Physics Graduate School Admissions?

  • 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.

Heisenberg
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat Dec 10, 2005 4:01 pm

Post by Heisenberg » Thu Feb 23, 2006 4:50 am

Dear Samk,

The acceptance email specified April 15th as the last date for accepting the offer. The notification was collective and included a Research Assistanship offer which covers tuition and provides a 2230$ monthly stipend. I understand your dilemma completely and hope things turn out for the best. Applied Physics at Stanford was and still is my no. 1 choice too. I applied and have been accepted to several top 10 physics programs but applied physics at Stanford is by far my preferred destination in part because it offers such a broad choice in choosing an advisor (from Physics, APhysics, EE, Mat. Sci& Eng. and Chemistry).
Last edited by Heisenberg on Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:11 am, edited 1 time in total.

ztftth
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2006 8:59 am

Caltech

Post by ztftth » Thu Feb 23, 2006 6:17 am

Just received an email from Caltech dated feb22 saying that I will be recommended for admission, but no formal offer yet. Haven't heard from 2 other uni that I applied in Canada.

nutbrown
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2005 9:38 am

Post by nutbrown » Thu Feb 23, 2006 4:45 pm

<removed, ditto as above>
Last edited by nutbrown on Sun Feb 26, 2006 3:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

KMac
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2005 5:35 am

Post by KMac » Thu Feb 23, 2006 4:57 pm

Nice, nutbrown, congratulations. Is Princeton your first choice?

Bufalay
Posts: 51
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 5:05 am

Post by Bufalay » Thu Feb 23, 2006 11:16 pm

Congrats on Princeton nutbrown.

raysum
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 4:48 am

Hi Hisenberg!

Post by raysum » Fri Feb 24, 2006 4:01 am

Well Congrats on your acceptance!

Heisenberg
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat Dec 10, 2005 4:01 pm

Post by Heisenberg » Fri Feb 24, 2006 4:19 am

How about if everyone weighs in on what his/her #1 choice is.

nutbrown
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2005 9:38 am

Post by nutbrown » Fri Feb 24, 2006 8:35 am

I'm not sure as of now...

KMac
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2005 5:35 am

Post by KMac » Fri Feb 24, 2006 9:37 am

Has anyone that applied for an NSF fellowship heard back from them one way or the other?

jupiter_dubois
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2006 11:07 pm

NSF

Post by jupiter_dubois » Fri Feb 24, 2006 10:04 am

KMac:

One of my good friends received NSF last year, and he didn't hear back from the committee until after he had visited Berkeley in early April (but it was before the April 15th deadline). My research advisor is also on the selection committee and she says this general timeline is extremely rigid, so if I were you I wouldn't frantically check the snail mail until the last week in March.

Alan

nutbrown
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2005 9:38 am

Post by nutbrown » Fri Feb 24, 2006 10:30 am

Ahhh, the NSF
Unfortunately I'm ineligible by reason of birthplace (i.e., I'm an Indian citizen!)
One of my close friends applied for it, though, and he hasn't heard anything so far.

axelay
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2006 1:23 pm

Berkeley

Post by axelay » Fri Feb 24, 2006 1:36 pm

Has anyone heard any news (admitted, rejected) from Berkeley already?

tleilax
Posts: 24
Joined: Sat Dec 10, 2005 2:56 pm

Post by tleilax » Fri Feb 24, 2006 2:18 pm

No news from Berkeley for me...Harvard either.

student
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2006 5:08 pm

Yale and Deferrals

Post by student » Fri Feb 24, 2006 4:25 pm

Congratulations on all of your amazing acceptances. I'm quite jealous.

I found out on Tuesday that I was accepted to Yale. I'm still waiting on a bunch, including some departments from which others have heard positively, so I'm expecting to be rejected from those. I just wish these schools would share their acceptances and rejections at the same time. I was really sad when I saw on here (and <www.thegradcafe.com>) that people have been accepted to Princeton and Columbia. Regardless, I'm thrilled about Yale and will most likely enroll.

