Please help me choose where to apply

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abhisrkckl
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Oct 04, 2014 6:14 am

Please help me choose where to apply

Post by abhisrkckl » Tue Nov 25, 2014 4:45 am

I am from India. I am applying for astrophysics phd.

GRE Physics - 940 (90th percentile)
General GRE - 162+162+4
IELTS - 8.5
CGPA - 8.27/10 from a good university (not an iit)
Research experience - Two summer internships and a project. Did a bit of research by myself after college as well. All related to astronomy/astrophysics. No publications
Work experience - 2 years at ISRO, not related to astronomy or physics
Letters of Recommendation - Decent, I guess.

Other - I good at programming. (does this make a difference?)

My grades in physics courses are mostly As (with one S and few Bs) but grades in astronomy courses are not so good (Bs and Cs), though they are advanced courses. Math grades are not great either.

What are my chances at getting into Caltech/UC-Berkley?

The other universities I am planning to apply are
1. UC-Santa Barbara
2. Penn State University
3. University of Virginia
4. UW-Madison
5. University of Maryland

Is this list reasonable? Should I apply to more/less number of universities? Should I try for more top universities?

instrument.santosh
Posts: 32
Joined: Mon Mar 25, 2013 12:20 pm

Re: Please help me choose where to apply

Post by instrument.santosh » Tue Nov 25, 2014 8:23 am

Hey abhi, I am from india too ! and i got 890 and am applying to astro too. I guess your list is just fine ! if i where you , i would try increasing the number of schools you are applying to, like say to 7-8. i have quite similar profile but from a engineering background. you could aim a bit higher.

Try considering Yale astro, chicago astro and Washington st. has a pretty good astro group too. these may be a good list of ambi for you as you have good PGRE score. especially if your projects are related astro, there is really a good chance you would get into these schools.

Cheers !

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

Re: Please help me choose where to apply

Post by Catria » Tue Nov 25, 2014 9:52 am

Before any of us can make suggestions (reach or not), make sure that you know what you want out of astrophysics.

But a 940 is just fine for just about any astrophysics program.

kromad
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Nov 27, 2014 8:16 am

Re: Please help me choose where to apply

Post by kromad » Thu Nov 27, 2014 8:21 am

what was your bachelor's in? that may help shed more light on ur prospects



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