Physics GRE Discussion Forums

Undergrad Institution: An institute in Bombay
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Mathematics
GPA in Major: 8.8/10 (end of 6 sems) (Includes Economics, Reading Literature, Engg Drawing etc.)
Overall GPA: 8.6/10 (end of 6 sems)
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: ranks not declared
Type of Student: International Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 = 94%
V: 720 = 98%
W: 4.5 = 67%
P: 990 = 95%

TOEFL Total: 120

Research Experience:
At univ:

• *Four projects - in Lasers (1)(1 semester), Fibre Optics (2) (1 year) and Chemistry (1 summer) - no publication
  *One 'major' project - HEP - Algorithm development (incomplete) (Bachelor's Thesis) (1 year) - Invited for poster presentation at UCLA CDMP/ CMSO winter school / Invited to ALICE as part of team - no publication

At MPI, Germany:

• *Summer Internship - AMO
  *Continuing work now - AMO
  *No publication

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: None during UG except Scholarship for Internship mentioned above
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for a Physics Course
Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: (possibly for Applied Physics) - Failed startup (but an effort in the Indian business environment is almost unheard of for a UG, here)
Special Bonus Points: Plenty of Grad courses - 6 Phy grad courses, 6 Maths grad courses, 25 normal physics courses + those in this semester (2 Phy grad + 1 Math grad + 1 normal Phy)
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: 'CC' grade (6/10) in Quantum Mechanics 2; and Introductory Nuclear and Particle Physics - but everyone got that grade in the course

Applying to Where: (All PhD)

Yale - Physics - AMO/ CMP - Rejected Feb 8
Cornell - Physics - CMP/ AMO/ undecided (exp) - Accepted Feb 14 TA 24k/ 9 months
Princeton - Physics - AMO - Waiting list Feb 17
Stanford - Physics - AMO/ CMP - Reject Feb 24
Northwestern University - Applied Physics - AMO (exp) - Withdrawn Feb 25
University of British Columbia, Canada - Physics - AMO (exp) - Withdrawn Feb 25
School - Department - Research Interest
School - Department - Research Interest
School - Department - Research Interest
School - Department - Research Interest
School - Department - Research Interest

Undergrad Institution: MIT
Major(s): physics, math
Minor(s): none
GPA in Major: 5.0
Overall GPA: 5.0
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: doesn't rank
Type of Student: domestic female

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 710
W: 5.5
P: 840 (79%), 950 (92%)

Research Experience: 2 summer REUs (FSU, UChicago), 1 of year research at MIT

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: nah

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: nah

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: umm

Special Bonus Points: recommender i'm currently working with is fairly famous in the field

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

Applying to Where:

Stanford - Physics - Cosmology Theory - Accepted by email 2/23
Berkeley - Physics - Cosmology Theory - Accepted by unofficial email 2/7
Caltech - Physics - Cosmology Theory - Accepted by email 2/24
Princeton - Physics - Cosmology Theory - Accepted by email 2/16
UPenn - Physics - Cosmology Theory - Accepted by phone 1/27 ($26,800 stipend)
Harvard - Physics - Cosmology Theory - Accepted by email 2/17
UC Davis - Physics - Cosmology Theory - Accepted by email 2/15
UC San Diego - Physics - Cosmology Theory - Accepted by email 2/9

Undergrad Institution:: The school in East Asia
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.65
Overall GPA: 3.68 (4 in master)
Length of Degree:4
Position in Class:4
Type of Student:International Male

GRE Scores:
Q:800
V:550
W:2.5 (ouch!!)
P:880


TOEFL Total:90

Research Experience:
one year in statistics physics (paper had summitted), half year in protein purification and half year in cell function (theoretical, paper summitted)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: (Within your school or outside?)
outstanding student in college, and some company's scholarships

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Such as tutor, TA, SPS officer etc...)
1 year for TA, 3 month for other educational project
Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
1 year in Marine Corp
Special Bonus Points: (Such as connections, grad classes, famous recommenders, female or minority status etc...)

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

Applying to Where:

Harvard - Biophysics rejected by mail 2/4
Duke - Physics
UC Davis - Biophysics Program - accepted by email 2/1 with TA
UCSF - iPQB (Biophysics) rejected by email 1/25
U of Florida -Physics
Purdue -Physics
UIUC - Biophysics
Maryland -Biophysics-accepted by email 2/12
UW@Madison - Physics and Biophysics
Washington at St. Louis - DBBS Program- rejected by email 2/11
Baylor Medical College - Structure Biology
Northeastern - Physics
Indiana Bloomington - Physics

Undergrad Institution: Big State University, moderate physics reputation
Major(s): (Astro)physics, Biology
GPA in Major: 3.79
Overall GPA: 3.49
Length of Degree: ~5yrs
Position in Class: Near top
Type of Student: Domestic, white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 580
W: 4.5
P: 910

Research Experience: 2 yrs particle physics research at university; 2 yrs astrophysics research at university; 1 first authored publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's list 4 quarters (unimpressive)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 4 yrs tutoring, 1 quarter TAing upper div astrophysics elective

Special Bonus Points: Recommendations are good I think

Applying to Where:
Focusing in Theoretical Astrophysics at all
UCSB - Physics - Accepted (Webpage 2/14/11)
Berkeley - Physics - Accepted (Unofficial, e-mail 2/7/11)
Stanford - Physics - Rejected (E-mail, 2/24/11)
CalTech - Physics - Accepted (E-mail, 2/24/11)
Harvard - Physics - Rejected (E-mail, 2/24/11)
Harvard - Astronomy - Accepted (Phone 2/8/11) - Attending
MIT - Physics - Accepted (E-mail, 2/2/11) fellowship
Princeton - Astrophysics - Accepted (E-mail, 2/4/11) RA & Fellowship
Cornell - Physics - Waitlisted (e-mail, 2/15/11) - Withdrawn (2/15/11)
Columbia - Physics - Accepted (E-mail, 2/10/11) -
U Chicago - Physics - Accepted (E-mail, 2/23/11) -
U Chicago - Astronomy & Astrophysics - Accepted (E-mail, 2/8/11)
Northwestern - Physics - Accepted (E-mail, 2/1/11), (Unofficial, Phone 1/18/11), RA & Fellowship
Johns Hopkins - Physics - Accepted (E-mail 1/25/11) -

Undergrad Institution:Unknown Liberal Arts
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 3.96
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Not sure, but probably pretty high
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 680
W: 5.0
P: 750



Research Experience: REU + semester research at MIT (I go to school in Boston, so I am able to do research during school), three different small projects at my own school, independent study at UIUC, highschool mentorship at Fermilab. No publications.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Goldwater Scholarship, honors society and departmental honors at school

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Three years as a math/computer science tutor and grader

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: One of my recommenders is my PI from my MIT research position.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: My early research was in astrophysics, but the later stuff in is nanoscience.

Applying to Where:

MIT - Physics - Rejected
Harvard - Applied Physics Rejected
Cornell - Applied Physics Rejected
Stanford - Applied Physics - Rejected
Columbia - Physics Rejected
Univ. of Maryland - Physics - Accepted 2/24
Univ. of Rochester - Physics - Accepted 2/14 w/ TA/RA - Declined
Univ. of Arizona - Optical Sciences - Accepted 2/7 w/ 8k fellowship and 8k RA - Declined
Rice University - Applied Physics - Accepted 2/18 w/ financial details to follow


Looks like I had my sights set too high. I probably should have applied to the Materials Science department at MIT, but who knows if that actually would have made a difference. Farewell Boston...

Undergrad Institution: Seven Sisters School
Major(s): Physics, Astronomy
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 3.97 in Physics (one A-), 4.00 in Astronomy
Overall GPA: 3.85
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Top in department, Top 15% in whole class year (only ranking my school does)
Type of Student: International (South Asian) Female

GRE Scores:
Q: 750 (82%)
V: 540 (73%)
W: 5.5 (94%)
P: Retained for now

Research Experience: 2 rather prestigious summer REUs

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Institutional merit-based scholarships all 4 years, Sigma Pi Sigma, expecting to graduate magna cum laude

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Have held loads of little on-campus jobs (fills more than 50% of my resume), but the only relevant one is TA/Grader for several intro and intermediate classes since sophomore year

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Took classes at four different schools in total, loads of electives (undergrad level), got recommendation from one of those profs, have rather unusual extracurricular accomplishments (though lack of community service),

Special Bonus Points: VP of SPS, involved in major department in various ways, pretty multilingual, professional teaching experience (math), national recognition for an international math test in high school, recommenders all love me,  4.00 GPA in Fall semester (not all schools will get to know that). retty interesting “Diversity Statement” in the schools that required them, professors know people in a couple of the departments I am applying to, one of my recommender is currently one of the top 10 women in her field (though unrelated to astrophysics). As in all relevant major classes except one (where I got an A-).

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Did not ask for a recommendation from the last research adviser, very little research experience compared to most people, mediocre grades in math classes, some issues with the Physics GRE. GPA shows an upward trend from a rather devastating first semester GPA. Lived in three different countries, speak English like a native.

