2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

  • 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.
  • There are applications, personal statements, letters of recommendation, visiting schools, anxiety of waiting for acceptances, deciding between schools, finding out where others are going, etc.

FourierTransformer
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2015 7:40 pm

Re: 2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by FourierTransformer » Sun Feb 22, 2015 9:55 pm

Undergrad Institution: UC Davis
Major(s): Physics, Mathematics

GPA in Major: 4.0 Physics, 3.99 Math
Overall GPA: 3.99
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: top/near top
Type of Student: Domestic White Male

GRE Scores :
Q: 170 (98%)
V: 164 (93%)
W: 5.0 (93%)
P: 990 (94%)


Research Experience: One summer of research in mathematical biology, 1 year in HEP-TH/Mathematical Physics. No publications (but one in preparation), no talks.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's List every term, Scholarship for good grades.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Worked as a drop-in tutor for the university in math/physics since January of my Junior year, including over the summer.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Had almost all A+s in physics. Two majors in 4 years, if that counts for anything.

Special Bonus Points: I took a grad QFT course in my Junior year and received an A+. I've also been involved in reading/group study courses in mathematical physics or high energy theory since the beginning of my Sophomore year, which led directly to my research. Most of this was done with one professor, so his letter was probably very good, but the other two may not have been as strong.

Applying to Where: All for HEP-TH/Strings...

University of Michigan - Accepted! 1/14
Stony Brook - Accepted! 1/18
UCLA - Accepted! 2/11
Stanford - Rejected 2/17
MIT - Rejected 2/18
UC Berkeley - Accepted! 2/18
Princeton - Accepted! 2/19
Columbia - Accepted! 2/19
Caltech - Rejected 2/23
UC Santa Barbara - Rejected 2/24
Harvard - Rejected 3/02
Rutgers -

------------------------------------------------------------

To any future applicants, especially in High Energy Theory: this field is becoming increasingly competitive - try to get as much research experience as you can and study a ton for the PGRE. I highly recommend "Conquering the Physics GRE" for reviewing: it comes with a quick overview of every topic you need, and includes several practice tests. Many actual GRE questions seemed right out of this book.

I feel very lucky to have the acceptances I did get - it shows that you don't need a first author publication to get into the top 10 (but it definitely would have helped). Best of luck to anyone still waiting and to future applicants!
Last edited by FourierTransformer on Mon Mar 02, 2015 7:22 pm, edited 2 times in total.

pburt
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Feb 25, 2015 6:40 pm

Re: 2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by pburt » Wed Feb 25, 2015 7:00 pm

Undergrad Institution: Big Ten School, strong reputation in physics
Major(s): Engineering Physics
Minor(s): Mathematics
GPA in Major: 3.55
Overall GPA: 3.40
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Average to above average
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores :
Q: 166 (92%)
V: 149 (41%)
W: 4.0 (56%)
P: 700 (52%)


Research Experience: Summer and semester with the physics of music lab. Studied 1/f noise in carbon composition and thick film resistors. Wrote senior thesis on this research. 1 talk at symposium.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Honorable mention at poster session.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor in math for 1 semester. Much leadership and public relation experience in senior supervisor position at calling center on campus.

Special Bonus Points: First person in my family to pursue PhD.

Applying to Where: All astrophysics. Mostly experimental, sprinkled with theory.

Columbia - Rejected - 3/27 via email to check website
Ohio State - Wait listed - 2/19 via email - Rejected - 3/31 via email
UPenn - Rejected - 3/18 via email to check website
Arizona State - Rejected - 4/8 via email
NYU - Rejected - 2/27 via email
University of Minnesota - Rejected - 2/28 via email to check website
Johns Hopkins - Rejected - 4/9 via email
Brown - Wait listed - 2/25 via email - Application Withdrawn 4/9
NC State - Admitted - 2/2 via email to check website - $21,212/year TA - Will Attend!

Afterthoughts:
In all, I suppose I was shooting pretty high. I only had one research experience, which hurt me in the long run. My GPA was not competitive enough for the programs I was applying to either. My original list was the first 7 schools above, but after I received my PGRE score, I added the last two (which I'm very glad I did). I knew that score was not as competitive as other applicants to the same programs.

Don't take the PGRE lightly! You should study, study, study for that thing. I also probably spent too much time at my job on campus (~16 hrs/week) as opposed to focusing on classes and research. Your higher level physics classes will matter. Do not put research off until the summer before your senior year. Talk to the professors at your institutions if they take on undergraduates as I'm sure many of them do. Do not be shy or think you won't get a research position because that will be hurtful in the long run. Start early with research. The more experience you get, the stronger case you can make for yourself in your statement of purpose, and if your research was good, you will get an outstanding letter of recommendation. Lastly, the people applying to those programs are as serious as you, and competition is stiff.
Last edited by pburt on Thu Apr 09, 2015 11:26 pm, edited 4 times in total.

grateful
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2015 1:18 pm

Re: 2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by grateful » Sat Feb 28, 2015 1:31 pm

Undergrad Institution: (School or type of school, such as big state, lib arts, ivy, technical, foreign (what country?)... Overall Reputation in Physics?)
Major(s): Mathematics, Physics
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major:4.00
Overall GPA: 4.00
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: top
Type of Student: International Male

GRE Scores : (revised or old version?)
Q:
V:
W:
P:

Will reveal more details after the dust is completely settled.

