2012 Acceptances

wiak2 · Post by **wiak2** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 7:06 pm

Got this today from Minnesota Astro after a status enquiry:

You are currently on our Wait List for admission to our program in astrophysics. You are fully qualified for our program and were selected from a large, very competitive pool. Due to uncertainties in the number of new students we can support this coming year, we are unable at this moment to fully admit you.

We would like you to visit us during our March 30-31 open house. We will cover your travel costs.

Does the fact that they're willing to fly me up for the open house bode well for my chances of being accepted?

baconface · Post by **baconface** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 7:12 pm

It means you get to go visit balmy Minneapolis, MN! Congrats on the positive response. Maybe you can make a positive impression when you're there and even boost your app up a couple places on the list

wiak2 · Post by **wiak2** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 7:18 pm

baconface wrote:It means you get to go visit balmy Minneapolis, MN! Congrats on the positive response. Maybe you can make a positive impression when you're there and even boost your app up a couple places on the list

Thanks! Good thing I love the cold and snow

Shadowknite25 · Post by **Shadowknite25** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 8:37 pm

Good luck!

GeorgeThe4th · Post by **GeorgeThe4th** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 9:24 pm

Congratulations Wiak2!

I'm an undergrad physics and astro major at Minnesota. Presumably Terry Thibeault sent you that email? She runs all the administrative things here. She's very nice and loves getting to know all the graduate students. I know they plan on having a larger than normal incoming class because the funding is looking good for next year. So I'd definitely recommend going, I have a feeling that they wouldn't have offered to fly you here if they weren't close to accepting you. Good luck in any case!

By the way, this has definitely not been a typical winter, we haven't had snow stick for more than a couple days all season, and the average temp has been 10 degrees warmer than normal. At the end of March you can expect around 45-55F most days with lots of rain/sleet. However, January in MN is typically not for the faint of heart.

wiak2 · Post by **wiak2** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 9:41 pm

GeorgeThe4th wrote:Congratulations Wiak2!

I'm an undergrad physics and astro major at Minnesota. Presumably Terry Thibeault sent you that email? She runs all the administrative things here. She's very nice and loves getting to know all the graduate students. I know they plan on having a larger than normal incoming class because the funding is looking good for next year. So I'd definitely recommend going, I have a feeling that they wouldn't have offered to fly you here if they weren't close to accepting you. Good luck in any case!

By the way, this has definitely not been a typical winter, we haven't had snow stick for more than a couple days all season, and the average temp has been 10 degrees warmer than normal. At the end of March you can expect around 45-55F most days with lots of rain/sleet. However, January in MN is typically not for the faint of heart.

Thanks for the info!! Terry and Dr. Jones emailed me about visiting. Included in the letter was information on financial support it looks like they normally send to accepted students, so hopefully that's a good sign!

tpatt · Post by **tpatt** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 11:37 pm

Just saw 3 UW-Seattle astro acceptances on grad cafe; they were dated 2/22 (tomorrow). Anyone know what the deal with that is??

jitit · Post by **jitit** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 11:40 pm

tpatt wrote:Just saw 3 UW-Seattle astro acceptances on grad cafe; they were dated 2/22 (tomorrow). Anyone know what the deal with that is??

i think the gradcafe is in a time zone ahead of the US by a number of hours - so late night on the 21st = 22nd there. the poster prob just let the date default to current date.

dynamyte07 · Post by **dynamyte07** » Wed Feb 22, 2012 1:29 pm

Has anyone heard of acceptances/rejections from UCLA astronomy? I haven't seen anything on gradcafe and their website hasn't said much.

Hellas · Post by **Hellas** » Wed Feb 22, 2012 1:42 pm

^no i havent. i keep checking the decision status but its never updated. you would think with a Dec 15th deadline they would have something by now

Avocado_number · Post by **Avocado_number** » Wed Feb 22, 2012 2:16 pm

Accepted to UCLA here.

