Decision Dates

  • 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.

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

Re: Decision Dates

Post by Catria » Thu Feb 05, 2015 3:20 pm

shep23 wrote:I also have those buttons, but when I click "Accept/Decline Financial Aid" for example, nothing shows up. So, it's probably not anything, but I like getting my hopes up, so maybe it is! I'm applied to astro for what it's worth
Have emailed Michigan to this end and I found out that these buttons were made available to everyone on Wolverine Access... sorry to disappoint you.

PathIntegrals92
Posts: 190
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2014 12:42 pm

Re: Decision Dates

Post by PathIntegrals92 » Thu Feb 05, 2015 3:24 pm

I'm freaking out! Just would like to share =)

I sort of wish I applied to more schools that are either east or west, I've lived on one them for most of life!

Especially want to hear from UCLA/ BU

blackmass
Posts: 61
Joined: Thu Jul 17, 2014 2:01 pm

Re: Decision Dates

Post by blackmass » Thu Feb 05, 2015 3:44 pm

PathIntegrals92 wrote:I'm freaking out! Just would like to share =)

I sort of wish I applied to more schools that are either east or west, I've lived on one them for most of life!

Especially want to hear from UCLA/ BU
I'm right there with you. I'm having a hard time focusing on anything else.

Also, grad cafe is the worst website ever to have been conceived! So much anxiety watching people get acceptances to places you've applied and haven't heard from.

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

Re: Decision Dates

Post by Catria » Thu Feb 05, 2015 4:58 pm

blackmass wrote:
PathIntegrals92 wrote:I'm freaking out! Just would like to share =)

I sort of wish I applied to more schools that are either east or west, I've lived on one them for most of life!

Especially want to hear from UCLA/ BU
I'm right there with you. I'm having a hard time focusing on anything else.

Also, grad cafe is the worst website ever to have been conceived! So much anxiety watching people get acceptances to places you've applied and haven't heard from.
And PhysicsGRE.com is not much better; the major improvement over TGC is that it is physics-specific.

That said, I hope the Notre Dame offer is for real...

blackmass
Posts: 61
Joined: Thu Jul 17, 2014 2:01 pm

Re: Decision Dates

Post by blackmass » Thu Feb 05, 2015 5:12 pm

Catria wrote:
blackmass wrote:
PathIntegrals92 wrote:I'm freaking out! Just would like to share =)

I sort of wish I applied to more schools that are either east or west, I've lived on one them for most of life!

Especially want to hear from UCLA/ BU
I'm right there with you. I'm having a hard time focusing on anything else.

Also, grad cafe is the worst website ever to have been conceived! So much anxiety watching people get acceptances to places you've applied and haven't heard from.
And PhysicsGRE.com is not much better; the major improvement over TGC is that it is physics-specific.

That said, I hope the Notre Dame offer is for real...
Yes, I agree. PhysicsGRE is no better. I'd rather live in blissful ignorance, and yet here I am. The anxiety is too much.

djh101
Posts: 97
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2014 4:08 pm

Re: Decision Dates

Post by djh101 » Thu Feb 05, 2015 5:24 pm

Oh, the joy of having low standards! :D

blackmass
Posts: 61
Joined: Thu Jul 17, 2014 2:01 pm

Re: Decision Dates

Post by blackmass » Thu Feb 05, 2015 5:36 pm

djh101 wrote:Oh, the joy of having low standards! :D
Haha I envy you, seriously. I don't know why it's gotten into my head that I need to get into one of these top programs, especially when I don't have one of those pristine profiles, like a lot of people on here. I have an offer at a great school, but nevertheless, being potentially rejected from some of these Ivies that I really had my heart set on really bums me out. I've been down all day just because I'm worried I won't get an offer at my top choice, while others already have. And I know how ridiculous that sounds! Definitely something I've got to work on.