Research Experience:

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Money for getting good grades.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: Very extensive course work in honours mathematics and physics, with insanely good grades.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where:

All Theoretical Physics (Will be more specific after dust is settled)
Stanford - Accepted --- Dream School.
Chicago - Accepted
Cornell - Accepted
UIUC - Accepted
Yale - Accepted
Harvard - Rejected Via Website
MlT Rejected
UC Berkeley - Rejected
Caltech - Rejected
Princeton - Rejected
UCSB - Rejected
Columbia - Don't care any more.
Last edited by grateful on Mon Mar 02, 2015 8:28 pm, edited 3 times in total.

gendf
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2014 10:39 am

Re: 2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by gendf » Sat Feb 28, 2015 9:31 pm

Undergrad Institution:
Major(s):Physics
Minor(s):N/A
GPA in Major:
Overall GPA:3.97
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: top

Master Degree
Major(s):Physics
Minor(s):N/A
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA:4.0
Length of Degree: 2 years

Type of Student: International


GRE Scores : revised
Q:167
V:155
W:2.5
P:880


IELTS Total: 7.5

Research Experience: (At your school or elsewhere? What field? How much time? Any publications (Mth author out of N?) or conference talks etc...)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: just regular scholarship for good grades

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: (Such as connections, grad classes, famous recommenders, female or minority status etc...)

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where: all CMT

US Schools
MIT - rejected
Harvard -rejected
Princeton - rejected
Stanford - rejected
Caltech - rejected
Berkeley - rejected
Chicago - rejected
Boston University - seems to be first waitlisted, then rejected on April 21, 2015

Canadian Schools
UBC - rejected
University of Toronto - rejected
Waterloo - accepted
Alberta - accepted
Simon Fraser - accepted
McMaster - accepted
Last edited by gendf on Mon Apr 27, 2015 3:16 pm, edited 8 times in total.

plasmerl
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2015 2:06 pm

Re: 2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by plasmerl » Tue Mar 03, 2015 4:13 pm

Undergrad Institution: Large Private University
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Minor: Physics
GPA in Major: 3.75 (3.7 Physics)
Overall GPA: 3.50
Type of Student: Domestic male

Grad Institution: Large Public University
Field of Study: Physics
Overall Grad GPA: 3.8

GRE Scores : Revised
Q: 161 (80%)
V: 160 (84%)
W: 4.5 (80%)
P: 850 (79%)

Research Experience: 2 years in theoretical/computational plasma research, no publications. National Undergraduate Fellowship (NUF) in Plasma Physics through PPPL.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Nothing noteworthy

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for a couple semesters

**Applying as a graduate transfer student**

Applying to Where (all for theoretical/computational plasma):

Princeton - Plasma Physics - Rejected via email 2/26
Maryland-College Park - Physics - Accepted via email 2/10
Texas-Austin - Physics - Rejected via website 3/3
Colorado-Boulder - Physics - Rejected via email 3/11
Dartmouth - Physics - Waitlisted via inquiry 3/2
UC Irvine - Physics - Rejected via email 4/6
Columbia - Applied Physics
Last edited by plasmerl on Mon Apr 06, 2015 5:45 pm, edited 3 times in total.

Sanhedrin
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Dec 11, 2013 11:32 am

Re: 2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by Sanhedrin » Wed Mar 04, 2015 3:36 am

Undergrad Institution: large private, no reputation in my fields of interest
Major(s): physics, mathematics
Minor(s): logic
GPA in Major: 3.95 physics, 4.0 math
Overall GPA: 3.96
Length of Degree: 5 years
Position in Class: top?
Type of Student: male, domestic, not an underrepresented minority

GRE Scores :
Q: 168
V: 170
W: 4.0
P: 990



Research Experience: 2.5 years. Quantum information and mirror symmetry with professors at my university, REU on quantum foundations/computation at a different university. Several talks at regional conferences. One at a national conference.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: top scholarship from my university

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for a graduate class

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: grad classes in GR, mathematical physics, algebraic topology, differential topology, analysis

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: No publications.

Applying to Where:

All physics departments. Some for QI, some for hep-th.

Stanford - Physics - Rejected
UC Santa Barbara - Physics - Rejected
Caltech - Physics - Rejected
MIT - Physics - Rejected
Princeton - Physics - Rejected
Harvard - Physics - Rejected
UT Austin - Physics - Rejected, finally on May 7
UPenn - Physics - Rejected
Penn State - Physics - Rejected
UCLA - Physics - Accepted, will attend
Brown - Physics - Accepted
UNC Chapel Hill - Physics - Accepted

______ _____________________________________

I guess I knew what I was getting into applying for theory. Not having publications certainly didn't help. One thing that bothers me is that I have no idea how my undergraduate university is viewed by others. I'm worried that prejudice against my university hurt my chances. But that is probably just me being paranoid. Or maybe my SoPs had red flags that were invisible to me and would have been caught if I had more people read them. The universities I felt were best fits for my interests have mostly rejected me making me wonder if my SoPs for those schools came off as too enthusiastic.

