==> Sticky: 2009 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

I applied in '08 but never posted my stats. Thought I'd stick 'em up here for posterity, since the '08 thread is locked.

______________________________________________
Undergrad Institution: Mediocre state school
Major(s): Applied math, physics.
Minor(s): CS
GPA in Major: 3.75
Overall GPA: 3.74
Length of Degree: I took a circuitous route through college. Traveled for a year after HS; went to a good state school for a year; dropped out for two years; finished up at a mediocre state school in another three years.
Type of Student: Domestic white male.

GRE Scores:
Q: 770
V: 700
W: 4.5

Research Experience: Messed about with astrophysics theory for a summer. No publications.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: National Merit Scholarship; Magna Cum Laude.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Math tutor for a year, physics TA for a year.

Applied to Where:

Madison - Physics PhD - rejected early
Arizona - Physics PhD - rejected early
Washington (Seattle) - Physics PhD - rejected mid-April
Northwestern - Physics PhD - rejected mid-April
Cornell - Applied Physics MEng - accepted April 14
______________________________________________

Undergrad Institution: Small engineering school in the middle of the western desert. Also went on exchange for a year to a Hawaiian school (yay for diverse educational background).
Major(s): Physics (w/ concentration in Computer Science)
Minor(s): Mathematics
GPA in Major: 3.84
Overall GPA: 3.78
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Highest honors, so I'm guessing top
Type of Student: Domestic white male. Don't hate.

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 590
W: 5.0
P: 850 (and proud of it)


TOEFL Total: n/a

Research Experience: Went to Ireland for a summer and did research with some lasers and optics in Ireland. Worked with big heavy lasers, makin em drill tiny holes, micromachining and such.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Highest honors upon graduation, dean's list all the way through

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Work as a programmer for a living, worked as a TA for Jr. and Sr. year

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Zip

Special Bonus Points: Three sparkling recommendations -- one from a research director in Ireland, one from a physics professor at my home institute, and one from a math professor in Hawaii.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Nay. Pretty cut and dry. The whole diverse educational background may help (?).

Applying to Where:

Columbia University - Nuclear - Accepted 2/17. TA Fellowship, Tuition waiver, $30k support - Declined Offer
Princeton - HEP - Rejected 2/26 by email
Boston U - Computational Physics - Accepted 2/20. TA Fellowship, tuition waived, $30k support - Declined Offer
U Chicago - Nuclear - Rejected 3/2 by snail mail
UIUC - Nuclear Accepted 2/18. RA + 25% TA option (for extra $4k), tuition waiver, $23k over 11mo. + $2k signing bonus - ACCEPTED OFFER
U Wash - Nuclear - Accepted 2/17. Tuition waiver, $20k support - Declined Offer
CalTech - Nuclear - Rejected 2/27 via email
Yale - Nuclear - Accepted 2/7. Tuition waived. Other financial info pending - Declined Offer

Undergrad Institution: Rutgers
Major(s): Physics
GPA in Major: 2.50
Overall GPA: 3.02
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: towards the bottom
Type of Student: Domestic white male.

Masters Institution: NJIT
Major(s): Computational Biology
GPA in Major: 4.00
Overall GPA: 4.00
Length of Degree: 2 years
Position in Class: towards the top
Type of Student: Domestic white male.

GRE Scores:
Q: 770
V: 580
W: 3.0 (8th percentile!)
P: 680 =:-[ (punk rockers never smile!)

Research Experience: 2 submitted articles in computational chemical physics. First author on one on the role of hydrogen-bonding in the antioxidant function of vitamin C.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Research, and currently an adjunct lecturer in Math.


Applying to Where:

Princeton - Physics - Biophysics - REJECTED email 2-26
UIUC - Physics - Biophysics - ACCEPTED email 2-18 $20K
U Wash - Physics - Biophysics - REJECTED email 4-8
Stony Brook - Physics - Biophysics - REJECTED email 3-24
Rutgers - Physics - Biophysics - ACCEPTED email 2-19 $24.3K
Purdue - Physics - Biophysics - ACCEPTED email 3-2 $17.5K
Rochester - Physics - Biophysics - ACCEPTED post 4-10 $19K
CUNY - Physics - Biophysics - ACCEPTED post 3-6 $24K
NJIT - Physics - Biophysics - ACCEPTED email no $ details

Should have posted this a while ago, but here it is.

