Was there a surge in application volume this year?

  • This has become our largest and most active forum because the physics GRE is just one aspect of getting accepted into a graduate physics program.
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TomServo
Posts: 33
Joined: Sun Mar 31, 2013 9:55 pm

Was there a surge in application volume this year?

Post by TomServo » Tue Mar 25, 2014 5:27 pm

Was there a higher ratio of applicants to available spots across all schools this year? And if so, was the surge primarily from domestic or international students? PSU had 600 applicants for 25 spots this year.

torch000
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun Nov 17, 2013 11:24 am

Re: Was there a surge in application volume this year?

Post by torch000 » Tue Mar 25, 2014 6:15 pm

Not according to the admission statistics for Fall 2012
http://www.gradschoolshopper.com/gradsc ... admissions

which if your number is a hard 600, indicates that the volume of applicants has decreased

bfollinprm
Posts: 1203
Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2009 11:44 am

Re: Was there a surge in application volume this year?

Post by bfollinprm » Tue Mar 25, 2014 8:05 pm

There has been consistent growth in people entering both graduate and undergraduate programs in physics in the US for the past several years. This year was a continuation of that trend.

Catria
Posts: 354
Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2012 4:14 pm

Re: Was there a surge in application volume this year?

Post by Catria » Mon Mar 31, 2014 4:24 pm

The acceptance rates on the AIP website are a little misleading, if Dr. Knop's (a prof at Quest, ex-Vanderbilt prof) claims are correct.

Many East Asian kids (oftentimes cram school graduates) will shotgun 20, 30 (one Vanderbilt applicant reportedly sent as many as 40 apps) applications with a poorly written SOP, who may or may not know what research they want, and recs that don't mean as much. And yet, they used to make up 2/3 to 3/4 of the apps back in the day where he worked at Vanderbilt... perhaps a little less now, though. My PI said that, for this reason, the real acceptance rates are anywhere between what's on the AIP's website and twice that figure.



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