I don't know what my future in physics is. The market for tenure-track positions is horrible, especially for hep-th. My understanding is that a PhD from a top school is basically a requirement for a tenure-track position at a research oriented university. Even the latest faculty hire in my Nth tier undergrad department is from a top ten. Do I really have a chance? And is the chance big enough to gamble the next decade of my life on? I guess this is all just more motivation to do a stellar job in grad school.
Last edited by Sanhedrin on Thu May 07, 2015 6:27 am, edited 4 times in total.

basik156
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2015 2:57 pm

Re: 2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by basik156 » Mon Mar 09, 2015 10:14 am

Undergrad Institution: State school
Major(s):Physics
Minor(s):N/A
GPA in Major:3.75
Overall GPA:3.60
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Near top
Type of Student: Domestic male

GRE Scores : revised
Q:156
V:155
W:4.0
P:810




Research Experience:
-1.5 years in condensed matter experiment, conducted experiments at two national labs
-1 REU in condensed matter experiment
-2 years on AMO experiment

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
-1 physics department scholarship
-Dean's list 3 semesters

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
-Math/physics tutor

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
5 total publications. 4 in condensed matter exp, 1 AMO 1st author

Special Bonus Points:
2 grad classes, Quantum Optics & E&M
Almost all A's in upper division physics

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where:
All physics PhD unless otherwise noted, all for AMO experiment
University of Colorado-Boulder -Accepted
University of Maryland-College Park - Accepted
University of Arizona - College of Optical Sciences - Accepted
Rice University - Applied Physics - Accepted
University of Wisconsin-Madison - Accepted
University of Connecticut - Accepted
University of Rochester - Optics - Rejected from PhD, offered masters - Declined
Harvard University - Rejected
Stanford - Rejected
College of William and Mary

CircleSound
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2015 1:49 pm

Re: 2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by CircleSound » Thu Mar 12, 2015 2:17 pm

Undergrad Institution: Large State School, Top 20 in Physics
Major(s): Physics, Math
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 3.70
Overall GPA: 3.76
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Not sure
Type of Student: Domestic male

GRE Scores : Revised
Q: 164
V: 166
W: 4.0
P: 690


Research Experience: 1 year on an astronomy project on galaxy clusters at home institution, 1 summer REU on gravitational waves at a foreign university, 1.5 years on gravitational waves at home institution. No publications.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Award for 4.0 Freshman GPA, University Honors for 4 semesters

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Nothing outside of research

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Not really

Special Bonus Points: None

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where: All for experimental astrophysics or cosmology

Johns Hopkins -
UIUC - Rejected 3/16
Brown - Rejected 3/2
New York University - Rejected 2/27
Georgia Tech - Accepted 3/13 - $24,060 TA + $5,500 Fellowship
University of Florida - Accepted 3/4 - $23,000 TA
UC Irvine -
Last edited by CircleSound on Mon Mar 16, 2015 3:57 pm, edited 2 times in total.

woodbetweenworlds
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Mar 14, 2015 6:56 pm

Re: 2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by woodbetweenworlds » Sat Mar 14, 2015 7:27 pm

Undergrad Institution: Small public liberal arts university
Major(s): Math and Physics
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 3.81
Overall GPA: 3.63
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: My class had three physics majors. I was the top.
Type of Student: Domestic male

Graduate Institution: Large public university in same state (leaving with an M.S.)
Major(s): Physics
Graduate GPA: 3.81
Length of Degree: 5 years
(This is probably the part that most hurt me)

GRE Scores : (revised)
Q: 170 (98%)
V: 167 (97%)
W: 4.0 (56%) I probably should have left the essay blank, now it looks like I tried
P: 820 (74%)


Research Experience:
About two years in Density Functional Theory, another nearly two years in Transformation Optics. I got most of one paper finished from the later research, but my research advisors were very resistant to it, so it was not yet published at the time of application. I listed this as my reason for switching schools.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Dean's List most semesters, school scholarships, HOPE scholarship, Outstanding Physics Major Award.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
I've been a TA all through my masters, as well as an RA, and also a tutor for several years.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
I think I wrote a pretty good statement of purpose. I already have an A-average in a graduate program in physics, and already passed on set of preliminary and qualifying exams.

Special Bonus Points:
Already an experienced TA and RA?

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
I am "transferring" from another Ph.D. program five years in to it. It was a bad decision to stay here as long as I have. I should have left sooner, when I realized the research interests don't fit my interests. On applications, this ends up looking very bad. My letters were weak. I didn't get a long well with most of the important professors in my department, and the professor who would have known me best was my advisor and did not want me to leave. Not having letters from past research advisors probably especially hurt my applications.



