FALL 2008 rejections

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butsurigakusha
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by butsurigakusha » Mon Feb 25, 2008 1:03 am

Well, I haven't officially been rejected anywhere, yet. Plus, there are possibly things that don't show up on the profile page that hurt my chances. I don't know if how good my letters of recommendation were. The professors who wrote mine have good things to say about me, but they are also very aware of my shortcomings. At my school, research opportunities are practically thrown at undergraduates, and you pretty much can't help but become involved in research, and it is quite common for students to publish. I have several friends who have first authorships. With the opportunities I have had, there really is no excuse for me not to have published yet, I can only blame my own laziness. I think this may have affected my letters enough to give the impression that I am talented but lazy and unmotivated. I don't think I'm lazy and unmotivated, but I do slack off more than I should, and I definitely haven't taken full advantage of the opportunities I've had.

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jdhooghe
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by jdhooghe » Mon Feb 25, 2008 1:32 am

Well at least you have reconized the problem and are able to correct for it. :D I haven't gotten any acceptances nor rejections yet so I'm still hopeful.

ashar84
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by ashar84 » Mon Feb 25, 2008 5:58 am

Well, let me join the club. SUNY Stony Brook rejected me via email on 2/24. They didn't mention the number of applicants but did say the class size would be 30. One down, five more to go! :?

ashar84
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by ashar84 » Mon Feb 25, 2008 6:15 am

I spoke too soon. The mailman just delivered two small white envelopes. Two more rejections.

Univ. of Tennessee...rejects me on 2/25

Iowa State Univ....rejects me on 2/25

:(

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dlenmn
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by dlenmn » Mon Feb 25, 2008 10:38 am

I've been rejected from Cornell. Not a surprise. I still haven't got the letter in the mail (they said it was sent 2/20), but I asked them in an email and they let me know.

now
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@ Penn State Applicants

Post by now » Mon Feb 25, 2008 11:52 am

Those who were accepted in Penn State Physics- did your application status change or were you notified only by email/snail? Mine is still Under Review :(

VT
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by VT » Mon Feb 25, 2008 12:43 pm

Sorry to hear that dlenmn. I got my rejection from them on Feb 15. The letter was sent out on Feb 7. I asked them to forward my application to the applied physics dept. after the rejction from physics dept, but I have not heard anything from them yet.

kangen558
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by kangen558 » Mon Feb 25, 2008 3:11 pm

Ouch.... I just got my Cornell rejection.

VT
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by VT » Mon Feb 25, 2008 5:49 pm

jus got a rejection( email) from Princeton. Nice. I am relieved. I want MIT's also right now and I will be more relieved.

LucasWillis
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by LucasWillis » Mon Feb 25, 2008 6:18 pm

Wooo! Rejected from Princeton! I'd be really upset right now if I hadn't been looking at pictures of Yale's campus all day...

I feel you, VT. Now I just need to get my MIT rejection and I can maybe stop checking my email 900 times per day.

pacman
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by pacman » Mon Feb 25, 2008 7:01 pm

I just got my Princeton rejection as well...

"We chose to advise you of our decision via email on the assumption that a timely response would outweigh the informality of this means of communication."

Actually, yes, it's good to know.

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dlenmn
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by dlenmn » Mon Feb 25, 2008 7:03 pm

@ VT

I got their letter this afternoon, so I see what you're talking about with forwarding the application. Did you contact the applied physics dept beforehand? Probably the fact that the physics dept held me in suspense for so long will make it less likely that the applied physics folks will consider it...

Looking at thegradcafe.com, it appears that UCSB is getting active again (like peder predicted). Perhaps my wait will soon end one way or another.

VT
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by VT » Mon Feb 25, 2008 7:22 pm

@dlenmn,
Yes, i had contacted few Prof from App Physics dept before I got my rejection letter, but I have not heard a word from them. I feel like flying down to Cornell and kicking their asses for not responding to my email. Apparently, they do not even care our emails.
Anyways, congrats to all of you who have been accepted from UCSB.
A big congrats to grae313, jeezz, you are accepted everywhere( Harvard is sure-in for you) Great work, grae313.

