Thank you and all the best.HappyQuark wrote: I got an email from their admissions department that said something along the lines of
"Dear HappyQuark,
Following is a copy of a letter that will be mailed to you. Please contact me if you have any questions. We look forward to hearing from you.
____________________________________________________
Dear Happy Quark,
Congratulations! I am pleased to inform you that the Admissions Committee of the Department of Physics and Astronomy has recommended to the Graduate Admissions Office of the University of Utah that you be admitted to our graduate program, beginning Fall Semester 2011. The Graduate Admissions Office should soon formally notify you of your admission to the University of Utah.
"
They then go on to detail a bit about funding, research and TA information, qualifier exam info and suggest that you visit their open house and offer $400 in compensation for your travel expenses, which so far as I can tell is pretty generous in comparison to most other programs.
2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Yeah it's quite a lot isn't, not sure why. A lot more than the other schools (ignoring special fellowships - but even with those you can hardly get as much). Harvard is 2500, Pton is 2300.tradster wrote:Damn it. Should have applied to physics instead. They pay you guys more bucks than us.negru wrote:Oh I see. Unless I got something wrong it looks like $2800 a month. Apparently some combination of TA and RA.tradster wrote: The thing is that you are *supposed* to get into both Stanford and Berkeley. If you look at their visiting days (Stanford: 4/5-6, Berkeley: 4/7-8), everything will make sense.
By the way, what kind of financial package are they offering you in Stanford physics?
Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
in my impression palo alto is very very expensive to live in
Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Anyone have a idea about a stipend of , say, 32K in Palo Alto vs 26K in Pasadena?
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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Those are comparable. Nice of Stanford to make up the difference though; I've heard that Berkeley isn't as generous, and UC Irvine certainly shafted in their offer (22K/9months for orange county????)tradster wrote:Anyone have a idea about a stipend of , say, 32K in Palo Alto vs 26K in Pasadena?
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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
After converting the stipend to the cost of living (courtesy of http://www.bestplaces.net/) of where I'm living now:cryingsun wrote:in my impression palo alto is very very expensive to live in
Cornell $2549 > Harvard $1454 > Columbia $1451 > MIT $1385 > Stanford $1259, all per month.
Cornell is the clear winner (and I'm only adding TA for the summer; RA in the summer apparently gets even more), Stanford the loser

Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Assuming that the differences in the cost of living are primarily due to the differences in rent, Stanford's stipend isn't that bad right? Say if you are paying $400 more in rent than, say, Cambridge, Stanford's stipend seems reasonable to me.axiomofchoice wrote:After converting the stipend to the cost of living (courtesy of http://www.bestplaces.net/) of where I'm living now:cryingsun wrote:in my impression palo alto is very very expensive to live in
Cornell $2549 > Harvard $1454 > Columbia $1451 > MIT $1385 > Stanford $1259, all per month.
Cornell is the clear winner (and I'm only adding TA for the summer; RA in the summer apparently gets even more), Stanford the loser. I guess one can also argue that cost of living affects only a portion of the money one spends. Stanford has by far the largest absolute value, which should come in handy in paying off some student loans, assuming that one has leftover after paying the rent.
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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
As irrelevant as this may seem, Is this the longest thread ever in PhysicsGRE forums? 

- WhoaNonstop
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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Although I've used bestplaces.net a lot, you need to be careful using their cost of living calculator. For example, Williamsburg, where William and Mary is, has a really high cost of living in the "housing" area because of the extreme cost of houses in the area. Although the statistic is calculated by housing and apartments, I'm sure one can overwhelm the other and I'm sure I won't be buying a house wherever I go to school.axiomofchoice wrote:After converting the stipend to the cost of living (courtesy of http://www.bestplaces.net/) of where I'm living now:cryingsun wrote:in my impression palo alto is very very expensive to live in
Cornell $2549 > Harvard $1454 > Columbia $1451 > MIT $1385 > Stanford $1259, all per month.
Cornell is the clear winner (and I'm only adding TA for the summer; RA in the summer apparently gets even more), Stanford the loser. I guess one can also argue that cost of living affects only a portion of the money one spends. Stanford has by far the largest absolute value, which should come in handy in paying off some student loans, assuming that one has leftover after paying the rent.
However, Cornell will definitely be the best stipend just because of its location. You'll notice my list of schools that I applied to, stayed away from most of these high cost places (except for Santa Cruz), which include larger cities. I really wanted to apply to Stanford but after looking at the cost of apartments, I couldn't do it.
-Riley
Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
@hamadahoda007: This thread might be the longest by the end of the admissions season, but it's got a while to go to catch the Fall 2008 Acceptances thread.
That thread had been split into two because of complaints by people who had no sense of humor... Here's the best part
There were 1094 posts total
Some classics:
That thread had been split into two because of complaints by people who had no sense of humor... Here's the best part
There were 1094 posts total

