2011 Acceptances and profile discussions

vesperlynd · Post by **vesperlynd** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 2:23 pm

bfollinprm wrote:
creepypasta13 wrote:got into UT-Austin and UCSD. Honestly, I'm not terribly excited by either
First acceptances? If not, think about declining. Lots of others would be thrilled.

Also, profile . Seriously though, you sound like you are taking a non-traditional path, and the schools you applied to can really be a resource to like-minded future applicants.

Declined UCSD this morning.

bfollinprm · Post by **bfollinprm** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 2:25 pm

vesperlynd wrote: Declined UCSD this morning.

Accepted this morning. So thank you!

vesperlynd · Post by **vesperlynd** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 2:29 pm

bfollinprm wrote:
vesperlynd wrote: Declined UCSD this morning.
Accepted this morning. So thank you!

There's no need to thank me. I was officially accepted this morning too.

quizivex · Post by **quizivex** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 2:40 pm

axiomofchoice wrote:I'm sure an official transcript won't hurt; it's just that I'm an inherently lazy person and getting an official transcript involves walking more than 10 minutes to a place I don't go usually

Well you should be in a good enough mood from the acceptance to take the trip

. But I sympathize... I have to do a similar annoying thing every 6 months. Some little PA state scholarship I got in undergrad becomes a loan if my first job after finishing school is not in PA. So they demand an "enrollment verification form" every semester to prove I'm still in school. It's a hassle to get to the registrar's office...

Princeton grad student apartments are a long walk from main campus and the plasma lab is way off campus. So I'm never there normally. And the registrar's office is in the most inconvenient corner of the campus. I always have to make two special trips for this darn form... one to request the form and then another to pick it up the next day. We can't park on campus during the day. There's a campus shuttle but it only gets 2/3 the way there and it comes every 30 min... so the whole round trip process still takes almost an hour. Oh and yea, and I have to find a fax machine which also takes a special trip sometimes. One time it was never received because I didn't type "9" before the phone # (I should've been born knowing these things?) and another time it failed because I put the pages through upside down

. Kindof annoying doing all that for this form, especially since if I stick with physics I'll end up paying back the money anyway since there's no plasma research anywhere in PA. Blah.

bfollinprm · Post by **bfollinprm** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 2:50 pm

quizivex wrote:
axiomofchoice wrote:I'm sure an official transcript won't hurt; it's just that I'm an inherently lazy person and getting an official transcript involves walking more than 10 minutes to a place I don't go usually
Well you should be in a good enough mood from the acceptance to take the trip . But I sympathize... I have to do a similar annoying thing every 6 months. Some little PA state scholarship I got in undergrad becomes a loan if my first job after finishing school is not in PA. So they demand an "enrollment verification form" every semester to prove I'm still in school. It's a hassle to get to the registrar's office...

Princeton grad student apartments are a long walk from main campus and the plasma lab is way off campus. So I'm never there normally. And the registrar's office is in the most inconvenient corner of the campus. I always have to make two special trips for this darn form... one to request the form and then another to pick it up the next day. We can't park on campus during the day. There's a campus shuttle but it only gets 2/3 the way there and it comes every 30 min... so the whole round trip process still takes almost an hour. Oh and yea, and I have to find a fax machine which also takes a special trip sometimes. One time it was never received because I didn't type "9" before the phone # (I should've been born knowing these things?) and another time it failed because I put the pages through upside down . Kindof annoying doing all that for this form, especially since if I stick with physics I'll end up paying back the money anyway since there's no plasma research anywhere in PA. Blah.

Come on guys. I have to drive 40 minutesto work everyday, and that's a moderate commute. Ball up.

creepypasta13 · Post by **creepypasta13** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 3:00 pm

bfollinprm wrote:
creepypasta13 wrote:got into UT-Austin and UCSD. Honestly, I'm not terribly excited by either
First acceptances? If not, think about declining. Lots of others would be thrilled.

