5
P: 960

Research Experience: A year and a half of X-ray Astronomy research. First-author paper in ApJ. One summer of Nanophotonics research. Two conference posters.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: no

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: no

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: My profile may be of help to people trying to get into physics from other fields. My undergrad degree is in music from a well-known conservatory. After deciding to switch to physics, I took a few courses at a university and self-studied for the rest.

Special Bonus Points: Graduate courses in QM and Astrophysics.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I've been doing physics for two years and I'm a few years older than the other students.

Applying to Where:

Columbia - Physics - Accepted - 02/10
Yale - Physics - Accepted - 02/04
Harvard - Physics - Accepted - 02/17 - Will Attend
Harvard - Astronomy - Accepted - 02/14
Harvard - SEAS - Accepted - 02/08
MIT - Physics - Accepted - 02/02
Princeton - Astrophysics - Accepted - 02/04
Boston University - Physics - Accepted - 02/28

[tychobrahe_1]

Undergrad Institution: Top 50
Major(s): Astronomy and Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major:
Overall GPA: 3.0
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Average
Type of Student: Female minority

GRE Scores:
Q: 770
V: 460
W: 4
P: 540



Research Experience: 3 years, Quantum Chemistry; 2 years Planetary Sciences and Space Physics, 1 semester Astrophysics (Star Formations)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: None

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: RA

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: Female minority? (though that doesn't seem to be helping much)

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Good recommendations from both of my research professors and one from my advisor.

Applying to Where:
Research Interest: Stellar Astrophysics, more or less.
Michigan State University - Astrophysics and Astronomy Rejected
University of Virginia - Astronomy Rejected
Rutgers University - Physics and Astronomy Rejected
University of Maryland-Baltimore County - Applied Physics Waitlisted
University of Maryland-College Park - Astronomy Rejected
University of Rochester - Physics and Astronomy Rejected
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Astronomy Rejected
University of Pittsburgh - Physics Rejected
University of Massachusetts-Amherst - Astronomy Rejected
Georgia State University - Physics
Lehigh University - Physics Accepted - Will attend!
University of Delaware - Physics

[marcohang1]

Undergrad Institution:Top school in Hong Kong
Major:Physics
Minors:nil
GPA in Major:3.79
Overall GPA:~3.5
Length of Degree:3 yrs
Position in Class: Top 20%
Type of Student:International male, Chinese
GRE Scores:
Q:780
V:410
W:3.0
P:990


TOEFL Total:
104/120[/b]

Research Experience:June-Aug 2010: Dark Energy Survey Group at UIUC(cosmology);
Sep 2010-: Final year project at my undergrad institution(material science(alloy))

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Dean list

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
nil

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
nil

Special Bonus Points:
nil

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
As an exchange student at UIUC for one semester

Applying to Where:

UIUC - Physics - rejected via email(3/18)
Maryland - Physics
Northwestern -Applied Physics -
Ohio State U - Physics - accepted via email (2/14)
Wisconsin-Madison - Physics - rejected via email(3/1)
SUNY Stony Brook - Physics - rejected via email(3/23)
Rice U - Physics
Rochester - Physics - rejected via email(3/14)
Kansas State U - Physics - accepted via email (2/15)
U of Central Florida - Optics - rejected via email(3/14)

[chazz]

Undergrad Institution: UC Berkeley
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Math
GPA in Major: 3.93
Overall GPA: 3.94
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: who knows
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 770
V: 610
W: 4.0
P: 880


Research Experience: A couple summers after high school at a small engineering company, ("co-author" on a resulting patent application). One summer at LBL working on modeling x-ray diffraction gratings (one of many co-authors on a resulting publication). A couple of years with an AMO group on campus, co-author on a publication from that. Also doing a senior thesis.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: A couple of physics dept. research scholarships, one school-wide research scholarship

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: not really any

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: none

Special Bonus Points: Was able to get very solid recommendations from my research, (including a professor from poland who spent a couple weeks with my research group)

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

Applying to Where: All physics, and mentioned interest in experimental amo/quantum systems

Berkeley -accepted
UCLA - accepted
UCSB - accepted
Cornell - accepted
Chicago - accepted
Princeton - accepted
Caltech - accepted
Stanford - accepted - will attend!