Applying to Where: all physics, all theory. in order of decision date

UNC - Rejected 2/6/15 ... aaaand my safety rejects me right out of the gate :cry:
Duke - Rejected 2/11/15
Stanford - Rejected 2/17/15
CalTech - Rejected 2/23/15
UCSB - Rejected 2/24/15
Berkeley - Rejected 3/12/15
Georgia Tech - Waitlisted 3/13/15 - Rejected 4/14/2015
Johns Hopkins - Rejected 4/10/15

So, time to start looking for jobs open to an M.S. Physics holder :|
Last edited by woodbetweenworlds on Tue Apr 14, 2015 8:18 pm, edited 2 times in total.

mecidiyekoy
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 3:43 pm

Re: 2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by mecidiyekoy » Tue Mar 17, 2015 4:06 pm

Undergrad Institution: big state school, top 40 physics, also good reputation materials science
Major(s): Materials Science Engineering
Minor(s): ~
GPA in Major:3.3
Overall GPA:3.3
Length of Degree:5
Position in Class: average/above-average
Type of Student: Domestic male.

GRE Scores :
Q:163
V:167
W:4.5
P:850

Research Experience: 1 year undergrad research with professor in MatSci, geology summer project in matlab, 6 months research in biophysics at another university. Good letters of rec but no papers.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Majored in engineering. Took post-bacc physics classes with 4.0 in those classes. Rsrch at other university was during gap year so it was full-time research position.

Applying to Where:

U central florida - Physics-CME. accepted 1/31. standard fin-aid plus 17k/year in fellowship.
UC Riverside - Physics-CME. accepted early feb.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Physics-CME. accepted early march.
U Virginia - Physics-CME. accepted early march
U Florida - Physics-CME. accepted early march. standard fin aid plus 5k/year fellowship
U Oregon - Physics-CME, biophysics. rejected mid march.
Georgia Tech - Physics-CME, biophysics, soft condensed matter. accepted mid march.Will attend! :D

Even after reading all the applicant profiles I had no clue where I stood. Anyway I hope this helps other engineering majors looking to go to physics grad school!

Cheers,

gocougs
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Apr 01, 2015 7:03 pm

Re: 2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by gocougs » Wed Apr 01, 2015 7:26 pm

Undergrad Institution: Large private religious university
Major(s):Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major:3.98
Overall GPA:3.99
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: Near top
Type of Student: Domestic male

GRE Scores : revised
Q: 168
V: 162
W: 3.5
P: 960


Research Experience: AMO research experience at undergrad institution, SULI internship, 1 first author pub, 2 more to come

Applying to Where:

Rice - Physics - AMO - accepted ~28 k stipend
CU Boulder - Physics - AMO - accepted ~24 k stipend +10 k signing bonus
Maryland College Park - Physics - AMO - accepted ~27 k with 10 k fellowship
University of Rochester - Optics - accepted ~29 k + 2 k fellowship
Cornell - Applied Physics - Optics - accepted ~28 k fellowship + RA money in the summer
Yale - Applied Physics - Optics/Nanophotonics - accepted ~32.4 k
Caltech - Applied Physics - Optics/Nanophotonics - accepted ~32 k
Stanford - Applied Physics - AMO - rejected

Cho'bal
Posts: 29
Joined: Fri Nov 14, 2014 4:23 am

Re: 2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by Cho'bal » Mon Apr 06, 2015 5:10 am

I guess now is about the right time to post this.

Undergrad Institution: A private school in Asia
Major 1: Computer science
Major 2: Physics
GPA in Major: 3.99 / 4.0 for computer science, 4.0 / 4.0 for physics
Overall GPA: 3.85 / 4.0
Length of Degree: 5 years
Position in Class: Top
Type of Student: International Asian male

Graduate(Masters) Institution: A public school in Asia
Major: Physics
GPA in Major: 3.98 / 4.0
Length of Degree: 2 years
Position in Class: Near top

GRE Scores :
Q: 170 (98%)
V: 164 (93%)
W: 4.0 (56%)
P: 990 (94%)


TOEFL Total: 114

Research Experience: 1 year in computer science (no pubs), 1.5 years in physics (1 co-authored paper in statistical physics, was under review at the point of application)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: A number of Honors and scholarships for good grades, but otherwise meh..

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA in a number of undergraduate physics courses as a graduate student? I'm not sure if that counts though.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I don't think this helped, but I worked in the military for two years.

Special Bonus Points: Computational skills? Well, I have a degree in computer science..

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Nope.