PhysicsIsCool
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2015 9:01 pm

Re: Decision Dates

Post by PhysicsIsCool » Thu Feb 05, 2015 5:55 pm

blackmass wrote:
djh101 wrote:Oh, the joy of having low standards! :D
Haha I envy you, seriously. I don't know why it's gotten into my head that I need to get into one of these top programs, especially when I don't have one of those pristine profiles, like a lot of people on here. I have an offer at a great school, but nevertheless, being potentially rejected from some of these Ivies that I really had my heart set on really bums me out. I've been down all day just because I'm worried I won't get an offer at my top choice, while others already have. And I know how ridiculous that sounds! Definitely something I've got to work on.
Same here! I have never been doing so poorly in a class as I am this semester because I cannot focus on anything...except checking my e-mail every 5 seconds for any news...I thought it would get better once I had at least one acceptance, but it hasn't at all :shock:

wompwomp
Posts: 38
Joined: Fri Sep 26, 2014 10:00 pm

Re: Decision Dates

Post by wompwomp » Thu Feb 05, 2015 6:12 pm

PhysicsIsCool wrote:
blackmass wrote:
djh101 wrote:Oh, the joy of having low standards! :D
Haha I envy you, seriously. I don't know why it's gotten into my head that I need to get into one of these top programs, especially when I don't have one of those pristine profiles, like a lot of people on here. I have an offer at a great school, but nevertheless, being potentially rejected from some of these Ivies that I really had my heart set on really bums me out. I've been down all day just because I'm worried I won't get an offer at my top choice, while others already have. And I know how ridiculous that sounds! Definitely something I've got to work on.
Same here! I have never been doing so poorly in a class as I am this semester because I cannot focus on anything...except checking my e-mail every 5 seconds for any news...I thought it would get better once I had at least one acceptance, but it hasn't at all :shock:

So far I've received rejections from three of my top choices. The remaining schools are equally hard to get into. I'm either checking my email every 30 seconds, or wondering if I aimed too high and thinking about what I should do if I don't get in anywhere.

Work, what work?

djh101
Posts: 97
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2014 4:08 pm

Re: Decision Dates

Post by djh101 » Thu Feb 05, 2015 6:27 pm

blackmass wrote:
djh101 wrote:Oh, the joy of having low standards! :D
Haha I envy you, seriously. I don't know why it's gotten into my head that I need to get into one of these top programs, especially when I don't have one of those pristine profiles, like a lot of people on here. I have an offer at a great school, but nevertheless, being potentially rejected from some of these Ivies that I really had my heart set on really bums me out. I've been down all day just because I'm worried I won't get an offer at my top choice, while others already have. And I know how ridiculous that sounds! Definitely something I've got to work on.
I didn't account for prestige when choosing schools except for determining likelihood of acceptance (so as not to stack the deck with reach schools) and choosing which schools to browse through (I had no intention of browsing through every school on U.S. News). Although it is on the table, I also don't intend to pursue a professorship and consider grad school to be an ends as well as a means. I'm looking forward to finally living on my own and being able to afford things like fast food and Netflix (I've been living with my parents during undergrad with no income and in a remote area with 100kB/s internet on a good day), a short commute (after spending two years at UCLA taking the bus on the 405 from over an hour away everyday, I refuse to live farther than biking distance or a short bus ride away from whichever school I attend), and summers where I can go outside (unless, of course, I end up at USC or Caltech). I suppose I also have the advantage that I don't require any expensive equipment (at least not HEP-level expensive) and don't have highly specific research interests to pigeonhole me into the top 10s.
So far I've received rejections from three of my top choices. The remaining schools are equally hard to get into. I'm either checking my email every 30 seconds, or wondering if I aimed too high and thinking about what I should do if I don't get in anywhere.
Get a Chrome extension. Then you don't have to check your mail until the little number changes from 0 to 1. Rejection is tough. I'm sure very few people applying to grad schools come up with backup plans in advance. There's always next year, especially if you're still in school now (I didn't even decide to switch from chemistry to physics until my senior year, so I applied after graduation and am taking my year off now). If I were to skip grad school, I think I'd try for a job at WolframAlpha or something similar (I have a pretty decent coding background). Don't lose hope just yet, though. It's not over until it's over.
Same here! I have never been doing so poorly in a class as I am this semester because I cannot focus on anything...except checking my e-mail every 5 seconds for any news...I thought it would get better once I had at least one acceptance, but it hasn't at all
That's how I was with physics GRE scores, only to find out that they were already posted but not showing because ETS thinks it's funny to cache the results page.

