2013 Applicant Profile Discussion

[Tom Joad]

kyashtyur, stop worrying! You have a near perfect application, I doubt that the absence of one class will make any difference.

You have a 990, are a top student at Princeton, and have 1.5 first author publications....if you don't get into all or nearly all of the places you apply to, then I understand nothing about graduate admissions.

[Throwaway1]

I know, honestly?

That bothers me. "Hey, look at me. I have perfect stats and I'm a top student at Princeton, but I'm worried programs won't accept me!"

What a joke....

[photonic]

Um, is there a reason a thread was made just to talk about kyashtyur's nervousness about applications? Yeah he shouldnt worry his stats are top notch and all that, but this is a very a stressful time for everyone.

I for one am convinced I won't get in anywhere. Then I realize thats ridiculousness since I applied to safeties and then I start to worry again. Damn you graduate school! *shakes fist*

[Tom Joad]

It's not specifically about kyashtyur, historically there has always been a thread to discuss profiles and I was just starting it off with that comment. If anything, I was trying to make him feel better about his chances, not bash him.

I know we're all freaking out right now: our wallets our depleted, our brains are fried from the GRE+Finals+Application deadlines...that's why this forum exists!

[quizivex]

Ah here we go again. The annual tiff that occurs when a perfect applicant acts completely oblivious to the clear fact that they will get in everywhere they apply. This happens every year (I've been here 6 years... I won't list the usernames but trust me there have been a handful of similar people and they always get accepted everywhere). Of course, you may think they're doing it for attention to get pats on the back... in that case don't feed the troll. On the other hand, there is evidence that they are genuinely worried about admission for whatever reason - the perfect applicants always seem to apply to all of the top 8-ish schools even though they clearly could afford to apply to just their true favorites. So let's not criticize anyone here. It's good that we have such a wide range of applicants on the profile threads. Maybe when future perfect applicants see that past perfect applicants always ran the table with acceptances, they will refrain from applying to so many schools and that might lead to more acceptances for less-than-perfect applicants.

So the point is, regardless of the reason for the perfect applicant acting worried, let's ignore instead of criticize.

[Tom Joad]

So the point is, regardless of the reason for the perfect applicant acting worried, let's ignore instead of criticize.

I'm glad he posted the profile and I bear no ill will towards him for applying to so many places. No scientist has every gotten upset about having too much data to work with. He actually has a legitimate concern: the lack of an actual physics degree, but in his case that's just an artificial label. If anything I think it's awesome he was able to master both linguistics and physics.


To change the topic: there's already more domestic 990's posted than last year. I wonder if that reflects a change in the users of this site or in the applicant pool...hopefully it's not the latter.

[TakeruK]

I agree with quizivex and would like to add that sometimes people are genuinely clueless about what counts as a good profile (although a look through previous threads on this site would answer that question!). But I didn't know about this site at all 3 years ago when I was applying to graduate schools for the first time. Other than the handful of other astro majors in my program, I had no idea what astronomy students are like and thus I had no idea how I would compare to the applicant pool. I was the first person in my family to attend college, and I didn't even know what grad school really was until halfway through my undergrad. There is a lot of "unwritten" things in academia and it's hard to navigate it if you are completely new. I was fortunate enough to have a mentor that acted as my "academic parent" to guide me through the whole process of graduate school the first time around. I had a pretty good profile coming out of undergrad (not as good as kyashtyur's though) but I had no idea of it until my mentor talked to me.

So some people who post things like kyashtyur might be trolls, but it's definitely possible that some of them really just don't know. I don't think it hurts to politely let them know that they have nothing to worry about (e.g. like Tom Joad has). Personally, I'd give them the benefit of the doubt initially. If they continue to exhibit trolling behavior, then well, you know what to do!

Back on topic: kyashtyur does have some legitimate concerns because it's not just "missing one class", if I understand his profile correctly, he doesn't have any astrophysics classes at all. In my experience, although it's possible to enter astronomy graduate programs as a physics major with only an introductory astronomy undergrad class, graduate level astro classes might be tough if they are the first astro classes one has taken. For example, there are lots of weird units (magnitudes?) and jargon that are not particularly hard to understand, but takes some time and practice to get used to. That said, the rest of kyashtyur's profile clearly demonstrates that he should have no problem picking up the subject material!