Also, profile . Seriously though, you sound like you are taking a non-traditional path, and the schools you applied to can really be a resource to like-minded future applicants.

Yes, I am taking a non-traditional path, but how did you know? As for declining them, I still have to decide whether its worth going to good, but not top-10 schools like them, or just waiting another year to go to a top-10 school for sure.

quizivex · Post by **quizivex** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 3:03 pm

@bfollinprm: Axiomofchoice and I never acted like our gripes were real hardships… we just feel they’re unnecessary inconveniences and it was fun to rant about them.

There is a difference here…

40 minute commute (twice) for an ~8 hour workday that’s essential for your survival
-necessary worthwhile inconvenience
vs.
An hour (twice) to pick up a silly form…
-unnecessary unhelpful inconvenience that doesn't pay our bills

Just not comparable.

HappyQuark · Post by **HappyQuark** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 3:08 pm

creepypasta13 wrote:
bfollinprm wrote:
creepypasta13 wrote:got into UT-Austin and UCSD. Honestly, I'm not terribly excited by either
First acceptances? If not, think about declining. Lots of others would be thrilled.

Also, profile . Seriously though, you sound like you are taking a non-traditional path, and the schools you applied to can really be a resource to like-minded future applicants.
Yes, I am taking a non-traditional path, but how did you know? As for declining them, I still have to decide whether its worth going to good, but not top-10 schools like them, or just waiting another year to go to a top-10 school for sure.

If I were you I would not think about the number 10 as some significant cut off point. When it comes down to it, whether you went to UCB,UCSB or UCSD will matter less than the research you did there. Especially since UCSD is ranked 14th (as is Austin) while UCSB and UCB are ranked only marginally better (llth and 5th respectively).

Or you could turn down UCSD and give me a small glimmer of hope that your declined offer gets handed over to me.

axiomofchoice · Post by **axiomofchoice** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 4:45 pm

bfollinprm wrote: Come on guys. I have to drive 40 minutesto work everyday, and that's a moderate commute. Ball up.

I have a 30 minutes commute to school everyday, too. But there is no fun to talk about that.

Also, it's probably not PC to tell any random people to ball up. I think. [... duck for cover ...]

bfollinprm · Post by **bfollinprm** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 4:49 pm

axiomofchoice wrote:
bfollinprm wrote: Come on guys. I have to drive 40 minutesto work everyday, and that's a moderate commute. Ball up.
I have a 30 minutes commute to school everyday, too. But there is no fun to talk about that.

Also, it's probably not PC to tell any random people to ball up. I think. [... duck for cover ...]

quizivex wrote:@bfollinprm: Axiomofchoice and I never acted like our gripes were real hardships… we just feel they’re unnecessary inconveniences and it was fun to rant about them.

There is a difference here…

40 minute commute (twice) for an ~8 hour workday that’s essential for your survival
-necessary worthwhile inconvenience
vs.
An hour (twice) to pick up a silly form…
-unnecessary unhelpful inconvenience that doesn't pay our bills

Just not comparable.

sorry, no offense intended. And I meant it slyly, I understand the college reluctance towards errand-running (I also think it's BS that there isn't a digital way to request a stinking transcript).

creepypasta13 · Post by **creepypasta13** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 5:39 pm

HappyQuark wrote:
If I were you I would not think about the number 10 as some significant cut off point. When it comes down to it, whether you went to UCB,UCSB or UCSD will matter less than the research you did there. Especially since UCSD is ranked 14th (as is Austin) while UCSB and UCB are ranked only marginally better (llth and 5th respectively).

Or you could turn down UCSD and give me a small glimmer of hope that your declined offer gets handed over to me.

I was just going by some stats I've seen, such as the ones on Steve Hsu's blog, which mentions that the odds of getting a good post-doc are significantly higher at a top-10 school than at a school just outside, such as UCSD and UT-Austin.

Dreaded Anomaly · Post by **Dreaded Anomaly** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 6:06 pm

bfollinprm wrote:sorry, no offense intended. And I meant it slyly, I understand the college reluctance towards errand-running (I also think it's BS that there isn't a digital way to request a stinking transcript).

