Listing Grad school responses (Admits & Rejects)...

  • 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.

Jaunty
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Jan 27, 2007 2:20 am

Post by Jaunty » Fri Feb 23, 2007 4:29 pm

I'm also joining you guys in some Princeton rejection, can't say I'm surprised...

Gti337
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat Jan 27, 2007 10:26 am

Santa Barbara

Post by Gti337 » Fri Feb 23, 2007 4:39 pm

Has anyone heard from Santa Barbara lately?

T.Bain
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Feb 21, 2007 4:55 pm

Post by T.Bain » Fri Feb 23, 2007 5:24 pm

Got a Columbia rejection by email just now... it was only my top choice, so it's not really that big of a deal... damn.

Daharoni
Posts: 64
Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2006 1:49 am

Post by Daharoni » Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:54 pm

I was accepted to UCI Physics by email today and got a Regent's Fellowship.

fine man
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Feb 11, 2007 5:21 pm

Post by fine man » Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:51 pm

Also accepted to UC Irvine with Regents fellowship. Does anyone know how the cost of living in Irvine compares to that in LA?

Daharoni
Posts: 64
Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2006 1:49 am

Post by Daharoni » Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:55 pm

It is cheaper but not by too too much

jormiga
Posts: 26
Joined: Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:30 pm

Post by jormiga » Sat Feb 24, 2007 5:12 am

@Schmit

The "student day" at Caltech for Materials (and I believe Applied Physics and Biochem too) was Feb 15-17. Nobody had been accepted then in Mats, so we kind of got interviewed by the faculty members, but it was also an opportunity get to know what the faculty members are doing.

If I go to Caltech I would definitely be working with the professor I spent the last two summers with, trying to determine the role of vibrational entropy and anharmonicity in various materials. I think Caltech is an awesome place; I guess you will have a very hard time choosing between all these awesome programs you have gotten admission into. Congrats!

I am also eager to hear from several fellowship programs, although I am already a Gates Millennium Scholar. We'll see.

Good luck everybody!

monomer
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat Jan 27, 2007 2:22 pm

Post by monomer » Sat Feb 24, 2007 12:42 pm

Just got acceptance to Harvard physics by email.

strange.attractor
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Feb 06, 2007 3:19 am

MSU

Post by strange.attractor » Sat Feb 24, 2007 1:08 pm

@CPT

Would you mind posting the fellowship/TA amount that Michigan State University will pay you? I too have applied to Physics Department at Michigan State University...

dan1234
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2007 6:04 pm

Post by dan1234 » Sat Feb 24, 2007 1:44 pm

Congrats on harvard!

mp1984
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Dec 13, 2006 11:26 pm

Harvard!

Post by mp1984 » Sat Feb 24, 2007 4:26 pm

I got into Harvard as well!!! Sweet...

JackSkellington
Posts: 40
Joined: Sat Nov 11, 2006 10:26 pm

Post by JackSkellington » Sat Feb 24, 2007 5:58 pm

Wow- congratulations guys- that's really amazing.

CPT
Posts: 77
Joined: Mon Jan 15, 2007 2:05 am

Post by CPT » Sat Feb 24, 2007 8:10 pm

@strange.attractor: My fellowship amount is just about $ 26k, I suppose that's good enough for Michigan.

Got the Princeton reject too ... looks like everyone's getting one :)

@shivaraj: I'll update the list soon, or anyone else can add the new places and post the appended list as well.

Good luck y'all !!

physicslover
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Feb 15, 2007 4:15 am

Harvard?

Post by physicslover » Sun Feb 25, 2007 12:54 am

Oh wow, Harvard sent acceptance emails out on a Saturday? Is that common?

Btw, can I ask if any of you apply for/express interest in theoretical physics?
Last edited by physicslover on Sun Feb 25, 2007 6:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

nimbus
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2006 8:16 pm

Harvard Biophysics

Post by nimbus » Sun Feb 25, 2007 6:18 pm

:shock: Is that all from Harvard Physics?; has anyone heard from Harvard Biophysics

theorygirl
Posts: 18
Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2007 5:31 pm

thought I would weigh in...

Post by theorygirl » Sun Feb 25, 2007 6:58 pm

I am a math/physics major at a medium sized public liberal arts university.
high GPA, high general GRE, OK physics GRE, publication in press

On my applications, I expressed an interest (though not an exclusive one) in high energy theory.

So far I have been accepted in the physics depts at University of Virginia, University of Rochester, Cornell, Yale, and University of Colorado, Boulder (I received the offers in that order starting in Jan).

Most of those places gave me fellowship offers in addition to RAs/TAs..

I am still waiting to hear from MIT. I was just wondering if anyone else is still waiting for a decision from their physics dept in theory. I know sometimes they don't accept many theorists, especially w/ comparatively lower GRE scores.

Even if I don't get in I am pretty happy b/c I have plenty of great choices, but I am just curious. :D

To those who are wondering about accepting NSF in conjunction w/ other schools, it seems like each place does it differently ( I hope for an NSF offer!!). At Cornell, they say that I could teach part time over the summer and during the year and make an additional 10K. At some of the other places it is either/or. One of my schools would let me put off the fellowship til the three years and then use it my fourth and fifth years.

