==> Sticky: 2010 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.

Zburatorul
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2009 3:46 am

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by Zburatorul » Tue Feb 23, 2010 5:31 pm

Undergrad Institution: Caltech... iz ze best
Major(s): Physics
GPA in Major: 3.6
Overall GPA: 3.4
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: top third among physics majors
Type of Student: International, male; definitely a minority, just not the kind that America cares about.

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 690
W: 5.0
P: 950 (92%)


TOEFL Total: Waived by US degree.

Research Experience:
One summer in planetary science studying one of Saturn's satellites.
One summer at CERN writing a model for the ATLAS magnetic field.
One summer in the CMT group at Tech studying high-Tc superconductivity; resulted in one first-author publication in PRB.
Ongoing senior thesis on topological insulators.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Bronze Medal at IPhO.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutored underclassmen, TA-ed a cs language course for a year.
Member of SPS, APS.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points:
If a grad class is a class that has grad students in it, then: E&M, QM, StatMech, QFT, Elementary Particles...
I speak 4 languages.

My recommenders are well-established in their fields, but none are world famous I think.
I spoke to several professors at various schools about their research and manifested interest in working for them.

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

Applying to Where:
All in Condensed Matter Theory or general theory if no choice was available.

UCSD - Rejected, 03/16, email
UCSB - Accepted with RA, 02/25 through email
Stanford - Rejected, 02/24, email
Berkeley - Rejected, 03/11, email
UChicago - Rejected, 03/05, email
Boulder - Accepted w/ TA/RA + 8k signing bonus, 02/24 through email
Yale - Rejected, 02/15, email about decision online
MIT - Rejected, 03/03, email
Harvard - Rejected, 03/01, snail mail
Columbia - Rejected, 03/12, email about decision online
Princeton - Rejected, 02/19 by email
Last edited by Zburatorul on Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:02 pm, edited 4 times in total.

ieyp
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 3:00 am

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by ieyp » Tue Feb 23, 2010 10:43 pm

Undergrad Institution: Top 50 in China, but unknown in physics
Major(s): Applied Physics
GPA in Major: 89/100
Overall GPA: 87/100
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: 1/28
Type of Student: International

Master Institution: same as my undergrad
Major(s): Condensed Matter Physics
Overall GPA: 89/100
Length of Degree: 3
Position in Class: 1/12

GRE Scores:
Q: 730
V: 360
W: 3.0
P: 770

TOEFL Total: 99/120

Research Experience: 3 years condensed matter theory research, 3 Physical Review B (2 first-author, all co-author with my advisor)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: some unknown scholarships

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 1 year research assistant, 1 year high school physics teacher

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Nothing

Special Bonus Points: I can apply some algorithms in the research of strongly-correlated systems, they are pretty complicated.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I have not specially learned the four core mechanics courses in my undergrad. My English speaking is not good too. Moreover, I completely failed in the 2009 application.

Applying to Where: all CM

U Mass -
CWRU -
U Minnesota -
U Buffalo - Accepted 2/24 TA

temppp
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2010 10:52 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by temppp » Tue Feb 23, 2010 11:11 pm

Undergrad Institution: top ten physics
Major(s):Physics
GPA in Major: 3.34
Overall GPA: 3.34
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: lower middle
Type of Student: domestic female

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 600
W: 5.0
P: 530, 590



Research Experience:
REU in neutrino physics. Visited and worked at KamLAND.
Did work for a year in AMO physics. Published a paper as first author. My name is on another paper that was recently submitted for publication (after my applications had been due however).



Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
member of Sigma Alpha Lambda honors society.


Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
Got a D in a math class and had to retake it.

Applying to Where: (rankings according to US news and world report)

UC Berkeley (top 10)- rejected 3/18 after email inquiry
Stanford (top 10)- rejected 2/24 by email
UC San Diego (top 20)- rejected 3/16 by email
UC Davis (top 30)- Accepted 2/5 with tuition covered, TA position, fellowship, 21.6k
UC Irvine (top 30)- rejected 3/16 by email
Georgia Institute of Technology (top 50)- Accepted 3/8 with tuition covered, TA position, fellowship, 28.5k
UC Santa Cruz (top 50)- Accepted 2/17 with tuition covered, TA position, fellowship, 23.6k
UC Riverside (top 75) - Accepted 2/17 with tuition covered, TA position, fellowship, 26k
Univeristy of Hawaii at Manoa (top 100)- Accepted 3/15 with tuition covered, TA position, scholarship, 16.8k
Kansas State University (top 100)- Accepted 2/11 with tuition covered, TA position, fellowship,18.2k

Each school has different fees for the semester, and each area has a different cost of living. Taking this into account, the financial awards are all pretty comparable.
Last edited by temppp on Thu Mar 18, 2010 11:32 pm, edited 7 times in total.

betelgeuse1
Posts: 116
Joined: Sat May 09, 2009 10:14 am

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by betelgeuse1 » Fri Feb 26, 2010 2:34 am