Does anyone know about deferring? I have a pending application for a Fulbright Scholarship, and I'm curious whether I will be able to defer my physics admission for a year in order to accept the Fulbright if I win it. Most schools' websites are vague about this matter.

sim4
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2006 5:48 pm

ucsb

Post by sim4 » Fri Feb 24, 2006 6:01 pm

my stats:

university in canada
u.s. citizen

joint math physics, major gpa ~ 3.8/4.0, reg. gpa ~ 3.6
physics gre 900
general gre = crap (q. 760, v. 610. writing 4.0)

intangibles: two courses in qft, two courses in gr, one cours in adstat., reading course in cosmology, some theoretical research in cosmology - no publications.

applied to theory.

replies:
stanford - accepted

waiting:
caltech
harvard
UCSB
princeton
columbia
mit
chicago (astrophysics)
rutgers
uc davis


anyone heard from ucsb, mit, or harvard yet?

its getting rather late :).
Last edited by sim4 on Sun Feb 26, 2006 1:17 am, edited 1 time in total.

sim4
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2006 5:48 pm

no ucsb

Post by sim4 » Fri Feb 24, 2006 6:11 pm

im quite surprised that none of the above have applied to UCSB.

its on par with harvard, stanford, princeton etc

and i would take it over caltech any day.. unless maybe you would like to do quantum information.

jupiter_dubois
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2006 11:07 pm

UCSB

Post by jupiter_dubois » Fri Feb 24, 2006 7:41 pm

sim4:

I agree with your evaluation, I think that UCSB is an excellent school in both theory and experiment in a variety of subfields. All of the excellent resources just a stone's throw from gorgeous beaches.

I applied to UCSB myself, but I have yet to hear anything, but a good friend was accepted yesterday morning via email so I know that they're starting to send out their decisions. My only concern with UCSB is their stipends; the department offers very little money for standard TA and RA positions considering the high cost of living in the Santa Barbara/Isla Vista area, and they usually don't offer fellowship money until late April and early May.

The same friend of mine that I mentioned above who received NSF was awarded huge scholarships from UCSD and Berkeley. He contacted UCSB regarding any additional financial aid, but the department effectively told him to accept and he would possibly find out about fellowships later on.

Good luck with the remainder of your applications.

-Alan

sim4
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2006 5:48 pm

ucsb

Post by sim4 » Fri Feb 24, 2006 9:26 pm

Thats too bad, about the stipends. I snooped around their website and they are very vague on the amount of support one receives.

To get to the bottom of it, one should probably ask current graduate students what its like.

Do you know the figure for the base (non-fellowship yada yada) support?

Good luck to you too!

sim.

GDD
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2006 10:03 am

Post by GDD » Sat Feb 25, 2006 10:25 am

Hi, I am new to this forum

International (Indian) applicant
Institute: Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

Stats:
GRE: Q800/V620/AW4.0
Physics GRE: 980
GPA: Physics:3.9, Overall:3.7
Reading Project on SUSY
An eprint up on arxiv on solitons, unpublished.

Research Interests Mentioned in the application: Hep-Th, SUSY, String theory

Princeton-?
Harvard-?
MIT-?
UCSB-?
UCB-?
UChicago-?
Cornell-Reject :-(
UTAustin-?
SUNYSB-?
Rutgers-?
BostonU-?

...quite frustrated, guys...
a reject from cornell....and no news from any other schools...in fact no official letter from cornell also....
Are the international apps considered after the domestic apps?
has any international applicant received any notification from any of the above univs?

nutbrown
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2005 9:38 am

Post by nutbrown » Sat Feb 25, 2006 2:58 pm

<removed, ditto as above>

I'm not sure if applicants currently residing outside the U.S. are considered later...
Last edited by nutbrown on Sun Feb 26, 2006 3:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

spinor_1_2
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2006 4:38 pm

Applied physics

Post by spinor_1_2 » Sat Feb 25, 2006 4:53 pm

Hello everyone. I wish I knew about this site prior to taking my physics GRE.

I'm a new poster here and I won't put up my stats because everyone here has such an exceptional undergrad record! Needless to say, my own record pales in comparison.

I think someone here mentioned applied physics at Stanford and Caltech(?). I also applied to both but have not heard back from Caltech yet.

So far, I've been accepted to:

UIUC - Physics (by phone, Feb. 11, w/ fellowship)
MIT - Physics (by snail mail, Feb. 11, w/ fellowship)
U. of Chicago - Physics (by snail mail, Feb. 22, w/ fellowships)

and a few other places but these three were my top choices when I applied. I'm interested in cond-mat. The two applied physics dept. I applied to (Stanford and Caltech) have not reached me back yet. But I contacted Paula Perron at Stanford and she told me that I was rejected via e-mail. I'm now waiting to hear from Caltech's applied physics; has anyone heard any news (either acceptance/rejection) from Caltech yet? If so, who do I contact by e-mail to get a glimpse of what's happening? I have no experience in "applied physics" but thought that I'd try out just in case... but it looks like I may not be able to pursue that stream now.

