Major(s): Physics, theoretical particle physics, theoretical condensed matter physics
Minor(s): just your usual maths for physicists and some pure maths courses
GPA in Major: BSc 3.73, MSc 4.0
Length of Degree: 3 years BSc, 2 years MSc
Position in Class: 93rd percentile in BSc, 70th percentile in MSc (only interested & motivated people remained I suppose)
Type of Student: European male
GRE/PGRE: Nope
TOEFL: 110/120
Research Experience:
a) 3 publications during my Bachelor's thesis, 2 as the first author. Poster presentation at int. conference in France. Though the research was not in my desired field. But it should be better than not having it, right?
b) Master thesis in hep-ph
c) 5-month research internship at a Government lab, also not about theory, but numerics & simulation of fusion plasmas
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 'with distinction' in BSc and MSc, 'Deutschlandstipendium' for academic merit (a stipend of ~7200$ in total)
Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
a) before starting uni, I served 7 months in the German Military (not sure at all whether schools in the US care about that)
b) 1/2 year as TA in maths for CS (actually disliked teaching a lot, so I never did that again)
c) student association "Engineers Without Borders" (a bunch of engineers saving the world by realising social projects around the globe, super fun)
d) I will start a Consultant job in cyber security at KPMG in January to bridge the gap until Fall 2023 (also not sure whether to put that on my CV)
LOR:
1) MSc thesis advisor that was faculty at U of Hawaii and Johns Hopkins. Should be good to strong
2) BSc thesis advisor, co-author of 3 papers. Should be very strong, but he's not in the desired field.
3) Research internship advisor. Strong, but he's not in the desired field
Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
a) exchange semester during my BSc at SNU in Seoul, South Korea
b) 2 exchange semesters during my MSc at Trinity College Dublin, taking additional credit courses in pure maths, GR & QFT
Planning to apply to:
(that's still too many to ask my referees to send their letters)
Super Reach (I want to reduce that to maybe 4)
Cambridge (UK)
U Chicago
Princeton
Columbia
MIT
Stanford
Caltech
USC Dornsife
Reach (or super reach)
Cornell
UC Santa Barbara
U Michigan Ann Arbor
U Maryland College Park
U Wisconsin Madison
Johns Hopkins
Match
Carnegie Mellon University
UCSC
U Illinois
U Texas Austin
Boulder
Stony Brook
Issues:
I am definitely not a prodigy, but I'd say I'm quite successful in what I do and have the grades to show for it.
So far, I'd consider my personal statement passable at best. Literature or creative writing was not on my syllabus :/
Topics:
I did a thesis in hep-ph, so I am generally interested in theory and high-energy physics. Not sure whether that means I want to stick to phenomenology, but I just like to work theoretically. I'd also be keen to learn more about topics like strong gravity, quantum gravity, and theoretical cosmology.
Any suggestions concerning realistic schools and general guidance would be greatly appreciated