Undergrad Institution: Too big state school in eastern europe
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): none
GPA in Major: 9.80/10
Overall GPA: 9.80
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Top, over 120 students in year
Type of Student: International, white, male

GRE Scores:
Q: 740 82%
V: 520
W: 3.5
P: 740 63%


TOEFL Total: 114/120
IELTS Band Score: 8.0/9.0

Research Experience:
Quite a lot, let's start like that:
Quantum Mechanics applied to Molecules as Undergrad (inside my school)
Molecular Dynamics applied to large Molecules as Master (inside my school)
Elementary Particles theory as Master (international master)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Various research and study grants domestic and international

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
TA at a UG class in the US for 1 year

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
Lots of presentations about elementary particle theory
Special Bonus Points:
Graduate classes in the US : QM, ED, Diff. Eq.
Graduate classes at masters : QFT, QED, QCD, Statistical Mechanics etc.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
International experience
Applying to Where:

UMD - Physics - CMT/Biophysics/HEP-TH - rejected 03/16
Rice - Physics - CMT/Biophysics/HEP-TH - rejected 4/15
JHU - Physics - CMT/Biophysics/HEP-TH - rejected 03/25
Penn State - Physics - CMT/Biophysics/HEP-TH - rejected 03/23
NYU - Physics - CMT/Biophysics/HEP-TH - rejected 03/18
Brandeis - Physics - CMT/Biophysics/HEP-TH - rejected 4/5
Northeastern - Physics - CMT/Biophysics/HEP-TH
Boston University - Physics - CMT/Biophysics/HEP-TH
Rochester - Physics - CMT/Biophysics/HEP-TH - rejected 03/17
Universite de Paris Diderot - CMT - Accepted! 1850 Eur/Month = 2541.46 USD/Month :D = 2504.60USD on apr 1 :o :(
-------------------------------------------------------------------
why does it take so long? No answer whatsoever! I asked questions to various departments and they say they usually give answers mid march or that the process is "still going on". What should I understand by that? I saw that BU already sent acceptances and rejections. What means that? Why do they say nothing at all?
Last edited by betelgeuse1 on Thu Apr 15, 2010 4:31 pm, edited 15 times in total.

TheSharkey
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Dec 26, 2008 3:30 am

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by TheSharkey » Fri Feb 26, 2010 4:13 am

Undergrad Institution: Foreign, quite well known for engineering but unknown for physics.
Major(s): Physics, Electrical & Electronics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 8.12/10 (phys)
Overall GPA: 7.69/10
Length of Degree: 5
Position in Class: average+
Type of Student: International, male.

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 620
W: 4.0
P: 880


TOEFL Total: 114

Research Experience: one semester study on critical phenomena, one semester study on applied quantum mech, 1 year research in CFD and a senior year project on stability of microscale flows. No publications :cry: (none at least by the time of applying).

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: national talent scholarship, group math olympiad.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: organized a workshop on MEMS, a couple of robotics projects... nothing significant i guess.

Special Bonus Points: Grad level courses in QFT and electromagentic theory.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: some poor grades in engineering courses....

Applying to Where:
all in nano-scale physics

Caltech - Applied Physics
Yale - Applied Physics - Rejected 2/23 via e-mail
Stanford - Applied Physics - Rejected 3/06 via e-mail
Wisconsin-Madison - Physics - Rejected 1/28 via e-mail
Maryland College Park - Physics -
Rice - Physics -
Purdue - Physics - Accepted 3/1 via e-mail - $ 16.6K TA
Stony Brook - Physics - Rejected 3/13 via e-mail
Georgia Tech - Physics -
Arizona State - Physics -
New Mexico - Physics -
North Carolina State - Physics - Application on Hold (i.e. wait-listed?) 3/10 visa e-mail
Last edited by TheSharkey on Wed Mar 17, 2010 10:53 am, edited 4 times in total.

eternalrift
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Feb 26, 2010 9:02 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by eternalrift » Fri Feb 26, 2010 9:21 pm

Undergrad Institution: State school, somewhere toward the lower 100
Major(s): B.S. Physics, B.S. Mathematics, B.A. German
GPA in Major: 3.92
Overall GPA: 3.93
Length of Degree: 5
Position in Class: somewhere at the top
Type of Student: domestic male

GRE Scores:
Q: 760 (85%)
V: 600 (86%)
W: 4.0 (41%)
P: 640 (48%)

Research Experience: One summer of experimental surface physics research with a very well known prof. ~1.5 years of applied mathematical research (optimization and signals stuff)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: President's honor roll every semester, Phi Beta Kappa, German student of the year

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Math lab T.A. for 1.5 years

Special Bonus Points: three good letters of rec., one of them is especially good. Taken three grad courses; one was in topology and the other two were cont. mech.

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

Did a year of study abroad in Bonn, Germany. Studied physics and math over there (mainly analysis and theoretical mechanics).