blackmass
Posts: 61
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by blackmass » Thu Feb 05, 2015 6:42 pm

djh101 wrote:
blackmass wrote:
djh101 wrote:Oh, the joy of having low standards! :D
Haha I envy you, seriously. I don't know why it's gotten into my head that I need to get into one of these top programs, especially when I don't have one of those pristine profiles, like a lot of people on here. I have an offer at a great school, but nevertheless, being potentially rejected from some of these Ivies that I really had my heart set on really bums me out. I've been down all day just because I'm worried I won't get an offer at my top choice, while others already have. And I know how ridiculous that sounds! Definitely something I've got to work on.
I didn't account for prestige when choosing schools except for determining likelihood of acceptance (so as not to stack the deck with reach schools) and choosing which schools to browse through (I had no intention of browsing through every school on U.S. News). Although it is on the table, I also don't intend to pursue a professorship and consider grad school to be an ends as well as a means. I'm looking forward to finally living on my own and being able to afford things like fast food and Netflix (I've been living with my parents during undergrad with no income and in a remote area with 100kB/s internet on a good day), a short commute (after spending two years at UCLA taking the bus on the 405 from over an hour away everyday, I refuse to live farther than biking distance or a short bus ride away from whichever school I attend), and summers where I can go outside (unless, of course, I end up at USC or Caltech). I suppose I also have the advantage that I don't require any expensive equipment (at least not HEP-level expensive) and don't have highly specific research interests to pigeonhole me into the top 10s.
My choices weren't based purely on prestige, either. I basically looked for any and every school with ongoing research in my area of interest, and it turns out that isn't very many. So I wound up even tacking on a few schools that aren't necessarily geared towards my specific interests, but have good programs nevertheless. That being said, it turns out that my top choice, Caltech, is at the forefront of my field of interest, and just so happens to be an extremely prestigious school.

But anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is that my list of schools is definitely not stacked with reach schools and Ivies like many of the profiles on physicsGRE.com. That being said, my top choices are indeed Ivies, and even though I know the idea is, "You don't know unless you apply," I know I'll still take a rejection pretty hard regardless. And I think a lot of that just has to do with my nature. I need to learn to be content with an offer, even if it's not the so-called "best".

vagnox92
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by vagnox92 » Thu Feb 05, 2015 6:45 pm

Got acceptances from Minnesota, Johns Hopkins and Utah

wompwomp
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by wompwomp » Thu Feb 05, 2015 6:55 pm

djh101 wrote:
So far I've received rejections from three of my top choices. The remaining schools are equally hard to get into. I'm either checking my email every 30 seconds, or wondering if I aimed too high and thinking about what I should do if I don't get in anywhere.
Get a Chrome extension. Then you don't have to check your mail until the little number changes from 0 to 1. Rejection is tough. I'm sure very few people applying to grad schools come up with backup plans in advance. There's always next year, especially if you're still in school now (I didn't even decide to switch from chemistry to physics until my senior year, so I applied after graduation and am taking my year off now). If I were to skip grad school, I think I'd try for a job at WolframAlpha or something similar (I have a pretty decent coding background). Don't lose hope just yet, though. It's not over until it's over.
Oh, I've been out of school for two years now. At this point, if I don't get in anywhere, I should probably move on with my life. Which is hard.