Undergrad Institution: Small, prestigious (but not top 20 physics) liberal arts school. Strong theoretical cosmology department.
Major(s): Engineering Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.8
Overall GPA: 3.82
Length of Degree: 4 years (graduated in 05/2008)
Position in Class: near top
Type of Student: Domestic Asian

GRE Scores:
Q: 750
V: 580
W: 4.0
P: Took it twice. In 2007: 550
In 2008: 590 (as I have said, ETS considers me an idiot)

Research Experience:
2+ years of research experience at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics while in school, including this year which I have been researching full time (those who know the area can figure out where I went to college).

3 publications (none of them papers):
Two AAS posters and one ATel, first author on one of the posters

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Department award for achievement in physics, member of Tau Beta Pi, 2 grants from the Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
SPS treasurer my junior year.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
none

Special Bonus Points:
Nothing really; took one graduate level classical mechanics class.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
None

Applying to Where:


Harvard - Astro - Rejected
Princeton - Astro - Rejected
Washington - Astro - Rejected
Ohio State - Astro - rejected
Berkeley - Astro - rejected
UMASS - Astro - rejected
Hawaii - Astro - rejected
UIUC - Astro - rejected
JHU - Physics - rejected (sort of)
UC Davis - Physics - rejected (sort of)
Notre Dame - Physics - Waitlisted
Texas A&M - Physics - Accepted with TA at $1850/month on 2/13 - DECLINED OFFER
Brown - Physics - Accepted with TA $19,000 for academic year on 2/18/09- DECLINED OFFER
Boston University - Astro- Accepted with TA $8,500 per semester on 2/18/09- DECLINED OFFER
Rutgers University - Physics - Accepted with TA $24,000 for academic year on 4/8/09 - ACCEPTED OFFER
Cal Tech - Astro -

Undergrad Institution: liberal arts university. small and unknown physics department
Major(s): Physics, Math
GPA in Major: 4
Overall GPA: 3.9
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: top-although it probably does not mean much
Type of Student: international male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 730
W: 5.0
P: 700

Research Experience:
Research on molecular electronics. Nothing big.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Department award for achievement in math, full scholarship, dean's list blah blah..

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: physics and math tutor

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
none

Special Bonus Points:
semi-decent score in Putnam.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where:
all except Purdue are CME

Wisconsin-Madison-accepted 1/30. ~$20k/12 month-declined
Rutgers University - accepted 2/20. $24K/10 month-attending
UMASS - accepted 2/19. funding info to come
Purdue-ceepted-declined offer
Notre Dame -accepted 2/6. $18k TA 9 month-declined offer
Maryland-rejected via email
JHU -withdrawn
UPenn-rejected
Penn State-accepted 02/18 $23K-12 month- TA+small fellowship+summer research-declined offer
NYU-rejected
Case -accepted 2/15. $22k TA declined offer

Undergrad Institution: Reasonable UK institute
Major(s): Physics with Theoretical Physics
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: Converts to close to a 4.0 I think (High-ish British First Class if that means anything to anyone)
Overall GPA: 4.0
Length of Degree: 4 years long
Position in Class: Third
Type of Student: International White male.

GRE Scores:
Q: 790
V: 580
W: 5.5
P: 800 's

Research Experience: Largely comes from my final masters year which had two 3-4 month long research projects.


Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Nothing much ....

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Not really.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Nothing that matters...

Hoping to study: HEP-Theory

Applying to Where:

Oxford- Maths - Told only unfunded places left after email enquiry to my status
UCLA - HEP Theory - Rejected via email
Stanford - HEP Theory - Rejected via email
UCSD - HEP Theory - Rejected via email
UK, Edinburgh - Maths-
UK, Nottingham - Maths-

Undergrad Institution: Large Public
Major: Physics BS
Masters: Math MS
GPA in Major: ~3.85
Overall GPA: 3.85
Length of Degrees: 4 years combined
Position in Class: near top in physics, not sure exactly where
Type of Student: domestic male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 650
W: 5.5
P: 990 (but this was on a second testing, which may have arrived late to schools)

Research Experience: Some research with a prof, in a field not very related to my interests; no publication, but hopefully the rec will say I contributed substantially to the HEP experiment that will result. Also an independent study which another prof generously called research, and which will hopefully also lead to a good rec.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Couple of school awards (one for physics teaching), but nothing fancy.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: This Spring I am a TA, but I had to try and get that added to my apps after submission since it only became official in mid-January.

Special Bonus Points: I'm applying for some variation on HEP Theory, so hopefully my MS in math will be a plus. Also, a large number of grad physics classes (I will be finished with my school's graduate QM and QFT courses when I graduate).

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: One of my recs was from a math prof. Hope that wasn't a mistake...