Applying to Where:

Math:
SUNY - Stony Brook --Rejected via email, Mar. 12

Physics:
Berkeley--Rejected via email, Mar. 17
Columbia --Rejected via email, Mar. 12
Northwestern
Penn State--Rejected via email, Mar. 23
U. Boston--Waitlisted
U. Cali. Santa Barbara--Rejected via online notification, Mar. 25
U. Colorado Boulder --Rejected via email, Mar. 5
U. Florida --Accepted via email Feb. 15, T.A. with 21k stipend
U. Oregon --Rejected via post, Mar. 12
Last edited by eternalrift on Thu Mar 25, 2010 3:37 pm, edited 5 times in total.

reddealer
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Feb 26, 2010 9:56 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by reddealer » Fri Feb 26, 2010 10:16 pm

Undergrad Institution: Ivy
Major(s): Physics and Math (with M.A. in Math)
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.91
Overall GPA: 3.81
Length of Degree: 4 years, including the M.A.
Position in Class: top few
Type of Student: Domestic White Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%)
V: 550 (75%)
W: 4.0 (41%)
P: 880 (84%)

Research Experience: 2 years of continuous research in Single-Molecule Biophysics/Nanoscience. No publications, but contributed to a conference poster. One summer in HEP-Exp.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's List most years, undergrad research funding.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA Calculus for 1 Semester. Some tutoring.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: I have taken a number of graduate classes in Physics and Math. I have a lot of experience with TEM.

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

Applying to Where:

(All Condensed Matter Experiment, with interest in Condensed Matter Theory and Biophysics)

Harvard - Accepted - 2/10
MIT - Rejected - 3/2
Yale - Accepted - 2/23
Columbia - Accepted - 2/22 with Faculty Fellowship
UPenn - Accepted - 2/2
Johns Hopkins - Accepted - 1/27 - Declined
Chicago - Accepted - 3/2 (they tried mailing earlier but bad address) with Millikan Fellowship
Stanford - Accepted - 2/23
Berkeley - Rejected - 3/5 - In Response to Inquiry
Caltech - Accepted - 2/22
UCSB - Accepted - 2/22
Last edited by reddealer on Wed Mar 24, 2010 5:51 pm, edited 4 times in total.

golick2000
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri Feb 26, 2010 3:21 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by golick2000 » Sat Feb 27, 2010 5:50 am

Undergrad Institution: a well-reputed theoretical Physics Dept in Ukraine
Major(s):Physics & Electrical Eng.
GPA in Major:4.00
Overall GPA:4.00
Length of Degree:5 years (M.S.)
Position in Class:top
Type of Student:international

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 530
W: 4.5
P: 960

TOEFL Total:112/120

Research Experience: 3 international workshops, 1 Phys. Rev. B, 1 Phys.Rev.E and 1 Phys.Rev.Lett. articles.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Different national competitions and olympiads
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Doing M.S. theses

CONDENSED MATTER THEORY.
Applied for 14 schools. Here are only those which have already replied.
Harvard- rejected via snailpost
Yale - rejected via e-mail
Illinois Urbana-Chamaigne- rejected via e-mail
So much unfriendly California for internationals:
Stanford - rejected via e-mail
CalTech - rejected via e-mail
San Diego - rejected via e-mail
Santa Barbara - rejected via application page status
Berkeley - rejected after e-mail inquiry


MIT - accepted by e-mail with named fellowship >2.400K per month Accepted offer
Princeton - accepted via e-mail with fellowship 22.5 K per 10 month DECLINED
Chicago - accepted via snailmail with TA 22.5 K per 10 month+5K summer research assistanship DECLINED
Cornell - accepted by e-mail with fellowship 29 K DECLINED
Columbia - accepted by e-mail with fellowship 30 K DECLINED
Wisconsin- accepted by e-mail with fellowship DECLINED
Last edited by golick2000 on Wed Apr 14, 2010 10:44 am, edited 10 times in total.

yusufm
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Feb 28, 2010 2:31 am

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by yusufm » Sun Feb 28, 2010 2:47 am

Undergrad Institution: Berea College (A small LAC in Kentucky)
Major(s): Physics and Math
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.89
Overall GPA: 3.93
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: top 5%
Type of Student: International with US degree

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%)
V: 620 (89%)
W: 3.5 (23%)
P: 620 (37%)

Research Experience: A summer REU at Montana State University in Solar Physics theory, a summer of observational astronomy at the home institution and a semester of experimental nuclear physics.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Plenty of awards from the college, dean's list and so forth.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutoring for basic level physics classes and also grading homework.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: One summer at Harvard taking two classes.

Special Bonus Points: A paper is in review from the summer REU.