Applying to Where:

UC Santa Barbara - Physics
Brown - INVITED FOR PHONE INTERVIEW
UT Austin - Astronomy - ACCEPTED 1/13
Yale - Rejected via website

Undergrad Institution: Tiny school in India, not very reputed
Major(s):Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 9.05/10
Overall GPA: 8.96/10
Length of Degree: 3
Position in Class: top of very small class
Type of Student: International, overrepresented minority

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 590
W: 4.0
P: 990 (95%)


TOEFL Total: 110

Research Experience:
Two summer research projects, one of them in a very prestigious institute in my country
One minor publication in an obscure journal
Working on final year project at home university

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: UG education was funded by government scholarship

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: none

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

Special Bonus Points: One reasonably famous (in cond-mat community) recommender

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Length of degree is a major problem at a lot of places

Applying to Where:

University of Michigan - Physics - Cond-mat theory accepted via unofficial email 1/17 - dept. fellowship+0.25 GSI (declined 3/22)
Cornell University - Physics and Astronomy - Cond-mat theory accepted via email 2/9 - $24k/9mo. TAship (declined 4/12)
University of Minnesota - Physics - Cond-mat theory application withdrawn 2/22
University of California, Berkeley - Physics - Cond-mat theory accepted via email 3/11 - $21k/10mo. GSI+$1k bonus+$6k stipend (Will attend! 4/9)
Brown University - Physics - Cond-mat theory accepted via website check 2/15 - $20k/9mo. stipend+$7k summer (declined 4/7)
California Institute of Technology - Physics - Cond-mat theory rejected via email 3/15
Columbia University - Physics - Cond-mat theory rejected via website check 4/1
Rutgers University - Physics and Astronomy - Cond-mat theory Waitlisted via email 3/2
University of Wisconsin, Madison - Physics - Cond-mat theory rejected via email 2/9 (!)
Yale University - Physics - Cond-mat theory accepted via website check 2/4, univ. fellowship+TAship @ $30k/12mo. (declined 4/12)
SUNY Stony Brook - Physics and Astronomy - Cond-mat theory accepted via email 3/22 - $21.5k/year stipend (declined 3/25)
University of Maryland - Physics - Cond-mat theory rejected via website check 4/14
University of Kentucky - Physics and Astronomy - Cond-mat theory application withdrawn 2/22

Moral of the story:

I think the most notable point in my application was the length of degree (3 years). Lot of univs have rules against taking students with such a degree (the reason I didn't apply to UCSB, Stanford, Chicago,...). However, my experience shows that this can be overcome by having an otherwise-good profile (GRE scores help a lot I guess). Still, I had to work a lot with the bureaucracy to go from *recommended for admission* to *actually admitted* stage, particularly at Berkeley, Michigan and Stony Brook. So if you are an Indian with a 3-year BSc degree, I'd say go ahead and apply, grad schools will bend all rules if they really want you...

Undergrad Institution: Reed College: Small liberal arts college in the US, good physics program, close to zero grade inflation.
Major(s):Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 2.87/4
Overall GPA: 2.83/4
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: Don't know
Type of Student: International (from India) studying in the US

GRE Scores:
Q: 760 (84%)
V: 720 (98%)
W: 5.0 (84%)
P: 790 (72%)


TOEFL Total: N/A, English is my first language.

Research Experience:
1. Summer 2009: Chaotic dynamics of a Malkus waterwheel (with prof at my school)
2. Summer 2010: Computational simulations of accretion disks around Kerr black holes to investigate an oscillatory pattern that develops in their cross-sections. (with prof at my school)
3. Senior Thesis: Calculating the scattering cross-section of the \eta(548) meson produced in high-energy collisions, assuming central production through the exchange of Reggeons, with coupling constants derived from dual string theory.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Everybody at our school has to write a senior thesis to graduate. I would be an honors student at many other places, I guess.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
1. Two semesters as a physics tutor at our school's academic support center

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

Special Bonus Points: Dunno...I spent a lot of time on my SOPs?

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I have some non-physics related work experience as well
1. Three semesters on Student Senate as a Senator
2. Two semesters as a Resident Advisor

Applying to Where:

The University of Arizona: Physics - HEP-th&ex - Accepted February 28th via e-mail, $15,042 TAship
University of California at Berkeley: Physics - HEP, High-Tc Superconductivity (th&ex) - Rejected
Boston University: Physics - HEP-th&ex, Other computational physics - Waitlisted then rejected.
Carnegie Mellon University: Physics - Computational physics - Rejected
University of Colorado at Boulder: Physics - HEP (lattice QCD and exp), computational plasma physics - Rejected
Harvard University: Physics - HEP-th&ex - Rejected
Montana State University: Physics - Gravitational physics-th&ex - Application withdrawn
North Carolina State University: Physics - HEP-th, computational biophysics/astrophysics - Application withdrawn.
Pennsylvania State University: Physics - Gravitational physics - Waitlisted then rejected.
University of Rochester: Physics - HEP-th&ex - Rejected
Stanford University: Physics - HEP, High-Tc superconductivity - Rejected 2/24/2011 via email
Tulane University: Physics - Superconductivity, other condensed matter
University of California at Santa Barbara: Physics - HEP-th&ex - Rejected 2/28 via website
University of California at Santa Cruz: Physics - HEP-th&ex - Rejected
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: Physics - HEP, Superconductivity - Rejected via email February 22, 2011
University of Michigan: Physics - HEP-th&ex - Rejected
University of Minnesota at Minneapolis: Physics - HEP-th&ex - Rejected
University of Oregon: Physics - HEP-th&ex - Rejected
Vanderbilt University: Physics - HEP-th&ex Rejected
University of Washington at Seattle: Physics - HEP-th&ex - Rejected
University of Wisconsin at Madison: Physics - HEP, plasma physics, quantum computing Rejected February 2, 2011

______________________________________________
Undergrad Institution: Small engineering school in India.
Major(s): Instrumentation
Grad Institution: Astro MS in the US
GPA: 3.46
Type of Student: International, male

GRE Scores:
Q: 720 (2003), 740 (2010)
V: 600 (2003), 630 (2010)
W: 4.5 (2003), 4.0 (2010)
P: 590

Research Experience:
MS thesis in exoplanets
2 years research position in an excellent research environment
Several non-refereed publications, and a few second author refereed publications

Special Bonus Points: strong referrals

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: no formal physics education

Applying to Where:

UCSC - Astro - exgal - REJECTED
UCLA - Astro - planets - REJECTED
U Toronto - Astro - instrumentation + planets - REJECTED
U Washington - Astro - exgal, astrobio - REJECTED
U Arizona - LPL - planets - REJECTED
JHU - Astro - exgal, cosmo, planets
______________________________________________

At the end of the day my choice to not retake the PGRE hurt my application. Despite working on possibly some of the most exciting research projects in astronomy today, Universities could not get past the PGRE. If you are an international student and are interested in exoplanets get a good score there is no way around it.

I will now suck it up, buckle down and study - next year is my final attempt at grad school...

vv

Undergrad Institution: Small Liberal Arts in Virginia
Major(s): Physics, Mathematics
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 4.0
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: 1
Type of Student: International, male, Asian

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 700
W: 5.0
P: 990


Research Experience: First two years in cosmology at home school resulting in one 1st authored publication in P.R.D. (out of 2 authors). Third summer in quantum optics at a large public university with no publication.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: A lot of GPA related stuff

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 3 year tutor, 1 year TA
Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: scored 40 in Putnam

Special Bonus Points: probably none

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: probably none

Applying to Where:

Princeton - Physics - Astrophysics - Rejected (via email 2/17/2011)
MIT - Physics - Astrophysics - accepted (via email 2/2/2011) will attend!
Harvard - Physics - Computational Physics - Wait-listed (via email 2/18/2011)- accepted (via email 4/13/2011) Declined
Chicago - Physics - Undecided - accepted (via email 3/1/2011) Declined
Chicago - Astronomy - Astrophysics - accepted (via email 2/8/2011) Declined
Stanford - Physics - Astrophysics - Rejected (via email 2/24/2011)
Caltech - Physics - Astrophysics - accepted (via email 2/24/2011) Declined
UC Berkeley - Physics - Astrophysics - accepted (via email 3/10/2011) Declined
UCSB - Physics - Astrophysics - Rejected (via website 2/28/2011)
OSU - Physics - accepted (via email 2/15/2011) Declined
Perimeter - Physics - Masters - accepted (via email 3/3/2011) Declined

Cornell - Applied Physics - accepted (via postal mail 2/21/2011) Declined
Michigan - Applied Physics
Columbia - Applied Physics - accepted (via email 2/1/2011) Declined
Yale - Applied Physics - Rejected (via website 2/25/2011)
Rice - Applied Physics - accepted (via email 2/18/2011) Declined

UCSD - ECE (Applied Physics) - accepted w/o FA(via email 4/1/2011) Declined
UT Austin - ECE (Plasma/Quantum Electronics & Optics (PQE) Track) - accepted w/o FA(via email 4/12/2011) Declined
Toronto - ECE (Quantum Optics) - accepted (via email 1/24/2011) Declined

Undergrad Institution: Top 50 in the US; Big Physics Department
Major(s): Physics & Astronomy
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.87
Overall GPA: 3.59
Position in Class: idk..
Type of Student: International female but study in the US for undergrad

GRE Scores:
Q: 790
V: 340
W: 3.0 (obviously, I can’t write.. )
P: 770 (68%)

Research Experience:
1.5 year research assistant in astronomy; attended poster presentation in a CEDAR conference.
6 months (+ summer) research assistant at CERN, Geneva; gave talks in 2 CMS meetings.
1 year research assistant; working on my senior thesis.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean List for the past semesters (does that count?)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: RA

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: I guess(/hope) I have 3 excellent recommendation letters by recognized professors and 1 by a mentor that I closely worked with. And, I took 2 grad classes so far.