To kyashtyur (if he is reading this): Like the others said, I think you have a very good chance at getting into one of the programs you listed, despite a lack of planetary science/astronomy courses. I'm currently in one of the planetary science programs on your list and the people here have all sorts of backgrounds (makes sense; since planetary science is a very multidisciplinary field). Some of us are geology undergrads, some earth sciences, some physics, some astronomy (like me). In fact, the faculty here told us that it's only very recent that they have hired faculty positions who had a "planetary science" education (since the field is so new). The majority of older faculty here I think have physics or astronomy backgrounds, so you would actually be following the "traditional" route into planetary science (despite the non-traditional "title" of your degree)! I've also applied to many similar programs (and visited some too) as you so if you want more information about the programs you've applied to, or the program I'm in, feel free to send me a PM!

[photonic]

It's not specifically about kyashtyur, historically there has always been a thread to discuss profiles and I was just starting it off with that comment. If anything, I was trying to make him feel better about his chances, not bash him.

I know we're all freaking out right now: our wallets our depleted, our brains are fried from the GRE+Finals+Application deadlines...that's why this forum exists!

Ah I didnt know that about the previous threads.
And I was more responding to what throwaway1 was saying about how it bothered him, not to what you were saying.

As to kyashtyur's situation I don't think he has to worry either. Great school, stats, gre scores and research. With the astrophysics thing, of course it helps to have more experience in a certain area, but I think showing a definite and certain interest is arguably even more important. I think most people use at least the first year of grad school just to figure out what they want to do and get a feel for the department. I'm making the switch from HET track to CMT track relatively late, but at the end of the day its all QM/QFT and I imagine its the similar for experimental/statistical work.

[Throwaway1]

With the astrophysics thing, of course it helps to have more experience in a certain area, but I think showing a definite and certain interest is arguably even more important.

I'm not sure how it is with astrophysics departments, but in biophysics it has been widely reported by those who make admissions decisions that the best way you can substantiate an interest in biophysics is by doing biophysics, and not just expressing an interest in the field. I'm sure the same rings true for other disciplines.

But yet again, kyashtyur has his bases covered for his motivation to pursue research in astrophysics with an internship at NASA and departmental work. Truly, this man is a god among men and will no doubt be viewed as a powerhouse to admissions committees. I almost want to place bets on what top college he doesn't get into with a top profile like that.

[DiracMan]

To change the topic: there's already more domestic 990's posted than last year. I wonder if that reflects a change in the users of this site or in the applicant pool...hopefully it's not the latter.

While I am not exactly an authority, I suspect the former. Having trolled this forum for a while, I am quite convinced that the people willing to post their profiles tend to have far better stats than the average applicant.

I continue to wonder how far apart, on average, domestic and international applicants are on test scores. Despite a relatively fervent search, I have only found a handful of hard stats on this (but they are rather revealing where they exist). I once read that CU Boulder one year had an average PGRE in the mid-800s, but the average was 960 among internationals and 770 among domestics (I do not recall what year or the source of the statistic, but the numbers stuck with me). I have interpreted this to mean that the "raw PGRE average" reported by many schools is largely meaningless. I typically assume that the average among domestics is at least 50 points lower than the overall average.

Of course, being a domestic with an 840, I hold a significant bias.

[photonic]

I continue to wonder how far apart, on average, domestic and international applicants are on test scores. Despite a relatively fervent search, I have only found a handful of hard stats on this (but they are rather revealing where they exist). I once read that CU Boulder one year had an average PGRE in the mid-800s, but the average was 960 among internationals and 770 among domestics (I do not recall what year or the source of the statistic, but the numbers stuck with me). I have interpreted this to mean that the "raw PGRE average" reported by many schools is largely meaningless. I typically assume that the average among domestics is at least 50 points lower than the overall average.

http://www.ph.utexas.edu/grad-admissions.php
http://www.physicsgre.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3669

The texas one was posted here already, but it does give a good example of the discrepancy. Not sure if the stats are strictly for the Ph.D program though. I know a lot of programs are half basically half international so if you assume they need 900+ you can probably get a good estimate.

The list that WhoaNonStop posted is specifically for white male domestic applicants so I thought it was pretty useful. It's a little old now though and I'm sure theres a lot more data out there...and I just realized you were the one who posted the last thread analyzing the 2012 data. Thanks for that!