At my school, you can request the transcript online and provide the mailing address, so you never even have to leave your chair and the transcript is sent out wherever.

okjk · Post by **okjk** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 7:20 pm

bfollinprm wrote:
okjk wrote:Just heard back from UT Austin still waiting on formal offer of financial support.
Did you get invited to the open house?

Nope

WhoaNonstop · Post by **WhoaNonstop** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 3:24 am

HappyQuark wrote:Or you could turn down UCSD and give me a small glimmer of hope that your declined offer gets handed over to me.

You do realize the only reason I'm visiting Brown University is to petition your rejection right?

-Riley

HappyQuark · Post by **HappyQuark** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 3:41 am

WhoaNonstop wrote:
HappyQuark wrote:Or you could turn down UCSD and give me a small glimmer of hope that your declined offer gets handed over to me.
You do realize the only reason I'm visiting Brown University is to petition your rejection right?

-Riley

Of course. Why else would you bother visiting a second rate, joke of a research university.

Ok, so I'm still a little bitter about the whole rejection.

bfollinprm · Post by **bfollinprm** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 9:21 pm

creepypasta13 wrote:
bfollinprm wrote:
creepypasta13 wrote:got into UT-Austin and UCSD. Honestly, I'm not terribly excited by either
First acceptances? If not, think about declining. Lots of others would be thrilled.

Also, profile . Seriously though, you sound like you are taking a non-traditional path, and the schools you applied to can really be a resource to like-minded future applicants.
Yes, I am taking a non-traditional path, but how did you know?

I'm very sneaky.

Actually, while the proximal cause is various piecing together of your recent posts, the underlying cause is that I spend way too much time on this forum.

As for declining them, I still have to decide whether its worth going to good, but not top-10 schools like them, or just waiting another year to go to a top-10 school for sure.

Yeah, makes sense. Though grad school is a big commitment, and if you aren't sure/excited, I wouldn't go. If you're smart enough to do physics at a top 20 institution, you're smart enough to make tons of money doing more lucrative stuff. I actually tried really hard for 2 years to convince myself grad school wasn't what I wanted, and am only coming back to it because I just can't function without physics.

I wouldn't go to physics grad school because a PhD is a trophy, or because you want a faculty job (you statistically won't get it). I'd only go if your soul lends no other option. Otherwise, do something similar, like engineering or applied physics, where the prospects are better, and there are better fall-back options.

bfollinprm · Post by **bfollinprm** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 9:27 pm

creepypasta13 wrote:
HappyQuark wrote:
If I were you I would not think about the number 10 as some significant cut off point. When it comes down to it, whether you went to UCB,UCSB or UCSD will matter less than the research you did there. Especially since UCSD is ranked 14th (as is Austin) while UCSB and UCB are ranked only marginally better (llth and 5th respectively).

Or you could turn down UCSD and give me a small glimmer of hope that your declined offer gets handed over to me.
I was just going by some stats I've seen, such as the ones on Steve Hsu's blog, which mentions that the odds of getting a good post-doc are significantly higher at a top-10 school than at a school just outside, such as UCSD and UT-Austin.

Overall, true. But there are top lights at places like UCSD and UT-Austin who have just as much clout as faculty at the big schools.

blacksl · Post by **blacksl** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 10:05 pm

Hello Everybody,
I need some information about Iowa state university because I heard lots of bad news about physics department.

I got admission from University of Nebraska and Iowa State University. I already participate for the open house of UNL and seems its nice place. Most of the condensed matter research groups do researches on magnetism and its really interesting.

I met one student who came from Iowa state graduate physics and he is trying to transfer to UNL for personal reason.
Initially I was really wanted to join with Iowa state, but after I talked with him I'm really scared about my decision. As he told ISU will take graduate student more than that they need. Then they will use them as TA for their recitation classes and failed lots of them from qualifying exam and select only what they need!!. It means they use grad students only for the teaching for undergraduate students, since most faculty members just consider about their research works.