With regards to comments about UCSB's physics department, there's no doubt that their department is superb in many fields. For instance, the KITP seems exceptional for particle theory. But I did not apply there because when I read through the FAQ section of their website about how competitive it is to get in, I got scared...

Good luck to all of you here and it looks like I have a lot of work to do just to catch up with you guys once in grad school!

Heisenberg
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat Dec 10, 2005 4:01 pm

Post by Heisenberg » Sat Feb 25, 2006 5:09 pm

Well mr. Spinor I'm sorry about Applied Physics at Stanford but you should feel good about getting accepted to MIT at least. Caltech Applied Physics has not made decisions yet so you might have a chance. Good luck and good night.

waded1
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Feb 18, 2006 2:45 pm

out of school for a long time

Post by waded1 » Sat Feb 25, 2006 5:44 pm

Hi,

I'm responding to a few threads... I was out of school for seven years, and had to get letters from supervisors. I was told point blank at MIT that I wouldn't get in because of that, even though I had done independent research last year.

I had 3.7 GPA from Stanford and 990 Physics GRE. I was anticipating having to go to SF State for a year, but was elated to get into UIUC considering the no letters thing. I heard from UiUC and yale on the same day, 2/17... UIUC was a letter, Yale was an email telling me to log in and then I was told I was rejected... cruel and unusual.

I'm going to UIUC's Open House in late March, hopefully I will meet some of you there.

Good luck, :)

Hi Phun- Yes, to compensate for the lack of physics letters, I definitely (over)stated my interests to work in specific fields... I actually mentioned specific groups at all the schools I applied to, and argued that it connected to research I had done on the Hadamard walk (1-D quantum walk). That seems to have worked at Illinois...

nutraello
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2006 6:34 pm

Yale, Money

Post by nutraello » Sat Feb 25, 2006 6:54 pm

Hi,

I was accepted at Yale for physics recently as well (US native). I'm also slightly interested in the mechanics of deferrals, though I'm sure they'd be willing to give you a year for the Fulbright (these are awards that are tallied and used to compare grad schools--they would be pleased to have you attend, as long as you weren't trying anything sly).

Edit re: funding -- http://www.yale.edu/physics/graduate/FAQ.html helped a lot.

nutbrown
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2005 9:38 am

Post by nutbrown » Sat Feb 25, 2006 8:01 pm

<removed, ditto as above>
Last edited by nutbrown on Sun Feb 26, 2006 3:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.

lucp
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2006 8:16 pm

Post by lucp » Sat Feb 25, 2006 8:32 pm

First time posting, but why not help spread the info.

I go to a small liberal arts college in NY. BA (physics) this May, 3.86

790 Math
580 Verbal
6.0 Analytic
810 Physics

US citizen
2 summers reasearch at a national laboratory

U. Washington - Physics - Accepted
U. Colorado - Astrophysics - Accepted
U. Arizona - Astro - Accepted
U. Chicago - Astro - Accepted
UC San Diego - Physics - Accepted
UC Santa Barbara - Physics - Accepted
UC Berkeley - Astro - Wait listed
UC Santa Cruz - Astro - ??
Caltech - Physics - ??
Princeton - Plasma Physics - ??
MIT - Physics - ??

There were questions about UCSB's funding so I'll post what I got offered:
TA ~ 15k / 9 months
Dept fellowship - 5k
Summer RA - ~5k

samk
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2006 3:51 am

Post by samk » Sat Feb 25, 2006 8:35 pm

Hey Heisenberg, the financial offer looks really nice. Congratulations!

Hey spinor_1_2, you got accepted to MIT, Chicago and UIUC all with fellowships but got rejected from Applied Physics at Stanford?! This does not tell the story well for the rest of us who are still waiting for their words. Congratulations on the admssions and fellowships though. You were too humble when you said your record would pale in comparison to the others'.

sim4
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2006 5:48 pm

Post by sim4 » Sat Feb 25, 2006 10:39 pm

lucp -

congrats on chicago astro. :) they're top notch in that field.

can you tell me how the notification arrived, and what is the funding like?

good luck!

sim.

phun
Posts: 28
Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2006 2:53 am

Post by phun » Sat Feb 25, 2006 11:09 pm

spinor_1_2:

um...since your acceptance status is no way near pale compared to most of us physics majors...would you mind sharing it...? :wink:
maybe it will give some people hope...haha I don't know if that sounded right.
After all, there's only a handful of people who are posting here when there are 3526 views..
Perhaps, you could at least share what you thought were strong points of your application?

physiker
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2006 2:45 am

modesty is good

Post by physiker » Sun Feb 26, 2006 2:46 am

edited by admin on 26 Feb 2006
Reason: Please let other posters determine how much personal information they want to share about themselves.