To the person who wanted to know about Brown. I got an e-mail from them a few weeks ago saying they wanted to talk to me about research interests (nothing official, they just asked me to call them) but I had already gotten into places that were higher on my list so I withdrew.

izobel
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Feb 21, 2007 5:25 pm

waitlists anyone?

Post by izobel » Mon Feb 26, 2007 1:57 pm

How many people are still waiting to hear from schools? I am still waiting to hear from FIVE and I was wondering if this is normal. I checked my application status for most of them and they're listed as complete.

I have yet to hear from Hawaii, Berkeley, Columbia, U-Wisconsin Madison, and UCSC.

I'm ready to tear my hair out.

CPT
Posts: 77
Joined: Mon Jan 15, 2007 2:05 am

Post by CPT » Mon Feb 26, 2007 2:12 pm

Really blows having to wait so long, and most univs not even telling roughly when they'll get the results out.


Princeton - rejected
UIUC - waiting
Stanford - waiting
Michigan State - Accepted
Indiana - rejected
Syracuse - Application withdrawn

Gti337
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat Jan 27, 2007 10:26 am

Post by Gti337 » Mon Feb 26, 2007 2:50 pm

Yeahhh, waiting sucks the big one

Brown: Waiting
UC - San Diego: Accepted
UC - Santa Barbara: Waiting
Chicago: Waiting
Columbia: Waiting
Princeton: Rejected
Stanford: Waiting
Yale: Rejected

nb
Posts: 38
Joined: Sat Dec 02, 2006 5:16 pm

Post by nb » Mon Feb 26, 2007 3:23 pm

anyone still waiting to hear from princeton ?

dbl
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:15 am

Post by dbl » Mon Feb 26, 2007 4:20 pm

For those still waiting, I think at some point you might want to e-mail them to at least make sure your application is still on the waiting list and they haven't messed up with anything. Just e-mail one of the professors you want to work with, tell him you want to work with him and are still very interested in the school, and ask when you can expect to hear back. Either they'll be on the admissions committee or they'll ask the right person. It also shows you still have an interest in the program, which might get you in over someone else.

I also say this because some of the departments really don't seem to care. After everyone got rejected from Berkeley astro and I didn't, I thought that I must be on a very short waiting list. I e-mailed a professor I was interested in working with. He forwarded my e-mail to the people handling admissions and it turned out that they had used a wrong e-mail address to me and never bothered to figure out why the rejection e-mail bounced. Got me really upset for a day until I got into my top choice, but its worth checking out if you haven't heard from places yet.

braindrain
Posts: 158
Joined: Sat Dec 30, 2006 12:23 am

Post by braindrain » Mon Feb 26, 2007 4:41 pm

Won't it seem like an act of deparation to begin to write to professors this late in the admissions process?

slee
Posts: 38
Joined: Sat Dec 02, 2006 7:10 pm

Post by slee » Mon Feb 26, 2007 5:12 pm

got an acceptance e-mail from berkeley physics today...

soluyanov
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Dec 15, 2006 1:06 pm

Post by soluyanov » Mon Feb 26, 2007 5:24 pm

I think, contacting professors now would look like begging. It should me made before or after the process.
Contact admissions stuff - that is fine.

artist
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Nov 27, 2006 3:20 am

Post by artist » Mon Feb 26, 2007 5:57 pm

Hey slee, any idea what kind of accommodations Berkeley will be providing when/if you visit them? Will they be providing a hotel room or will they have you stay in the apartment of one of their grad students?

(I ask because of the conversation in this thread: http://www.physicsgre.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=611 )

dbl
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:15 am

Post by dbl » Mon Feb 26, 2007 6:10 pm

I think that depends on your perspective and how you word it. Remember that the admissions staff is probably clueless unless decisions have already been made. Ideally, you will have already contacted a professor at some previous point or know one somehow from before the admissions process.

If you e-mail someone and say "I'm still interested in working with you, going to your department, and I want to make sure I can visit if you accept me", I think that's fine. If you don't word it too well, then it won't work.

artist
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Nov 27, 2006 3:20 am

Post by artist » Mon Feb 26, 2007 6:18 pm

You should probably be really brutal when you email them. Make sure they know that they are missing out on a great opportunity to give you knowledge and money, and that you don't want to be forced to go to a competing institution and take their knowledge and money instead. Sound angry in your email, then they will get scared and accept you. Remember: if they aren't begging you to attend, you haven't yelled enough.

You might also want to start a blog about how horrible their institution is, like berkeleysuxmyc60buckeyballs.livejournal.com, and then tell them you might take it down if they admit you. Maybe, maybe not. Keep them on edge.