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

Applying to Where:

Harvard - Rejected 2/24
Cornell - Rejected 2/9
Boston University - Rejected 3/26
Ohio State University (OSU) - Waitlisted 3/15, Rejected 4/15
Purdue - Waitlisted 3/2, Accepted 4/14 (Declined)
SUNY (Stony Brook) - Accepted 3/4 (Accepted the offer)
Vanderbilt University - Accepted 2/26 (Declined)
Montana State University - Accepted 2/24 (Declined)
Last edited by yusufm on Thu Apr 15, 2010 3:25 pm, edited 11 times in total.

aksjdkhas
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2010 10:09 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by aksjdkhas » Mon Mar 01, 2010 10:22 pm

Undergrad Institution: Top 20 public
Major(s): physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: ~3.8
Overall GPA:3.86
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: Topish
Type of Student: Domestic female

GRE Scores:
Q:800
V:700
W:5.5
P:870


Research Experience: 1 year HEP Exp at school, 2 REUs, a few posters

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points:

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

Applying to Where: All HEP Exp

Stanford - Accepted
Berkeley -Accepted
UCSB -Accepted Declined Offer
Columbia -Accepted with Faculty Fellowship
Harvard -Rejected
MIT -Rejected
_______________________________________
Last edited by aksjdkhas on Sun Mar 21, 2010 6:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
del_and_bones
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Mar 03, 2010 11:14 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by del_and_bones » Wed Mar 03, 2010 11:34 pm

Undergrad Institution: Small state school more know for astronomy
Major(s): Math and Physics
GPA in Major: 3.5 Physics 3.16 Math
Overall GPA: 3.24
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: Top 5
Type of Student: Domestic Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 790
V: 520
W: 3.5
P: 550


Research Experience: NASA Space Grant

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dept. Chair Scholar

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: President of the Autoclub

Special Bonus Points: Took Complex Analysis

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I've worked extensively as a gear-head, general construction worker (mostly laying 12" water and sewer lines), and in machine shops. I have various fabrication skills on a professional level: MIG and ARC welding, heavy equipment operation, gunsmithing, mechanicing, and carpentry.

Applying to Where:

Montana State -
Oregon State - Accepted via email/letter with $1750/mo TA 2/4 Accepted offer
U of Oregon - Rejected via letter 2/26
Last edited by del_and_bones on Fri Apr 23, 2010 11:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

gyro555in
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Jun 20, 2009 6:00 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by gyro555in » Fri Mar 05, 2010 7:06 pm

Undergrad Institution: Well known for Engineering, No reputation in Physics
Major(s): Mechanical Engineering
Minor(s): No such option
GPA in Major: 7.31/10
Overall GPA: 7.31/10
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: average
Type of Student: International, male

GRE Scores:
Q: 750
V: 510
W: 4.0
P: 790

TOEFL Total: 98/120

Research Experience: 2 Summers at IISc in Fluid Dynamics Research (Experimental/Computational), Thesis on Computational Fluid Dynamics with FE Method, Experience in Automotive design at my University for an Engineering Design Contest(Mostly Computational Mechanics), Research Experience in Soft Condensed Matter and Optics

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: None

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: None

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

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

Applying to Where:
Condensed Matter Experimental/Non-Linear Dynamics

Florida State University - Rejected via email
University of Pittsburgh - Accepted via email 2/22
University of Notre Dame - Rejected via email
Case Western Reserve University - Accepted via email 2/10
Brandeis University - Rejected via email
University of Georgia - Accepted via email 4/16
University of Central Florida - Accepted via email 3/12
University of Missouri-Columbia - waitlisted via email
Emory University - Accepted via email 1/20
Last edited by gyro555in on Sun May 23, 2010 12:29 pm, edited 3 times in total.

ads
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Feb 27, 2010 2:31 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by ads » Fri Mar 05, 2010 9:28 pm

Undergrad Institution: Pretigious UK college, quite well known for physics.
Major(s): Physics
GPA in Major: 2:1 (like a B overall)
Graduate College: Another well known UK school, excellent physics reputation
Graduate degree: Masters in theory (QFT, GR, Diff. Geom., SUSY, string theory)
Grad GPA 4.0
Length of Degree: 3+1
Position in Class: undergrad - middling; grad - top couple
Type of Student: white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 790
V: 690
W: 4.5
P: 840


Research Experience: Lab project for Bachelors, 3 month string theory thesis for masters. No proper research, no publications! I think this is doing me in.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: One scholarship in first year undergrad, school awards in languages/science.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: mathematics tutor for a while.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I speak two modern languages, and a couple of ancient ones! Have done music/arts.