I've often wondered what people look like who get some sort of perverted satisfaction posting their flawless profiles on as many admissions boards as possible. I hope that, at Harvard, Princeton, Caltech, or whichever school this person decides to attend, he learns that a bit of modesty can go a long way, even in academia.

slightlyconfused
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Dec 11, 2005 6:11 pm

Post by slightlyconfused » Sun Feb 26, 2006 3:25 am

physiker, it sounds like you're just really bitter. Those websites are perfectly ordinary, not conceited or vain. Your post makes me wonder if you're just someone with difficulty in graduate admissions who's trying to lash out at more succesful candidates.

Heisenberg
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat Dec 10, 2005 4:01 pm

Post by Heisenberg » Sun Feb 26, 2006 4:19 am

Even though I agree with Physiker that a little modesty can go a long way, I urge everyone here not to be modest. In the context of this message board modesty can keep people from providing others with valueable information regarding the reality of the admissions process. I don't believe anyone here is showing off. This is just an anonymous message board and we should all save our vanity for graduate school!

student
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2006 5:08 pm

Post by student » Sun Feb 26, 2006 4:27 am

but the message board fails to remain anonymous when someone reveals so much information that a ten-second google search can reveal his or her entire identity.

waitingting
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2006 5:11 am

Post by waitingting » Sun Feb 26, 2006 5:13 am

hey Heisenberg, you mentioned Caltech applied physics earlier. Did you call them or something? Any more information you can share regarding the decisions status? Thanks.

Heisenberg
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat Dec 10, 2005 4:01 pm

Post by Heisenberg » Sun Feb 26, 2006 5:24 am

Dear mr. Waiting(ting),

No, I haven't called them but judging by the fact that no one has posted any information about them on the "grad cafe" and by the fact that they stated all applicants will hear from them by April 1, ( yes I know that's the LAST date but it is indicative of the fact that they reach decisions later than most places) I'd say it's pretty likely that they haven't finished reading all of our pie in the sky statements of purpose.

nutbrown
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2005 9:38 am

A misunderstanding...

Post by nutbrown » Sun Feb 26, 2006 9:54 am

I'm reading the stuff above, and I'm rather upset that someone took my profile post so seriously and assumed that I was doing this to show off. I was trying to remain anonymous, but I was also aware that any of you was smart enough to figure out who I was from the profile. It was certanly not my intention to seem immodest, but rather to put in as much information as possible about my academic career so that people could make a reasonable assessment.

I certainly was not sure of being accepted to places; anyone who knows me will tell you that I'm neurotic, nervous, and rather terrified of failure. I'm pretty sure that most people here have an enviable record of research, and I think that some of you probably deserve to be in some of these schools more than I. I'm just fortunate that growing up in India left me with some skill in test-taking and a more advanced basic education, and for better or worse that gives one an advantage in the GRE and a lot of undergraduate courses.

Again, I'd like to offer my sincere apologies for anyone whom I might have offended by this. physiker, I certainly don't think that your post simply comes from being bitter; it's quite possible that what I wrote could have been misconstrued. I can only say that I wish everyone on this forum the best, and in no way feel superior or 'flawless' as you seem to imagine I do. Indeed, I spent most of last week smacking my head against the wall and calling myself an idiot for struggling with a topology take-home test...

As an update, I have removed all the information that directly relates to me or where I went to school, etc. I have been accepted to Princeton, harvard, Stanford, Caltech, Michigan, NYU and Rutgers; I no longer feel comfortable posting any details about these on the board; my apologies once again.
Last edited by nutbrown on Sun Feb 26, 2006 3:53 pm, edited 3 times in total.

spinor_1_2
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2006 4:38 pm

Post by spinor_1_2 » Sun Feb 26, 2006 10:31 am

Hi Phun and Samk,

Thanks for the nice words. In response to your questions, I'll just say that I was in a tough (for me at least) math and physics double major with a decent grade (above 3.80/4.00) (but not perfect), that physics GRE is 920, and that I was lucky to get my name on 3 publications (2 as first authors, and one minor). They were in just regular phys. rev. and not letters or nature/science. I researched in cond-mat theory. I'm an international student in US.