djh101
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by djh101 » Thu Feb 05, 2015 6:57 pm

vagnox92 wrote:Got acceptances from Minnesota, Johns Hopkins and Utah
Congratulations!
Oh, I've been out of school for two years now. At this point, if I don't get in anywhere, I should probably move on with my life. Which is hard.
Well, best of luck to you. Academia is filled with hardships and heartbreak. :|

blackmass
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by blackmass » Thu Feb 05, 2015 7:22 pm

djh101 wrote:
Well, best of luck to you. Academia is filled with hardships and heartbreak. :|
Too true. Time to get some thicker skin. :(

PathIntegrals92
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by PathIntegrals92 » Thu Feb 05, 2015 8:49 pm

I realized that after completing a PhD, I no longer want to go into academia.

Those type of industry positions are rare, the ones that need PhD physicist. However, that's my goal. It sort of lifted a heaviness that I had and it makes this process not so bad anymore. Haha


Who knows? Maybe il change my mind about academia again.

PhysicsIsCool
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by PhysicsIsCool » Thu Feb 05, 2015 9:25 pm

PathIntegrals92 wrote:I realized that after completing a PhD, I no longer want to go into academia.

Those type of industry positions are rare, the ones that need PhD physicist. However, that's my goal. It sort of lifted a heaviness that I had and it makes this process not so bad anymore. Haha


Who knows? Maybe il change my mind about academia again.
You could always look for work at a national lab!

PathIntegrals92
Posts: 190
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by PathIntegrals92 » Thu Feb 05, 2015 9:36 pm

PhysicsIsCool wrote:
You could always look for work at a national lab!

True! I was thinking I places like Honeywell, Intel etc. =)
I have 5+ years though. I do know that I love research! =)


Hope we all end up at places we will thrive in!

djh101
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by djh101 » Thu Feb 05, 2015 10:17 pm

Those type of industry positions are rare, the ones that need PhD physicist. However, that's my goal. It sort of lifted a heaviness that I had and it makes this process not so bad anymore. Haha
I'd also prefer industry. There's always the possibility of dropping out with a masters after two years, and I'd like at least a masters, so I'm not worrying about the Ph.D part just yet. My Ph.D will say physics, but I intend to leave with at least a modest background in computer science, math, and electrical engineering as well (to varying degrees depending on which subset of quantum computing I end up pursuing). Honestly, I can see myself ending up doing computer science more than I can see myself doing physics.

metaphyx
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by metaphyx » Fri Feb 06, 2015 12:21 pm

Do the acceptance offers for international students generally arrive after that for American students or is there is no specific order to it?

I was curious after seeing the grad cafe results pattern.

TakeruK
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by TakeruK » Fri Feb 06, 2015 12:30 pm

metaphyx wrote:Do the acceptance offers for international students generally arrive after that for American students or is there is no specific order to it?

I was curious after seeing the grad cafe results pattern.
Some schools review American applications first (perhaps they need to make decisions early enough to plan visit weekends) and then international applicants later (these students are not normally invited to visit due to high travel costs). But there are also many schools that review/release all their decisions at once. So, unless you know an individual school's policies, I don't think you can assume there is an order!

zeper
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by zeper » Fri Feb 06, 2015 1:26 pm

blackmass wrote:
djh101 wrote:
Well, best of luck to you. Academia is filled with hardships and heartbreak. :|
Too true. Time to get some thicker skin. :(
one of my advisors told us -couple of years ago- that all the positions in my home university is already filled for 10-15 years...he also said " we are holding standford MIT graduats at the waitlist for the positions-associated prof- so do not hope much after you get your PhD and return to home country...I recommend all of you-to class- to lead an applied physics and aim for industrial achievements. It is also a nice field to work"

I got angry at first..."he doesnt think we have a potential!! how dare...." so and so forth..but now I see his point. sad but true

Catria
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by Catria » Fri Feb 06, 2015 2:13 pm

But when there aren't mass rejections being sent out, do they send out the no-brainer rejects first?