Applying to Where:

Harvard - Physics - HEP Theory -- Rejected 3/9 by post
MIT - Physics - HEP Theory -- Rejected 3/9 by post
Princeton - Physics - HEP Theory -- Rejected 2/26 by email
U Maryland - Physics - HEP Theory -- Accepted 3/3 by email (Departmental Fellowship, $26K/yr for 2 years with half-time TA position; possibility of RA instead) ACCEPTED!
Columbia - Physics - HEP Theory -- Rejected 3/4 by email
SUNY-Stony Brook - HEP Theory -- Accepted 3/4 by post (1-yr TA, $17K for the academic year) [Declined]
U Penn - Physics - HEP Theory -- Accepted 1/29 by phone [Declined]
Yale - Physics - HEP Theory -- Rejected 2/11 by email

Hertz - Computational QFT -- Rejected 11/29 by mail
CSGF -Computational QFT -- Rejected 3/11 by email
NDSEG -Computational QFT -- Rejected 3/31 by email
NSF - Computational QFT -- Honorable Mention 5/19 by email (The criticism seems to be primarily lack of publications/outcomes from research, in spite of (one reviewer basically said this) a strong rec from the guy I did research for. Note to future applicants: say why your prior research is important, even if it is not relevant to your proposal, and try to have tangible outcomes from research beyond a positive rec.)

Undergrad Institution: Big state school. Solid Physics. Well known for it.
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Math
GPA in Major: 3.5
Overall GPA: 3.4
Length of Degree: 4 Years
Position in Class: Top half?
Type of Student: Domestic asian male

GRE Scores:
Q: 780 - 90%
V: 540 - 71%
W: 4 - 37%
P: 710 - 57% - Eh

Research Experience: 1.5 Years lab experience constructing MINERvA setup for FNAL. Summer research position at JLAB. Conference poster presentation. Working on FPGA based trigger + DAQ for FNAL E906.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Normal Dean's list stuff

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Student supervisor in OIT and student operator monitoring servers. 2 years of experience.

Special Bonus Points: Ind study on the foundations of QM + Grad course on the subject.

Applying to Where:

Rutgers - Nuclear Exp - Accepted by email $24k/10mo TAship
SUNY Stony Brook - HEP Exp - Accepted by post $21k/year TAship
NYU - HEP Exp - Waiting
UMD - Nuclear/HEP Exp - Rejected by email ...What? Really?
UPenn - HEP Exp - Rejected by website
Yale - Nuclear/HEP Exp - Accepted by website! - TAship. Letter says $28k/year - Accepting
UofToronto - HEP Exp - Rejected by post ...Seriously?

Undergrad Institution: domestic, mid sized liberal arts, no real physics reputation
Major(s): applied mathematics, pure mathematics, physics
Minor(s): interdisciplinary studies (basically a little bit of everything)
GPA in Major: 3.95
Overall GPA: 3.97
Length of Degree: 5
Position in Class: tied at top with someone else
Type of Student: International Male

GRE Scores:
Q:800
V:670
W:4.5
P:800 (74 %)


TOEFL Total: waived – did my undergrad in the US

Research Experience:
a lot of research at my school, worked several professors at the same time for several years. Schoolwork was too easy.

Symmetry Analysis: two peer reviewed publications. First paper, 2nd author out of three; second paper, 2nd author out of two. Tier 1 journals.
-Two more papers currently being written

Control Theory (control of plasmas): one peer reviewed publication, 1st author out of two. Top journal in the field. Very good paper I might add.

Control Theory (biophysics/mathematics): One paper currently being written.

Functional Analysis (Spectral Theory): Interesting but no publication here.

General Relativity: Kaluza-Klein theory, and Mach's principle, again no publications here, but learned a whole lot; 3 years of it.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Many in school ones, all the usual plus outstanding graduating senior in mathematics

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Worked as a researcher as often as I could get paid for it – otherwise I did it pro-bono.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
Many public presentations (all on my original research)
-3 poster presentations at Joint National Conferences of MAA and AMS
(won outstanding poster at all three – apparently pretty rare)
-2 talks at conferences, one national, and one Regional
-A couple of local presentations


Special Bonus Points: Took an insane amount of classes. Grad Classes in Symmetry Analysis, Control Theory, and Nonlinear PDE's.

Also Took many independent studies with professors: 2 Semesters of Differential Geometry, 2 Semesters of General Relativity, and 1 semester Topology

Oh, and really good letters of rec. I did alot of research and took classes with all of them.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
Computer skills: 1 class short of computer science minor
-Several Programing Languages including C++

Also, I come from a country that does not produce many Physicists or Mathematicians: Honduras. So I doubt that many Honduran's have attended the departments I've applied to, if any at all. I don't know if this is good or bad.