[blighter]

To change the topic: there's already more domestic 990's posted than last year. I wonder if that reflects a change in the users of this site or in the applicant pool...hopefully it's not the latter.

While I am not exactly an authority, I suspect the former. Having trolled this forum for a while, I am quite convinced that the people willing to post their profiles tend to have far better stats than the average applicant.

I continue to wonder how far apart, on average, domestic and international applicants are on test scores. Despite a relatively fervent search, I have only found a handful of hard stats on this (but they are rather revealing where they exist). I once read that CU Boulder one year had an average PGRE in the mid-800s, but the average was 960 among internationals and 770 among domestics (I do not recall what year or the source of the statistic, but the numbers stuck with me). I have interpreted this to mean that the "raw PGRE average" reported by many schools is largely meaningless. I typically assume that the average among domestics is at least 50 points lower than the overall average.

Of course, being a domestic with an 840, I hold a significant bias.

Well the stats quoted by Photonic consists exclusively of accepted students. Since international students are held to a higher standard, it's not particularly surprising that the average PGRE score is higher for internationals. I am not really sure about the CU Boulder one though. But seeing the numbers I'm pretty confident even that includes just the accepted students.

[SSM]

Is this where we get to roast the applicants?

[Tom Joad]

Is this where we get to roast the applicants?

Or praise, if you so desire.

[Minovsky]

Following the trend of paranoia, I will update all the statistics and such later. But I will say that I only got a 720 on the PGRE.

UC - Berkeley - Physics -ExHEP ACCEPTED! 2/5

So, evidently AIP is flat out lying about Berkeley's 730 minimum PGRE score.

[Meteorshower]

Why is it people are too paranoid to post details? What's the risk?

[AprilMay4]

Following the trend of paranoia, I will update all the statistics and such later. But I will say that I only got a 720 on the PGRE.

UC - Berkeley - Physics -ExHEP ACCEPTED! 2/5

So, evidently AIP is flat out lying about Berkeley's 730 minimum PGRE score.

They might just use it as a guideline. I mean, don't let my PGRE score lead you to think I am an idiot. I have a 4.0, interned at two national labs, and have really good letters of recommendation. I just also happen to have a disability that leaves me with severe test anxiety (to the point where I get a tight chest and hyperventilate). I wrote about it, and provided scientific study of it, in my personal statement so they may have made an exception.

Or AIP didn't know what they were talking about...

[ModusPwnens]

What's the risk?

Famous last words...

But seriously, there is probably very little risk. I happen to have a fairly unique profile that would make identifying me pretty easy, but I know that admissionprof said no one would do this (and I believe her). I openly admit this is an irrational fear, but hey, anything to put your mind at ease during this stressful time.

I doubt we're the first people to be paranoid, it just seems trendy this year to talk about how you're paranoid. And this extra talk could be making more people paranoid. As for the partial profile, I posted mine to help put at ease the people who are worried about the health of this site.

[Meteorshower]

What's the risk?

Famous last words...

But seriously, there is probably very little risk. I happen to have a fairly unique profile that would make identifying me pretty easy, but I know that admissionprof said no one would do this (and I believe her). I openly admit this is an irrational fear, but hey, anything to put your mind at ease during this stressful time.

I doubt we're the first people to be paranoid, it just seems trendy this year to talk about how you're paranoid. And this extra talk could be making more people paranoid. As for the partial profile, I posted mine to help put at ease the people who are worried about the health of this site.

Fair enough. I'm fairly sure it's trivial from my profile to figure out who I am, but I don't see why an admissions committee would be like "oh, he uses physicsgre.com? can't admit him now!"

[Minovsky]

Following the trend of paranoia, I will update all the statistics and such later. But I will say that I only got a 720 on the PGRE.

UC - Berkeley - Physics -ExHEP ACCEPTED! 2/5

So, evidently AIP is flat out lying about Berkeley's 730 minimum PGRE score.

They might just use it as a guideline. I mean, don't let my PGRE score lead you to think I am an idiot. I have a 4.0, interned at two national labs, and have really good letters of recommendation. I just also happen to have a disability that leaves me with severe test anxiety (to the point where I get a tight chest and hyperventilate). I wrote about it, and provided scientific study of it, in my personal statement so they may have made an exception.