Applying to Where: All hep-th.
The list is in no particular order. Forgive me for not remembering the dates.
Harvard - Physics - Rejected
Stanford - Physics - Rejected
Princeton - Physics - Rejected
MIT - Physics - Rejected
U Penn - Physics - Rejected
UT Austin - Physics - Wait-listed, Rejected on May 7th
Chicago - Physics - Rejected
Michigan, Ann Arbor - Physics - Rejected
Brown - Physics - Rejected
Yale - Physics - Rejected
Cornell - Physics - Rejected
Maryland, College Park - Physics - Rejected
Berkeley - Physics - Rejected
Caltech - Physics - Rejected
Columbia - Physics - Rejected
Last edited by Cho'bal on Wed May 06, 2015 11:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Frankenztein
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 8:58 am

Re: 2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by Frankenztein » Wed Apr 08, 2015 9:56 am

______________________________________________
Undergrad Institution: Local university, average size, World rank ~2400
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 3.66
Overall GPA: 3.70
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Above average
Type of Student: International Male

GRE Scores : Revised
Q: 158 (71%)
V: 151 (50%)
W: 4.5 (80%)
P: 750 (62%)


TOEFL Total: 108

Research Experience: Nothing much to say

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: n/a

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for 6 months

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: n/a

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where:

Boston College - Physics - Waitlisted (Upon inquiry on 03/29)
Brandeis U - Physics - Waitlisted via e mail on 03/20 after a phone interview on 2/10 ------> Rejected 04/16
Northeastern U - Physics - Rejected via e mail to check website on 03/26
Tufts U - Physics - Accepted on 02/26 with $29.2k TA position ~ Will attend! :D
Drexel U - Physics - Rejected (Not even an e mail :evil: , just checked website out of curiosity only to find out I have not been selected)
Temple U - Physics - Accepted on 02/06 with $24k TA position
GIT - Physics - Rejected via e mail on 03/13
Emory U - Physics - Rejected via e mail to check website on 03/13
LSU - Physics - Rejected via e mail on 04/16
______________________________________________
Last edited by Frankenztein on Fri Apr 17, 2015 7:29 am, edited 2 times in total.

grace12
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 4:01 pm

Re: 2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by grace12 » Wed Apr 08, 2015 4:31 pm

Undergrad Institution: small liberal arts college, unknown physics department
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): none
GPA in Major: 3.9
Overall GPA: 3.9
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: top
Type of Student: domestic female

GRE Scores : (revised)
Q: 160 (78%)
V: 164 (93%)
W: 4.0 (56%)
P: 620 (33%)

Research Experience: 10-week REU in relativistic heavy ion physics at reputable state school; my results will be used in a publication but no authorship; I presented a poster at APS Division of Nuclear Physics meeting

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: academic scholarships at undergrad institution, was awarded funding for APS DNP meeting travel/registration/etc.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: treasurer for Society of Physics Students for 2 years...

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: Really good recommendation letters I think -- the professors at my undergrad know me vey well and my REU research advisor is fairly well-known in the field. When I was applying I also contacted professors who I wanted to work with and was able to talk to a professor or two over the phone at almost every school.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where:

research interest is experimental high energy nuclear/heavy ion/spin or high energy experiment for all

Columbia - Physics - Rejected
MIT - Physics - Rejected
Stony Brook - Physics - Accepted
UC Berkeley - Physics - Rejected
UC Davis - Physics - Accepted
UCLA - Physics - Accepted
UC Riverside - Physics - Accepted
University of Illinois at Chicago - Physics - no response...
University of New Mexico - Physics - Accepted
Wayne State - Physics - Accepted
Yale - Physics - Rejected

jbrussell93
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 5:12 pm

Re: 2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by jbrussell93 » Wed Apr 08, 2015 5:41 pm

Undergrad Institution: Big state school in the U.S. - Average reputation
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Geology, Mathematics
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 4.0
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Top
Type of Student: Hispanic Male

GRE Scores : Revised
Q: 161 (80%)
V: 157 (74%)
W: 4 (56%)
P: NA (not required for geophysics)

Research Experience:
Biophysics (3 semesters and 1 summer) - Research on campus. No presentations or publications
Geophysics/Seismology (4 semesters) - Research on campus. Presented poster at national meeting (AGU), but no publications.
Seismology REU - At Purdue University. Presented poster at national meeting (AGU), no publications.
Geodesy REU - At UNAVCO in Boulder Colorado. Presented poster at national meeting (GSA), first author publication in prep.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Various local scholarships and awards

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Undergraduate research ambassador

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: Hispanic/Latino status probably helped some. Had some connections through my REU's with pretty stellar letters of rec. All of my letters were from research advisors. Took a graduate seismology course.

Most important thing is that I contacted professors at each of the places I applied. I felt that this played a HUGE role in my success.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where: (all for geophysics)

Columbia - Geophysics - Accepted - $35k/yr (6 years Dean's Scholarship) + $8k diversity scholarship [Revised after NSF GRFP: $40k/yr (6 years) + $8k ] ~ WILL ATTEND
Yale - Geophysics - Accepted - $32.4k/yr (5 years) + $2k ~ offer declined
Brown - Geophysics - Accepted - $34.6k/yr (5 years) ~ offer declined
U. of Arizona - Geophysics - Accepted - $18.4k/yr (4 years) ~ offer declined
Purdue - Geophysics - Accepted - $18k/yr ~ offer declined

NSF GRFP - Awarded 3/30

Berkeley - Geophysics - Rejected

Was pretty worried about my GRE scores, but that didn't seem to hurt me too badly. My thoughts are that GPA + Research > GRE

oneshartushar
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Apr 15, 2015 5:06 pm