Fellowships:

NSF - honorable mention
NDSEG -awarded

Wasn't expecting this at all, based on profiles from previous years...I think things that helped may have been solid recommendations and a concise personal statement (ie. edited out any high school physics teacher/inspirational stories from it)

[clare1068]

Undergrad Institution: Top school in Hong Kong
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Mathematics, German
GPA in Major: 3.52
Overall GPA: 3.39
Length of Degree: 4 Years
Position in Class: not known
Type of Student: International Female

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%)
V: 390 (32%)
W: 5.0 (84%) Proud of the score as an asian
P: 790 (72%)

Research Experience:
Brown U: LUX Dark Matter Search – No publications (This is a summer exchange program sponsored by my home institute)
Home institute:
1. Characteristics of Network Models (Sort of programming practice) – No Publications
2. Final Year Project: Study on heat transport in a Rayleigh-Bénard convection (In progress)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Some admission awards…

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
Summer Maths tutor for newly admitted undergraduate
Being an editorial assistant for a not so well-known physics journal (I help my prof. to send emails…)

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
Hardly think of any…

Special Bonus Points: 1. Summer Research Exchange Program in Brown? Not many students have the exchange opportunity in my region…
2. Female?!

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Well. My Physics GRE It should be the lowest among the Asians. I performed poorly because I accidentally need to have a surgery shortly before the PGRE. It greatly affects my physical conditions… I enclosed the medical certificate in my application anyway.

Applying to Where:
Physics Programs:
University of Maryland –Physics – Nonlinear Dynamics Chaos Rejected via website 4/14
Brown University – Physics – Condensed Matter – Rejected via website 2/16 I love Brown...
Duke University – Physics – Nonlinear and Complex System – Waitlist via Email 2/17
Northwestern University – Applied Physics – Soft Matter Physics – ???
Georgia Institution of Technology – Physics – Nonlinear and Statistical Physics – Rejected via email 3/09
U of Toronto – Physics – Geophysics – Rejected via email 3/12
Ohio State University – Physics – Condensed Matter– Rejected via email 2/24

Other Programs:
U of Chicago – Geophysical Science – Fluid – Postal mail received on 3/4 --> Will Attend!
U of Washington – Atmospheric Science – Atmospheric Boundary Layer – Contacted by Professor about research topic and I declined him 4/11Rejected via email 4/13
Pennsylvania State University – Meteorology and atmospheric Science – Atmospheric Boundary Layer and Turbulence Rejected via website 3/29
Stony Brook University – Marine and Atmospheric Science – Atmospheric dynamics Rejected via website 3/23

[scrantonphys]

Undergrad Institution: Small Lib arts school Little to no rep
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Math and Computer Science
GPA in Major: 3.72
Overall GPA: 3.65
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: top 10% (i think)
Type of Student: Domestic white bread male

GRE Scores:
Q: 790
V: 430
W: 3.5
P: 590


Research Experience: 2 year research with Photo Voltaics (+ 1 payed summer internship, theory) 1 year research with Binary Star System (+ 1 more payed internship and AAS poster, computational) 6 Months current research on florescent in glass (experimental), and 6 months research in high temperature super conductors (experimental)
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's List

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 3 year Tutor (Physics Math and CS) 2 year TA, 3 year work study (lab setup)

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I work volunteer and work with the woman's center at my school?

Special Bonus Points: I built my physics departments first and only computer cluster

I figure this app would help with people who are applying to other places than Harvard MIT and Princeton

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: All my research is done at my home university

Applying to Where:

Stony Brook - Physics - Computational Condensed Matter Rejected 3/19 (I know it was a long shot but I really wanted it)
Rutgers - Physics - Condensed Matter Rejected 3/25 I was hoping and though I might get in
UMass - Physics - Condensed Matter Waitlisted via E-Mail 3/30
Lehigh - Physics - Condensed Matter / Astro Accepted 3/11 via email $24,400 / year TA
Drexel - Physics - Quantum Computing / Computational Astro Accepted via email with funding $22,00 /year 3/8
Tempel - Physics - Computational / Statistical Accepted via email with funding $16,900 / 9 Mounths 4/05
UDel - Physics - Condensed Matter / ICE CUBe Accepted via email with funding $25,00 /year 4/06

[waitingsucks]

Undergrad Institution: Top 1 or 2 in Mexico (for sciences and engineering)
Major(s): Physics, engineering
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: Doing a conversion, it corresponds to about 3.8.
Overall GPA: 3.8.
Length of Degree: 5 years.
Position in Class: Top or near top.
Type of Student: International, male.