Or AIP didn't know what they were talking about...

AIP uses info reported by the schools, so I'm guessing that Berkeley doesn't actually strictly adhere to the 730 rule or they misreported their info to AIP. I made no judgements about your intelligence based on your score; it is the same as mine. It's comforting to know that a top-tier school doesn't only accept 900+'s. I've heard talk on various forums and blogs that Berkeley in particular tends to only accept people with scores in the 900's. I made the mistake of not applying to Berkeley because I took AIP's info too seriously (I probably wouldn't have been accepted anyway, so it doesn't really matter).

Out of curiosity, could you provide the reference of that study on your disability?

[Robespierre]

Come on, his is an exceptional circumstance, and even then his score was just 10 points below the supposed minimum. All this tells us is that they actually read the applications, instead of automatically screening the under-730s with a computer.

[AprilMay4]

Come on, his is an exceptional circumstance, and even then his score was just 10 points below the supposed minimum. All this tells us is that they actually read the applications, instead of automatically screening the under-730s with a computer.

Not that it really matters, but you should be saying her .... just sayin

[Minovsky]

The AIP profile for UC Berkeley states

Minimum accepted GRE Physics score: 730*

AFAIK, no other school has any minimum listed. If Berkeley goes out of their way to report such info, they likely consider it relevant. Their 2013-14 AIP profile is also explicitly referenced on their own admissions website as well. Through the grapevine, I've heard of schools flat out discarding all applications under a certain score. Yes, it is an unconfirmed rumor, but it is not unreasonable to assume that Berkeley could do this if they wanted to as they receive a huge number of applications (800-900/year) and they can afford to be choosey. AprilMay4's acceptance is also in stark contrast to a lot of the data on this forum over the past few years.

*http://gradschoolshopper.com/gradschool ... admissions

[quizivex]

I think it's possible that the "minimum accepted PGRE score: 730" might have been referring to the minimum out of all the accepted students in that class year. Many of the other numbers in the AIP handbook refer to the previous admissions season. It might not be an admissions cutoff unless the program's website says so.

[Tom Joad]

Why is it people are too paranoid to post details? What's the risk?

You know how much those Californians hate Okies. I wouldn't want them to find out that I am one. (See "Grapes of Wrath.")


PS: AprilMay4, have you emailed Berkeley about funding or open house information? I'm hoping they send it soon.

[AprilMay4]

PS: AprilMay4, have you emailed Berkeley about funding or open house information? I'm hoping they send it soon.

I haven't. The way people are talking about the fact that I was accepted with a PGRE lower than their "minimum required PGRE" is sort of freaking me out, so I am just going to quietly (and anxiously) wait for the information hoping they don't realize they've made a mistake or something... but if they email you, you should let me know!

[Tom Joad]

PS: AprilMay4, have you emailed Berkeley about funding or open house information? I'm hoping they send it soon.

I haven't. The way people are talking about the fact that I was accepted with a PGRE lower than their "minimum required PGRE" is sort of freaking me out, so I am just going to quietly (and anxiously) wait for the information hoping they don't realize they've made a mistake or something... but if they email you, you should let me know!

Haha, alright, I'll keep you in the loop. On their website it says the open house if April 10&11, but has no other information. That's so late! April 15 week will be very stressful.

[Minovsky]

I think it's possible that the "minimum accepted PGRE score: 730" might have been referring to the minimum out of all the accepted students in that class year. Many of the other numbers in the AIP handbook refer to the previous admissions season. It might not be an admissions cutoff unless the program's website says so.

That certainly makes sense, but UIUC's (http://gradschoolshopper.com/gradschool ... admissions) and Duke's (http://gradschoolshopper.com/gradschool ... admissions) pages lead me to believe my original interpretation is what is meant. Though, Berkeley itself could have been confused on the meaning of what AIP asked them. Typos in the data are also not nonexistent. Maryland's "min PGRE" is listed as 666. That's not an obtainable score, and it's not their average since another number (876) is labeled as such.

Don't trust me too much (e.g. I was totally wrong about other schools not listing anything there).

@AprilMay4
I don't think you have anything to worry about. I'm much more likely to believe that you got accepted than that Berkeley's admissions decisions are exactly tied to whatever is printed by AIP. Belated congratulations.

