Physics GRE Discussion Forums

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?

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 !

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.

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