GRE Scores:
Q: 790
V: 430
W: 4.5
P: 810


TOEFL Total: 103

Research Experience: No formal experience, but have worked on some projects.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Award for high GPA upon graduating.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA and tutoring (math and physics).

Special Bonus Points: Took grad class at University of Toronto (exchange program) on General Relativity. Other courses like solid state physics and statistical mechanics.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I think I have very good rec. letters. One of them is from a professor that graduated from UT.

Applying to Where:
All on CMT.

UT Austin - Accepted Mar. 14. So happy! With TA.
Rice -
Texas A&M - Accepted Feb.16, however no financial aid.
University of Houston - Accepted Mar. 15, with TA.

[shinobi06]

Undergrad Institution: Small state school, not particularly known for physics, perhaps slightly more so for astronomy
Major(s): Physics, Mathematics, Astronomy
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 3.58
Overall GPA: 3.70
Length of Degree: 5 years
Position in Class: Very near top
Type of Student: Domestic female

GRE Scores:
Q: 670 (63%)
V: 660 (94%)
W: 4.0 (45%)
P: October 2010: 460 (4%), November 2010: 520 (13%)


Research Experience: 2 years of observational astronomy research at home institution (NASA Spacegrant and one year of volunteer research), 1 prestigious summer REU in astrophysics with poster at January American Astronomical Society meeting

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Honors college, various scholarships, Sigma Pi Sigma, Dean's List, Department Chair's Scholar, Outstanding Senior within the college, will graduate cum laude.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Volunteer tutoring, TA for upper-division observational astronomy, instructor for intro-level physics lab, SPS Treasurer, SPS President, Sigma Pi Sigma representative, learning community mentor for freshmen in the physics and astronomy department

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: A great deal of volunteer work and science outreach, a lot of teaching experience.

Special Bonus Points: I started college pretty young, so even after 5 years I'm still a year younger than the majority of my graduating peers. Graduate courses taken in scientific writing and quantum mechanics. Should have quite strong letters of recommendation.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I thought the major in mathematics might add a few brownie points...

Applying to Where:
(all with emphasis in extragalactic astronomy and observational cosmology)

Arizona State University - Astrophysics - Accepted via e-mail, 2/7

University of Washington, Seattle - Astronomy - Waitlisted via e-mail, 2/18 Rejected via e-mail, 4/6

UC Berkeley - Astronomy - Rejected via e-mail, 2/18
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign - Physics - Rejected via e-mail, 2/22
Penn State - Astronomy and Astrophysics - Rejected via snail mail, 2/25
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor - Astronomy - Rejected via e-mail, 3/10
Ohio State University - Astronomy - Rejected via website, 3/14
UC Santa Cruz - Astronomy and Astrophysics - Rejected via e-mail, 3/18
UC Davis - Physics - Rejected via website, 3/25
Columbia University - Astronomy - Rejected via email inquiry, 4/4

UC Irvine - Physics and Astronomy -
University of Wisconsin, Madison - Astronomy -
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology - Physics -

Alas, horrible physics GRE scores - and not stellar general ones - will hurt you (no surprises there). Also, in hindsight I think I stacked the deck far too heavily toward higher-ranked schools. But I'm thankful for the acceptance that I have =)

[negru]

Undergrad Institution: Ivy
Major(s): Physics
GPA in Major: 3.93
Overall GPA: 3.94
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: dunno
Type of Student: Intl

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 600
W: 4.5
P: 980


Research Experience: about 4 projects in HET, all at school, including two summers, no pubs

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor, grader

Special Bonus Points: Mostly took grad classes

Applying to Where: all HET with interest in CMT

Princeton - accepted
mostly accepted to a bunch of other places

[vish]

Undergrad Institution: Foreign, India. Quite Some reputation in Engineering, none in Physics
Major(s): Computer Science
Minor(s): NA
GPA in Major: 8.78/10
Overall GPA: 8.69/10
Length of Degree: 4 yrs
Position in Class: Near top (~5%)
Type of Student: International, male

Grad Institution: Ivy
Major(s): Electrical & Computer Engineering
Minor(s): Astronomy (4/4)
GPA in Major: 4.02/4
Overall GPA: 4.02/4
Length of Degree: 4 yrs
Position in Class: Near top
Type of Student: International, male

GRE Scores:1300
Q:770
V:530
W:4.5
P:780


TOEFL iBT Total: 112/120

Research Experience: Simulations for optics and design optimization of a UV Spectrograph - Indian Institue of Astrophysics & ISRO - 8 months
All Sky Camera implementation for Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore (deployed at various Indian observatories) - 1.25 Yr
SKA Technology Development, Beamforming & System design for Radio Synoptic Surveys - 1.5 yrs
Publication in IEEE APS, IAC 2008, a couple in National Astronomy Conferences in India

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: University Scholarship in Undergrad

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Reseach Intern appointment at a top radio observatory

Special Bonus Points: Taken Grad classes in Astronomy & Physics during undergrad and grad school in engg

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Consistently moved within engineering to gather a skillset that can be employed in Astro and associated myself with research in the field.