Hellas · Post by **Hellas** » Wed Feb 22, 2012 2:35 pm

i know their physics and astronomy departments are combined, but i applied to the astronomy division so idk if thats the same. does the same committee make the decisions for both divisions around the same time?

dynamyte07 · Post by **dynamyte07** » Wed Feb 22, 2012 3:07 pm

@ Avocado_number, when did you receive your acceptance from UCLA?

And I think the committees are separate based on talking with professors from there.

tpatt · Post by **tpatt** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 3:36 pm

Wait-listed by UW-Seattle Astro this afternoon (1pm) via email. So ya, if you plan on not going to the UW astro department and have been accepted, go ahead and decline. Would be greatly appreciated.

Hausdorff · Post by **Hausdorff** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 6:03 pm

U of Arizona today.
First acceptance, at least the stomach ache is gone.

NickMKII · Post by **NickMKII** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:15 pm

First acceptance from FSU!!!! YEYYYY I'm so relieved now...

Shadowknite25 · Post by **Shadowknite25** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:31 pm

NickMKII wrote:First acceptance from FSU!!!! YEYYYY I'm so relieved now...

Congrat! I know how you feel. The first acceptance is always a good one. However, after that, you always want more.

itorsics · Post by **itorsics** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 9:24 pm

UCSB! Turns out they do accept international students after all... maybe their financial situation has improved? The stipend offer is still pretty underwhelming though.

transparent_silvery · Post by **transparent_silvery** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 10:06 pm

Here, another international student got accepted into ucsb!

Please may I ask the same question.. What's the open house date of Stanford, UCSD and Caltech Astro?

I won't make it to UCSC Astro open house, but maybe I'd like to go to their physics open house too..

transparent_silvery · Post by **transparent_silvery** » Fri Feb 24, 2012 10:08 pm

itorsics wrote:UCSB! Turns out they do accept international students after all... maybe their financial situation has improved? The stipend offer is still pretty underwhelming though.

21 thousand RA ship for a year. That looks acceptable to me, but I'm not sure if this includes tuition remission.

grae313 · Post by **grae313** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 12:12 am

transparent_silvery wrote:
itorsics wrote:UCSB! Turns out they do accept international students after all... maybe their financial situation has improved? The stipend offer is still pretty underwhelming though.
21 thousand RA ship for a year. That looks acceptable to me, but I'm not sure if this includes tuition remission.

It does.

asdfuogh · Post by **asdfuogh** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 2:39 am

I'm seeing a couple of new Berkeley acceptances.. does anyone know how many they accept each year? I think I saw that they accepted like.. 40 last year?

transparent_silvery · Post by **transparent_silvery** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 2:40 am

International students: do you apply for a B-1 (business) or B-2 (sightseeing) visa for open house?

giga17 · Post by **giga17** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 3:43 am

asdfuogh wrote:I'm seeing a couple of new Berkeley acceptances.. does anyone know how many they accept each year? I think I saw that they accepted like.. 40 last year?

According to gradschoolshopper (http://gradschoolshopper.com/gradschool ... admissions):

118 accepted
42 enrolled

asdfuogh · Post by **asdfuogh** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 4:22 am

Ohhh, I guess I confused the acceptances with the enrollments... yay slightly higher.. possibility... :/

itorsics · Post by **itorsics** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 5:28 am

transparent_silvery wrote:
itorsics wrote:UCSB! Turns out they do accept international students after all... maybe their financial situation has improved? The stipend offer is still pretty underwhelming though.
21 thousand RA ship for a year. That looks acceptable to me, but I'm not sure if this includes tuition remission.