Now that I understand why they wait until some acceptances are sent out...

deterministic devil
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by deterministic devil » Fri Feb 06, 2015 3:11 pm

Did anybody hear from University of Kansas so far?

shep23
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by shep23 » Fri Feb 06, 2015 4:15 pm

Princeton Astronomy has sent out a wave of rejections. All to people with PGREs > 900

DivineHorseCloud
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by DivineHorseCloud » Fri Feb 06, 2015 7:14 pm

shep23 wrote:Princeton Astronomy has sent out a wave of rejections. All to people with PGREs > 900
It was quite comical reading on gradcafe the stats of the rejected applicants and some of their comments. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

blackmass
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by blackmass » Fri Feb 06, 2015 8:46 pm

It seems that Caltech Astro has made some offers, and some interviews after the fact. I didn't know schools would send out both offers and interviews at the same time.

TakeruK
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by TakeruK » Fri Feb 06, 2015 10:39 pm

blackmass wrote:It seems that Caltech Astro has made some offers, and some interviews after the fact. I didn't know schools would send out both offers and interviews at the same time.
Sometimes schools do not interview everyone, just the few that are borderline accept/reject. So they might accept a few top candidates first, and then interview a few others. Or, it could just be an incorrect entry on GradCafe (e.g. a person might interpret "unofficial acceptance + visit offer" to mean interview instead of acceptance).

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YodaT
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by YodaT » Fri Feb 06, 2015 11:17 pm

blackmass wrote:It seems that Caltech Astro has made some offers, and some interviews after the fact. I didn't know schools would send out both offers and interviews at the same time.
Yeah, fair to assume that if you didn't receive an acceptance/interview by now you're most likely gonna receive a rejection in 2-4 weeks from now.

blackmass
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by blackmass » Sat Feb 07, 2015 3:53 am

TakeruK wrote:
Sometimes schools do not interview everyone, just the few that are borderline accept/reject. So they might accept a few top candidates first, and then interview a few others. Or, it could just be an incorrect entry on GradCafe (e.g. a person might interpret "unofficial acceptance + visit offer" to mean interview instead of acceptance).
Makes sense. And, fair point. Can't trust grad cafe to be entirely accurate/representative.
YodaT wrote:
Yeah, fair to assume that if you didn't receive an acceptance/interview by now you're most likely gonna receive a rejection in 2-4 weeks from now.
Yep, the sad truth. Although according to last year's results, looks like their acceptances/interviews were spread over a couple weeks. There's a faint glimmer of hope yet! Haha, oh man...

flobadobadie
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by flobadobadie » Sat Feb 07, 2015 10:43 am

Dear Diary,

Why don't nice girls/adcomm professors like me?

Angsty Undergraduate

PathIntegrals92
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by PathIntegrals92 » Sat Feb 07, 2015 11:45 am

flobadobadie wrote:Dear Diary,

Why don't nice girls/adcomm professors like me?

Angsty Undergraduate

I hope you'll find "the one" soon.

blackmass
Posts: 61
Joined: Thu Jul 17, 2014 2:01 pm

Re: Decision Dates

Post by blackmass » Sat Feb 07, 2015 2:30 pm

Has anyone here heard from Caltech astro?

Edit: I was just thinking, my current undergrad has sent out acceptances weeks apart, over the course of three weeks. My prof who's head of the admissions committee told me they basically go down the list, ie. top candidates hear back the first week, the next tier down hears back the following week, and so on and so forth. So basically, not all decisions are sent out at the same time. So for those of us who are seeing schools we've applied to sending out offers already, I think there's definitely the chance that those people comprise their first round of acceptances, and there will be more to follow in the coming weeks. At least that's what I'm telling myself!! ... :(

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YodaT
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by YodaT » Sat Feb 07, 2015 4:19 pm

blackmass wrote:Has anyone here heard from Caltech astro?
All quiet here on the eastcoast. But I'm pretty sure those of us not hearing back puts us in the >75% chance of being denied. I've come to terms with not going there. I think getting no news this week and next week means you're more than likely denied.