Special Bonus Points: Graduate degree in hep-th, two recommeners are reasonably well known theorists

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: baaaaad second year undergrad

Applying to Where: (all hep-th)

Harvard - rejected by post 3/1
MIT - rejected by email 3/2
Princeton - rejected by email 2/19
CalTech -
Stanford - rejected by email 2/24
UCSB -
Chicago - rejected by email 3/5
UPenn -
Brown - rejected by email 3/4
NYU -
Columbia -

grndfthrprdx
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2010 3:03 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by grndfthrprdx » Mon Mar 08, 2010 3:21 pm

Undergrad Institution: Ivy league
Major(s): Physics and Math
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 3.8
Overall GPA: 3.6
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: Top
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V:
W:
P: 890


Research Experience: 2.5 years including summers of accelerator physics research at my school. Conference talks and conference papers.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's list

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: SPS Pres, tons of physics/science outreach, physics TA, courses in physics and general education

Special Bonus Points: Good rec from HEP theory prof

Applying to Where:

U Washington, Seattle - Physics Accepted and visited
CU Boulder - Physics Accepted and will visit
UC Berkeley - Physics Accepted and will visit

Caltech - Physics Rejected
Stanford - Physics Rejected
Princeton - Physics Rejected
Harvard - Physics Rejected
Chicago - Physics Rejected

Advice Have safety schools. There are many good schools outside of the top ten that are easier to get in to but have professors doing equivalent levels of research. In grad school the name of the school doesn't matter as much as the name of the professor you're working with. Unless you really can get into all top ten schools getting into about half of the schools you apply to and getting rejected from half is pretty good.

Also, I think it is okay to go into grad school not knowing what type of physics you want to do. I applied to UC Boulder and didn't mention AMO in my SOP. I talked about potentially doing condensed matter or HEP. I think this gave me an advantage over the rest of the applicant pool who wanted to do AMO. I can still go there and do AMO if I decide I like it though.

abcdefg
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jan 29, 2010 7:02 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by abcdefg » Wed Mar 10, 2010 2:09 pm

Undergrad Institution: Domestic, very small liberal-arts school. No real physics reputation, but it is a good department.
Major(s): Physics and Biology double major
Minor(s): Mathematics
GPA in Major: 3.88
Overall GPA: 3.82
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: Near the top I guess?
Type of Student: Domestic male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V:590
W: can't remember. Something pretty good.
P: 760 (66th percentile)


Research Experience: Two REU's (one with a publication in process), two semesters of on-campus research. One REU in biology, one in Physics

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: several physics awards

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: SPS president and treasurer for two years prior, physics tutor for 3 years

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Extremely broad application with heavy involvement in a lot of things.

Special Bonus Points: Great rec letters from four professors that I know extremely well, including two REU mentors.

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

Applying to Where:

UC Berkeley - Physics - Rejected by email, 3/9
Michigan - Physics - Accepted by email 2/17
Illinois Urbana-Champaign - Physics
U Washington - Physics - Accepted by email 3/5
Brown - Physics - Accepted by email 2/18
Texas - Austin - Physics - Accepted by email 1/29
Chicago - Physics - Rejected by postal mail mid February
Colorado - Boulder - Physics
Cornell - Physics - Rejected by email 2/10
Princeton - Physics - Rejected by email 2/19

endobmm
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2010 5:38 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by endobmm » Thu Mar 11, 2010 5:49 pm

Undergrad Institution: Foreign, fair reputation, masters from internationally known school, tho not really for physics
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Astrophysics
GPA in Major:
Overall GPA: 1st class honours
Length of Degree: 4 + 2
Position in Class: near top
Type of Student: Domestic/white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 510
W: 3.5
P: 510 (20%)

Research Experience: Masters in Physics at good school, experimental condensed matter physics, 2 years research with 2nd author and 5th author on papers

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: lab supervision

Applying to Where:

Stony Brook - accepted with TA
Princeton - rejected
Stevens - accepted with TA
NYU - rejected
CUNY
Columbia - rejected
Rutgers

Some_guy
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Mar 21, 2010 2:43 am

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by Some_guy » Sun Mar 21, 2010 5:48 am

Undergrad Institution: Large CSU
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Astrophysics, mathematics
GPA in Major: ~3.1 physics, 3.8 in my astrophysics minor
Overall GPA: 3.25
Length of Degree: 5 years (two minors and some grad classes thrown in there..)
Type of Student: Domestic male. Sono Italiano! :P

GRE Scores:
Q: 700/71%
V: 370/27%
W: 4.0/41%
P: 610/35%

Research Experience: Three summer REUs - one at my home institution. My research interests don't match my physics department particularly well so I made good use of the summer NSF REUs when I could. One involved observational supernovae work, another pertained to modeling photodissociation regions, and most recently one involving top quark physics/ATLAS.

It may or may not mean much, but my SNe work resulted in a 1st author publication in an annual REU booklet.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: -

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: SPS chapter VP, department sponsored physics tutor, physics tutor supervisor

Special Bonus Points: An extra course or two in statistics beyond my math minor and graduate coursework in QM, celestial mechanics, and mathematical methods. I completed every astronomy related upper division or graduate course offered at my home institution (which hopefully reflects my interest/dedication to the field)

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: AAS member (2008-), APS member (2009-), attendee of the 213th and 215th AAS meetings

Applying to Where:

Research interests: cosmology/astroparticle physics. In particular I find large scale structure and SNe work interesting (both observationally and in thermonuclear modeling).