Some classics:
xdebugger wrote:So nobody has gotten accepted to anywhere yet? This threat is making me quite nervous...
I wonder if grae could bring back the legendary "Male Locker Room" thread... plezzzzz pwetty pleez... just for one day??schandre wrote:I'd be a lot more nervous if this threat was 200 posts long and most people had already gotten their acceptance letters while I hadn't.![]()

- WhoaNonstop
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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
I'm extremely curious now.quizivex wrote:I wonder if grae could bring back the legendary "Male Locker Room" thread... plezzzzz pwetty pleez... just for one day??
-Riley
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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Is it common for schools to admit people in waves by research interest?
I've yet to hear from eight schools in my list. I do keep seeing acceptances from them in gradcafe and the profiles page here, but these happen to be applicants in other fields. Should I be worried about my chances there?
(If this helps, I'm an international student applying in cond-mat theory.)
I've yet to hear from eight schools in my list. I do keep seeing acceptances from them in gradcafe and the profiles page here, but these happen to be applicants in other fields. Should I be worried about my chances there?
(If this helps, I'm an international student applying in cond-mat theory.)
Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
a) what happened to it?quizivex wrote:I wonder if grae could bring back the legendary "Male Locker Room" thread... plezzzzz pwetty pleez... just for one day??
b) what could I possibly do that you couldn't?
Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Rent is outrageous but everything else is ridiculous.tradster wrote:Assuming that the differences in the cost of living are primarily due to the differences in rent, Stanford's stipend isn't that bad right? Say if you are paying $400 more in rent than, say, Cambridge, Stanford's stipend seems reasonable to me.
Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Columbia seems to be sending out admits in drips instead of one or two big droves... any idea if they're finished? Looking at grad cafe, anything after February is rejections so I'm starting to lose hope.
But congrats to those admitted!

But congrats to those admitted!
Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Accepted to University of Rochester- Institute of Optics
Does me like snow?
Me doesn't know.
Gulp.
Does me like snow?
Me doesn't know.
Gulp.
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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Internationals in general hear back later. I don't think most places do anything by subfield within a department, though I have heard of waitlists being split by reseaerch interest (A CMT student leaves, they bring another to take his/her place).strikershootingguard wrote:Is it common for schools to admit people in waves by research interest?
I've yet to hear from eight schools in my list. I do keep seeing acceptances from them in gradcafe and the profiles page here, but these happen to be applicants in other fields. Should I be worried about my chances there?
(If this helps, I'm an international student applying in cond-mat theory.)
For domestics, next week is probably the last week for us to hear back (excepting waitlistings). For internationals, you probably can hold out hope until mid to late march.
Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Anyone have insider information about when Berkeley is going to start giving out offers?
They are SO SLOWWWWWW
They are SO SLOWWWWWW
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Ok, so, if Berkeley knows enough to send the email requesting transcripts, why can't they accept people who have sent in their official transcript?
Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Uh, that sounds like an acceptance to me, vesperlynd. I don't think most of the applicants are in your shoes.vesperlynd wrote:If you emailed Berkeley with an unofficial transcript back in December, you might have received an email saying that they need an official one. I received that email; within it, they said they were planning on admitting me - the graduate division needed the official one to finalize admission. I have not yet received anything from the Graduate Division, although the physics grad rep sent me info about the open house.tradster wrote:Anyone have insider information about when Berkeley is going to start giving out offers?
They are SO SLOWWWWWW
If you sent them an official transcript back in December, then there was no need for that email.
Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Hmm, it seems that Berkeley sent out those requests for official transcripts quite a while back. If that's like the first wave, what's taking them so long to choose the second wave (if there is one) 

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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
There should be another wave, but I'm with you: I feel like the top schools have just been sitting on their asses (though I guess this happens every year so I should have expected it).cryingsun wrote:Hmm, it seems that Berkeley sent out those requests for official transcripts quite a while back. If that's like the first wave, what's taking them so long to choose the second wave (if there is one)
- WhoaNonstop
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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Yale Applied Physics needs to stop picking their nose so I don't die of anxiety!
-Riley
-Riley
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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
I also haven't heard a thing from Berkeley. If they sent out emails awhile back about requesting transcripts or that they are still reviewing apps or whatever, I certainly didn't get it
- HappyQuark
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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
And what is taking Stony Brook so damn long. According to gradcafe, they've only sent about 3 acceptances out and those were just within the last week or so.
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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Just got an email from Berkeley; apparently they never got the transcript I sent. So, I know they're at least looking at applications now.
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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Comment Removed
Last edited by entanglement on Tue Aug 16, 2011 6:00 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Imagine she is monitoring the Forums and that she could match you profileentanglement wrote:
P.S.: Berkeley got this super grumpy old lady who takes care of the grad admission stuffs.