Applying to Where:

When it comes to research interest I'm leaning towards fundamental interaction or High Energy Physics, but ultimately undecided

MIT - Physics - theory rejected - snail mail 03/02
Princeton - Physics - theory rejected - generic email 02/26
U Chicago - Physics - theoryrejected
UCSB - Physics – theoryrejected
UIUC - Physics - theory withdrawn
UT Austin - Physics – theory accepted - Snail Mail: TA - 02/27
UC Boulder - Physics - theory withdrawn

Ok, I've been lurking around here long enough, here's my own info. This is my second year applying.

Undergrad Institution: Top 20 Liberal Arts College
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Studio Art
GPA in Major: 3.06
Overall GPA: 3.18
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: unknown
Type of Student: domestic white female

GRE Scores:
Q: 790 - 92%
V: 690 - 96%
W: 4.0 - 37% (Whatever.)
P: 660 - 47%


Research Experience: A summer + semester of radio astronomy research at my college; a summer + three more months of full time research work in nuclear physics at a national lab; some very light involvement in a physical chemistry lab at a respected university this fall, mostly to get back hanging with scientists.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Aside from my stint at the national lab, I spent a year and a half as an applications engineer, and currently teach after school "science club" to elementary students in an inner-city public school.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I am an exhibiting artist.

Special Bonus Points: I am every inch a lady. Does my art background win me points?

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I've been out of school for almost five years. I want to do condensed matter experiment, with a focus on novel phases in soft matter and correlated systems.

Applying to Where:

NYU - Physics - CME -- Rejected, 4/15
U Texas, Austin - Physics - CME -- Rejected, 3/17, website
Northwestern - Physics - CME -- Email on 4/14- I was next up for an offer, was I interested? Nope, I'd already sealed the deal with UMN.
U Colorado, Boulder - Physics - CME -- Rejected, 3/10
Brown - Physics - CME -- Waitlisted as of 2/16, by post
U Wisconsin, Madison - Physics - CME -- Accepted by email 1/30. Declined, although I loved the vibe when I visited.
U Mass, Amherst - Physics - CME -- Rejected by post - letter dated 4/21!
UC Santa Cruz - Physics - CME -- Accepted by email 2/20. DECLINED
U Minnesota, Twin Cities - Physics - CME -- Accepted by email 3/2. WILL ATTEND! I am very excited about several possible advisors here. Seems like the best bet, and I like the city.
Johns Hopkins - Physics - CME -- Rejected, 3/19
U Washington, Seattle - Physics - CME -- Rejected, 4/8
U Delaware - Physics - CME -- Accepted by email 1/30. DECLINED
U Maryland - Physics - CME -- Rejected, 3/8

Undergrad Institution: Big Brazilian Federal University - Respected Physics program here in Brazil...
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): No such thing...
GPA in Major: ~4
Overall GPA: ~3.8
Length of Degree: 3 and a half (normal time is 4 years) + 2 for masters degree
Position in Class: Top 3
Type of Student: International latino male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 570
W: 4.0
P: 890


TOEFL Total: ibt: 109 (120)

Research Experience:

One year and a half with CME, growing silicon films; resulted in one poster presentation.
One summer school at IMPA, a very respected math institution.
One year with Open Quantum System; another poster and department's award.
One more year (up to now) with QFT; a paper on the way and presentation at international conference.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

Best Undergraduate Project
Research scholarships
IMPA's scholarship
Masters scholarship

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

Tutor for physics and Math for a year or so.
Staff of brazilian Math olympics for 3 years.
Organizer of students weekely seminars.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Can't think of any...

Special Bonus Points:

Good letters. Well known recommenders here in Brazil. Hoping they are known world wide =P
Almost completed the Math major during undergrad years
Have taken several Grad. lvl classes

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Play the piano at concervatory... Does it help at all??

Applying to Where:

Princeton - Physics - HEP Theory - Rejected by e-mail, 02/26
UCSB - Physics - HEP Theory - Rejected
U. Chicago - Physics - HEP Theory - Rejected
Rutgers - Physics - HEP Theory - Rejected
UBC - Physics - HEP Theory - Accepted with funding - I guess I will attend...


Ps: Tough year on international applicants!