Caltech - Astro - Instrumentation & Surveys - Reject March 24, via e-mail
Cornell - Astro - Instrumentation & Surveys - Admit Feb 10, Stipend ~34K (TAship+Summer)
Penn State - Astro - Instrumentation & Surveys - Reject March 10, via snailmail
UCSC - Astro - Instrumentation & Surveys - Admit March 18, via e-mail, no financial details
UT Austin - Astro - Instrumentation & Surveys - Application withdrawn
UChicago - Astro - Instrumentation & Surveys - Reject March 22, via e-mail

[vttd]

Undergrad Institution: Berkeley
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.2
Overall GPA: 3.5
Length of Degree: 3.5 (one semester off for internship)
Position in Class: Would say slightly above average
Type of Student: Domestic female

GRE Scores:
Q: 790 - 91% (F09), 790 - 91% (F10)
V: 530 - 70% (F09), 650 - 93% (F10)
W: 4 - 45% (F09), 4 - 45% (F10)
P: 570 - 25% (F09), 700 - 54% (S10)

Research Experience: 5 years of research in 5 groups and 5 subfields at 4 different well known labs. No papers, one poster at AGU.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: None

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 1 semester as quantum mechanics grader, same as research experience

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: N/A

Special Bonus Points: 4th letter of rec from a Nobel Laureate (where I could send 4). All my letters are from my research advisors who at a minimum worked with me for 6 months. They should all be very strong.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I have many applicable laboratory skills and am a proficient programmer. This is my second year applying to programs

Applying to Where:

All for Astronomy/astrophysics instrumentation (except for noted) in no particular order:

Boulder - Rejected 3/16 by email
UCLA - Rejected 2/17 by email to website
ASU - Accepted 2/7 by email
UCSC - Rejected 3/18 by email
Virginia - Waitlisted 2/9 by email (Withdrew)
Penn State - Accepted 1/29 by phone/email
Maryland - Accepted 2/16 by email
Cornell - Rejected 2/25 by email
Arizona - Rejected 2/7 by email
Arizona - Optical Sciences - Accepted 2/7 by email

Note to future applicants: Getting rejected across the board is not the end all be all. During my year off between application seasons I got a lot more research and life experience and it really made me question if this was the right path for me. I absolutely found that it was. Don't give up, things are meant to happen for a reason. I am very grateful for everything that has happened this year and I got into some great schools this round

[Gaussian Kernel]

Undergrad Institution: University of Toronto
Major(s):Engineering Science, Physics Option
Minor(s):N/A
GPA in Major: dk around 3.9
Overall GPA:3.93
Length of Degree: 4
Type of Student: Canadian male

GRE Scores:
Q:790
V:640
W:4.5
P:750 - 65% percentile

Research Experience: 1 summer research in information engineering at UofT; 1 summer in University of Waterloo (quantum computing and communication) ; currently doing thesis on theoretical quantum information

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Nothing too significant

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Software engineer at an R&D company

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: 2 recommendation from advisors (should be well known) and 1 from boss

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

Applying to Where:

University of Colorado - Physics- AMO/QI - Accepted Feb 7 2011 - 3.5K signing bonus
University of New Mexico - Physics- QI - Accepted March 1 2011 - 15k TA (9 month)
Yale University - Applied Physics- QI - Application transferred to EE then Phone Interviewed - Accepted Feb 22 by email notification
Caltech - Applied Physics- Photonics/Quantum Optics - Invited for visit Feb. 8 then accepted March 11 - 30k stipend
Princeton - EE - Photonics/Quantum Optics/QI - Accepted March 4 - 31k TA+RA
Perimeter scholar international - Physics- Accepted March 29
Cornell - Applied Phyics- Optics/nano - Accepted by postal service
MIT - Physics-QI- Rejected
Berkeley - Physics-QI- Rejected
UCSB - Physics- Rejected
Harvard - Applied Physics- Rejected
NSERC CGS M - Awarded
____________________________________________