Re: 2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by oneshartushar » Wed Apr 15, 2015 5:42 pm

Undergrad Institution: Small state school
Major(s): Physics and Applied Mathematics
Minor(s): Computer Science
GPA in Major: 3.94
Overall GPA: 3.89
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: 1st/2nd in department
Type of Student: Domestic White Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 164 (88%)
V: 155 (67%)
W: 3.5 (38%)
P: 670 (45%)

Research Experience: 3 years at home university doing computational astrophysics. One summer internship at a lab doing space physics.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's list, good scores on multiple mathematical modeling competitions

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Physics tutor for 3 years, VP of both math and physics club for a couple years

Special Bonus Points: Maybe some connections through my summer advisor?

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Very strong letters and SOP. Behind on core physics courses, resulting in my poor pgre score (explained in SOP)

Applying to Where (All Space/Plasma Physics):

Princeton (Plasma Program) - Rejected
Caltech (Applied Physics) - Rejected
Cornell (Applied Physics) - Rejected
Columbia (Applied Physics/Math) - Rejected
University of Maryland - Accepted
UCSD - Rejected
UCLA - Accepted - Will Attend!
University of Colorado, Boulder - Rejected
University of Wisconsin, Madison (Both physics and EP) - Accepted (Both)
Georgia Tech (Computational)- Waitlisted (withdrew)
UCI - Rejected
Dartmouth - Rejected
College of William & Mary - Accepted

Expected the rejections at the top 10 schools because of my low test scores. But hopefully my profile will give some hope to those in similar situations.
Last edited by oneshartushar on Tue Apr 28, 2015 12:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

ssssspace
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Mar 18, 2015 5:48 pm

Re: 2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by ssssspace » Tue Apr 21, 2015 10:17 pm

Undergrad Institution: Large State School (top 50)
Major(s): Astrophysics
Minor(s): Mathematics
GPA in Major: 3.25
Overall GPA: 3.45
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: Top 25%
Type of Student: Domestic White Female

GRE Scores :
Q: 163
V: 163
W: 4.0
P: 680

Research Experience:
1 year of exgal (x-ray point souces analysis) at home institution

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Sigma Pi Sigma
Honors Student

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
Campus physics tutor for ~1.5 years
SPS officer

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
Lots of outreach and advanced astrophysics classes

Special Bonus Points:
Good writing skills, strong LORs, female

Applying to Where: (all for observational astro/instrumentation)

University of Hawaii - rejected early February
University of Colorado, Boulder - rejected 2/13
University of Washington - rejected 3/7
University of Notre Dame - accepted 2/18 - will attend - $21,000/9 months + $5,000/summer
University of Maryland - rejected 3/15
University of Florida - waitlisted 2/25 - rejected 4/20
University of Arizona - rejected 1/23
New Mexico State University - waitlisted - declined before decision made
Arizona State University - rejected 4/9
University of Central Florida - interviewed 4/1 - declined before decision made

HwaS
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Nov 07, 2014 6:41 am

Re: 2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by HwaS » Fri May 01, 2015 5:04 pm

Undergrad Institution: Private University in South Korea. low ranked school in my country.
Major(s):Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major:
Overall GPA:4.0/4.5( A+ 4.5 A 4.0 B+ 3.5 etc....) which is about 3.56 in 4.0scale if apply brute proportionality
Length of Degree: 4years but almost 3years because didn't take much class in 4th year. Applied at 3rd year. This is second round of applying.
Position in Class: don't know how to know this. maybe within 1st quartile.
Type of Student: International, male

GRE Scores : revised
Q:165 this is for children.
V:155 too much vocabularies i don't know.
W:3.0 I off-topic-ed because there were some word i don't know in prompt. Generally I can't write fast or generate content at all.
P:990 breeze


TOEFL Total: Total109 R29 L30 S23 W27. Can't speak. The rest are breeze but really struggled to barely meet minimum score for speaking section. Almost spent too much time. I might be eligible for linguistics minor.

Research Experience: Senior thesis on CMT

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: few GPA award

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: none.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: none.

Special Bonus Points: none.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Didn't take much math course for theorist. Not close with LOR writer. Never meet them outside classroom. So LOR might not align with my interest. Not eloquent SOP, had not done much prospective school research. Wrote it in last minutes. My interest is HET, but didn't mention string theory because reading all posts i'm scared of being rejected by being too specific. I wrote most ambiguously that i'm interested in mathematical aspect of physics. Maybe i shouldn't. These things that I regret.

Applying to Where: All HEP-th

Stony Brook - rejected first rejection first week of febuary
Duke -Waitlisted upon inquiry
Rutgers - waitlisted
Brown - Master without funding mar
Florida(UF) - Accepted last week of febuary. 25k/year. Fellowship. reduced TA 13 hours only 3 semester. Will Attend.
Boston(BU) - rejected apr 20th
UNC - rejected feb
TAMU - rejected upon inqury
Arizona statel - still heard nothing
Case Western - rejected feb

What do you guys think? too much rejection? Do you think some part of my application has gone wrong? Or quite fitting for my circumstance? Do you think there something can be improved? let me know.