[Robespierre]

Come on, his is an exceptional circumstance, and even then his score was just 10 points below the supposed minimum. All this tells us is that they actually read the applications, instead of automatically screening the under-730s with a computer.

Not that it really matters, but you should be saying her .... just sayin

Doesn't matter? Hey, that actually totally explains everything!

But seriously, female, experiment, testing disability (which I think is by far the biggest factor in getting that minmum waived), just 10 points below the minimum, strong rest of the application: I don't think there would be anything surprising about her getting accepted, even if the standard of 730 minimum is strictly maintained for non-disabled applicants.

[Robespierre]

Maryland's "min PGRE" is listed as 666.

One does not simply get such a number by a typo...

[Meteorshower]

Come on, his is an exceptional circumstance, and even then his score was just 10 points below the supposed minimum. All this tells us is that they actually read the applications, instead of automatically screening the under-730s with a computer.

Not that it really matters, but you should be saying her .... just sayin

Doesn't matter? Hey, that actually totally explains everything!

But seriously, female, experiment, testing disability (which I think is by far the biggest factor in getting that minmum waived), just 10 points below the minimum, strong rest of the application: I don't think there would be anything surprising about her getting accepted, even if the standard of 730 minimum is strictly maintained for non-disabled applicants.

Or maybe they don't actually care about a "minimum" enough to turn away a fantastic applicant in every other regard?

[Robespierre]

Isn't that what I'm saying...? Especially given that there's a valid reason for not meeting that minimum.

Schools can even get the requirement of a bachelor's degree waived under truly extraordinary circumstances.

[Tom Joad]

PS: AprilMay4, have you emailed Berkeley about funding or open house information? I'm hoping they send it soon.

I haven't. The way people are talking about the fact that I was accepted with a PGRE lower than their "minimum required PGRE" is sort of freaking me out, so I am just going to quietly (and anxiously) wait for the information hoping they don't realize they've made a mistake or something... but if they email you, you should let me know!

I'm sure you got the email too, but in case not: the physics department finally sent me an email inviting me to the open house with a detailed form to fill out, saying that they have a "limited amount of money set aside to help defray some of your airfare," whatever that means. They also said detailed funding information will be mailed next week.

[AprilMay4]

PS: AprilMay4, have you emailed Berkeley about funding or open house information? I'm hoping they send it soon.

I haven't. The way people are talking about the fact that I was accepted with a PGRE lower than their "minimum required PGRE" is sort of freaking me out, so I am just going to quietly (and anxiously) wait for the information hoping they don't realize they've made a mistake or something... but if they email you, you should let me know!

I'm sure you got the email too, but in case not: the physics department finally sent me an email inviting me to the open house with a detailed form to fill out, saying that they have a "limited amount of money set aside to help defray some of your airfare," whatever that means. They also said detailed funding information will be mailed next week.

Thanks! Yeah I did get the email. Who sends an email to say we will mail you the information next week?? I am getting SOOOO impatient!

[Robespierre]

I think the financial offer only gets finalized when the Graduate Division (not the Physics Department) officially decides on the matter. Anyway, I wouldn't worry about funding if I were you, since you're clearly one of their "top-most ranked applicants" (a phrased they used to describe me, but which I don't really believe... what top-most ranked applicant at Berkeley doesn't get accepted to Chicago?), based on when they've accepted you.

[Skullgrid]

what top-most ranked applicant at Berkeley doesn't get accepted to Chicago?), based on when they've accepted you.

I don't know... I got into Caltech, MIT, Berkeley, and Princeton, but got wait-listed at Chicago. It's not just about your GPA and GRE scores, it's also about how your past research and future research interests fit in with the department (among many other factors).

[Robespierre]

True, but in my case I think the levels of research fit were similar, though the schools might have judged differently.

At any rate, I'm happy for how things turned out.

[P-representation]

Is Berkeley completely out by now? Do they have further waves of acceptances?

[Robespierre]

According to Gradcafe, last year they sent out acceptances in early February, mid February, and then in late February. So if it's like last year they'll have one more wave.

[Tom Joad]

Thanks! Yeah I did get the email. Who sends an email to say we will mail you the information next week?? I am getting SOOOO impatient!