Undergrad Institution: Top 50 in China, but unknown in physics
Major(s): Applied Physics
GPA in Major: 89/100
Overall GPA: 87/100
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: 1/28
Type of Student: International

Master Institution: same as my undergrad
Major(s): Condensed Matter Physics
Overall GPA: 89/100
Length of Degree: 3
Position in Class: 1/12

GRE Scores:
Q: 730
V: 360
W: 3.0
P: 770

TOEFL Total: 99/120

Research Experience: 3 years condensed matter theory research, 3 Physical Review B (2 first-author, all co-author with my advisor only), 1 paper submitted for publication (second out of three).

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: some unknown scholarships

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 1 year research assistant

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Nothing

Special Bonus Points: I can apply some algorithms in the research of strongly-correlated systems, they are pretty complicated.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I have not specially learned the four core mechanics courses in my undergrad. My English speaking is not good too.

Applying to Where: all CMT

UT Austin - Rejected 4/1 by e-mail
UC San Diego - Rejected 3/16 by e-mail
UC Irvine - Rejected 3/31 by e-mail
UC Davis - Rejected 4/12 via website
U Minnesota -
Ohio State U - Rejected 4/2 by e-mail inquiry
Penn State U - Rejected 3/26 by e-mail
U Florida - Rejected 4/16 by e-mail inquiry
Texas A&M U -
U Tennessee - Rejected 1/15 by e-mail

Undergrad Institution: UW Madison
Major(s): Physics and Math
Minor(s): none
GPA in Major: 3.8
Overall GPA: 3.3
Length of Degree: 3 years
Position in Class: no idea
Type of Student: domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 760
V: 480
W: 4.5
P: 550 (21%)

Research Experience: Helping out a research lab

Applying to Where:

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor - Physics - Experimental AMO - rejected 2/26 email
University of Illinois - UC - Physics - Experimental AMO
University of Maryland - College Park - Physics - Experimental AMO - rejected 3/9 email
University of Georgia - Physics - Experimental AMO
University of Oklahoma - Physics - Experimental AMO - accepted 2/26 - TA
University of Colorado - Boulder - Physics - Experimental AMO - rejected 3/10 email
University of Texas - Austin - Physics - Experimental AMO
Princeton - Physics - Experimental AMO - rejected 2/26

Undergrad Institution: University of Louisville. Public state school with a lousy physics department
Major(s): Physics, ex electrical engineer
Minor(s): none
GPA in Major: 3.86
Overall GPA: 3.23
Length of Degree: 5 years total, but 3 were wasted in engineering
Position in Class: We only graduate like 5-10 people per semester, and I'm probably in the top couple.
Type of Student: domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 730, 79%ile
V: 620, 89 %ile
W: 4.5, 58%ile
P: 580, 29%ile



Research Experience: Research every day since January 2008, usually about 15-20 hrs/wk in Photonics. 1st author publication in a conference proceedings and poster presentation. Experience in our actually really nice and new clean room.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Full ride that lasted for 3 years and a state-sponsored scholarship

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Research assistant, SPS.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I have straight A's in physics except for 1 class.

Special Bonus Points: I know a guy that was a research scientist at Northwestern for a long time.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: not particularly

Applying to Where:

University of Chicago - Physics - CME - Rejected via snail mail dated 2/17/09
Northwestern University - Physics - CME - Rejected via website on 3/19/09
University of Illinois at Chicago - Physics - CME - Accepted via email 3/13/09 w/ $1680/month TA
Boston University - Physics - CME - Rejected via snail mail dated 3/17/09
Northeastern University - Physics - CME - Accepted via snail mail dated 3/26/09 w/ $18,285 TA for two semesters
University of Colorado, Boulder - Physics - CME - Rejected via e-mail on 3/10/09

Undergrad Institution: Ivy
Major(s): Engineering Physics
Minor(s): Applied Mathematics
GPA in Major: dont know, but above overall
Overall GPA: 3.82
Length of Degree: 3 years
Position in Class: No information
Type of Student: White domestic male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 510
W: 4.5
P: 750



Research Experience: 1 REU in microfluidics at a private company, but mostly engineering type - 1 second-author publication
1 year research in experimental plasma - no publications
Two abstracts, one out of thousand authors on one, out of 3 on other.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: None

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor in intro physics for 1 year. Programming at particle accelerator for 2 years.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Nope

Special Bonus Points: One grad class. I think rec letters should be good.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: No, but I think my essay was pretty good.