Well, in the letter of offer they only promised me the 9 month TA salary, which is 17k. I don't think I should be counting on getting an RAship straight away, especially not in theory? And the housing costs in the area seem pretty expensive as well.

transparent_silvery · Post by **transparent_silvery** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 5:34 am

grae313 wrote:
transparent_silvery wrote:
itorsics wrote:UCSB! Turns out they do accept international students after all... maybe their financial situation has improved? The stipend offer is still pretty underwhelming though.
21 thousand RA ship for a year. That looks acceptable to me, but I'm not sure if this includes tuition remission.
It does.

Do you mean this twenty one thousand is the money I'll get after or before deducting tuition?

giga17 · Post by **giga17** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 5:45 am

transparent_silvery wrote: Do you mean this twenty one thousand is the money I'll get after or before deducting tuition?

Tuition is already waived, that money is the sum you'll get, but before taxes. Is that for 9 months or a full year?

transparent_silvery · Post by **transparent_silvery** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 5:46 am

9 months, but u'll get extra if u work in summer

giga17 wrote:
transparent_silvery wrote: Do you mean this twenty one thousand is the money I'll get after or before deducting tuition?
Tuition is already waived, that money is the sum you'll get, but before taxes. Is that for 9 months or a full year?

giga17 · Post by **giga17** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 6:20 am

transparent_silvery wrote:9 months, but u'll get extra if u work in summer

Yes I thought so. 21K a year is way too little, especially when Santa Barbara is not a cheap place to live in.

pqortic · Post by **pqortic** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 12:08 pm

Hausdorff wrote:U of Arizona today.
First acceptance, at least the stomach ache is gone.

now that you have your first acceptance go ahead and post your profile in the thread.

dfeld31 · Post by **dfeld31** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 12:34 pm

transparent_silvery wrote:9 months, but u'll get extra if u work in summer

giga17 wrote:
transparent_silvery wrote: Do you mean this twenty one thousand is the money I'll get after or before deducting tuition?
Tuition is already waived, that money is the sum you'll get, but before taxes. Is that for 9 months or a full year?

In regards to taxes... are TA's salary taxed the same way all jobs are. I've been offered ~29k for full year's work from a couple places... how much of this will I actually see post taxes? ~20k?

King Vitamin · Post by **King Vitamin** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 12:57 pm

TA's salaries are taxed, but if you're only making 25-30k/yr you won't get taxed THAT much. I would guess your federal taxes on 30k/yr won't be more than 5k (I would guess a bit less than that, but not sure).

Of course, you might need to pay state taxes as well (California has a lot of taxes). This is all stuff you should ask grad students about when you visit the places. I also thought UCSB's offer was low considering that Santa Barbara seems like a very expensive city (you also need to think about how expensive it will be to drive/buy gas in Cali too).

grae313 · Post by **grae313** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 1:05 pm

To clarify on a few questions:

-Yes, every standard offer you see in these forums includes tuition remission.

-9-month offers are standard but I have *never* heard of *anyone* left without summer support who wanted it. You will be able to secure either a TA or an RA for the summer, assuming you are making satisfactory progress towards your degree (not failing all your classes, taking your Q on time, etc).

-Offers are before taxes, and the rate will depend on your state and status. For a ballpark, I'm in NY state and I lose about 16% of my paycheck to taxes, so you can figure 29k will be closer to 24k (NY and CA should be similar, and on the higher tax rate end of all states)

-Yes, UCSB's offer is low compared to the cost of living in Santa Barbara. You will not be rich, but this is a public state school in one of the most expensive states to live in. Your campus is on the ocean and is a world class institution. You'll be able to judge how far that money will go when you visit and talk to the grad students, but it will be enough to live off of. Other schools will pay you comparable money in an area where the cost of living is half as high, so you'll just have to weigh the pros and cons of each of your offers and decide what's important to you.