Also, some schools are a bit late as compared to previous years. Example: CalTech (~1 week later) and Cornell (~2 weeks later and counting).

Sportsfan77777
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by Sportsfan77777 » Sat Feb 07, 2015 4:31 pm

YodaT wrote:
blackmass wrote:Has anyone here heard from Caltech astro?
All quiet here on the eastcoast. But I'm pretty sure those of us not hearing back puts us in the >75% chance of being denied. I've come to terms with not going there. I think getting no news this week and next week means you're more than likely denied.

Also, some schools are a bit late as compared to previous years. Example: CalTech (~1 week later) and Cornell (~2 weeks later and counting).
Caltech might be taking longer because they ended up enrolling less people than usual in the last 2 years (3 and 4 vs. the usual 7 or 8). For that reason, they might plan on admitting more people this year, and that might take longer to work out.

As the opposite to that, Cornell might be taking longer because they enrolled more people than usual in the last 2 years (7 and 8 vs. the usual 4 or 5). For that reason, they might plan on admitting less people this year, and that might take longer to work out.

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YodaT
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by YodaT » Sat Feb 07, 2015 4:39 pm

Sportsfan77777 wrote:
YodaT wrote:
blackmass wrote:Has anyone here heard from Caltech astro?
All quiet here on the eastcoast. But I'm pretty sure those of us not hearing back puts us in the >75% chance of being denied. I've come to terms with not going there. I think getting no news this week and next week means you're more than likely denied.

Also, some schools are a bit late as compared to previous years. Example: CalTech (~1 week later) and Cornell (~2 weeks later and counting).
Caltech might be taking longer because they ended up enrolling less people than usual in the last 2 years (3 and 4 vs. the usual 7 or 8). For that reason, they might plan on admitting more people this year, and that might take longer to work out.

As the opposite to that, Cornell might be taking longer because they enrolled more people than usual in the last 2 years (7 and 8 vs. the usual 4 or 5). For that reason, they might plan on admitting less people this year, and that might take longer to work out.
That's some jedi-level reasoning right there.

TakeruK
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by TakeruK » Sat Feb 07, 2015 4:48 pm

blackmass wrote:Has anyone here heard from Caltech astro?

Edit: I was just thinking, my current undergrad has sent out acceptances weeks apart, over the course of three weeks. My prof who's head of the admissions committee told me they basically go down the list, ie. top candidates hear back the first week, the next tier down hears back the following week, and so on and so forth. So basically, not all decisions are sent out at the same time. So for those of us who are seeing schools we've applied to sending out offers already, I think there's definitely the chance that those people comprise their first round of acceptances, and there will be more to follow in the coming weeks. At least that's what I'm telling myself!! ... :(
Not all schools do this. For example, my program normally just makes one selection (about twice as many as we ideally want to admit) and that's it. Some years we get more than expected and others we get less. But over the 5 year cycle, it averages out pretty well.

blackmass
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by blackmass » Sat Feb 07, 2015 7:28 pm

YodaT wrote:
blackmass wrote:Has anyone here heard from Caltech astro?
All quiet here on the eastcoast. But I'm pretty sure those of us not hearing back puts us in the >75% chance of being denied. I've come to terms with not going there. I think getting no news this week and next week means you're more than likely denied.

Also, some schools are a bit late as compared to previous years. Example: CalTech (~1 week later) and Cornell (~2 weeks later and counting).
I guess I should start coming to terms with it too. Just really had my hopes set on that one. That's life, I guess. But yeah, looks like they are a little late compared to last year. I think you're right -- if there's no news next week, then it's likely a rejection.
TakeruK wrote:
Not all schools do this. For example, my program normally just makes one selection (about twice as many as we ideally want to admit) and that's it. Some years we get more than expected and others we get less. But over the 5 year cycle, it averages out pretty well.
That's what I'm worried about. And for a program that accepts so few people, seems like they could easily send out all offers at once.