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

Applying to Where:

Boston U - Physics - HEP - accepted
U Wisconsin - Madison - Physics - HEP - rejected
U Chicago - Physics - HEP - rejected
U Maryland, College Park - Physics - HEP - accepted
U Oregon - Physics - HEP - accepted
U Washington - Physics - HEP
U California, Berkeley - Physics - HEP
U California, Santa Barbara - Physics - HEP - rejected
Brown U - Physics - HEP - rejected
Stony Brook - Physics - HEP
Stanford - Physics - HEP - rejected
Princeton - Physics - HEP - rejected
U Florida - Physics - HEP - accepted (official via email 2/2/2011)
Columbia - Physics - HEP

Undergrad Institution: UC__
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.58
Overall GPA: 3.59
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: Top 1/3 I'd say
Type of Student: WASP (J/K, Domestic, White, Male)

GRE Scores:
Q: 740, 80% (oops)
V: 620 (89%)
W: 4.5 (67%)
P: 730 (61%) doh



Research Experience: 1 Year undergraduate research, theoretical studies in a well-known biophysics group. 1 year post-bacc research, computer simulation of condensed matter systems, also independent, with well-known simulation group. No publications. Both at UC__.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Departmental citation for distinction in research, departmental academic honors, graduated with university honors.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for upper division class here. Was TA/tutor at community college I went to a while back.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I'm youngish?

Special Bonus Points: All of my recommenders are pretty well-known.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I went to community college while I was in high school, so imagine my whole application looks pretty abnormal.

Applying to Where:

Yale - Physics - CMT - Rejected 2-6
Stony Brook - Physics - CMT
Carnegie Mellon - Physics - CMT - Invited to Open House 2-17
Columbia - Physics - CMT
RPI - Physics - CMT - Accepted, 1-25
JHU - Physics - CMT Accepted, Invited to Open House
Georgia Tech - Physics - CMT- Accepted, 3-1
UCSD - Physics - CMT- Rejected 3-10
UCD - Physics - CMT- Rejected 3-1
UMD-College Park - Physics - CMT
Boston University - Physics - CMT
Penn State - Physics -CMT- Accepted, 3-11, w/small fellow

___________________________________________

Undergrad Institution: Asian. Ranked in the top two in my country and with name recognition across the region, but not well-known in physics abroad.
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.97
Overall GPA: 3.65 -- I didn't do as well as I should have in my freshman year, but managed to average ~3.8-3.9 in the past two and a half years
Length of Degree: 5 years
Position in Class: top
Type of Student: international male from a country with a very, very small applicant pool

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%)
V: 670 (95%)
W: 4.5 (67%)
P: 850 (80%)


TOEFL Total: 113/120 (iBT)

Research Experience: Two major research projects in all. Two years of theoretical research, with a thesis and two first-author publications in preparation. Second project on completely unrelated observational/computational field, but with no publications as yet. Lots of in-class independent papers and projects on such topics as numerical linear algebra, PDEs, classical mechanics, solitons, field theory, and photonic crystals.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: cum laude candidate, an award from a big government institution for my undergraduate research, several appearances in the Dean's list, and an undergraduate merit-based scholarship

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Organizer of physics seminar/lecture series

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I do some creative writing on the side (not that you can tell from my AWA score). Nothing relevant for physics though.

Special Bonus Points: Fairly large number of math and mathematical physics classes (e.g., differential geometry, PDEs, abstract algebra, and a lot of math methods classes) taken. Recommendations should be excellent. Also, my country doesn't send a lot of strong physics applicants to the States--the rate is like one strong app every 2-3 years.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I used to major in a non-science field for a year before switching to physics, which explains why it took me five (admittedly well-spent) years to finish my degree.

Applying to Where: (listed according to date of reply)

Yale - Physics - CMT - Rejected on 2/8 via email/app site
Wisconsin-Madison - Physics - CMT - Rejected on 2/10 via email
Johns Hopkins - Physics - CMT - Accepted on 2/11 via email - will attend!
Cornell - Physics - CMT - Rejected on 2/16 via email
Princeton - Physics - CMT - Rejected on 2/17 via email
Stanford - Physics - CMT - Rejected on 2/25 via email
UPenn - Physics - CMT - Rejected on 3/5 via email/app site
UCLA - Physics - HEP-th/ph - Rejected on 3/8 via email/app site
Harvard - Physics - CMT -Rejected on 3/11 via snail mail
Columbia - Physics - CMT - Rejected on 3/16 via email/app site
Michigan - Physics - HEP-th/ph - Rejected on 3/16 via email
UIUC - Physics - CMT - Rejected on 3/19 via email
UCSD - Physics - CMT - Rejected on 3/22 via email
Maryland - Physics - CMT Rejected on 4/4 via email, in response to inquiry

Undergrad Institution: University of Florida, 40,000 undergrads + 10,000 grads give or take
Major(s): Astronomy BS, Physics BA
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: 4.0 Astronomy, 3.3 Physics
Overall GPA: 3.5
Length of Degree: 4.5 years
Position in Class: Not sure
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 760 (84th)
V: 480 (57th)
W: 4.5 (67th)
P: ..... 510 (12th) *yuck*


Research Experience: Two years at undergraduate institution in Astronomy Department. Worked with Eric Ford for nearly 2 years running computer simulations on planets embedded in gaseous disks. Led to my Honor's thesis as well as three poster abstracts. Presented final results as poster at 217th Seattle, WA AAS meeting. Work will be submitted to MNRAS for publication consideration. Also had a co-author publication for helping observe transit of HD 80606b back in 2009

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Graduated Magna cum Laude in Astronomy (BS), and cum Laude in Physics (BA)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Paid job tutoring introductory astronomy students at UF. Volunteered often for public observing nights and did a lot of public outreach.

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

Special Bonus Points: Good recommenders: Eric Ford (on Kepler team), Anthony Gonzalez

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I made a really good CV with LaTeX if that matters, lol

Applying to Where:

Applied only to Astronomy/Astrophysics programs. Sorry about the ordering, this was the order in which I applied to these programs

University of Washington - Exoplanets Waitlisted 2/22 via e-mail inquiry
University of Texas @ Austin - Exoplanets Rejected 2/22 via e-mail inquiry
Ohio State University - Exoplanets Rejected 3/12 via website
University of Michigan - Galactic/Extragalactic Rejected 3/10 via e-mail
University of Illinois - Star Formation Rejected 2/23 via e-mail
Boston University - Galactic or Star Formation Rejected 3/11 via e-mail
University of Colorado @ Boulder - Galactic or Star Formation Rejected 3/16 via e-mail
Penn State University - Exoplanets Rejected 2/25 via post mail
University of Florida - Exoplanets Rejected 3/17 via e-mail

So, it's down to one school, and it would be a freaking miracle if I get in there. No grad school for me.

Undergrad Institution: Big State School (top 40 in Physics)
Major(s):Physics
Minor(s):Math
GPA in Major:3.8
Overall GPA: 3.6
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: near top
Type of Student: Domestic/male/non-minority

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 500
W:5.5
P: 840

Research Experience: all in Physics: 2 Summer REU's; also worked in 2 different labs at home university during school year

Applying to Where:
All Experimental Physics

**NOTE: With all acceptances below, good financial offers were included.

Indiana - accepted Declined
Michigan State - accepted Declined
U Colorado/Boulder - accepted Declined
U Washington Seattle - accepted Declined
U Wisconsin Madison - accepted Declined
U Illinois Urbana - accepted Declined
Yale - Rejected
Columbia - accepted WILL ATTEND !!!
U C Berkeley - Rejected
Stanford - Rejected

Undergrad Institution: Top not ivy though.Top 5 in CS.
Major(s): Dual degree in Physics & Computer Science
GPA in Major: Physics 3.2, Computer Science 3.1
Overall GPA: 3.2
Length of Degree: 4 years for both degrees combined
Type of Student: Domestic White, not born in the US though. Moved here around middle school.