[ashowmega]

Undergrad Institution: Small Liberal Arts College, US. No Reputation in Physics.
Major(s): Physics and Mathematics
GPA in Major: 3.7
Overall GPA: 3.7
Length of Degree: 4 yrs
Position in Class: Top 10% in the college.
Type of Student: International Male in the US

GRE Scores: 1230
Q: 450
V: 780
W: 3.0
P: 660 (46%)



Research Experience: At school with observational astronomy after my freshman year. Worked with a professor at the University of Kentucky on neutron EDM experiments over the sumer after my sophomore year. Interned at Fermilab over the summer after my junior year. I worked on superconducting radio-frequency cavities. Bunch of conference talks. No publication though.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Departmental awards, Dean's list, etc. from school. Inducted in Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Pi Sigma and Pi Mu Epsilon.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: As per the requirement of at least 10 hrs per week of work, I have been TA-ing (tutor, grading, lab assistant, etc.) since freshman year. Since last year, I have also been developing labs for the introductory physics students and have been their instructor. Good experience to become a graduate teaching assistant, I guess. Also current President of SPS and past Treasurer.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Can't think of any.

Special Bonus Points: Nothing.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Not sure.

Applying to Where:

Cornell University - Applied Physics - Rejected via Email - 3/14/2011
University of Michigan - Applied Physics - Rejected via Email - 3/3/2011
Ohio State University - Physics - Condensed Matter - Waitlisted via Email - 2/21/2011
SUNY Stony Brook - Physics - Condensed Matter- Rejected via Email - 3/19/2011
Rice University - Applied Physics- Waitlisted via Email inquiry- 3/17/2011
Duke University - Physics - Condensed Matter - Waitlisted via Email - 3/24/2011
Georgia Tech - Physics - Condensed Matter - Rejected via Email- 3/9/2011
University of Florida - Physics - Condensed Matter - Rejected Via Email - 2/24/2011
University of Massachusetts - Amherst - Physics - Condensed Matter - Accepted via Email - 2/10/2011
Vanderbilt University - Physics - Condensed Matter - Waitlisted via Email - 2/24/2011- Withdrawn
University of Tennessee - Physics - Condensed Matter - Accepted via Email - 3/31/2011

[Grenouille]

Undergrad Institution: Big state, top 20 in physics, top 10 ECE
Major(s): Electrical and computer engineering
Minor(s): Math
GPA in Major:
Overall GPA: 3.45
Length of Degree: 4.5 years
Position in Class: Above average but not top
Type of Student: Domestic male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%)
V: 620 (89%)
W: 5.5 (94%)
P: 640 (41%)


Research Experience: Two years of astronomical instrumentation, one year doing data analysis related to galaxy surveys

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Some scholarships, nothing special

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutored for two years

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: One recommender fairly well known in cosmology

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I'm not a physics or astronomy major, and I've taken very few dedicated physics or astronomy classes. Had no idea how this would affect me.

Applying to Where:

(All for experimental cosmology)
UC Irvine - Physics and Astronomy - Accepted
NYU - Physics and Astronomy - Accepted
UC Davis - Physics -
Columbia - Astronomy - Waitlisted
UT Austin - Astronomy - Rejected
Stanford - Physics - Rejected
UPenn - Physics and Astronomy - Rejected
Chicago - Astronomy - Rejected
Caltech - Astronomy - Rejected

[Goran15]

Undergrad Institution: unknown university, no reputation
Major(s): Physics
Overall GPA: 3.2 (3.7 Graduate GPA)
Length of Degree: 5
Position in Class: average (maybe even below)
Type of Student: International, male, white

GRE Scores:
Q: 720 (75%)
V: 480 (57%)
W: 4.0 (45%)
P: 650 (44%)


TOEFL Total: 113/120

Research Experience: over a year, two labs, solo work, somewhat exciting stuff

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: nope

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: no

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: lab and computer expertise

Special Bonus Points: Masters degree, good recomendations...

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: some conferences, student representative

Applying to Where:

Duke - Physics - Experimental condensed matter/AMO Rejected
Duke - Materials Science Rejected
UNC - Physics - Experimental condensed matter/AMO Waitlisted Rejected
NCSU - Physics - Experimental condensed matter/AMO Accepted Declined
NCSU - Materials Science Accepted Will attend
UNCG - Joint school on nanoscience Rejected

[notlivingonramen]

I took time off between undegrad and applying for graduate school to serve in Teach For America. If I had it to do over again, I would have taken the physics GRE my senior year instead of waiting and then trying to prepare after two years away from physics. I was expecting a lot of disappointments after I got my scores, but things worked out surprisingly well.