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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
hamadahoda007 wrote:Imagine she is monitoring the Forums and that she could match you profileentanglement wrote:
P.S.: Berkeley got this super grumpy old lady who takes care of the grad admission stuffs.You will get a nice rejection letter even if the adcomm wants you like hell
Also, she seemed nice to me.
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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Just realized that Stanford's "full subsidy" for health insurance is only 50%. If I'm not mistaken, other schools all offer full health insurance coverage. Then Stanford's stipend is automatically lowered by about $1500 per year. Hmm.grae313 wrote:Rent is outrageous but everything else is ridiculous.tradster wrote:Assuming that the differences in the cost of living are primarily due to the differences in rent, Stanford's stipend isn't that bad right? Say if you are paying $400 more in rent than, say, Cambridge, Stanford's stipend seems reasonable to me.
Also called Berkeley and was promised an email back (haven't received it yet). The lady on the line was nice though.
- WhoaNonstop
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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
I think you should stop quibbling about this and go wherever you need to in order to pay me my money.axiomofchoice wrote:Then Stanford's stipend is automatically lowered by about $1500 per year. Hmm.
-Riley
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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
accepted into Penn State Physics just before the weekend starts 

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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
While we're sharing gossip about when schools will respond, does anybody know what's up with UPenn? The last few years they sent out lots of responses more than a month ago and were done a week ago, but GradCafe shows only one response this year.
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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££ ^ 100WhoaNonstop wrote:I think you should stop quibbling about this and go wherever you need to in order to pay me my money.
-Riley
There you go. Note I'm paying you in a more favorable form of currency.

"Automatic" in my headvesperlynd wrote:Can you please post the link to this info? I thought the stipend would be at least the amount stated for every year.axiomofchoice wrote:Just realized that Stanford's "full subsidy" for health insurance is only 50%. If I'm not mistaken, other schools all offer full health insurance coverage. Then Stanford's stipend is automatically lowered by about $1500 per year. Hmm.

Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
I got an acceptance from them a couple of months ago.Dayton1903 wrote:While we're sharing gossip about when schools will respond, does anybody know what's up with UPenn? The last few years they sent out lots of responses more than a month ago and were done a week ago, but GradCafe shows only one response this year.
Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Could you be a bit more specific here? Everyone has different ideas about what's reasonable and what isn't. Thanks in advance.grae313 wrote:Rent is outrageous but everything else is ridiculous.
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http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/apa? ... &bedrooms=signminus wrote:Could you be a bit more specific here? Everyone has different ideas about what's reasonable and what isn't. Thanks in advance.grae313 wrote:Rent is outrageous but everything else is ridiculous.
Where you can get a studio apartment for $1250! oh boy!
http://www.bestplaces.net/col/?salary=3 ... 2=50655282
You will be able to live just fine on what they pay you, but you won't be saving any money or have a lot to spend on toys. In Ithaca, I bought all new furniture, a 52" plasma TV, etc etc, put about $10,000 into my IRA, and bought a house within the first year and a half. You won't do that in Palo Alto

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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
What about living on campus? I plan to live on campus for the first year.grae313 wrote:http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/apa? ... &bedrooms=signminus wrote:Could you be a bit more specific here? Everyone has different ideas about what's reasonable and what isn't. Thanks in advance.grae313 wrote:Rent is outrageous but everything else is ridiculous.
Where you can get a studio apartment for $1250! oh boy!
http://www.bestplaces.net/col/?salary=3 ... 2=50655282
You will be able to live just fine on what they pay you, but you won't be saving any money or have a lot to spend on toys. In Ithaca, I bought all new furniture, a 52" plasma TV, etc etc, put about $10,000 into my IRA, and bought a house within the first year and a half. You won't do that in Palo Alto
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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Bought a housegrae313 wrote: You will be able to live just fine on what they pay you, but you won't be saving any money or have a lot to spend on toys. In Ithaca, I bought all new furniture, a 52" plasma TV, etc etc, put about $10,000 into my IRA, and bought a house within the first year and a half. You won't do that in Palo Alto