Well, time to move on, I guess. I just didn't realize how tough it would be!

djh101
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by djh101 » Sat Feb 07, 2015 8:01 pm

Is everyone referring to Caltech Physics (as a whole) or just Caltech Astronomy?

blackmass
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by blackmass » Sat Feb 07, 2015 9:33 pm

djh101 wrote:Is everyone referring to Caltech Physics (as a whole) or just Caltech Astronomy?
I'm just referring to Caltech Astronomy, though I've seen one person post an acceptance for Caltech Physics.

djh101
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by djh101 » Sat Feb 07, 2015 10:28 pm

blackmass wrote:
djh101 wrote:Is everyone referring to Caltech Physics (as a whole) or just Caltech Astronomy?
I'm just referring to Caltech Astronomy, though I've seen one person post an acceptance for Caltech Physics.
Okay, I was a little scared there (not that my expectations of getting into Caltech are that high).

djh101
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by djh101 » Sun Feb 08, 2015 12:49 am

That last Stanford applicant on GradCafe seems mighty suspicious (apparently he platinumed the GREs). Or he's that Jared kid from Recess.

slowdweller
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Re: Decision Dates

Post by slowdweller » Sun Feb 08, 2015 1:29 am

blackmass wrote:
djh101 wrote:Oh, the joy of having low standards! :D
Haha I envy you, seriously. I don't know why it's gotten into my head that I need to get into one of these top programs, especially when I don't have one of those pristine profiles, like a lot of people on here. I have an offer at a great school, but nevertheless, being potentially rejected from some of these Ivies that I really had my heart set on really bums me out. I've been down all day just because I'm worried I won't get an offer at my top choice, while others already have. And I know how ridiculous that sounds! Definitely something I've got to work on.
You basically read my mind. I already have offers from a couple of good schools, but it's difficult to be excited about them if all I've been doing has been fantasizing about Harvard, Caltech and Berkeley for the past year.

What makes me pessimistic about my chances at those places is that after a fair bit of stalking and looking into the previous students of people I want to work with, it seems that almost all of them had 1-3 publications at the time of applications, and that too in theoretical fields. Whereas I only have a sort of half-baked paper with a few other coauthors, and some "in progress" projects. I'm really counting on my advisor to come through, as he is fairly well connected at a couple of the top places, but so far it doesn't look very good...

blackmass
Posts: 61
Joined: Thu Jul 17, 2014 2:01 pm

Re: Decision Dates

Post by blackmass » Sun Feb 08, 2015 2:55 am

slowdweller wrote:
blackmass wrote:
djh101 wrote:Oh, the joy of having low standards! :D
Haha I envy you, seriously. I don't know why it's gotten into my head that I need to get into one of these top programs, especially when I don't have one of those pristine profiles, like a lot of people on here. I have an offer at a great school, but nevertheless, being potentially rejected from some of these Ivies that I really had my heart set on really bums me out. I've been down all day just because I'm worried I won't get an offer at my top choice, while others already have. And I know how ridiculous that sounds! Definitely something I've got to work on.
You basically read my mind. I already have offers from a couple of good schools, but it's difficult to be excited about them if all I've been doing has been fantasizing about Harvard, Caltech and Berkeley for the past year.

What makes me pessimistic about my chances at those places is that after a fair bit of stalking and looking into the previous students of people I want to work with, it seems that almost all of them had 1-3 publications at the time of applications, and that too in theoretical fields. Whereas I only have a sort of half-baked paper with a few other coauthors, and some "in progress" projects. I'm really counting on my advisor to come through, as he is fairly well connected at a couple of the top places, but so far it doesn't look very good...
I hear you. I was also counting on my advisor and some of his connections, but it looks like it hasn't helped so far at all... I guess we'll see what happens in the next few weeks. Maybe I'll be surprised. Good luck to you! I really hope you hear some good news soon.