As he told they will not care about their students and lots of grad student will drop after couple of semesters

Also at this moment there are 4-5 grad students looking for transfer from ISU physics due to above reason.

I really do not know whether its true or not. So if you know anything related to this or any other information about physics department please let me know. Because, I really want to do experimental condensed matter physics and I think ISU is the best place for me when compared with UNL.

If you are a current grad student, then you informations will help me a lot to get a correct decision!!!

Thanks
Blacksl

admissionprof · Post by **admissionprof** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 10:19 pm

blacksl wrote:Hello Everybody,

I met one student who came from Iowa state graduate physics and he is trying to transfer to UNL for personal reason.
Initially I was really wanted to join with Iowa state, but after I talked with him I'm really scared about my decision. As he told ISU will take graduate student more than that they need. Then they will use them as TA for their recitation classes and failed lots of them from qualifying exam and select only what they need!!. It means they use grad students only for the teaching for undergraduate students, since most faculty members just consider about their research works.

As he told they will not care about their students and lots of grad student will drop after couple of semesters Also at this moment there are 4-5 grad students looking for transfer from ISU physics due to above reason.

Blacksl

It is always dangerous to rely on the statement of a single person. Probably every school will have a student who is unhappy. I know of a grad student at ISU who is happy, but that's just one, so I wouldn't rely on that either.

Easy check: Find out the average number of students accepted per year. Find out the average number of PhD's per year. Divide.

If the student's statement is correct, your result will be substantially different from the same number at UNL. Make sure you average over many years, since year-to-year fluctuations can be huge.

TheBeast · Post by **TheBeast** » Mon Mar 07, 2011 12:49 am

Longtime lurker, first time poster.

Accepted by Oxford. My funding attempt was unsuccessful, though.

LoronDotCom · Post by **LoronDotCom** » Mon Mar 07, 2011 7:41 pm

I couldn't stand it any longer and sent out a couple email inquiries to Michigan State and University of Michigan, both for astronomy. Heard back from MSU that I'm on a "very short" waitlist. No reply back from UMich. I guess it's good there's still hope.

vesperlynd · Post by **vesperlynd** » Mon Mar 07, 2011 7:52 pm

LoronDotCom wrote:I couldn't stand it any longer and sent out a couple email inquiries to Michigan State and University of Michigan, both for astronomy. Heard back from MSU that I'm on a "very short" waitlist. No reply back from UMich. I guess it's good there's still hope.

I don't know if you've done this, but you should just let Michigan know that you have the 2-body problem with someone in their physics department. They may or may not accept you, but they'll probably let you know sooner. At the least least, there's a good chance you'll get accepted of the waitlist at MSU. Good luck. I hope things work out.

astrok · Post by **astrok** » Mon Mar 07, 2011 8:00 pm

LoronDotCom wrote:I couldn't stand it any longer and sent out a couple email inquiries to Michigan State and University of Michigan, both for astronomy. Heard back from MSU that I'm on a "very short" waitlist. No reply back from UMich. I guess it's good there's still hope.

I asked UMich astro a week or so ago. It took a few days, but I got this response:

"Thank you for your interest in graduate study at the University of Michigan Department of Astronomy. The applicant pool is especially strong this year, and the decision process has been very difficult. We anticipate being able to notify you of your application status very soon, most likely next week."

I got the response on Friday, so hopefully they will send their decisions this week.

LoronDotCom · Post by **LoronDotCom** » Mon Mar 07, 2011 8:09 pm

vesperlynd wrote:I don't know if you've done this, but you should just let Michigan know that you have the 2-body problem with someone in their physics department. They may or may not accept you, but they'll probably let you know sooner. At the least least, there's a good chance you'll get accepted of the waitlist at MSU. Good luck. I hope things work out.

I have let UM Astro know of my situation, but that's the only place I let know. The dude that wrote me back from MSU seemed very willing to talk to me about the program or anything I had questions with so maybe I should mention it.. ? UM is definitely my first choice though so I wasn't sure if I should mention it to MSU.