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butsurigakusha
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by butsurigakusha » Mon Feb 25, 2008 9:18 pm

I think it is safe for me to assume that I have pretty much been rejected by Caltech, Stanford, Berkeley, and now UCSB.

On thegradcafe.com it shows that someone was accepted to MIT as late as March 17. How annoying. Why can't these schools at least grant me the dignity of a swift rejection rather than leave me pathetically clinging to false hope?

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dlenmn
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by dlenmn » Mon Feb 25, 2008 9:39 pm

Yeah, I'm guessing that if we didn't hear from UCSB today, that's probably it.

On the plus side, if things continue like they have, I'll have little trouble making a decision about where to go! I wonder what the deal is with the other places I applied. I'm under the impression that several are of a similar selectivity to Wisc.

I think that I'm going to stop my daily mail checking effective tomorrow... the end of a month long streak....

@ butsurigakusha

I can't believe more programs haven't admitted you. You do have a top 10 place though (and UCSD is supposed to be nice too), so it's not all bad.

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butsurigakusha
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by butsurigakusha » Mon Feb 25, 2008 11:11 pm

Yeah, now I will have to try to make the difficult decision of choosing between UCSD and UIUC. UIUC probably has the stronger program and more interesting research, and they have offered a pretty good financial deal (it is especially good when one considers the cost of living), which I doubt UCSD will match. On the other hand, I would much rather live in San Diego. If I can convince myself that UCSD's program is good enough, or comparable to UIUC's, then I will probably go to UCSD.

It's funny, a few weeks ago, before people started hearing back, I told a friend of mine that there was a part of me that hoped I only got accepted to UCSD, then I could choose them with a clean conscience, whereas, if I got accepted to MIT, I would feel like I had to go, even if I don't really want to live in Massachusetts. I guess that part of me got its wish, more or less.

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zxcv
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by zxcv » Mon Feb 25, 2008 11:14 pm

butsurigakusha, it looks like I have the honor of sharing your reject list with you!

I was really hoping for UCSB... maybe it's worth giving them a call? I may try to do that tomorrow.

Ironically I may be in a bit of a different situation from you. Even though La Jolla is a decent location all things considered, I would still probably put it below my other options (Seattle and Davis). It's really desert like down there... variety (and the outdoors) is nice.

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butsurigakusha
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by butsurigakusha » Mon Feb 25, 2008 11:25 pm

@zxcv

Yeah, I was really hoping for UCSB, too. It was my top choice among the schools that I thought I had a good chance at, whereas Stanford and the others were all reach schools. It was disappointing that I didn't get into those schools, but not getting into UCSB is a real kick in the crotch. I'm going to be feeling this for days, and then it'll be another kick in the crotch when I am formally rejected.

You don't seem to be incredibly fond of UCSD. Well, I have never been to any of the schools I applied to, but, based on my preconceived notions, I believe I would prefer living in La Jolla over Urbana. Of course, I will visit both schools, and refrain from making any decisions until then.

deyton
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by deyton » Mon Feb 25, 2008 11:26 pm

Add me to the boat of people waiting for a rejection from MIT after getting one from Princeton today.

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zxcv
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by zxcv » Mon Feb 25, 2008 11:33 pm

To be fair, my assessment of (and importance placed on) location crossed off everything east of the Rocky Mountains. La Jolla is not bad all things considered. Heck, at least it has hills :D. I think in part it may be the big city in southern California thing -- I was secretly wishing I didn't get into Caltech, too, for similar reasons.

Somehow I imagined Santa Barbara would be much nicer. Maybe that's just my imagination fueled by all the cool research they do there :).

I should probably get over my location obsession... the educational experience is a much more important factor when entire careers are under consideration.

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butsurigakusha
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by butsurigakusha » Mon Feb 25, 2008 11:55 pm

@zxcv

You say that you think you have been rejected by Stanford, but I think the only ones who have been accepted so far are doing applied physics, as far as I can tell, stanford physics is still a possibility. I think Caltech physics is still possible as well.