Physics GRE Score: 520
GRE Quantitative: 800
GRE Verbal: 720
GRE Writing: 5
Undergrad Institution: Medium sized state school, not outstanding reputation, but not bad either
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Mathematics
GPA in Major: 3.8+
Overall GPA: 3.9+
Position in Class: near top
Type of student: female non-minority domestic
Research Experience:
REU in molecular biology, led to conference talk
Honors thesis research in biophysics for 1.5 years, led to conference talk
Positions or Jobs:
After graduation:Teach For America corps member.
While an undergrad: volunteer math tutor at high school for 2 years, SPS president, physics tutor, physics lab TA.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Amgen Teaching Fellow (national), state research grant, Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Pi Sigma, graduated summa cum laude
Bonus Points?: Letter writers have connections at UIUC and my institution sends quite a few students there. Does a strong background in biological sciences and biochemistry count as bonus if you are going into biophysics?
Physics Field(s): Experimental biophysics

Applications
Vanderbilt University-Chemical and Physical Biology: offered interview 1/18, interviewed 2/11, accepted 2/15, fellowship offer
University of Michigan-Biophysics: offered interview 1/26, interviewed 3/18, accepted 3/22, fellowship offer
University of Minnesota-Physics: accepted 2/9, fellowship offer
Ohio State University-Physics: accepted 2/10, TA offer
NCSU-Physics: accepted 2/11, TA offer with supplement
UIUC-Physics: accepted 2/17, TA offer,will attend
Indiana University-Physics: accepted 2/23, TA offer, very little money even for a low cost of living area
University of Maryland-Physics: rejected 4/12

NSF GRFP: offered 4/5 (!)

[carpediem]

Undergrad Institution: unknown greek university
Major(s): astronomy
Minor(s): physics
GPA in Major: 10/10
Overall GPA: 8.93/10
Length of Degree: 6 years
Position in Class: top 5-10%
Type of Student: International, female

GRE Scores:
Q:700(70%)
V:470(55%)
W:3.5(26%)
P:780(70%)


TOEFL Total: 108 (R/L/S/W:30/28/23/27)

Research Experience: 2 years working in the plasma physics research group of my university. no publications

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Fellowship for entering 1st

Special Bonus Points: I guess my advisor's recommendation was really strong and I spent much time to write my SOP.

Applying to Where: stated interest Relativity Cosmology

Columbia -astronomy- accepted by email-11 Feb-Fellowship $31k 12months WILL ATTEND
SUNY-Stony Brook -physics-accepted by email-4 Mar- TA $17.5k 9 months
Northwestern -physics - accepted by email-1 Feb-RA $23k 12 months+Fellowship $5k for the 1st 2 years
Brown -physics - rejected via website 15 Feb
Rutgers -physics - rejected via website 15 Mar
U Florida -astronomy- accepted by email-15 Feb rejected the offer without waiting the financial details
U Florida -physics-never heard back
U Minnesota -astronomy- accepted by email-14 Feb- TA $16.5k 9months
U Minnesota -physics- rejected by email -4 Mar
Penn State -astronomy- rejected by mail-15 Mar
U Pittsburgh -physics- accepted by email-18 Feb
Louisianna State Univ -physics- rejected by mail-1 Mar

As you can see it's not all about GRE scores
__________________________________________

[thinboy03]

Undergrad Institution: A university in Asia (Not famous at all)
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): /
GPA in Major: 3.88
Overall GPA: 3.74
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: not shown
Type of Student: International Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 780
V: 400 (great)
W: 3.5
P: 990


TOEFL Total: 113

Research Experience:
Home university - on thin film superconductor YBCO, magnetoresistive material LCMO, superlattices
UC Berkeley - on photographic lithography
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: several scholarships in the school

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Private tutor and tutor in physics classes at high-school level

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: er... I participated in Physics Olympiad years ago?

Special Bonus Points: Took a graduate class in Berkeley? Knows Latex?

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

Applying to Where:

UIUCl - Physics - CME - Accepted
Maryland - Physics - CME - Accepted
Georgia Tech - Physics - CME - Accepted
UC Berkeley - Physics - CME - Declinded
MIT - Physics - CME - Declinded
Rice - Applied Physics - CME -
Northwestern - Applied Physics - CME -