@astrok, thanks for the update. I'm dying to know and afraid to hear at the same time, at least it will be over soon.

It's good to know I still have an acceptance at Toledo if none of these schools that are actually ranked work out.

matto07 · Post by **matto07** » Mon Mar 07, 2011 9:03 pm

@bfollinprm

UCSD just sent me an automated email stating that the adcom is currently discussing financial packages and that we should receive word in "mid March". The wait goes on...

bfollinprm · Post by **bfollinprm** » Mon Mar 07, 2011 10:22 pm

matto07 wrote:@bfollinprm

UCSD just sent me an automated email stating that the adcom is currently discussing financial packages and that we should receive word in "mid March". The wait goes on...

yah got that too. The visit day is the 5th-6th of April

t2kburl · Post by **t2kburl** » Tue Mar 08, 2011 7:13 pm

Accepted to Utah State ECE via email. TA pays $750/mo + tuition. Made me LOL

negru · Post by **negru** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 4:55 pm

dear friends, in the profiles thread the triforce magically appeared and is pointing towards a possible troll

bfollinprm · Post by **bfollinprm** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 4:58 pm

negru wrote:dear friends, in the profiles thread the triforce magically appeared and is pointing towards a possible troll

In the interest of the rules, that post should really be deleted.

negru · Post by **negru** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 5:12 pm

fine, but the triforce does not approve

vesperlynd · Post by **vesperlynd** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 5:37 pm

I've always wondered how many of these profiles are fake. I know of at least a few in which the person lied about what s/he did.

axiomofchoice · Post by **axiomofchoice** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 6:33 pm

vesperlynd wrote:I've always wondered how many of these profiles are fake. I know of at least a few in which the person lied about what s/he did.

How do you know

Why would one lies about an online identity?

vesperlynd · Post by **vesperlynd** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 7:10 pm

axiomofchoice wrote:
vesperlynd wrote:I've always wondered how many of these profiles are fake. I know of at least a few in which the person lied about what s/he did.
How do you know Why would one lies about an online identity?

I recognize a few of the students at my school (especially since they use their email addresses as screennames). I sent you a pm with more.

Why would someone lie? To hide their identity, or to be perverse.

It's one thing to omit details (no one can read their recs anyway), it's another to lie and throw people off.

grae313 · Post by **grae313** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 7:35 pm

If you or anyone else knows of a profile that is lying, you might consider PMing me about it so I can delete it. There's really no point to the profiles thread if people lie -- why post your profile at all?

m42 · Post by **m42** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 7:57 pm

For anyone wondering about Maryland Astronomy, their next acceptance/denial round appears to be in 2 weeks. And yay for not being rejected yet from them!

tychobrahe_1 · Post by **tychobrahe_1** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 7:59 pm

m42 wrote:For anyone wondering about Maryland Astronomy, their next acceptance/denial round appears to be in 2 weeks. And yay for not being rejected yet from them!

How did you find out this information? I emailed earlier this week and wasn't told much.

m42 · Post by **m42** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 10:33 pm

tychobrahe_1 wrote:
m42 wrote:For anyone wondering about Maryland Astronomy, their next acceptance/denial round appears to be in 2 weeks. And yay for not being rejected yet from them!

How did you find out this information? I emailed earlier this week and wasn't told much.

Thats odd, maybe they just updated it recently, I emailed them this morning and was told I was on the "wait list", and would be contacted again in 2 weeks. If they didn't reject you, I'd wait and see if you get a reply in 2 weeks.

WhoaNonstop · Post by **WhoaNonstop** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 10:41 am

I think we need at least seven more people to post their profiles!

-Riley

tradster · Post by **tradster** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 12:04 pm

WhoaNonstop wrote:I think we need at least seven more people to post their profiles!