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grae313
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by grae313 » Mon Feb 25, 2008 11:56 pm

butsurigakusha wrote:@zxcv

You say that you think you have been rejected by Stanford, but I think the only ones who have been accepted so far are doing applied physics, as far as I can tell, stanford physics is still a possibility. I think Caltech physics is still possible as well.
As far as I know, no one has heard from Stanford or Harvard physics.

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zxcv
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by zxcv » Tue Feb 26, 2008 12:10 am

Okay, so Stanford hasn't rejected me... yet. That doesn't mean I don't think they will. (They were the first application I wrote and I don't think I made a great case in my essay about why they're a good match.)

peder
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by peder » Tue Feb 26, 2008 12:36 am

Not everyone's in yet at UCSB. Don't give up hope. :D

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butsurigakusha
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by butsurigakusha » Tue Feb 26, 2008 12:48 am

Damn it, peder, why did you have to bring up hope. The last thing in the world I need right now is hope :evil:

Okay, fine, I won't give up hope just yet. I guess I'll still dream about getting accepted to UCSB.

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jdhooghe
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by jdhooghe » Tue Feb 26, 2008 1:34 am

I applied to seven schools and have not yet heard from a single one of them. Should I be worried? Well...more worried than I already am? I really don't know what I would do with myself if I didn't get in :( .

Penn State
U. of Maryland
U.C. Davis
Syracuse
U. of Michigan
Rutgers
Stony Brook

jeesh, at this point I am just hoping for one acceptance. It's amazing how much you criticize yourself when in this situation. Oy, I need to pull myself together, it is not productive to be like this. I will leave you guys/gals alone now and continue on thermal homework(I'm loving this stuff!)

doom
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by doom » Tue Feb 26, 2008 1:37 am

Try to chill out a little bit, jdhooghe. I don't think much of anyone has heard from Michigan physics yet, and I haven't heard anything about Maryland. Their app deadline was really late, too.

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dlenmn
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by dlenmn » Tue Feb 26, 2008 1:59 am

@ peder

Cool, thanks for the info.

@ jdhooghe

From past years, there's good data about acceptance dates from top 10 schools, but data from the rest is kind of sketchy, so it's hard to say how far they are in to sending out acceptances. I can't believe that any of them are close to done yet (as doom points out, some haven't even _started_). It is fair game to call/email them and ask what gives. I might start doing more of that myself -- I'm getting real sick of the "Under Review" message on my Penn State page...

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jdhooghe
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by jdhooghe » Tue Feb 26, 2008 3:53 am

I'm sorry guys/gals, I feel terrible for shining the spotlight on me when all the rest of you are dealing with the exact same misgivings. If only I was like Muad'dib...oy nevermind, scratch that.

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butsurigakusha
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by butsurigakusha » Tue Feb 26, 2008 4:08 am

Actually, I'm curious, in exactly what way would being like Muad'dib be useful in this situation? If you were the Kwisatz Haderach, I don't see why you would need or want to go to grad school at all.

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jdhooghe
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by jdhooghe » Tue Feb 26, 2008 11:14 am

Yep :mrgreen:

A green smilie....how oddly, odd

vroomfondel
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by vroomfondel » Wed Feb 27, 2008 6:44 pm

just got yale rejection by email (applied physics)

anthonyk
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by anthonyk » Thu Feb 28, 2008 2:10 pm

got rejected from university of michigan physics today via email.

doom
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by doom » Thu Feb 28, 2008 2:20 pm

I'm in the "rejected by Michigan" club, too! It's my first rejection, and strangely, I reacted somewhat ambivalently to the news. Michigan had been one of my top choices at one point, but I was starting to wonder if their research was really in line with what I wanted to do. Well, it's a moot point now.

Maybe I can find one of those "MUCK FICHIGAN" shirts when I'm on my visit to Ohio State. :lol: :twisted:

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jdhooghe
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by jdhooghe » Thu Feb 28, 2008 3:04 pm

Rejected by Michigan also. It was my reach school so I don't feel too bad.