User avatar
drunkphysics
Posts: 16
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2014 11:01 am

Re: 2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by drunkphysics » Fri May 08, 2015 12:54 pm

Undergrad Institution: Liberal Arts School, very much unknown physics program.
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Mathematics, Music
GPA in Major: 3.60
Overall GPA: 3.62
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: near-top, 2nd
Type of Student: Domestic white guy

GRE Scores : revised
Q: 157 - 68%
V: 155 – 67%
W: 3.5 – 38% (got a 4.0 previously, but more is gained about your writing skills from your statement than gre, so meh.)
P: 650 - 40% <- took me 2 years but I finally nailed a decent score!

Research Experience: Senior Thesis / SCE on a custom acoustics experiment, individually presented at a large academic conference; Adv. Lab coursework presented at an academic poster-session with classmates; Currently working on R&D as technician for 2 years, modeling/studying electrochemistry and fluid dynamics. No publications or authorships :(

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: some departmental award/scholarship thing my junior year for outstanding something or other; 7 semesters on deans list; graduated cum laude; eagle scout?

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Intro physics lab TA for 5 semesters w/ grading; served as president and senate rep for SPS; served as alumni relations and historian for national fraternity. (careful to word as anonymous service org on apps, some profs are extremely biased against fraternities :|)

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: my senior thesis was an experiment I spearheaded, I came up with the idea and built the whole thing myself, gotta be worth something; I also interned 1 summer at a large science center.

Special Bonus Points: Small school means personal LOR’s, especially when you have hung out with a few profs and gotten to know each other on more than just an academic level. I know at least 2 of mine are good quality.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I’ve always been highly involved with music, was part of numerous ensembles and organizations. Was actually brownie points for 1 school, talked about it with head of admissions.

Applying to Where:

Case Western - CME - Accepted, 24k/year. Will attend.
University of Pittsburgh - CME - Waitlisted, got an email asking if I was still interested after 4/15, never replied.
Ohio University - CME - Accepted, 20k/year after "mandatory expenses".
William & Mary - CME - Accepted, 24k/year.
Dartmouth - CME - Rejected after 4/15, first I had heard from them.
Notre Dame - CME - Waitlisted, told them I had already accepted elsewhere.
Kent State - CME - Accepted after 4/15, 21k-24k/year pending summer research.
Penn State - CME - Rejected 3/5.



Welp, I finally did it. Got accepted to a number of places including my top choice, which is so much better than not getting accepted anywhere last year. Living proof that taking a year or two off in between b.s. and grad school isn't the end of the world!! I got some work experience under my belt, and can make my way around a lab like a pro. Also, proof that PGRE really is a gatekeeper for most acceptances. took a full summer of prep work but I made it happen, and you can too!!
PROTIP: get this book. http://www.physicsgreprep.com/. This resource made 100% of the difference, it's crazy how many specific things in that book were on my test.

Hope this post helps someone who had less than impressive scores, check my results last year. 500 club baby.

astro_orion
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2014 12:55 am

Re: 2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by astro_orion » Mon May 11, 2015 10:27 am

Undergrad Institution: Small Liberal Arts College
Major(s): Astronomy, Physics
Minor(s): Math
GPA in Major: ~3.5
Overall GPA: ~3.4
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class:
Type of Student: Domestic male

GRE Scores : (revised or old version?)
Q: 163 (86%)
V: 161 (87%)
W: 5.0 (93%)
P: 580 (25%) :roll:


Research Experience: 3 years of work as a research assistant, 1 summer at home institution in observational stellar, 1 summer elsewhere in observational extragalactic, senior thesis in computational stellar (total of 4 conference presentations)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: one year as TA-ish job for mainly intro classes

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: see below

Applying to Where: (all for extragalactic astronomy, mix of combined (phys/astro) and separate (astro only) departments)

Boston University - waitlisted- Accepted, 31.5k/year
Florida Institute of Technology - Accepted, no emails from department about funding... :x
George Mason University - Accepted, 18k/9months as RA
Georgia State University - Accepted, 20k/year
Indiana University - Accepted, 26k/year for first two years, then down to 20k/year
New Mexico State University - waitlisted- withdrew
RIT - waitlisted- withdrew
Texas A&M - Accepted, 22k/year, plus 2k extra for first year
UCLA - Rejected
UC Riverside - Rejected
UC Santa Cruz - Rejected
University of Florida - waitlisted- Accepted, 23k/year
University of Kansas - waitlisted- withdrew
UMass Amherst - waitlisted- withdrew
UMBC - waitlisted- Accepted, 24k/year
University of Oklahoma - Accepted, 19.2k/year

I was terrified when I got my PGRE score back- I really thought I didn't have any shot at grad school this year. I had also been rejected to all of the over two-dozen REU programs I applied to the summer before, but persisted and found some work with a great professor. My rec letter writers all thought I had a pretty good shot at a fair number of the schools on my list, and I stuck with it. I think my letters of recommendation and research experiences were quite strong, and those seem to matter a lot more than your PGRE score or GPA (particularly in astronomy).