-Riley

why seven?

tradster · Post by **tradster** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 12:09 pm

BERKELEY. I hadn't heard from them at all and I thought I was rejected. So expecting a quick rejection, I called the secretary... and guess what? She told me that I've been "recommended for admission"! She said the next batch of offers are gonna be out in two days (=tomorrow). So for folks who are still waiitng for Berkeley, don't give up!

grae313 · Post by **grae313** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 12:33 pm

So that this year can be the largest collection of profiles in PhysicsGRE history, I imagine

satyad18 · Post by **satyad18** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 12:43 pm

grae313 wrote:So that this year can be the largest collection of profiles in PhysicsGRE history, I imagine

..if the following doesn't happen!

grae313 wrote:If you or anyone else knows of a profile that is lying, you might consider PMing me about it so I can delete it. There's really no point to the profiles thread if people lie -- why post your profile at all?

vesperlynd · Post by **vesperlynd** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 1:21 pm

tradster wrote:BERKELEY. I hadn't heard from them at all and I thought I was rejected. So expecting a quick rejection, I called the secretary... and guess what? She told me that I've been "recommended for admission"! She said the next batch of offers are gonna be out in two days (=tomorrow). So for folks who are still waiitng for Berkeley, don't give up!

Congrats!! Did she say anything about funding? I'm still waiting to here about funding.

satyad18 wrote:
grae313 wrote:So that this year can be the largest collection of profiles in PhysicsGRE history, I imagine
..if the following doesn't happen!
grae313 wrote:If you or anyone else knows of a profile that is lying, you might consider PMing me about it so I can delete it. There's really no point to the profiles thread if people lie -- why post your profile at all?

It was actually someone from last year's profiles.

WhoaNonstop · Post by **WhoaNonstop** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 1:23 pm

I'd be fairly surprised if someone made radical adjustments to their profile, especially those who barely use the site. I'm not saying it hasn't happened, but I think it is fair to say that in general the profiles give beneficial information. Plus, negru has yet to post his/her profile, which then we can roll our eyes.

-Riley

vesperlynd · Post by **vesperlynd** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 1:25 pm

WhoaNonstop wrote:I'd be fairly surprised if someone made radical adjustments to their profile, especially those who barely use the site. I'm not saying it hasn't happened, but I think it is fair to say that in general the profiles give beneficial information. Plus, negru has yet to post his/her profile, which then we can roll our eyes. -Riley

Yes, negru, please post your profile.

axiomofchoice · Post by **axiomofchoice** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 1:44 pm

WhoaNonstop wrote:I think we need at least seven more people to post their profiles!

-Riley

Yes yes yes 7 more people, including, um... I'm looking at you negru... please post your profiles, so that we can crush the 2009 bunch which seems to have the blessing of the One

bbsmitz · Post by **bbsmitz** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 2:42 pm

I'll put mine up as soon as schools finish rejecting me... bleh!

@Tradster, who did you call? I talked to one of the secretaries today and she said call back on monday.

tradster · Post by **tradster** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 3:42 pm

bbsmitz wrote:I'll put mine up as soon as schools finish rejecting me... bleh!

@Tradster, who did you call? I talked to one of the secretaries today and she said call back on monday.

Donna Sakima

bfollinprm · Post by **bfollinprm** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 3:46 pm

bbsmitz wrote:I'll put mine up as soon as schools finish rejecting me... bleh!

@Tradster, who did you call? I talked to one of the secretaries today and she said call back on monday.

I'd guess bad news then.

bbsmitz · Post by **bbsmitz** » Thu Mar 10, 2011 4:40 pm

bfollinprm wrote:
bbsmitz wrote:I'll put mine up as soon as schools finish rejecting me... bleh!

@Tradster, who did you call? I talked to one of the secretaries today and she said call back on monday.
I'd guess bad news then.

Actually they referred me to Donna, and told me to call her on Monday, so I think that it was more a 'we don't know' call back, as a opposed to a 'you've been rejected and we'll tell you next week' call back.

That being said, I still am probably gonna get my ass rejected.

Edit: Called, got through to donna, DID get my ass rejected.