I know, right! They better mean email when they say "mail." Though, in case any Berkeley admission chairs are reading this: I'm not complaining about the early admission offer! haha

I think the financial offer only gets finalized when the Graduate Division (not the Physics Department) officially decides on the matter. Anyway, I wouldn't worry about funding if I were you, since you're clearly one of their "top-most ranked applicants" (a phrased they used to describe me, but which I don't really believe... what top-most ranked applicant at Berkeley doesn't get accepted to Chicago?), based on when they've accepted you.

I don't know... I got into Caltech, MIT, Berkeley, and Princeton, but got wait-listed at Chicago. It's not just about your GPA and GRE scores, it's also about how your past research and future research interests fit in with the department (among many other factors).

If you guys are basing this solely off of not being admitted along with everyone else on Thursday, then I also got waitlisted or rejected from Chicago. My mistake was probably in applying to the physics department with an astro research interest even though it was clear that the astronomy department was very separate. Of course, it could just be that Chicago is being more selective this year, but I'm not too broken up about it since Chicago was not one of my top choices.

[Skullgrid]

If you guys are basing this solely off of not being admitted along with everyone else on Thursday, then I also got waitlisted or rejected from Chicago. My mistake was probably in applying to the physics department with an astro research interest even though it was clear that the astronomy department was very separate. Of course, it could just be that Chicago is being more selective this year, but I'm not too broken up about it since Chicago was not one of my top choices.

Nope. I was literally sent a wait-list email from the Chicago Astro department. I thought about applying to the physics dept. too, but I decided to go astro on this one because the physics dept only had 3 astro people, and IIRC 2 of them are on the older side.

[Tom Joad]

I can't tell if gaze is posting a real profile with a weird sense of humor or if he/she's just messing with us. Regardless, getting into "Yerle" with a writing score of "poop" is rather impressive.

[AprilMay4]

I can't tell if gaze is posting a real profile with a weird sense of humor or if he/she's just messing with us. Regardless, getting into "Yerle" with a writing score of "poop" is rather impressive.

Yeah, I definitely didn't know how to interpret the post either..

On a different note, have you gotten your financial package from Berkeley yet? I'm getting SUPER impatient, and gradcafe says that people started receiving rejections in the mail today. I figured maybe the financial info would be coming around the same time.

[Minovsky]

UW Seattle - Astro - Rejected (F! Do they want any international students at all?)

I find it interesting that wll745881219 is super pissed about getting rejected from Washington when they have acceptances from Chicago, Princeton, MIT, CalTech and Berkeley. Maybe they really want to live in Seattle?

[Skullgrid]

...have you gotten your financial package from Berkeley yet?

I got mine last week. It basically said that I've got a TAship.

[AprilMay4]

...have you gotten your financial package from Berkeley yet?

I got mine last week. It basically said that I've got a TAship.

And you got it in the mail? I'm super jealous! I just don't like not knowing.

[wll745881219]

Dude I just find UW Seattle to be my safety school... And it indicates that my investigation about safety school is a horrible failure.

UW Seattle - Astro - Rejected (F! Do they want any international students at all?)

I find it interesting that wll745881219 is super pissed about getting rejected from Washington when they have acceptances from Chicago, Princeton, MIT, CalTech and Berkeley. Maybe they really want to live in Seattle?

[Skullgrid]

And you got it in the mail? I'm super jealous! I just don't like not knowing.

No, it was an attachment in an email. Apparently they're mailing it as well.

[Tom Joad]

I can't tell if gaze is posting a real profile with a weird sense of humor or if he/she's just messing with us. Regardless, getting into "Yerle" with a writing score of "poop" is rather impressive.

Yeah, I definitely didn't know how to interpret the post either..

On a different note, have you gotten your financial package from Berkeley yet? I'm getting SUPER impatient, and gradcafe says that people started receiving rejections in the mail today. I figured maybe the financial info would be coming around the same time.

And you got it in the mail? I'm super jealous! I just don't like not knowing.

No, it was an attachment in an email. Apparently they're mailing it as well.

What the heck? I haven't got mine either.....maybe that just means that our financial deal will be super sweet. Or they just forgot about us, and when we arrive in August we'll have live in the physics building and survive by getting free food at colloquia.

[blighter]

Dude I just find UW Seattle to be my safety school...

That was awful rich of you.