Applying to Where:

USC - Physics - Accepted 1/20 - $30K for 5 years (2 fellowship, 3 RA/TA)
UCSD - ECE - Applied Physics - Accepted 2/23 - $25K, but only for 3 years (1 fellowship, 2 TA/RA)
UCLA - Physics - Rejected 3/25
UCSB - Physics - Rejected 3/4
Stanford - Applied Physics - Rejected 3/9 - letter dated 2/23
UC Berkeley - Applied Science and Technology
Caltech - Applied Physics
______________________________________________

Undergrad Institution: Usually top 20/30 for physics
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Math
GPA in Major: 3.8
Overall GPA: 3.8
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Not first, but decent
Type of Student: Female

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%)
V: 670 (95%)
W: 5.5 (91%)
P: 850 (81%)

Research Experience:
2 years research (overlap with courses), 1.5 of them in my field
1 US patent pending (4 of 5) in totally unrelated physics field
1 paper (2 of 2) under review in my field

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Dean's List, some course awards, a few more school specific things, and some decent awards for research

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
Weirdly lengthy list of extracurricular stuff, physics tutor, other strange jobs in the physics department

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
Several grad classes

Special Bonus Points:
Female? Recommenders like me? I've also talked to some of the people I'm applying with/my current supervisor knows many of them.

Applying to Where:
UCSB - Physics - hep-th: Rejected after email enquiry (27/2) : (
Chicago - Physics - hep-th: Rejected by post (11/3) oh, of course... : (
Penn State - Physics - hep-th: Accepted by email (18/2) : ) - Declined offer
Princeton - Physics - hep-th: Accepted by email (25/2) : ) - Declined offer (ha!)
Harvard - Physics - hep-th: Accepted by email (25/2)... several hours after being Waitlisted after email enquiry (25/2) : | ??? - Declined offer
UC Riverside - Math - Applied Math: Accepted after email enquiry (16/3) - but it sounds like with no funding... nor a guarantee of supervisor... : ( - Declined offer
Case Western - Physics - hep-th: Accepted by email (27/2) - Declined offer

Undergrad Institution: Cambridge England, good rep for physics
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Dont have that concept
GPA in Major: 1st (UK system)
Overall GPA: 1st (UK system)
Length of Degree: 5 years, but with an M.Sci - most people get it after 4 though
Position in Class: Top third or quarter
Type of Student: International (irish + british)
GRE Scores:
Q: 790 (92nd%)
V: 510 (64th%)
W: 4.0 (36th%)
P: 870 (84th%)


TOEFL Total: didnt need

Research Experience: Queens university belfast (aero engineering), ETH zurich (astrophysics) both about 2-3 months. No publications, not yet at least - some possibility of future publication

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Really just stuff for getting good grades in cambridge

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutored a lot during high school but not really since

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

[b]Special Bonus Points: Probably not enough of these - I opted for less well known recommenders who know me well. This may not have been such a good idea in hindsight! Had secured a scholarship for Penn which pays everything for first two years. This is completely independent of the department, and i had been offered the scholarship before they offered me the place (and they knew about the scholarship).

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:the fact I left cambridge for a year may be a bit dodgy since it doesn't happen often

Cornell - CME - rejceted
Harvard - CME - rejected
Princeton - CME - rejceted
Stanford - CME - rejected
UPenn - CME - accepted (not sure if I am gonna go or not yet)

With all the rejections I feel like I may have been punching above my weight with the top four on my list, I'm not sure. I am considering reapplying next year, but all I can feasibly do is improve my GRE score, and possibly get a publication or at most two. Is there much point in this? I don't mind taking the time out, infact I would quite like to, but how much better are the other four places than UPenn anyway (I am definately considering CMT instead of CME by the way)?

______________________________________________
Undergrad Institution: Top 10, big in physics
Major(s): Physics and Math
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 3.7
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Near top
Type of Student: Domestic male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 680
W: 5.0
P: 990


Research Experience: 3 years research at home university (no publication), 1 REU, 1 national laboratory internship

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: SPS officer

Special Bonus Points: 1 year study abroad

Applying to Where:

Cornell - HEP - Accepted by mail, early February
MIT - HEP - Accepted by email (2/5)
Berkeley - HEP - Accepted by email (2/20)
Colorado - HEP - Accepted by email (2/20)
UC Santa Barbara - HEP - Accepted by email (2/20)
Caltech - HEP - Accepted by email (2/23)
Princeton - HEP - Rejected by email (2/26)
Stanford - HEP - Accepted by email (2/27)
Harvard - HEP -

______________________________________________

Undergrad Institution: Ivy
Major(s):Physics
GPA in Major: 3.95
Overall GPA: 3.90
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: Top in physics, top 10% overall
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 720
W: 5.5
P: 950




Research Experience: 2 summers in different AMO labs, one semester in nuclear lab, senior thesis+postgrad fellowship (3 months) in CMT

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Phi beta kappa, Top senior in physics, and awards from the math department