Quaoar
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri Feb 16, 2007 3:27 pm

Post by Quaoar » Mon Feb 26, 2007 6:26 pm

@artist: Your suggestion sounds like a good way to get sued for libel 8)

CPT
Posts: 77
Joined: Mon Jan 15, 2007 2:05 am

Post by CPT » Mon Feb 26, 2007 7:02 pm

lolz ... there's absolutely no point in emailing before 15th of March anyway. And after that, I think the admissions committee people would also be really free and have time to respond more properly ...

radicaltyro
Posts: 15
Joined: Thu Nov 02, 2006 4:23 pm

Post by radicaltyro » Mon Feb 26, 2007 7:59 pm

@CPT: Can you explain the significance of March 15th?

hyejjjj
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Dec 01, 2006 9:37 pm

Post by hyejjjj » Mon Feb 26, 2007 8:30 pm

I honestly believe that if one were to go through this graduate admissions process more than once, it would drive him to complete insanity. The waiting game is painful. I think I checked my email more than 200 times today to see if Stanford sent out notifications.

Someone asked about Maryland... I just received an email from them today.

nimbus
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2006 8:16 pm

scrambled

Post by nimbus » Mon Feb 26, 2007 9:36 pm

ooops, how could this happened?

schmit.paul
Posts: 161
Joined: Sat Nov 04, 2006 7:48 pm

Post by schmit.paul » Mon Feb 26, 2007 10:38 pm

radicaltyro: well, for one, the Harvard graduate admissions people told me all of their decisions would go out by March 15th

Daharoni
Posts: 64
Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2006 1:49 am

Post by Daharoni » Mon Feb 26, 2007 11:08 pm

Stanford said that decisions will be made by March 1st.... Only a few more days

physicslover
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Feb 15, 2007 4:15 am

To Harvard ppl

Post by physicslover » Tue Feb 27, 2007 12:58 am

Those of you who got to Harvard, congratulations :). What area of physics did you apply to? Can I ask when their Open House is?

Thanks!!!

artist
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Nov 27, 2006 3:20 am

Post by artist » Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:22 am

I agree, congrats on Harvard, as well as Berkeley, Yale, and all the other top schools. I'm jealous.

anyon
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 9:26 pm

Post by anyon » Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:24 am

Harvard's open house is on March 13-14 right before MIT. I applied to CM

dbl
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:15 am

Post by dbl » Tue Feb 27, 2007 2:58 am

There's already a couple of rejections from MIT on gradcafe. Anyone here get one?


Daharoni
Posts: 64
Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2006 1:49 am

Post by Daharoni » Tue Feb 27, 2007 4:48 pm

Just got the rejection to MIT in the smail.

artist
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Nov 27, 2006 3:20 am

Post by artist » Tue Feb 27, 2007 5:01 pm

I just got into Oklahoma with a $16,000 TA for 10 months. Unfortunately they don't even appear to cover all tuition, so it's not a very good deal.

orangeclockwork
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 8:40 pm

Colorado

Post by orangeclockwork » Tue Feb 27, 2007 8:44 pm

Just heard from the University of Colorado-Boulder on the phone...funding details to come...Im interested in AMO and to a lesser degree condensed matter

nimbus
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2006 8:16 pm

Berkeley

Post by nimbus » Wed Feb 28, 2007 9:45 am

Just got a smail, rejected from Berkeley Biophysics.
Anyone else is applyng to Biophysics??

tnoviell
Posts: 235
Joined: Sun Nov 05, 2006 10:31 am

Post by tnoviell » Wed Feb 28, 2007 10:34 am

nimbus...I think we're the only two cool biophysicists here...

I'm not entirely sure I'm going to pursue my PhD though...I'm applying for jobs too. The idea of being broke for a long time doesn't sit well with me.

nimbus
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Nov 16, 2006 8:16 pm

not being a Phd

Post by nimbus » Wed Feb 28, 2007 11:24 am

It seems ok, however in my country (Chile) the ceiling is too low, for a Bachelor...

braindrain
Posts: 158
Joined: Sat Dec 30, 2006 12:23 am

Post by braindrain » Wed Feb 28, 2007 11:30 am

@tnoviell: The scientist I spoke said its just a matter of patience and that most people aren't willing to wait. That if you are willing to be broke a few years, you get a reasonable salary later. They think its worth doing that to get an amazingly rewarding career as opposed to the other route which may be profitable but not as stimulating.

tnoviell
Posts: 235
Joined: Sun Nov 05, 2006 10:31 am

Post by tnoviell » Wed Feb 28, 2007 1:19 pm

It's always good to keep your options open, though.

nervous
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Dec 07, 2006 12:53 am

news about minnesota and uwmadison

Post by nervous » Wed Feb 28, 2007 4:31 pm

Minnesota should be sending out a second round of offers this week, and UW Madison doesn't think that they will be making any more offers...

physicsgirl
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat Jan 27, 2007 2:32 pm

U Chicago admission

Post by physicsgirl » Wed Feb 28, 2007 4:49 pm

I got into the Univeristy of Chicago, notified by snail mail today - standard TA + waived tution + healthcare offer

theorygirl
Posts: 18
Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2007 5:31 pm

Colorado official e-mail

Post by theorygirl » Wed Feb 28, 2007 7:49 pm

I just got the official e-mail from Colorado today! ( I had heard a few weeks ago by phone) RA + 8K fellowship! 8)



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