I guess looking at some heated discussions on this page regarding modesty, I'd like to believe that no one here is posting just to show off their accomplishments. But at the same time, it's probably natural for someone who worked so hard and is so accomplished, as several posters here are, they would like to share some of their achievements with others and get some recognition in the process - just human nature I guess. Also, this site exists to inform all of us and it's pretty hard to do that when one doesn't mention which schools he/she heard back from.

My advisor once told me that grad school admissions is a flawed process. And I'd like to think that perhaps my acceptances at some of these schools, where I thought I had no chance, may be reflection of that -- a flawed process that worked in my favor. Some get in because they actually deserve, others get in because it's a "flawed process", others don't get in even though they deserve to because it's a "flawed process". I know it's easier said than done but please don't think it's the end of the world if things don't work out the way you wished. One of my former professors whom I took a class with (but didn't get a rec. letter from) told me that when he applied to 8 schools, he was rejected by all. So he stayed at his undergrad. institution for masters and then applied again, without much change to his academic status (no pubs. during that time, just course work), he was accepted to many schools including MIT. This was a mere 10 years ago. And now he's quite well known for his research in the field and ended up doing just fine.

Just thought that I'd share that with you. So cheer up!

sim4
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2006 5:48 pm

Post by sim4 » Sun Feb 26, 2006 11:31 am

l
Last edited by sim4 on Fri Mar 03, 2006 9:03 am, edited 1 time in total.

lucp
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2006 8:16 pm

Chicago Astro

Post by lucp » Sun Feb 26, 2006 12:37 pm

sim4

I heard via email and have not yet gotten the letter in the mail. Funding is tuition waiver, health insurance, plus RA & TA for ~23k per year.

lucp

nutraello
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2006 6:34 pm

Thegradcafe

Post by nutraello » Sun Feb 26, 2006 4:32 pm

What would really be useful is a graph from last years' data (or even this year's, but the full range--were they around last year?) per institution, so that we can anticipate when the bulk of the letters will be sent out. It's too bad that seniors don't stick around to tell us all of this, but I'd bet that there's a flurry of letters sent out as people finally decide to stop waiting and withdraw/accept offers.

CP
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2006 5:59 pm

Post by CP » Sun Feb 26, 2006 6:05 pm

In response to nutraello, I would encourage all of those with multiple offers to reject those which they do not intend to accept as rapidly as possible. This would really help people waiting for notification.

You only really need a maximum of two.

1) Your current best offer
2) Second choice just in case

sim4
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2006 5:48 pm

Post by sim4 » Sun Feb 26, 2006 6:57 pm

cp:

yes., this is the ettiquette according to my professor.

-sim.

student
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2006 5:08 pm

Post by student » Sun Feb 26, 2006 10:01 pm

I'm sure all of us who are waiting for schools to which others have already been accepted would greatly appreciate your following this etiquette, which is what my advisor told me, as well.

And if you are waiting for responses from other schools that you know you would not attend, please consider withdrawing those applications. This can easily be done through a polite email, to both the department secretary and the department chairperson.

For example, nutbrown (sorry you have been picked on a lot lately; I mean no harm in this post) -- would you really attend Penn under any circumstances over any of your other outstanding options?

No one honestly needs to be able to say that he or she was accepted to, say, six of six places. In the end, all of us (hopefully) will attend only one school.

Good luck, everyone, in this home-stretch week! I'm terrified to check my postal mail tomorrow.

isjer21
Posts: 15
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2006 10:24 pm

ok, a less impressive profile

Post by isjer21 » Sun Feb 26, 2006 10:35 pm

I've been keeping up with this for a while but haven't posted myself.

I go to a large public school, BS physics 4.0, overall 3.9.
GRE - math 800
verbal 520
writing 4.0
physics 730
Two summers at a national laboratory, however, the projects were not really "physics"...more computing than anything, and not even "scientific" computing. I just did them for the money, really.

Berkely - waiting
Stanford - rejected
UCSB - waiting
UCSC - accepted
Washington - waiting
UT Austin - accepted
CU Boulder - accepted

I'm trying to coordinate to be able to go to the same school as my girlfriend. It's tough. She's applying for a Master's in another field.