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V:500
W:4
P:710, 60%


Research Experience: 1 year reading course/research during early years. 1 year in computational biophysics, no publication. 1 year in biophysics, leading to a publication in which I am the first author. The publication might not be ground breaking, but it contradicts other publications in that area using a new way of analyzing the data.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's List Freshman Year. Couple of random scholarships.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Still doing research in biophysics, might lead to a 2nd publication by graduation time permit.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I interned for a well known web company for the first two summers doing significant stuff (aka not doing btich work). I will be completing a dual degree in 4 years.

Special Bonus Points: 1st author on a research publication. Strong letter of recommendation from a famous biophysics group doing a particular study. I believe another strong letter from a professor I took a reading course with. I explained all my research experiences in detail in my SOP.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: A big conference presentation of my publication. Couple of little conference presentations. 3 grad classes, 1 grad class with a famous prof in that particular field.

Applying to Where:
Yale - Applied Physics
Brown University - Physics - Biophysics, condensed matter exp
UC Boulder - physics - condensed matter exp
Dartmouth - Physics - condensed matter
Rice University - Physics - Biophysics ACCEPTED FEB 9TH VIA EMAIL
UCSD - Physics - Biophysics
Dartmouth - Physics - condensed matter
NYU - condensed matter
University of Pittsburgh - Physics

To anyone reading this, can I get in anywhere?

Undergrad Institution: Rice University
Major(s): BS Physics, BA Electrical Engineering
GPA in Major: 3.2
Overall GPA: 3.22
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Above Average
Type of Student: Domestic male white

GRE Scores:
Q: 660 (94%)
V: 790 (91%)
W: 5.0 (84%)
P: 790 (72%)

Research Experience: Advanced Nanomaterials Research at IPICyT in San Luis Potosi; resulted in a paper that is currently under review for publication (coauthor).
Made a simulation and presented it to my peers of gas clouds orbiting a star using Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics and Adaptive Runge Kutta methods (Unpublished).
Developed firmware to test a new generation of FPGAs that are to be included in new Muon Port cards at the CMS for radiation hardness (Unpublished).
Currently working on a thesis dealing with predicted inefficiencies in the Read Out architecture of the Pixel Tracker in the CMS (in progress).

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Just some scholarships I got to cover parts of my undergraduate costs.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Fairly involved with ECs; mainly music stuff. Eagle Scout.

Special Bonus Points: Met with professors at University of Madison prior to applying. Connections to several professors/staff members that are heavily involved in the CMS project. First generation college student, let alone graduate student.

Applying to Where:

University of Wisconsin at Madison - Experimental HEP Accepted 1/25; Fully funded
University of Wisconsin at Madison - Engineering Physics Accepted 2/2
Northwestern - Applied Physics Accepted 2/18
University of Pittsburgh/Carnegie Mellon - Biophysics
UCLA - Experimental HEP
Caltech - Applied Physics
MIT - Applied Physics

Undergrad Institution: Small liberal arts, very small physics department
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 3.7
Overall GPA: 3.43
Length of Degree:6 years (part time student at a community college for two years and did not decide on a physics major till really late)
Position in Class: top and bottom (yep, our dept. was that small)
Type of Student: male, domestic, white, friendly, hard-working

GRE Scores:
Q: 740
V: 410
W: 5.0
P: 550

Research Experience: None

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: An award for being the most outstanding physics senior. But then again I was the only one graduating. Then again they could have given it to no one (as they told me).

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA in modern physics lab for one semester.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I was an athlete at a DI school, though I don't think I mentioned that in the applications.

Special Bonus Points: None.

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

Applying to Where:

Oregon State - physics
University of Idaho - physics - Accepted mid-December. No word on TA or RA though.
Portland State - applied physics
Montana State Bozeman - physics
University of Oregon Proffesional Masters (NOT the regular physics program) - applied physics

Playin' it as safe as possible. No Harvards or Stanfords here.
I'm undecided on what I'd like to research... probably condensed matter... I would like to get into photovoltaics and other clean energy applications.

Undergrad Institution: Caltech
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.9
Overall GPA: 3.8
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class:
Type of Student: Human/Domestic/50% Hispanic/50% white
GRE Scores:
Q: 790
V: 580
W: 4.5
P: 880 (84%)

TOEFL Total:

Research Experience: Short mech-e project before freshman year, summer at SLAC working on DECam optics, past summer in GW theory, continued in senior thesis, preparing work for publication

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Full-tuition scholarship at uni, Mellon Mays Fellowship

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for 1 term

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Self-taught GR, TAed order-of-magnitude physics class, took independent study class in GW theory

Special Bonus Points: Grad classes in GR and QFT.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I am a banana!

Applying to Where:

All in Gravitation/Cosmology/Theoretical Astrophysics
Berkeley - Physics Accepted 3/10 Will Attend
Maryland - Physics Accepted 2/16
Washington - Physics Accepted 1/31
Stanford - Physics Rejected 2/24
U Chicago - Physics Rejected 3/3
Georgia Tech - Physics Accepted 3/7
Cornell - Physics Accepted 2/10
MIT - Physics Accepted 2/8
UCSB - Physics Accepted 2/9
UCSD - Physics Accepted 2/8, unofficial by phone
Colorado - Physics Rejected 3/3, had a missing rec. letter, didn't bother to send it again
Harvard - Physics Rejected 3/8
Penn State - Physics Accepted 3/2
__________________________________________

It is finished! Near-perfect scores on the PGRE and GRE aren't strictly necessary to get into top schools. Evidence of self-motivation (be it in grades, self-study, or research) is far more important. Among the top 10 schools I applied to, I noticed I got into the ones to which I wrote in close detail about a prof's research that interested me, and rejected by the schools where I struggled to write in detail about the research at the school that interested me. The lesson is the research interest portion of your SoP can be the feather that tips the balance in your favor.

Undergrad Institution: UCSB
Major(s): Physics
GPA in Major: 3.98
Overall GPA: 3.98
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: 1st
GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 490
W: 3.0
P: 790 (70%)

TOEFL Total:

Research Experience: 3 full years in a hard condensed matter lab with 1 second author paper in JOPCM. 6 months as a post baccalaureate in a biophysics lab (50-60 hours per week)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: physics highest honors, UCSB highest honors, Outstanding Senior award, Physics research honors

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: salary staff researcher, 6 months in a biophysics lab; resident physics tutor at a local city college

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: awarded top poster presentation at sigma Xi research conf in 2007

Applying to Where:

Harvard-SEAS-Applied Physics Accepted via unofficial email(Feb 5 2011) -Offer Accepted
MIT-Physics Rejected via email (Feb 28 2011)
Stanford-Applied Physics Accepted via official email (Feb 14 2011) They sent out a batch email notifying several people-Offer Declined
Caltech-Applied Physics Rejected via email (Apr 4 2011)
Yale-Physics Accepted via email (Mar 11 2011)-Offer Declined

______________________________________________
Undergrad Institution: One of the top physics dept in Turkey
Major(s):EEE /& Physics
GPA in Major:4.00
Overall GPA:3.85
Length of Degree: 4

GRE Scores:
Q:800
V:350
W:3.5
P:990


TOEFL Total: 96

Research Experience: A small research about renormalization group theory

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Silver and Bronze Medal in the international physics olympiads.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:tutor,TA of one grad class and many UG classes.

Special Bonus Points:4grad class, one famous recommender


Applying to Where:

MIT - Phys - CMT -accepted via email on 2/2, 2.4k/month fellowship for the first 12 months, admitted
Harvard - Phys - CMT rejected by e-mail on 2/24
Caltech - Phys - CMexp rejected by e-mail on 2/24
Stanford - Phys - CMexp rejected by e-mail on 2/24
Princeton - Phys - CMexp rejected by e-mail on 2/17
Yale - Phys - CMexp accepted via website on 2/5, information to be mailed
UIUC - Phys - CMT withdraw
Maryland - Phys - CMT withdraw
Columbia - Phys - CMexp withdraw
Cornell - Phys - CMexp was withdraw, but rejected :S
Boston - Phys - CMexp withdraw

Undergrad Institution: Large-ish private, little physics reputation
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Math
GPA in Major: 3.9
Overall GPA: 3.9
Length of Degree: 3 Years
Position in Class: Top 10%-ish

Grad Institution: same as the first
Major(s): MS Physics
GPA in Major: 3.9
Overall GPA: 3.9
Length of Degree: 1.5 Years
Type of Student: run-of-the-mill variety

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 660
W: 4.5
P: 880


Research Experience:
Undergrad and grad research on light-matter interactions (experimental)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
the standard undergrad scholarships, honor rolls, etc.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
3-time senior-level optics TA
freshman-level physics tutor many times
high-intensity laser group member 2-3 years

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
experience with research/ conference presentations? don't know if getting a masters will help or hurt... all in all, i was just busy finishing my school and research quickly

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
took a two-year break from school after my freshman year (not counted in "Length of Degree" question)

Applying to Where:

Physics (AMO Experiment):
University of Colorado - Boulder -- Rejected 03/03 by e-mail
University of Arizona -- Accepted 02/18 by e-mail - $15K/yr + summerOffer Declined 04/06
University of Maryland - College Park -- Accepted 02/17 by e-mail - 2 year guaranteed RA/TA Offer Declined 03/14

Optics:
University of Rochester -- Accepted 02/17 by e-mail - $27K/yr Offer Declined 04/06
University of Arizona -- Accepted 02/07 by e-mail - $16K/yr + summer Offer Declined 04/06
University of Central Florida -- Accepted 02/10 by e-mail - $26K/yr + $4K/yr fellowship Offer accepted 04/06

It was a tough choice, but I'm confident in my decision.