TakeruK · Post by **TakeruK** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 3:44 pm

grae313 wrote: -Offers are before taxes, and the rate will depend on your state and status. For a ballpark, I'm in NY state and I lose about 16% of my paycheck to taxes, so you can figure 29k will be closer to 24k (NY and CA should be similar, and on the higher tax rate end of all states)

Are there any tax credits available to students in the US? For example, in Canada, you get $1 of tax credit for every $1 spent in tuition, plus about $465/month of tax credits for every month you are a full time student. And there is a personal tax exemption of just under $10,000/year that everyone gets. Is there something similar in the US (for federal taxes anyways). I guess my offer letters say that the tuition waiver is non-taxable, so I guess that's the same as in Canada, but what about any other education tax credits and personal exemption amounts? Or would we be pretty much paying tax on the full stipend amount?

I didn't think taxes on ~29k of stipend would be so high as ~5k!! Up north, all fellowships and scholarships are tax free if you are a full time student (so we would only pay taxes on TA/RA work but that's rarely more than the above exemptions!).

grae313 · Post by **grae313** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 4:13 pm

TakeruK wrote:Are there any tax credits available to students in the US? For example, in Canada, you get $1 of tax credit for every $1 spent in tuition, plus about $465/month of tax credits for every month you are a full time student. And there is a personal tax exemption of just under $10,000/year that everyone gets. Is there something similar in the US (for federal taxes anyways). I guess my offer letters say that the tuition waiver is non-taxable, so I guess that's the same as in Canada, but what about any other education tax credits and personal exemption amounts? Or would we be pretty much paying tax on the full stipend amount?

I didn't think taxes on ~29k of stipend would be so high as ~5k!! Up north, all fellowships and scholarships are tax free if you are a full time student (so we would only pay taxes on TA/RA work but that's rarely more than the above exemptions!).

When I file my taxes I usually get a bit over $1k back as a refund, but I'm not sure if those are student particular exemptions or what. The only thing being taxed is your TA/RA stipend (~29k). That's your paycheck, not a fellowship. Perhaps you don't end up paying additional taxes out of your salary in Canada, but I bet if you work out your net pay compared to the cost of living, it's similar to here.

TakeruK · Post by **TakeruK** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 6:25 pm

Okay, thanks for the info!

One offer letter specified that I would be funded with a $29K fellowship without any TA or RA duties mentioned and that this income would still be taxable. I know from other students in the program that there is no TAships for graduate students in the first year. The point of the fellowship is to allow students to work on coursework and whatever projects with whoever they want, without the need to worry about securing funding from a prof. But I guess this counts as a department wide RAship or something then (i.e. still employment income). I guess we were spoiled in Canada where usually half of a student's funding comes from internal awards (either from the University or the Department), not from employment income such as TA/RAs.

In any case, good point about comparing what actually matters, net pay vs. cost of living. If I don't include the extra cost of health insurance for my wife (which I shouldn't for this comparison), it is indeed the same!

grae313 · Post by **grae313** » Sun Feb 26, 2012 1:07 am

TakeruK wrote:One offer letter specified that I would be funded with a $29K fellowship without any TA or RA duties mentioned and that this income would still be taxable.

Oh, in that case it may be different. Fellowships are usually paid to you in full (taxes are not automatically withheld like with a paycheck) and then you have to pay taxes on it when you file for taxes (due April 15th every year). You have to be careful to put that money aside beforehand and make sure you don't accidentally spend it! Your department or University will have people you can talk to for more details, but it will be taxed at a similar rate as your stipend, unfortunately.

TakeruK · Post by **TakeruK** » Sun Feb 26, 2012 1:39 am

Oh that's good to know. Gonna have to put ~4K aside for that then. Thanks grae!

Someone showed me this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax ... ted_States which is really clear and helpful! But for international students, who would be on F1 or J1 visas, the "standard deduction" does not apply, unless you've been in the US for ~5.5 years (from the IRS webpages, those on F1 and J1 visas will be considered non-resident aliens for tax purposes for the first 5 years, then it takes 0.5 years of presence in the US to gain resident status for tax purposes). But there does seem to be a ~3700 personal exemption that would apply to internationals as well as domestic students!