Anyway, obviously I am not the same caliber as these other folks, and I'm perfectly happy with that. You all should be proud of yourselves! I won't make excuses....I didn't put in the necessary effort to generate a resume as impressive as some of you others. Now you're going to top 10 schools on fellowships, and I'm not. I'm sure everything will still work out for all of us. I personally think it is very helpful for everyone to be as honest as possible.

I liked reading about all of you amazing folks getting into the best schools...

Now, I see some of you have heard back from washington and UCSB...does this likely mean I'm rejected? Just wondering. Thanks for all the help everyone.
Last edited by isjer21 on Wed Mar 01, 2006 8:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

tleilax
Posts: 24
Joined: Sat Dec 10, 2005 2:56 pm

More info days

Post by tleilax » Sun Feb 26, 2006 11:24 pm

Caltech's Information Day is March 23rd
Stanford's Open House Weekend is April 7th-8th

I won't see any of you there I'm afraid...crew rules my life this spring.

spinor_1_2
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2006 4:38 pm

Post by spinor_1_2 » Mon Feb 27, 2006 9:09 am

To add to this list of open houses:

Univ. of Chicago : March 31 (Fri.)
MIT: March 23, 24 (Thrs., and Fri.)

In reply to isjer21:

Some of those schools may not be the off the shelf "name brand" but I think in grad school, its mainly the caliber of groups you eventually work with that matters when it comes to lending a post-doc or faculty positions. For instance, I also applied to CU-Boulder and it's one of my top choices. The only problem is that I haven't heard back from them yet... I hope I get in. CU-Boulder has produced 3 Nobel prize winners and one McArthur "genius" grant in the last 5 years. Their AMO / cond-mat groups are very highly regarded. There are other fields for which they're quite well known as well.

plancklength
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2006 7:57 pm

mechanics of grad school addmissions

Post by plancklength » Mon Feb 27, 2006 2:37 pm

Does anyone know how the admissions decision process works? Do schools usually send out acceptence letters and then rejection letters? At this point I'm still waiting to hear back from Cornell, and it looks like a couple people have already recieved offers...is it fair to assume a rejection letter is coming my way?

jupiter_dubois
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2006 11:07 pm

Post by jupiter_dubois » Mon Feb 27, 2006 10:53 pm

Group:

First, I want to again congratulate everyone on their acceptances thus far. Perhaps it is the case that only those people who are getting into top notch schools are posting their acceptances, but it seems like everyone on the forum is really a fabulous student.

I received my rejection from Stanford Applied Physics via snail mail today (perhaps I was on a waiting list of sorts as Heisenberg mentioned, but they probably were just slow in sending out the rejection letter). I am a little disappointed because I wanted the opportunity of visiting Stanford, but I feel that I still have several solid acceptances as well as the possible remaining options with Maryland, UCSB, and Cornell Applied Physics.

HCarias, I met you at the Duke visit, and I noticed that you haven't updated your profile in a while. I remember your dilemma regarding your fiancee applying to programs and trying to coordinate everything. For some reason I was really touched by the whole situation and I am curious how everything is going for you.

Also, I like the idea posted above about reporting visiting weekends for different schools. My guess is that I won't be accepted into UCSB, but I am trying to plan a visit to coincide with a trip out to UCLA just in case I do get in. Could anyone tell me about Santa Barbara's visiting date?

Finally, someone else commented on only needing a maximum of 2 schools to choose from and notifying/withdrawing all other acceptances/applications. I agree that if someone is absolutely sure of their institution they should go ahead and notify all the other programs of their intentions to enroll elsewhere. However, many people (me included) are choosing between a number of schools and they want to visit their options before committing. In addition, quite a few people are waiting on external factors such as fellowships, signficant others, etc. While I understand the idea behind notifying schools you will absolutely not attend out of politeness to the school and other applicants, I don't think visiting and deliberating between 4-6 schools should be considered excessive.

My two cents,
Alan

spinor_1_2
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2006 4:38 pm

Applied Physics at Caltech

Post by spinor_1_2 » Tue Feb 28, 2006 12:29 am

Caltech's applied physics: Open house will be held around April 4th.

I just received an offer of admission over the phone from a professor a few hours ago. I also received a rejection letter from Stanford's applied physics from post office today.

Good luck to all of you with your applications.

waitingting
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2006 5:11 am

Post by waitingting » Tue Feb 28, 2006 12:43 am

Oh! Congrats spinor!

Did the prof tell you if the department will be sending you an email/mail soon? Is he the prof who has been assigned to you in first year or just a representative of the dept? Any funding info (if you don't mind...)?

Thanks!



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