Undergrad Institution: state school
Major(s): Physics, Math
GPA in Major: ~4
Overall GPA: ~4
Length of Degree: too long
Position in Class: among the top several
Type of Student: domestic female

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 580
W: 4.5
P: 72%


Research Experience: 4 years, 1 prof, with a few other profs overlapping. Refereed publications already out and more in progress. Conference poster.

Awards: Goldwater, some scholarships, a few other awards.

Pertinent Jobs or Activities research, outreach

Any Other Info That Might Matter: ?

Applying to Where: All physics, all experiment, subfields depended on school's offerings

MIT - Accepted
Berkeley - Accepted
UCSD - Accepted
UCLA - Accepted
UCSB - Accepted
Harvard - Accepted
Stanford - Accepted
Caltech - Accepted

NSF - awarded

Note: Brought back by popular request. BTW, a male classmate got into MIT with a PGRE in the low 60s. Another male classmate got into Cornell, full fellowship, with a score not much better. No joke. I don't understand the obsession with test scores. Those scores are only useful for the year in which people apply to grad school. Research/publications are useful for a lifetime. But, regardless, I originally thought mine was too low, even for experiment - definitely was not expecting to get in everywhere.

Good luck to everyone in later years.
______________________________________________

Comment removed.

i will reload my profile later on

Undergrad Institution: Small State School in New England, Small Physics Reputation
Major(s):Physics and Mathematics
Minor(s):None
GPA in Major:3.95
Overall GPA:3.94
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Top
Type of Student: Domestic, male, minority

GRE Scores:
Q:760
V:530
W:4.5
P:750

Research Experience: I did 4 full years of preparation and research in string cosmology, including a SURF and one summer spent at ICTP in Trieste, Italy. Working on an honors thesis now. No formal publication yet, maybe at the end of the year something will be written.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 6 various kinds of scholarships within my school, including a SURF grant and a study abroad grant, and a foreign language award in Latin (for what it's worth).

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Worked at BAE Systems Inc. in an optics lab for 3 summers before going to college. Member of SPS and PME. Worked at my university's math help center for two years.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:I'm writing a mathematics textbook on pure math for advanced high school students.

Special Bonus Points: I've taken several graduate level physics courses (general relativity and cosmology, intro to string theory, and grad quantum), and graduate level math courses (smooth manifolds and diff. geometry, intro to lie groups, logic, and grad topology). Getting a recommendation letter from the director of ICTP, who's research I am contributing to.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:I do a lot of independent reading outside of class, and random special projects: one on fluid mechanics, one on gauge symmetry.

Applying to Where:

All hep-th:

Harvard - Physics
MIT - Physics
Princeton - Physics
Penn - Physics
Brown - Physics
Cornell - Physics
Duke - Physics - Accepted 2/5
U. Chicago - Physics
U. Michigan - Physics
U. Wisconsin - Madison - Physics
Stanford - Physics
UC Berkeley - Physics
UC Santa-Barbara - Physics
Caltech - Physics

Undergrad Institution: Top 100 School in Midwest known for football
Major(s): Engineering Physics
Minor(s): Math
GPA in Major: 3.9ish
Overall GPA: 3.91
Length of Degree: 4 Years
Position in Class: Towards the top
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 790
V: 460
W: 4.0
P: 720


Research Experience:
2 REU's
Senior Research Project


Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points:


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

Applying to Where:

Colorado - Physics - CME Rejected via email 3/3
Colorado State - Physics - Optics - Accepted via Email 2/4 TA
Montana State - Physics - Optics Accepted via Email 3/2 TA/RA
Colorado School of Mines - Applied Physics - Optics/Solar Energy Withdrawn after they emailed me if I was still interested after 4/15 deadline
Rice - Applied Physics - CME Accepted via Email 2/18 TA + Fellowship
Arizona - Optical Sciences - Accepted via Email 2/7 RA + Fellowship


Maryland - Electrical Engineering - Optics & Photonics Accepted via Email 2/10 TA
Colorado - Electrical Engineering - Optics & Photonics Accepted via Email 2/18 TA + Fellowship ACCEPTING!
Colorado State - Electrical Engineering - Optics & Photonics - Invited to visit 3/4

post no more exist.

Undergrad Institution: Top Russian
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: N/A
Overall GPA: 4.6 / 5.0
Length of Degree: 5 years
Position in Class: near top
Type of Student: International, male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 390
W: 3.5
P: 990


TOEFL Total: 103

Research Experience: 3 research projects in experimental AMO (laser spectroscopy), 1 decent publication.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: no

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: spent some time as a physics teacher

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: don't see any

Special Bonus Points: some courses were actually grad-level

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Spent 2 years after finishing school in non-acadimic environment - worked in some engineering company. It weakens my application.

Applying to Where:

UC Berkeley - Physics - AMO (exp.) - Rejected via Email 3/17/11
U Chicago - Physics - AMO (exp.) - Application withdrawn
Yale - Physics - AMO (exp.) - Rejected via website check 2/7/11
U Michigan - Physics - AMO (exp.) - Accepted via Email 2/3/11, part. fellowship + part. TA - Offer declined
Ohio State - Physics - AMO (exp.) - Accepted via Email 2/14/11, TA $1900/m - Offer declined
U Colorado Boulder - Physics - AMO (exp.) - Accepted via Email 2/7/11, TA or RA - Will attend
U Rochester - Physics - AMO (exp.) - Accepted via Email 2/28/11, TA $18,180 for 9 months - Offer declined
Rice - Physics - AMO (exp.) - Application withdrawn
Colorado State - Physics - AMO (exp.) - Accepted via Email 1/12/11, TA $1725/m for 9 months - Offer declined

Undergrad Institution: Small Liberal Arts College: Many alumni have attended top ten grad schools
Major(s):Physics
GPA in Major: around 3.5
Overall GPA: around 3.5
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Good
Type of Student: International, male
GRE Scores:
Q: 780
V: 660
W: 4
P: 870 (83%)

Research Experience: 2 years of biomedical research post college. 3 summers of REUs (Physics). One non first author publication.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: many school and GPA/research related awards

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Research Technician, Physics Tutor and TA

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: GPA fell by a lot in one year-explainable circumstance.

Special Bonus Points: 1 Grad Class

Applying to Where:
Yale- Physics-Biophysics-Accepted 2/4/2011 by website check
Brown - Physics - Biophysics-Accepted 2/16/2011 by website check
Harvard - Biophysics Program-Rejected by mailed letter 2/6/2011
UI Urbana-Champaign - Biophysics and Computational Biology

Undergrad Institution: A Canadian university
Major(s):Physics
Minor(s):None
GPA in Major:3.95
Overall GPA:3.94
Length of Degree:4
Type of Student: Chinese, Male

GRE Scores:(best attempt)
Q:800
V:710
W:4.0
P:990


TOEFL Total:Didn't take

Research Experience: Summer after my third year, research course in fourth year

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: GPA related stuff in my school

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: None

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:None

Special Bonus Points: None.

Applying to Where:

Stanford - Physics - CME - Admitted Feb.23 via email
Chicago - Physics - CME - Rejected March.3 via email
UIUC - Physics - CME
Michigan - Physics - CME - Admitted Jan.22 via email
Yale - Physics - CME - Admitted Feb.4 via website
Columbia - Physics - CME
Washington@Seattle - Physics - CME-Emailed me that I had been recommended by the department but needed to mail them a statement of financial ability
Toronto - Physics - CME - Admitted and Direct PhD entry March.9 via email
UBC - Physics - CME - Admitted Feb.18 via email
Cornell - Applied Physics - CME - Admitted Feb.22 via postal mail

Undergrad Institution: Ivy, decent reputation in physics?
Major(s):Physics, biochemistry
Minor(s):
GPA in Major:3.98
Overall GPA:3.92
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: Near top but definitely not number one
Type of Student: White male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%)
V: 670 (95%)
W: 5.0 (84%)
P: 890 (85%)


TOEFL Total: Not taken

Research Experience: one summer in synthetic bio, one summer in chromatin remodeling biochemistry, one summer and 2+ school years in condensed matter

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Goldwater, nifty school awards

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Organic chemistry tutor, lots of other stuff that doesn’t matter

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: one 3rd author paper, one in review

Special Bonus Points: The publication is with a Nobel laureate coauthor

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: My condensed matter PI writes killer recs