slowdweller
Posts: 62
Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2014 8:47 am

Re: Decision Dates

Post by slowdweller » Sun Feb 08, 2015 7:35 am

blackmass wrote:I hear you. I was also counting on my advisor and some of his connections, but it looks like it hasn't helped so far at all... I guess we'll see what happens in the next few weeks. Maybe I'll be surprised. Good luck to you! I really hope you hear some good news soon.
Thanks, and you too! Looking at last year's results on gradcafe, it seems like this next week (9th-14th) will be the deciding one for many schools. Why does this have to be so stressful? Oh well, it's not like I have worked towards this goal for the past 4.5 years of my life... :(

blackmass
Posts: 61
Joined: Thu Jul 17, 2014 2:01 pm

Re: Decision Dates

Post by blackmass » Sun Feb 08, 2015 12:36 pm

slowdweller wrote:
blackmass wrote:I hear you. I was also counting on my advisor and some of his connections, but it looks like it hasn't helped so far at all... I guess we'll see what happens in the next few weeks. Maybe I'll be surprised. Good luck to you! I really hope you hear some good news soon.
Thanks, and you too! Looking at last year's results on gradcafe, it seems like this next week (9th-14th) will be the deciding one for many schools. Why does this have to be so stressful? Oh well, it's not like I have worked towards this goal for the past 4.5 years of my life... :(
Ugh, seriously. I can't believe how much this has affected me and my overall mood. It's been a tough couple of weeks. But you're right, guess we'll see what happens this next week. At the end of it all, I think no matter what, we'll wind up somewhere good, and the next five or six years will be an incredible experience, even if it's not Caltech or Harvard or Berkeley.

PathIntegrals92
Posts: 190
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2014 12:42 pm

Re: Decision Dates

Post by PathIntegrals92 » Sun Feb 08, 2015 1:47 pm

For some reason, I'm debating whether the latest Michigan post is real. Gpa 3.6 and physics gre 51(%?).

Real or not, I wish people would stop putting fake stats up.

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Aether73
Posts: 27
Joined: Wed Jun 19, 2013 10:52 pm

Re: Decision Dates

Post by Aether73 » Sun Feb 08, 2015 1:57 pm

PathIntegrals92 wrote:For some reason, I'm debating whether the latest Michigan post is real. Gpa 3.6 and physics gre 51(%?).

Real or not, I wish people would stop putting fake stats up.
It might be 510, but that combined with the GPA is still strange.

TakeruK
Posts: 941
Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2012 3:05 pm

Re: Decision Dates

Post by TakeruK » Sun Feb 08, 2015 4:05 pm

Aether73 wrote:
PathIntegrals92 wrote:For some reason, I'm debating whether the latest Michigan post is real. Gpa 3.6 and physics gre 51(%?).

Real or not, I wish people would stop putting fake stats up.
It might be 510, but that combined with the GPA is still strange.
I don't think it's really that strange? Some people (like me) are just really really bad at tests like the PGRE but can get decent GPAs. I think 51 probably means 51st percentile, not 510. My own PGRE score was around that percentile too!

PathIntegrals92
Posts: 190
Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2014 12:42 pm

Re: Decision Dates

Post by PathIntegrals92 » Sun Feb 08, 2015 4:13 pm

TakeruK wrote:
Aether73 wrote:
PathIntegrals92 wrote:For some reason, I'm debating whether the latest Michigan post is real. Gpa 3.6 and physics gre 51(%?).

Real or not, I wish people would stop putting fake stats up.
It might be 510, but that combined with the GPA is still strange.
I don't think it's really that strange? Some people (like me) are just really really bad at tests like the PGRE but can get decent GPAs. I think 51 probably means 51st percentile, not 510. My own PGRE score was around that percentile too!
I'm not very good at tests either.

I'm just pointing out that combination of stats is just odd for Michigan Ann Arbor. It could be real? It's just that I've noticed fake stats on grad cafe before...



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