http://www.stanford.edu/dept/rde/shs/grad/bill_10.htmliutian_min wrote: What about living on campus? I plan to live on campus for the first year.
Read carefully though, the 1-bd double occupancy or 2-bd triple occupancy is not something you want to get into, unless you are okay with sleeping in the living room.
Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
I got NSF three or four months after closing on the house, but have deferred it so far because I'm on an NIH grant for at least this year and possibly next. My grant is for less than the TA/RA salary though so the university supplements my pay up to the regular rate, which is about the same as what the NSF pays. But anyway, no, I did all that on my TA stipend.axiomofchoice wrote:Bought a house? Grae, are you receiving NSF?
My post was still a bit disingenuous though -- my mom loaned me some money for the down payment and is on paper as a co-borrower to help me qualify for the mortgage. What is true is that I was saving money at the rate of about $10,000 per year even after making a lot of large, one time purchases and eating out all the time, and I decided to put the money into a house. Several other classmates of mine have done the same.
Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Ah, I see. Thanks for this info—I was having trouble finding listings for PA on Craigslist when I first looked.grae313 wrote:http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/apa? ... &bedrooms=
Where you can get a studio apartment for $1250! oh boy!
http://www.bestplaces.net/col/?salary=3 ... 2=50655282
You will be able to live just fine on what they pay you, but you won't be saving any money or have a lot to spend on toys. In Ithaca, I bought all new furniture, a 52" plasma TV, etc etc, put about $10,000 into my IRA, and bought a house within the first year and a half. You won't do that in Palo Alto
I'll put my profile up eventually.
Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
I'd actually very much like to go to Stanford and live in Palo Alto over almost any school out there. The school is ok (aside from the fact that those chumps wait-listed me for transfer admissions), but the thing about the place is that it's in Silicon Valley. Lets say my physics phase blows over three years into graduate school. What then? Move back to my parents' mobile home or work the connections with start-up companies? New furniture, a plasma TV, money into my IRA, and a new house... all that can wait if I'm still living in 20 years.grae313 wrote:http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/apa? ... &bedrooms=signminus wrote:Could you be a bit more specific here? Everyone has different ideas about what's reasonable and what isn't. Thanks in advance.grae313 wrote:Rent is outrageous but everything else is ridiculous.
Where you can get a studio apartment for $1250! oh boy!
http://www.bestplaces.net/col/?salary=3 ... 2=50655282
You will be able to live just fine on what they pay you, but you won't be saving any money or have a lot to spend on toys. In Ithaca, I bought all new furniture, a 52" plasma TV, etc etc, put about $10,000 into my IRA, and bought a house within the first year and a half. You won't do that in Palo Alto
Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Wow that's so cooooooool.grae313 wrote:I got NSF three or four months after closing on the house, but have deferred it so far because I'm on an NIH grant for at least this year and possibly next. My grant is for less than the TA/RA salary though so the university supplements my pay up to the regular rate, which is about the same as what the NSF pays. But anyway, no, I did all that on my TA stipend.axiomofchoice wrote:Bought a house? Grae, are you receiving NSF?
My post was still a bit disingenuous though -- my mom loaned me some money for the down payment and is on paper as a co-borrower to help me qualify for the mortgage. What is true is that I was saving money at the rate of about $10,000 per year even after making a lot of large, one time purchases and eating out all the time, and I decided to put the money into a house. Several other classmates of mine have done the same.
Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
That's cool, I'm not hating on it at all. I almost went there. I'm just letting people know it's expensive to live there.YodaT wrote:I'd actually very much like to go to Stanford and live in Palo Alto over almost any school out there.
What then? Um, move to silicon valley if that's where you want to be. I did my undergrad at San Jose State and grew up about 40 minutes north of San Francisco. I'm coming back to the bay area as soon as I'm done in Ithaca, that's for sureYodaT wrote:the thing about the place is that it's in Silicon Valley. Lets say my physics phase blows over three years into graduate school. What then?

The comfort items can always wait, but investing should start now. Whether you invest in real estate, something else, or put the money into an IRA, money you put away now has exponentially more impact that money you put away 20 years from now. This is to everyone, not just YodaT. Even if it's just a hundred dollars a month, start saving.YodaT wrote:New furniture, a plasma TV, money into my IRA, and a new house... all that can wait if I'm still living in 20 years.
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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Just got my first acceptance! University of Toledo, my safety school, for Astrophysics, 22k/year + TA. Feels sooooo good to get that first one! 

Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Nice to share the happyness with you. All the best for your top choices.LoronDotCom wrote:Just got my first acceptance! University of Toledo, my safety school, for Astrophysics, 22k/year + TA. Feels sooooo good to get that first one!

- WhoaNonstop
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Re: 2011 Acceptances and profile discussions
Pay off any undergraduate debt too. ;D Not that any of you need to be told that.grae313 wrote:Even if it's just a hundred dollars a month, start saving.
-Riley