U. of Oklahoma - Physics Accepted by email 4/8! ~20k/yr or 16k/9 Mo

Rutgers - Physics Wait listed by email 3/29

UCB - Astro rejected
UCSC - Physics - rejected
Arizona State - SESE - rejected
Columbia - Astro - rejected
U. of Arizona - Astro - rejected
U. of Pittsburgh - Physics rejected
JHU - Physics rejected
U. of Hawaii - Astro rejected
Texas A&M - Physics (Astro PhD) rejected
UMASS - Astro rejected

Plan B: Masters Programs

San Francisco State U - Physics Accepted by email 4/6, TA Waves half tuition with $2300/section taught per semester + $5K state grant

Finally a few acceptances in early April - talk about keeping me on edge!
Last edited by Some_guy on Tue May 11, 2010 2:42 am, edited 7 times in total.

dsr39
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2009 11:42 am

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by dsr39 » Wed Mar 24, 2010 3:49 pm

Undergrad Institution: Ivy but barely
Major(s): Physics, top 10 in the country
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 3.7 or 3.8 ish
Overall GPA: 3.7 or 3.8 ish
Length of Degree: (Are you graduating after 3, 4, or 5 years?) 4 years
Position in Class: Top third... maybe top quarter
Type of Student: Domestic White Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 620
W: 5.5
P: 790

Research Experience: 2 Summers researching in industry for small no-name company. 1 year of research at my school in Biophysics. Second author on an abstract for a conference but no significant publications.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Deans List every semester but no significant awards or honors

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Held several tutoring positions for three years. Co-TA'd a couple of courses

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: ... not really

Special Bonus Points: I had to interview for almost every school, and I think I gave very good interviews. I also took a few relevant grad classes.

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

Applying to Where:

University of Chicago - Medical Physics - Imaging - Accepted with Financial Support
Duke University - Medical Physics - Imaging - Waitlisted, still no word
UCLA - Biomedical Physics - Imaging - Accepted with financial support
University of Wisconsin - Madison - Medical Physics - Imaging - Accepted, still unsure about financial support
University of Florida - Medical Physics - Imaging - Accepted with partial support
University of Texas - Houston - Medical Physics - Imaging - Accepted with financial support
University of Pennsylvania - Medical Physics (MS) - Imaging - Accepted without financial support
______________________________________________

tme
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2010 6:00 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by tme » Thu Mar 25, 2010 7:15 pm

Undergrad Institution: Small, top 20, private liberal arts college
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: 3.2
Overall GPA: 3.4
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Middling
Type of Student: Domestic White Female

GRE Scores:
Q: 750 (83%)
V: 630 (90%)
W: 4.0 (41%)
P: 600 (32%) - F09; (7%) - S09

Research Experience: 3 REUs with 2 AAS posters + a little research at my school. Before applying, I decided to work for a year. I have a research assistant position at a large observatory. No journal publications yet though. My research experience and my recs (I think) are the strong points of my application.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Nothing science related

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TAed an intro physics lab and intro astro lab

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Took an astronomy course while studying abroad in Italy? Maybe? No?

Special Bonus Points: None of which I'm aware

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I took a medical withdrawal after a brain injury and finished a semester late. When I returned, I had a documented learning disability on file.

Applying to Where: Applied to Astronomy departments or Physics & Astronomy in a couple cases. Research interests in extragalactic astronomy. I used a shotgun approach when applying for which my tax return is (happily) paying.

Hawaii - Rejected via email
Virginia - Waitlisted via email, 3/9
Washington - Waitlisted via email, 3/15
Yale - Rejected via website
Ohio State - Rejected via mail
Wisconsin - Accepted via email, 1/20
Texas - Austin - Rejected via website & mail
UMass - Amherst - Accepted via email, 2/13 - Declined Offer
Minnesota - Accepted via email - Declined Offer
Michigan - Accepted via email, 1/26
Colorado - Rejected via mail
Vanderbilt
Last edited by tme on Sun Mar 28, 2010 2:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Spinff
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Jan 28, 2010 3:23 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by Spinff » Fri Mar 26, 2010 3:56 pm

Undergrad Institution: International, Unknown for Physics
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.90
Overall GPA: 3.83
Length of Degree: 4yr
Position in Class: 1/48
Type of Student: International
GRE Scores: 1380
Q: 800
V: 580
W: 4.0
P: 990


TOEFL Total: 29+27+24+29=109
Research Experience: At school, theoretical particle physics, almost one year study of general relativity, particle physics, field theory, etic., one first-author paper being revised for submission
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: National Scholarship
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Physics & Mathematics Tutor, director of students' club

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points:

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

Applying to Where: USA

Princeton] - physics- Hep-th Rej
Berkeley - physics- Hep-th Rej
Cornell - physics- Hep-th Rej
Maryland - physics- Hep-th Offer
UT Austin - physics- Hep-th
UW Madison - physics- Hep-th Waitlist (GRE and TOEFL are !!!)
Duke - physics- Hep-th Rej (Rec. and Sch. Reputation are !!!, GT, GPA not)
Brown - physics- Hep-th Waitlist
IUB[/b] - physics- Hep-th Offer
Arizona - physics- Hep-th Offer
TAMU - physics- Hep-th
Purdue - physics- Hep-th
UIC - physics- Hep-th Offer
Connecticut - physics- Hep-th Offer
Houston - physics- Hep-th Offer

polometer
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Mar 27, 2010 3:20 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by polometer » Sat Mar 27, 2010 3:58 pm

Undergrad Institution: US Large State School, top 15 in physics, good reputation
Major(s): Physics, Mathematics
Minor(s): none
GPA in Major: 3.8, 3.6
Overall GPA: 3.6
Length of Degree: 4.5
Position in Class: near top, no official rankings
Type of Student: Domestic US

GRE Scores:
Q:800
V:630
W:5.0
P:680


Research Experience: Limited experience in AMO working on various projects, year and a half doing theory research (no publications)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: golden key

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Physics Tutor

Special Bonus Points: graduate mathematics classes (topology, geometry, etc.), good letters of recommendation from faculty in High Energy Theory


Applying to Where: All High Energy Theory

UC Berkeley - Physics - Rejected
Chicago - Physics - Rejected
Stanford - Physics - Rejected
Columbia - Physics - Rejected
UCLA - Physics -Accepted
Cornell - Physics -Rejected
Brown - Physics - Accepted
Michigan - Physics - Rejected
Minnesota - Physics - Accepted
Maryland - Physics -
Penn State - Physics -
Wisconsin-Milwaukee - Physics - Accepted
Washington - Physics - Rejected

michaelgrosner
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2009 7:27 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by michaelgrosner » Mon Mar 29, 2010 11:16 am

Undergrad Institution: Small, private liberal arts college not known for physics
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Lots of business courses and Pre-med
GPA in Major: 3.9
Overall GPA: 3.8
Length of Degree: 4 years, only 3 years of physics
Position in Class: near top
Type of Student: white domestic male

GRE Scores:
Q: 790
V: 630
W: very low
P: 600

Research Experience: 3 semesters of computational physics, however no publications and attended one conference. Started another project while applying but nothing new out of that, yet.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Phi beta kappa, Dean's List many times, won a Dean's office scholarship for my research work

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Club hockey, volunteer at local hospitals, tutor in organic chem

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: None

Special Bonus Points: None

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Nothing overtly positive, but nothing very negative. I did switch into the physics program after my freshman year and completed the physics major in 3 years, maybe that matters?

Applying to Where: I believe all physics programs I applied to were with the intention of studying biophysics.
Carnegie Mellon - Physics
Duke - Physics - Denied via email
Johns Hopkins - Program in Molecular Biophysics
NYU - Physics
Rutgers - Computational Biology & Molecular Biophysics - Accepted w/ 32k
Penn State - Physics - Denied
Princeton - Physics - Denied
Stony Brook - Physics - Denied

UB - Physics - Accepted w/ 10.8k and TA
UPenn - Physics

greeezy
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun May 11, 2008 9:29 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by greeezy » Thu Apr 01, 2010 9:47 pm

Undergrad Institution: large california public school
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): none
GPA in Major: 3.6
Overall GPA: 3.25
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: of the other physics students i think i was near the top
Type of Student: white domestic male

GRE Scores:
Q: 750
V: 650
W: 3.5
P: 610

Research Experience: 3 years optics research.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: honor list. competed in a few programming competitions. published in an SPIE journal as first author. talked at 3 conferences

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: tutor, IT work, webmaster, and programming work

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: None

Special Bonus Points: my smile :)

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: almost all As in physics classes since i started upper division. except for a GR class. my GPA has increased every quarter since i officially became a physics major.

Applying to Where: Physics programs were for condensed matter experiment
UCLA - Physics - Denied 2/20
USC - Physics
UCR - Accepted 2/25 - 36k TA+fellowship
UCI - Physics - Denied 3/1
University of Arizona - Optical Sciences - Accepted 3/25 - tuition waived, 25k/year fellowship/RA Accepting

kicker
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Apr 14, 2010 1:58 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by kicker » Wed Apr 14, 2010 4:54 pm

Undergrad Institution: UC Berkeley
Major(s): Physics, Astrophysics
GPA in Major: 3.765
Overall GPA: 3.75
Length of Degree: 4.5
Position in Class: Upper area I would assume
Type of Student: Domestic Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 770, 800
V: 460, 480
W: -
P: 690, 740


Research Experience: 3 years of research (including summers) working on several different projects in extrasolar planets.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Several departmental physics scholarships, nothing nationally recognized. A few Math scholarships and honors from a community college.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 2 years of Math tutoring at a community college

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: 3 coauthored papers in national astronomy journals (highest is 3rd author), 4 posters presented at various conferences, mentioned on several conference proceedings. GPA has steadily increased each semester, nothing else particularly relevant.