Karatechop250
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by Karatechop250 » Thu Feb 28, 2008 3:24 pm

Rejected from Wake Forest... Would you like fries with that?

vicente
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by vicente » Thu Feb 28, 2008 3:26 pm

I got rejected by Brown. F*ck my school's physics department and its 69% class average. I got the third highest mark in my quantum II class but that doesn't count for sh*t when it's only 84%.

hpharty
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by hpharty » Thu Feb 28, 2008 3:38 pm

vicente wrote:I got rejected by Brown. F*ck my school's physics department and its 69% class average. I got the third highest mark in my quantum II class but that doesn't count for sh*t when it's only 84%.
Grade Inflation FTW!

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LuminiferousAether
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by LuminiferousAether » Thu Feb 28, 2008 4:25 pm

Rejected from Michigan.

Oh well. I wasn't really considering them anyway, now that I've gotten in to UT Austin and UCSB!

rooibos
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by rooibos » Thu Feb 28, 2008 7:05 pm

vicente wrote:I got rejected by Brown. F*ck my school's physics department and its 69% class average. I got the third highest mark in my quantum II class but that doesn't count for sh*t when it's only 84%.
You and I both, brother, you and I both :(

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dlenmn
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by dlenmn » Thu Feb 28, 2008 7:11 pm

hpharty wrote:
vicente wrote:I got rejected by Brown. F*ck my school's physics department and its 69% class average. I got the third highest mark in my quantum II class but that doesn't count for sh*t when it's only 84%.
Grade Inflation FTW!
My school puts the median grades for classes on the transcript. It's a mixed blessing, but I think it's an overall win, because I believe my school has had below average grade inflation.

vicente
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by vicente » Thu Feb 28, 2008 7:20 pm

The highest GPA in the Physics program this year is 3.8, out of around 30 students. The class average is a little under 2.5. I think my 3.5 average in physics is excellent, but apparently graduate departments don't think so when they get fifty applicants with perfect 4.0's, which are unheard of at my school, the best physics department in Canada. F*ck them.

nvanmeter
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by nvanmeter » Fri Feb 29, 2008 6:01 pm

just finally heard back from stanford - rejected!

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grae313
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by grae313 » Fri Feb 29, 2008 6:20 pm

nvanmeter wrote:just finally heard back from stanford - rejected!
Oh man, that sucks! Because you were so close to getting 100%.
Now you can tell people "yeah, I got into everywhere I applied" and then mumble under your breath, "except stanford."

nvanmeter
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by nvanmeter » Fri Feb 29, 2008 6:35 pm

haha a little irony for you: for undergrad i also got into everywhere i applied except one. the funny thing is that it was exactly the reverse - i got into stanford and not harvard for undergrad, then it switched for grad. i guess i should just go to MIT who has always loved me...

geomar
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by geomar » Fri Feb 29, 2008 9:06 pm

Well, you can say that you have been accepted at every school you have applied to. No one got to reject you twice = )

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fermiboy
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by fermiboy » Sat Mar 01, 2008 3:25 am

Guess who got into Stanford?












Not me.

pacman
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by pacman » Sat Mar 01, 2008 1:00 pm

Mine are arriving in pairs. Last week I got my Princeton rejection and NYU acceptance within hours of each other, and today I got rejected by MIT and accepted by Durham.

DigitallyCrazy
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by DigitallyCrazy » Sun Mar 02, 2008 9:57 pm

Second that on the double rejections:

MIT :( :( :( and U of Chicago.

The worst part is now I'm 50/50 for my big three schools (Caltech - no response, Stanford - yes, MIT - no), and I really really REALLY want to get into Caltech!!! I was flying high, and MIT has brought be back down a bit. Chicago didn't help, but I wasn't that enthusiastic about it in the first place. Well, we shall see. At this point in the game, it's all about personal fit and so much less about rank.

But screw feeling sad, I think I'm over it now. STANFORD IS AWESOME. Everybody I talk to thinks that they're my first choice. I can live without MIT.

VT
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Re: FALL 2008 rejections

Post by VT » Sun Mar 02, 2008 10:18 pm

DigitallyCrazy:
When did you hear from MIT and how? Are you close to Boston area?



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