Avocado_number · Post by **Avocado_number** » Sun Feb 26, 2012 9:45 pm

dynamyte07 wrote:@ Avocado_number, when did you receive your acceptance from UCLA?

And I think the committees are separate based on talking with professors from there.

Sorry for the late reply. It came in 2/7. I am withdrawing my application. Good luck to you man!

wavygravy · Post by **wavygravy** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 2:24 pm

Utah and riverside plus fellowship/TA/RA for high energy theory

r2d2 · Post by **r2d2** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 6:52 pm

Has anyone heard back from Stanford yet?

alimerzairan · Post by **alimerzairan** » Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:13 pm

I thought that stanford would respond last Friday because of the last year's responses. But the grad cafe shows that some years they responded between the last week of February and first week of March.

ccj1 · Post by **ccj1** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 10:33 am

@NickMKII

What days are the open house for FSU?

mrrsnhtl · Post by **mrrsnhtl** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 11:05 am

grae313 wrote:To clarify on a few questions:

-Yes, every standard offer you see in these forums includes tuition remission.

-9-month offers are standard but I have *never* heard of *anyone* left without summer support who wanted it. You will be able to secure either a TA or an RA for the summer, assuming you are making satisfactory progress towards your degree (not failing all your classes, taking your Q on time, etc).

-Offers are before taxes, and the rate will depend on your state and status. For a ballpark, I'm in NY state and I lose about 16% of my paycheck to taxes, so you can figure 29k will be closer to 24k (NY and CA should be similar, and on the higher tax rate end of all states)

-Yes, UCSB's offer is low compared to the cost of living in Santa Barbara. You will not be rich, but this is a public state school in one of the most expensive states to live in. Your campus is on the ocean and is a world class institution. You'll be able to judge how far that money will go when you visit and talk to the grad students, but it will be enough to live off of. Other schools will pay you comparable money in an area where the cost of living is half as high, so you'll just have to weigh the pros and cons of each of your offers and decide what's important to you.

Do international students receive a payback for those taxes, in any time in their lifetimes ?

grae313 · Post by **grae313** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 11:59 am

mrrsnhtl wrote:
grae313 wrote:To clarify on a few questions:

-Yes, every standard offer you see in these forums includes tuition remission.

-9-month offers are standard but I have *never* heard of *anyone* left without summer support who wanted it. You will be able to secure either a TA or an RA for the summer, assuming you are making satisfactory progress towards your degree (not failing all your classes, taking your Q on time, etc).

-Offers are before taxes, and the rate will depend on your state and status. For a ballpark, I'm in NY state and I lose about 16% of my paycheck to taxes, so you can figure 29k will be closer to 24k (NY and CA should be similar, and on the higher tax rate end of all states)

-Yes, UCSB's offer is low compared to the cost of living in Santa Barbara. You will not be rich, but this is a public state school in one of the most expensive states to live in. Your campus is on the ocean and is a world class institution. You'll be able to judge how far that money will go when you visit and talk to the grad students, but it will be enough to live off of. Other schools will pay you comparable money in an area where the cost of living is half as high, so you'll just have to weigh the pros and cons of each of your offers and decide what's important to you.

Do international students receive a payback for those taxes, in any time in their lifetimes ?

I wasn't sure so I... get this... used google

This site is a good start: http://www.istaxes.com/taxes/who.html

Looks like you will be refunded some things including social security and medicare. You are also subject to different exemptions. Makes sense!

transparent_silvery · Post by **transparent_silvery** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 12:26 pm

Are all who've been accepted by Stanford Physics also have been interviewed? If I don't have an interview invitation, can I assume I stand no chance?

giga17 · Post by **giga17** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 1:29 pm

Anyone else heard from Harvard ever since the ifrst wave on Valentine's Day?

capandbells · Post by **capandbells** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 2:38 pm

Boston U by email.

lwk · Post by **lwk** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 4:01 pm

stanford hep-th