Applying to Where:
Stuff that no one will care about

UCSF – Tetrad – synthetic biology - interview 2/4, admitted 2/9 with $29,500 fellowship declined offer
Scripps – Biophysics track – single molecule biophysics - interview offer declined to interview
UPenn – Biochemistry and molecular biophysics – single molecule biophysics interview 1/28, admitted 2/2 with $30,000 fellowship declined offer
Caltech – Biochemistry and molecular biophysics – single molecule biophysics interview 2/3, admitted 2/18 with $30,000 Rosen fellowship declined offer
Princeton – Molecular Biology – single molecule biophysics - interview offer declined to interview

Stuff people might care about
Stanford – Biosciences – Biophysics interview 3/3, admitted 3/10 with $34,200 Stanford Graduate Fellowship,declined offer
Berkeley – Biophysics – Optical imaging interview 2/16, admitted 2/24 with $29,500 fellowship declined offer
Harvard – Biophysics – neuroscience, single molecule biophysics admitted 1/25 with $31,500 fellowship,Will attend
Duke – Medical physics – radiation therapy - invited to interview with finalist for Chancellor's scholarship declined to interview
Harvard-MIT Health Science and Technology (HST) – Medical Engineering/Medical Physics – single molecule biophysics phone interviews 2/24, 2/26 and 2/28; admitted 3/9,declined offer

Stuff people will care about:
MIT – physics - biophysics admitted 2/2 with $2400 per month fellowship,declined offer
NSF Fellowship - Rejected 4/5

Undergrad Institution: Big State School, 25-50 in physics
Major(s):Math, Mechanical Engineering, Physics
Minor(s):History
GPA in Major:3.87
Overall GPA:3.4
Length of Degree: 5 (Are you graduating after 3, 4, or 5 years?)
Position in Class: near top (No numbers needed, but are you top? near top? average? struggling?)
Type of Student: domestic white male (Domestic/International, male/female, minority?)

GRE Scores:
Q: 790 (91)
V: 460 (52)
W: 4.0 (45)
P: 650 (44)


Research Experience:
Summer REU program at a National Observatory in Instrumentation
Data reduction and imaging analysis of VLA observations

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: (Within your school or outside?)
Tau Beta Pi
Pi Tau Sigma

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
I'll just include the next 3 things in here. I'll be graduating with 2 degrees, a B. Sci in Mechanical Engineering and a B. Sci in Physics and Math, which is why I need the minor in history interestingly enough. My cumulative GPA is low because of general education courses taken my first few years when I worked 30 hours a week (this should have been mentioned in my letters, it was unrelated to my SoP and was advised not to put it in). I have a 3.74 cumulative GPA the past 108.5 credits. I'm going to graduate with 192 credits. I've used 5 different imaging/data reduction packages through my research and another 3 through course work. I observed using a research grade telescope during my summer REU

Applying to Where: All in some sort of Radio Astronomy or Instrumentation combination (alphabetically)

Arizona - Rejected
Berkeley - Rejected
Columbia - Rejected
Hawaii - Accepted Declined
Maryland - Rejected
New Mexico - Accepted Declined
Rutgers - Wait List
TAMU - Withdrew Application
UMass - Accepted Attending!
Virginia - Wait List
Wisconsin - Rejected
___________________________________________________________________________________
Final choice was UMass for reasons posted in other thread.

Undergrad Institution: Top 10 in China
Major(s): Atmospheric Sciences
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: Something near 3.0
Overall GPA: 3.1
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Average or below average
Type of Student: International male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 380
W: 3.5
P: <10% (2009) 710/57% (2010)

TOEFL Total: 93

Research Experience: Independent research since high school, three papers respectively at AJ, PASP and JAS as 1st/only author; 1 poster at AAS. All result from independent research without an advisor.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: A few national awards/honors.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: PI of two small research projects.

Special Bonus Points: Independent research?

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Non-ideal records and GRE scores.

Applying to Where:

>> TIER 1
U Hawaii at Manoa - Astronomy - Observational Astronomy and Astrometeorology
U Arizona - LPL - Solar System [REJECTED Feb 9 via E-mail]
U Texas at Austin - Astronomy - Observational Astronomy [REJECTED Mar 8 via E-mail inquiry]

>> TIER 2
U Western Ontario - Astronomy/Planetary Sciences - Near-Earth Objects (Master's) [INTERVIEWED Feb 10][ACCEPTED Feb 15 via E-mail, $31,800/year] WILL ATTEND!
U Florida - Astronomy - Observational Astronomy [REJECTED Mar 18 via E-mail]
Arizona State U - Astronomy - Solar System
Case Western Reserve U - Astronomy - Observational Astronomy [INTERVIEWED Jan 28]

>> TIER 3
UC Riverside - Astronomy - Observational Astronomy
U Utah - Astronomy - Observational Astronomy [ACCEPTED Feb 8 via E-mail, $20,000/RA or $15,000/TA w/ tuition] OFFER DECLINED Mar 15
U Central Florida - Planetary Sciences - Solar System

>> Safeties
Wesleyan U - Astronomy - Observational Astronomy (Master's)
U Kansas - Astronomy - Observational Astronomy

Note (Mar 19) I really looked forward to go to Hawaii, but after waiting for over two weeks for their respond to my application inquiry I choosed Western (as most likely it would be a rejection from Hawaii). So you see that GRE/GPA are important, even you can work (mostly) all by yourself to a few publications on premier journals. After all, I am happy with the Western acceptance. They have a nice program that fit my academic interest well. Good luck to everybody on getting in his/her dream school.

Undergrad Institution: Small Unknown
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Mathematics
GPA in Major: 3.98
Overall GPA: 3.94
Length of Degree: 5 Years
Position in Class: Top
Type of Student: Domestic Non-minority Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%)
V: 660 (94%)
W: 4.0 (45%)
P: 950 (92%)



Research Experience:
One summer REU in atomic physics. No publications. Gave a presentation at the Undergraduate Research Symposium at the APS Division of Laser Science meeting.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Various scholarships, including full tuition. School nominee for Barry Goldwater Scholarship, but no honorable mention or anything like that.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
Tutored physics for two years.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
Two time school integration bee winner.

Special Bonus Points:
Unlikely

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
Spent one year as an electrical engineering major at a different school than the one I will graduate from. I then transferred. Not sure if that matters too much.

Applying to Where:

Colorado-Boulder - Physics - AMO - Accepted 2/18 by email - TA + $5k signing bonus declined offer
Cornell - Physics - CME - Accepted 2/7 by email - $25k 9 month fellowship Will Attend!
Maryland-CP - Physics - AMO - Accepted 2/16 by email - TA + $25k over 4 yr declined offer
MIT - Physics - AMO - Rejected 2/28 by email
Nebraska-Lincoln - Physics - AMO - Accepted 2/8 by email - TA + $8k fellowship declined offer
Rice - Physics - AMO - Accepted 2/17 - email declined offer
SUNY-Stony Brook - Physics - AMO - Accepted 2/17 by email - TA + fellowship declined offer

Undergrad Institution: Private, technology institution, more reputable for engineering
Major(s): Astrophysics, Math
Minor(s): n/a
GPA in Major: 3.67
Overall GPA: 3.60
Length of Degree: 4 yrs
Position in Class: Probably top 10% in sciences
Type of Student: Domestic, white female

GRE Scores:
Q: 770 (87%)
V: 450 (49%)
W: 5.0 (84%)
P: 630 (39%)


Research Experience: One internship with LSST collaboration, one REU with FORCAST instrumentation team. Two years of research on optimizing telescope observational parameters. Publication-to-be on LSST simulations.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's list

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: SPS/SEDS officer

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Presented 3 posters at 2 AAS meetings

Special Bonus Points: One recommender knows every scientist ever...

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

Applying to Where: All in Astronomy/Astrophysics, focusing in Observational/Instumentation and Star/Planetary Formations

University of Colorado Boulder - ACCEPTED 2/2 by email, 2/4 by FedEx, $20k/9mo TA/RA + fellowship - WILL ATTEND!!!! 4/11
URochester - ACCEPTED 2/14 by email, $20k/9mo TA/RA + summer position $4k/summer - declined 3/28
UMichigan Ann Arbor - INTERVIEW via skype on 2/16 , WAITLISTED 3/6 - withdrew 4/14
Penn State - WAITLISTED 3/23 (via email inquiry) - withdrew 4/14
Cornell University - WAITLISTED 3/23 (via email inquiry) - withdrew 4/14
UWashington - WAITLISTED 2/18 - withdrew 4/14
UMass - WAITLISTED 2/16 - withdrew 4/14
UW Madison - WAITLISTED 3/24 - withdrew 4/14
UCSC - REJECTED 3/18
UChicago - REJECTED 3/17


NSF - Honorable Mention 4/5
______________________________________________

Undergrad Institution: Australian, only strong in a few very niche areas of physics
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Maths
GPA in Major:
Overall GPA: 7.0/7.0
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: Near top
Type of Student: International (Australian), white, male

GRE Scores:
Q: 780 (89%)
V: 460 (52%)
W: 4.5 (63%)
P: 800 (73%)

TOEFL Total: N/A

Research Experience: 2 years at home university. 2 conference papers, 1 PRD, 2 works in progress.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Miscellaneous internal awards/scholarships.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Fair bit of TA.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: Have done some equivalents to grad classes. One reccommender a collaborator from England.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: 1st PGRE attempt was pretty bad.