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Such as tutor, TA, SPS officer etc...)
Grader in math department, taught at physics summer program for high school students
Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
Varsity athlete??? (This was my "diversity" for the UC schools)
Special Bonus Points:
Grad courses in Lie Groups and QFT; very strong letter from thesis advisor


Applying to Where: I applied as an undecided theorist, but it seems I was lumped into CMT due to my senior thesis

Harvard - Physics - Theory - Rejected by e-mail in response to inquiry, 2/27
MIT - Physics - Theory - Accepted by e-mail ~2/6
Cornell - Physics - Theory - Accepted by snail mail ~1/26
Princeton - Physics - Theory - Accepted by e-mail 2/25
Chicago - Physics - Theory - Accepted by snail mail 2/21
UIUC - Physics - Theory - Withdrew Application ~2/10
Berkeley - Physics - Theory - Accepted via e-mail 2/20
Stanford - Physics - Theory - Accepted by e-mail 2/27
UCSB - Physics - Theory - Accepted by website 2/20

Undergrad Institution: Public Univ. (Probably in top 15 for physics and math)
Major(s):Physics, Mathematics
GPA in Major: 3.85
Overall GPA: 3.75
Length of Degree: 4+1
Position in Class: Probably in top 10-20% of graduating class
Type of Student: International Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 580
W: 4.5
P: 880


Research Experience:
- 1 summer in an AMO lab
- 1 semester in a HEP lab
- 3 semesters of relativity research. (Resulted in senior thesis)
No publications however.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Multiple scholarships from physics department. Special honors in physics and math.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Physics TA for 1 year; Math grader for 2 years.

Special Bonus Points:
- Grad courses: QM I & II, Classical Mechanics, Statistical Mechanics and 3 Solid state grad courses.
- Four strong letters of recommendations

Applying to Where: All CMT
CALTECH.........Rejected by e-mail, 2/27 (Expected Result)
Cornell...........Rejected by e-mail, 2/4
UChicago........Waiting
UIUC.............Accepted by e-mail, 2/18; w/TA (11 month) 20k One of my top choices
UCSB.............Rejected by website, 3/4
Yale..............Rejected by website, 2/11
UTexas..........Accepted by e-mail; w/TA (9 month) 16k
Stony Brook....Accepted by e-mail; w/TA (9 month) 16k

Undergrad Institution: An asian university with fair reputation in Physics
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Nope
GPA in Major: 3.99
Overall GPA: 3.96
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Top
Type of Student: International male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 400 <-- TwT
W: 3 <---- -_-"
P: 910

TOEFL Total: 103

Research Experience: 3 researches in ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity, currently on microfluidic research
2 international publications as the first author.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Junior Science Talent Project scholarship, Pilot project scholarship, Prize of excellence, my country's royal scholarship and human resource development scholarship

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for a year

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Guess not...

Special Bonus Points: Nope...

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Nothing...

Applying to Where:

Stanford Applied physics ---> Biophysics rejected on 2/24 via oversea air mail
Berkeley Physics -----------> Biophysics rejected on 3/22 via e-mail
Cornell Physics -------------> Biophysics rejected on 2/24 via e-mail
Duke Physics -------------> Biophysics accepted on 1/17 via e-mail <<<--- Take offer!
UCLA Physics -------------> Biophysics recommended by committee on 3/20, application withdrawn
Case Western Physics -------------> CME accepted on 2/14 via e-mail, declined on 4/9

Undergrad Institution: Mexican University
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): -
GPA in Major: 3.84
Overall GPA: 3.84
Length of Degree: 4(BSc) + 2(MSc)
Position in Class: Top 1
Type of Student: International
GRE Scores:
Q: 690
V: 540
W: 3.5
P: 520


TOEFL Total: 108/120

Research Experience: 2 REU at Mexico, 1 Summer Research School at Germany, 1 HEP publication (last author)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 4 times in a row Best Physics Student

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: High-School Physics Teacher for 6 months

Applying to Where:

US

Rennselear Polytechnic Institute: Rejected via e-mail 3/3
UCSD: Rejected via e-mail 3/16
UCR: Accepted via e-mail 3/10

Europe

nano-IMPRS: Rejected via e-mail 3/5
IMPRS-pbcs: Accepted via e-mail 3/10
The University of Edinburgh: No decision has been made

Undergrad Institution: community college --> a University of California
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Math
GPA in Major: 3.9
Overall GPA: 3.9
Length of Degree: 6 years
Position in Class: near top
Type of Student: Domestic/Male/Asian

GRE Scores:
Q:800 (94%)
V:500 (61%)
W:3.5 (20%)
P:730 (62%) (700 club! woo)

Research Experience: Nope.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Provost's Honors (3.5+ GPA for the year), Dean's List

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutoring lower division chemistry & physics for over 2 years.