Moral of the story: you can get into grad school (on the first try!) with a not-so-great PGRE.

Anyways, PM me if you see this and have any questions about the application process, particularly if you're in a similar situation. I'd be happy to help :)

heatslugger
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue May 12, 2015 2:32 pm

Re: 2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by heatslugger » Tue May 12, 2015 2:51 pm

Undergrad Institution: Big state school known for engineering
Major(s): Physics and Math
GPA in Major: 3.95
Overall GPA: 3.85
M.S. GPA 3.75
Length of Degree: 5 years (Including transfer from another undergrad). 2 years for M.S.
Position in Class: 2nd
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores :
Q: 162 (2012)
V: 162 (2012)
W: 4.5 (2012)
P: 900 (2014) 720 (2012)

Research Experience: ~2 years at university in statistical physics. 1 REU in plasma physics. ~1.5 years on M.S. thesis. Zero publications. Presented at APS March meeting and was supposed to present at another meeting but couldn't due to weather.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Nothing outside of department awards and school awards.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: LA as undergrad. TA as grad.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I'm a shitty person.

Applying to Where:

Berkeley - Physics - CMT - REJECTED
Princeton - Physics - CMT - REJECTED
Stanford - Physics - CMT - REJECTED
Chicago - Physics - CMT - REJECTED
UCSB - Physics - CMT - REJECTED
UIUC - Physics - CMT - REJECTED
Boulder - Physics - CMT - REJECTED
UCSD - Physics - CMT - REJECTED
Maryland - Physics - CMT - REJECTED
Penn State - Physics - CMT - REJECTED
Boston U - Physics - CMT - REJECTED

Don't know what I was thinking. I'm done.

chr16golf
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Sep 23, 2014 3:45 pm

Re: 2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by chr16golf » Tue Jun 23, 2015 1:02 pm

Undergrad Institution: Big school, small physics department. Known for HEPx
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Mathematics
GPA in Major: 3.55
Overall GPA: 3.39
Length of Degree: 3.5 yrs
Position in Class: Slightly above average
Type of Student: Domestic male

GRE Scores:
Q: 163 (86%)
V: 156 (71%)
W: 5.5 (98%)
P: 680 (9/2014), 820 (10/2014)

Research Experience: 5 months of HEPx research at well known facility in Switzerland followed by 3 months working in corporate R&D analyzing MRI superconducting magnet designs. Two laboratory classes: one focused purely on electronics, the other focused on a variety of advanced small scale experiments, but nothing special.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: small research grant for 5 months in Switzerland, but nothing else.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: nothing that has not alreadt been mentioned

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: not exactly physics related, but i have worked consistently in some sort of a job since i was 14 (during school in HS, summers in college).

Special Bonus Points: had 2 KILLER (I assume, based on my admissions results and my personal profile, haha) recommendations from well known/highly respected physicists.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: as mentioned above, a lot of job experience, but mostly not physics related (not even close. camp counselor, that type of stuff).

Applying to Where:

UCLA -- AMO/CME Accepted :D :D
UCSD -- CME Rejected
UCSB -- CME Rejected
UCSC -- CME/HEPx Accepted
UVA -- CME Accepted
Rice -- AMO Accepted
UMass Amherst -- CME Accepted
CUBoulder -- AMO/CME Rejected
UWashington Seattle -- AMO/CME Rejected

fusionman12
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2015 9:40 pm

Re: 2015 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by fusionman12 » Mon Jul 13, 2015 10:06 pm

Undergrad Institution: ~ Big state school overall top 70, physics top 50
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Math
GPA in Major: 3.5
Overall GPA: 3.6
Length of Degree: 3 years
Position in Class: top 15%
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores : revised
Q: 152 (54%)
V: 157 (68%)
W: 4.5 (80%)
P: 600 (29%)


Research Experience: 2 years working for EXO dark matter group working on neutron monte carlo simulations of background data. Also included some data analysis of big data sets. No internships.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: None other than dean's list every semester

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutoring for 1 semester, grader for ODE's for one semester

Special Bonus Points: I took 5 grad level classes and did well (B+/A-) in all, two through were in math and three were in physics

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I am fluent in Python for over two years, and have a great knowledge of matlab. I graduated in three years while taking many advanced courses and also doing research. My GRE scores were terribly low, and I commented on this because I was forced to take all the upper level physics course my senior year (when I was taking the GRE) so I had not taken StatMeck, QM, or Classical Mechanics when I took the exam.

Applying to Where:

Brown - Physics - Dark Matter/Neutrinos
U Washington - Physics - Dark Matter/Neutrinos
Northwestern U - Physics - Computational Astrophysics
University of Rochester - Physics - Computational Astrophysics / Dark Matter
Penn State - Physics - Dark Matter/Neutrinos and Gravitational Waves
U Pittsburgh - Physics - Dark Matter
Syracuse U - Physics - Gravitational Waves



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