Applying to Where:
Harvard - Physics - Rejected by mail marked 03/01/11
Caltech - Physics - Rejected by email 03/15/11
Chicago - Physics - Accepted by email 03/01/11 Attending
Cornell - Physics - Rejected by email 02/16/11
UCSB - Physics - Rejected by email 02/28/11
Columbia - Physics - Rejected by email/website 03/15/11
Yale - Physics - Accepted by email/website 02/04/11 Declined
Maryland - Physics
Washington - Physics
UCLA - Physics - Rejected by email 03/08/11
SUNY Stony Brook - Physics - Accepted by email 03/04/11 Declined
Brown - Physics - Accepted by email/website 02/15/11 Declined

Undergrad Institution: small private university, no national reputation
Major(s): physics
Minor(s): astronomy, math, computer science
GPA in Major: 3.78
Overall GPA: 3.80
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: near top
Type of Student: domestic white female

GRE Scores:
Q: 770 (87%)
V: 480 (57%)
W: 4.5 (67%)
P: 580 (27%)

Research Experience: Research for 2.5 years at my university, REU, 2 AAS posters, paper in prep

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Goldwater Scholar, couple of school awards

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA, SPS President, Sigma Pi Sigma President

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I was very involved during my undergraduate (community service and otherwise). I didn't mention much of it in my applications although I think one of my recommenders may have

Special Bonus Points: Strong recs, one recommender well known

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: On the downside, one of my recommenders submitted several rec letters fairly late. Also, my awful PGRE score...

Applying to Where:
UCLA - Astronomy - Accepted via email 2/9/11
Caltech - Astronomy - Rejected via email 3/25/11
UChicago - Astronomy - Waitlisted 3/23/11 - Application withdrawn 3/25/11
Indiana - Astronomy - Application withdrawn 2/17/11
Maryland - Astronomy - Accepted via email 2/16/11
Michigan - Astronomy - Rejected via email 3/11/11
Ohio State - Astronomy - Rejected via email 3/14/11
UT Austin - Astronomy - Rejected in response to inquiry 3/2/11
Yale - Astronomy - Rejected via website 2/3/11

Fellowships:
NSF - Rejected via email 4/5/11

In hindsight, my application list was REALLY risky considering my PGRE score. I probably should have added some better safety schools.

Undergrad Institution: Small liberal arts college
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.85
Overall GPA: 3.78
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Top
Type of Student: Domestic female

GRE Scores:
Q: 780
V: 560
W: 4.5
P: 570



Research Experience: 3 years of research in optics at my school, 6 months of acoustics research, one publication (2nd author out of 3), and a publication in review (2nd author out of 3), talk at Acoustical Society of America conference
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: President's list, School awards/scholarships in physics, best student paper award for ASA conference talk

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: SPS president, physics tutor

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: There have been a lot of small articles in my local papers about my research recently, although I have no idea if this would actually help

Special Bonus Points: One of my recommenders went to Rochester. I believe my recommendation letters will be very good. Female

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

Applying to Where:

University of Arizona - Optical Sciences - Accepted 2/7 10k fellowship and 8k RA - Declined 3/29
University of Rochester - Institute of Optics - Accepted 2/17 27k fellowship + 2k supplemental fellowship - Will Attend!
Georgia Tech - Physics - Quantum optics- Accepted 3/3 23k TA - Declined 3/14
University of Michigan - Physics - Optics - Rejected 4/12

Undergrad Institution: International(Asia but not China or India) , No reputation when compare with the world but its a best in my country
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Maths
GPA in Major: 3.8
Overall GPA: 3.81/4
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: 2nd best results
Type of Student: International, male

GRE Scores:
Q: 740 (80%)
V: 310 (10%)
W: 2.0 (1%)
P: 840 (79%)

TOEFL Total: 85

Research Experience: 1 years at home university. 2


Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Decent recommenders.

Special Bonus Points: 2nd best result in physics department

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: 1st PGRE attempt was not good.

Applying to Where:
University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Accept 02/15/2011 Stipend $20304 for 12 Months. Visit schedule on 03/03/2011. Selected to bridging program with $3000 stipend)
Iowa State University (Accept 02/23/2011 Stipend $1600 per Months. Open house on 2nd of April)
University of New Mexico
Georgia Tech
University of Tennessee-Knoxvile

Undergrad Institution: (Big State School, rising astro dept, middle physics)
Major(s): Astronomy
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.63
Overall GPA: 3.66
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: ?
Type of Student: domestic, average carbon based male lifeform
GRE Scores:
Q: 760
V: 510 ( sorry if i don't know the 18th century term for hat)
W: 4.5
P: Lets just say the percentile was < 10%



Research Experience: 2 years of research at my school, mostly star formation (radio specialty), ~20th or so author on one submitted paper, working on another one to be submitted soon (1st author)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's Lists, Research Scholarship

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for intro astro classes, taught summer middle school astro classes, planetarium assistant

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Lots of volunteer and public outreach

Special Bonus Points:

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

Applying to Where:

All in Astronomy, Focus: Star Formation / Radio Astronomy or Instrumentation

Colorado @ Boulder - Rejected via email 3/7
Maryland - Waitlisted 3/8 via email inquiry (next decision in 2 weeks)
Virginia - Rejected via email 1/22
Michigan - Rejected via email 3/10
Wisconsin - Rejected via website 2/23 & postal mail
Texas A&M - Physics Rejected via website 3/25
Rochester Institute of Technology - Incomplete app due to missing LOR...
Arizona State
Florida - Rejected via email on St Patrick's Day
Boston - Rejected via email 2/23 & postal mail

Undergrad Institution: Top 20 private university
Major(s): Physics and mathematics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.7
Overall GPA: 3.5
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Not sure, but probably somewhere in the top quartile
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 620
W: 4.5
P: 770



Research Experience: 1 semester working on experimental HEP at home institution, followed by a summer at a state school doing computer programming for the CMS group. 2 years in theoretical astrophysics working on a project, currently publishing a first author paper on it and it will be my senior thesis.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Sigma Pi Sigma Physics Honor Society
Pi Mu Epsilon Mathematics Honor Society
Some university research grants

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
Volunteer at a planetarium for a summer.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
I should have gotten some solid recommendations. The Professors know me and like me, and I've had the chance to impress them a time or two.

Special Bonus Points: One professor is fairly well known in the field, but I'm not sticking with that specialty in grad school most likely. Also part of a special intensive science program at my undergraduate institution.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
I wasn't very specific about my future research interests on my application since I'm not entirely sure. The interests listed were implied in my SOP but I also was suggestive I would be interested in other fields depending on the school.

Applying to Where:

Caltech - Physics - Cosmology/Astroparticle/HEP Rejected
Harvard - Physics - Cosmology/Astroparticle/HEP Rejected
Princeton - Physics - Cosmology/Astroparticle/HEP Rejected
U Chicago - Physics - Cosmology/Astroparticle/HEP Rejected
Columbia - Physics - Cosmology/Astroparticle/HEP Rejected
Yale - Physics - Cosmology/Astroparticle/HEP Rejected
Perimeter Inst. - Physics - Cosmology/Astroparticle/HEP Rejected
Michigan Ann Arbor - Physics - Cosmology/Astroparticle/HEP waitlisted
Wisconsin Madison - Physics - Cosmology/Astroparticle/HEP Accepted
Stony Brook - Physics - Cosmology/Astroparticle/HEP Accepted to masters only
NYU - Physics - Cosmology/Astroparticle/HEP Rejected
Boston University - Physics - Cosmology/Astroparticle/HEP withdrew
Stanford - Biophysics - Unstated Rejected

Undergrad Institution: Large state school, not great reputation in physics, good optics & engineering
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Math
GPA in Major: 3.67
Overall GPA:3.76
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Near top
Type of Student: Domestic female

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 630
W: 4.5
P: 690

Research Experience:
2 years research with a professor in nanoelectronics
Honors thesis
Various posters including 1 APS poster, giving a talk this March
No published papers, 2 in progress as first author

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
National Merit, etc.
Dean's List etc.
Honors in the Major and University Honors

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
SPS Treasurer

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
Lots of community service & outreach with the physics dept

Special Bonus Points:

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

Applying to Where:

SMART
NDSEG

(All CME/Nano where possible)
UC Berkeley - Physics Rejected via email 3/18
Cornell - Applied Physics Rejected via email 3/14
UT Austin - Physics Accepted via email 3/2 Will Attend!
SUNY Stony Brook - Physics Rejected via email 3/19
Rice - Applied Physics [Application Withdrawn]
Florida State - Physics Accepted via email 2/17 Offer Declined
UC Riverside - Physics Accepted via email 2/9 Offer Declined
UCF - Physics Accepted via email 2/2 Offer Declined

______________________________________________

Undergrad Institution: Newly established private university, not famous worldwide.
Major(s): Materials Engineering
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: N/A
Overall GPA: A- overall average
Length of Degree: 5 years (that's the standard length)
Position in Class: Near top
Type of Student: Maybe a minority among internationals Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 780 (89%)
V: 560 (78%)
W: 4 (45%)
P: 630 (39%)


TOEFL Total: 108

Research Experience: Worked for a semester on polymeric nanofibers (part of a senior thesis), some experimental work in the following summer. 1 conference paper and 1 conference presentation were the result.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Does graduation with honors count?