Special Bonus Points: Several connections at PSU, joint projects with both Caltech and Cornell. I've had the same research advisor for the past 3 years.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Lots of programming experience. On the younger side of applicants.

Applying to Where:

University of Arizona - Astronomy - Wailisted 2/12, Rejected 4/14
University of Arizona - Optical Sciences - Accepted 1/19 email/phone, 27K/year, 10hr/wk RA
University of Arizona - Planetary Sciences - Rejected by snail mail 2/25, email 3/08
UC Berkeley - Astronomy - Rejected 2/7 email
UC Santa Cruz - Astronomy - Rejected 3/7 email
Caltech - Astronomy - Rejected 3/17 email
Cornell - Astronomy - Rejected 2/23 snail mail
Harvard - Astronomy - Rejected 4/2 snail mail
Penn State - Astronomy - Accepted 1/23 phone, 31k/year fellowship - Will attend
Yale - Astronomy - Rejected 3/24 email

bvegaff
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2009 2:44 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by bvegaff » Thu Apr 22, 2010 4:50 pm

Undergrad Institution: UIUC
Major(s):Physics
Minor(s):French
GPA in Major:3.96
Overall GPA:3.95
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: near top i guess
Type of Student: white male

GRE Scores:
Q:760...
V:680
W:4.5
P:760 (66%) -I'm sure you hear this a lot, but if you really care about getting into top schools, make yourself study during the summer (this guy didn't)

Research Experience: No publications, 4 summers with 3 astro profs

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Some scholarships, campus honors program, phi beta kappa

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA this semester, I only wrote this on my later applications

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:I doubt it.

Special Bonus Points: lots of astronomy classes, i feel like i got to know my recommenders pretty well

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: On all of my personal essays, I stressed my interest in astrobiology, even though I've never done any work in the field or taken relevant classes. Also, I was interested in deferring for a year. Cornell was the only school that specifically requested that I mention this in my application, so they're the only school that got to know beforehand.

Applying to Where:

Arizona - Astronomy - Rejected in March sometime
Arizona - Planetary Science - Accepted in February
Berkeley - Astronomy - after I emailed in early April they told me I was wait-listed, that's the last I heard...
Colorado - Astronomy - Accepted with small RA fellowship
Cornell - Astronomy - after I emailed in early April, they told me I was wait-listed -> Accepted April 15
Hawaii - Astronomy - Accepted in late february maybe?
Penn State - Astronomy - Accepted with some pretty good money, in late february?
Washington (Seattle) - Astronomy - Accepted with small fellowship <-I'm attending!

User avatar
Quantum Triviality
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue May 18, 2010 2:15 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2010 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by Quantum Triviality » Tue May 18, 2010 2:20 pm

Undergrad Institution: Big state, top 25 in physics
Major(s): Physics and Math
Minor(s): -
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 3.95
Length of Degree: 5 years
Position in Class: near top
Type of Student: domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94th percentile)
V: 600 (86th percentile)
W: 5.5 (92nd percentile)
P: 800 (73rd percentile)



Research Experience:
1. Physics REU at big state school
2. Engineering REU at big state school
3. Research at my school. Worked with the professor last year, this past summer, and this year. Project will culminate in my senior thesis. This research will lead to two papers, one of which was submitted when I was filling out applications (just actually published in last month). Another paper that is being written. 2nd of 3 authors on both.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Awards within my physics department

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: tutoring

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: taking grad classes this year

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Went to conference at MIT and met several professors in quantum computing

Applying to Where:

Boston University - Physics - high energy theory (HET) Accepted by email 1/27: TA offer initially, Fellowship offered 3/12 Accepted Offer
UC Berkeley - Physics - HET or quantum computing (QC) Rejected by email 3/10
MIT - Physics - HET or QC Rejected by email 3/2
Univ of Minnesota - Physics - HET Accepted by email 2/3: TA offer initially, Fellowship offered 3/15 Declined Offer
Harvard - Physics - HET Rejected by mail late February

NSF Fellowship Awarded Fellowship on 4/6 Accepted Fellowship
NDSEG Fellowship Rejected by email 4/15
DOE Office of Science Fellowship Semifinalist (no $) by email 4/19

Free Advice:
1. Study a lot for the physics gre the summer before taking it, focus on the practice tests. I feel I did a good job preparing for grad school BUT my physics GRE was low for the top schools.
2. On a vacation? Visit some schools, even ones you'd never considered. I stopped by Boston University on a whim and was impressed by the professors and now I will be attending there next year.
3. Want to hear more of my advice? Check out my profile for my blog.

Note to Future Posters:
I recommend included your test percentile since it changes significantly year to year.



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