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Volunteered for 3 months at my university as a part-time research assistant.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: None

Special Bonus Points: mehhh

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I was told before that taking 5 years to complete a BS degree is frowned upon, but it's the standard length here.

Applying to Where:

Astronomy: Observational Astronomy, Cosmology

NYU - Physics - Astrophysics - rejected 4/7 by email
Brown - Physics - rejected 2/16 via website
UC Riverside - Physics and Astronomy - rejected 4/7 by email
Columbia - Astronomy - rejected 4/7 via website
Maryland - Astronomy - rejected 3/20 via website
Penn State - Astronomy - rejected 3/14 by regular mail (dated 2/16)
Pittsburgh - Physics and Astronomy
Drexel - Physics
Delaware - Physics and Astronomy
Toronto - Astronomy and Astrophysics

Materials Science and Engineering (MSE): Nanotechnology, Bioengineering, and Physics of Materials

Yale - Mechanical Engineering - rejected 3/1 via website
Boston - MSE
CUNY - Chemical Engineering
Cornell - MSE - rejected 2/9 by email
UPenn - MSE
Harvard - Applied Physics - rejected 3/23 by regular mail
Johns Hopkins - MSE

Undergrad Institution: New rising school in Asia, lots of funding and hiring lots of good profs, but no big reputation yet, first batch in physics
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Math
GPA in Major: 3.98, 4(master-ongoing)
Overall GPA: 3.98, 4(master-ongoing)
Length of Degree: 4 Years
Position in Class: No 1 (by GPA)
Type of Student: International male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 500 (expected)
W: 3.5 (damn)
P: 930 (didnt prepare well)


Research Experience:
UG: Atmospheric phys, supervisor from MIT, 1 student conference talk
UG: Spectroscopy, supervisor is senior in Raman techniques, 1 conference poster (2nd author) that get best poster award, 1 publication (2nd author) in okay journal.
UG and master: laser, 1 major conf. presentation, 1 submitted publication in opt. expr. , some connection to MIT

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Shell petroleum award
Lots of award for high GPA
Full scholarship + stipend during UG
Personal award from the President (as in the country's president) for achievement in physics olympiad (gold & bronze)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
Research officer after graduation
Do some voluntary work in mentoring middle school students

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: Extremely strong recom letter from supervisor (from MIT and has good track there), Before admission process begin, went for a conference and meet lots of potential advisors in the school i applied to

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: From 3rd world country? Interesting SOP?

Applying to Where:

MIT (EECS, EE) - Admitted via email in 10 Feb 2011! - accept offer
Stanford (appl. phys) - Admitted via email in 15 Feb 2011! - decline -
Cornell (appl. phys)Admitted via email in 26 Feb 2011! - decline -
Georgia Tech (phys) Admitted via email in 3 March 2011!- decline -
Univ of Rochester, Institute of Optics - Admitted via email in 23 Feb 2011! - decline

Undergrad Institution: Big name technical university, not much research name I think.
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 8.2/10
Overall GPA: Same
Length of Degree: 5 years
Position in Class: Near Top
Type of Student: Indian Male, International

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 640
W: 2.5
P: 980


TOEFL Total: 114

Research Experience:
1. Two relevant projects in the field (Quantum Information)
2. Various other projects
3. No Publications


Awards/Honors/Recognitions: One good science scholarship, national level

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: None
Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Cannot think of any

Special Bonus Points: One good recommender

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
Been working in same field for three years now

Applying to Where:

U Waterloo Physics - Quantum Information (accepted 03/10)
U Maryland Physics - Quantum Information (rejected 03/14)
GaTech Physics - Quantum Information Waitlist - Withdrawn
USC Physics - Quantum Information (accepted 02/11 - Two year fellowship) Will Attend!

Undergrad Institution: a relatively well known university in Israel
Major(s): Physics, Math
Minor(s): None
Overall GPA: 97/100
Length of Degree: 3 years
Position in Class: Top
Type of Student: International Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 640
W: 4.0
P: 920


TOEFL Total: 113

Research Experience: Two undergrad research projects, one in quantum information and the other in GRBs. An undergrad thesis but no publications.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: A few university excellence prizes.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Nothing worth noting other than being a research assistant.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Nothing I can think of.

Special Bonus Points: A few math grad courses.

Applying to Where:

Harvard - Physics - General theory
Princeton - Physics - General theory -rejected by e-mail 2/17
Yale - Physics - Quantum information - accepted by mail 2/4/11
CalTech - Physics - General theory
Berkeley - Physics - General theory
Stanford - Physics - General theory - -rejected by e-mail 2/24

Undergrad Institution: Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS)- Pilani, reputed for engineering in India, unknown for Physics
Major(s):Dual degree in Physics (MSc) + Electrical and Electronics Engineering (BE)
Minor(s):-
GPA in Major:8.83/10
Overall GPA: 7.57/10
Length of Degree: 5 years
Position in Class: -
Type of Student: International, Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 780
V: 560
W: 4.5
P: 890 (85%)


TOEFL Total: 110

Research Experience: 1 Published paper in Physical Review D (1st author), 1 paper accepted for publication in Physical Review D (2nd author), 1 paper in review (single author), significant number of projects in undergrad, summer internship and undergraduate thesis at Raman Research Institute (RRI), India.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Teaching assistantship (BITS), Visiting Student Fellowship (RRI), National Finalist of the Intel Science Talent Discovery Fair.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for course 'Particle Physics', teaching experience at various organizations on social/ development work and NGOs (if that counts).

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Selected participant of the Science and Education Research Council (SERC) Preparatory and Main schools in Theoretical High Energy Physics- organized primarily for PhD students.

Special Bonus Points: One recommender also collaborator.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Quite a few grad courses. (Black Hole Physics, QFT, Group Theory, GR, Standard Model, LHC Physics etc)

Applying to Where:

Princeton University - Physics - HEP Theory Rejected via e mail 2/17/11
MIT - Physics - HEP Theory Rejected via e mail 3/1/11
Harvard University - Physics - HEP Theory Rejected via postal mail 3/11/11
UCSB - Physics - Gravity Theory Rejected via web site 3/1/11
University of Chicago - Physics - HEP Theory Rejected via e mail 3/3/11
UIUC - Physics - HEP Theory Rejected via e mail 3/18/11
University of Michigan- Ann Arbor - Physics - HEP Theory Rejected via e mail 3/16/11
University of Maryland- College Park - Physics - Gravity Theory Rejected via e mail 4/7/11
UT Austin - Physics - HEP Theory Rejected via web site 5/13/11
UCLA - Physics - HEP Theory Rejected via web site 3/8/11
University of Pennsylvania - Physics - HEP Theory Rejected via web site 3/4/11
SUNY Stony Brook - Physics - HEP Theory Wait Listed via e mail 3/23/11 Accepted (via e mail) to the MA program without funding. 4/6/11 Will attend
Penn State University - Physics - Gravity Theory Rejected via e mail 5/3/11
USC - Physics - HEP Theory Rejected via e mail 4/7/11

Looks like I will be applying again for a PhD as I work on my Master's at Stony Brook.

A note to future international applicants:
1. A good GPA and famous recommenders are highly important.
2. Good research experience and publications would definitely help but the lack of (1) would hinder your chances greatly.

Undergrad Institution: Top 5 undergraduate school in China, & top 5 in physics.
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): English
GPA in Major: N/A
Overall GPA: 3.75
Length of Degree: 4 Years
Position in Class: Top 10%
Type of Student: Asian, quite handsome type.

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 610
W: 3.5
P: 840 (lowest among Chinese I think)

TOEFL: 111/120

Research Experience:
Zhejiang Univ- The Distribution of Density and Temperature of Plasma in Linear Plasma Device (By using probing method)
Nanjing Univ- National graduate summer school for astronomy and astrophysics

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
One national scholarship for academic performance and several awards from competitions in Zhejiang University

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
handsome

Applying to Where:

Top 10:
Cannot handle me.

Top 20:
Cannot handle me.

Top 50:
Stony Brook-astronomy-rej
Duke-nonlinear dynamics-rej
UMN-cosmology-rej
MSU-astronomy-rej
BU-astronomy
ASU-astrophysics
PSU-astronomy
Rice-astronomy-rej

Top 100:
NCSU- cosmology- waiting list
Syracuse-cosmology
Norte Dame-astronomy- accepted 19,000 TAw
Vanderbilt-astronomy-rej
UCR-astronomy-rej
UNL-astronomy- waiting list
Upitt-astronomy-rej
LSU-astronomy-waiting list
UHM-astronomy-rej

Canada
Univ of Victoria-astronomy accepted 23,000 fellow