Special Bonus Points: Rec. letters came from famous professors I guess!

Applying to Where:

Ohio State University - Physics - Condensed Matter Experiment - Accepted, email 2/12. TA $16.7k/9mo, summer RA available, fellowship. - probably will accept this offer!
UC San Diego - Physics - Condensed Matter Experiment - Accepted, email 3/4. Financial details to come.
UT Austin - Physics - Condensed Matter Experiment - Rejected, checked online application status 3/9

I've been finding this useful as a lurker, so I figured it's only fair to add my info:

Undergrad Institution: Private university, highly ranked in general and respectable in physics
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Math, computer science
GPA in Major: 3.59
Overall GPA: 3.67
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Probably top 25%?
Type of Student: White-bread domestic female

GRE Scores:
Q: 770
V: 750
W: 5.5
P: 910

Research Experience: Two summers at a nuclear lab, senior thesis + a few poster presentations on an AMO project (this was several semesters of independent study + a summer)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Sigma Pi Sigma, Robert Byrd Honors Scholarship, institutional grant covering living expenses for summer research

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: I earn my pocket money tutoring pre-meds.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Not really?

Special Bonus Points: Grad-level general relativity and math methods classes, plus one of my recommenders seems to know a lot of people in AMO.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I had a C in first semester QM, mainly due to being severely ill that semester. One of my recommenders mentioned this in his letter.

Applying to Where:

Rochester - Physics - Quantum Optics - Admitted by email 2/5, later offered provost's fellowship ($25,520)
CU Boulder - Physics - AMO - Admitted by email 2/20 with $15,284 TA + $8k signing bonus
Penn State - Physics - AMO - Admitted by email 2/24 with $15,705 TA + $4k signing bonus
Arizona - Physics - AMO - Admitted by email 2/27 with $15,042 TA
Maryland - Physics - AMO/JQI - Admitted by email 2/27 with JQI fellowship ($30,000)
MIT - Physics - AMO - Rejected by snail mail, postmark 2/25
Stanford - Applied Physics - AMO - Rejected by snail mail, postmark 3/3
Harvard - Physics - AMO - Rejected by snail mail, postmark 3/6

Like alkalimetal above me, I've found this forum very useful so I hope this helps applicants in the future.

Undergrad Institution: Small U.S. liberal arts college known for physics 50 years ago.
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Math
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 3.9
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Topish
Type of Student: International Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 770
V: 500
W: 4.0
P: 890

Research Experience:
- One year in laser optics lab.
- One summer REU in Stat. Mech./Comp. Physics that led to a publication (as first author).
- Senior project in hep.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Minor awards and scholarships from school and physics department.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
Chemistry tutor for one semester.

Special Bonus Points:
- Four graduate classes (QMI, QMII, Stat. Mech, Solid State).
- One year and a half independent study project in theory.
- Two strong letters from faculty I've worked with.

Applying to Where:

All applications in High Energy Theory

Santa Barbara - Rejected by email on 3/4
Princeton - Rejected by email on 2/26
Michigan - Rejected by email on 3/10
Stanford - Rejected by email on 2/26
Berkeley - Rejected by email on 3/14
Cornell - Rejected by email on 2/24
Rutgers - Application withdrawn
Stony Brook - Accepted by snail mail, postmarked 2/26, TA $17,000 (9 months)
Maryland - Accepted by email on 3/6, TA $21,000
Syracuse - Accepted by email on 2/12, TA $19,500
Brown - Accepted by email on 2/17, TA $19,000
NYU - Accepted by email on 2/13, TA $22,000 (9 months) - Accepted offer...

Undergrad Institution: Big State University (Top 40)
Major(s):B.S. Physics , B.S.Chemistry
Minor(s):None
GPA in Major:3.47
Overall GPA:3.35
Length of Degree: 4.5 years

GRE Scores:
Q:750
V:380
W:3.5
P:580

Research Experience: Condensed Matter, 1.5 years. Honor Thesis.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 2 within school

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Suppl Instr. for 2 years, Always working Full time while in school

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: B.S. Physics, B.S. Chemistry, physics electives (condensed matter, particle physics, cryogenics, QM2 plus two physical chem classes / laboratories)

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where:

COLUMBIA - Physics - Condensed Matter - Rejected 03/04
SUNY - Physics - Condensed Matter Waiting
DUKE - Physics - Condensed Matter Accepted 01/27 w/ 26K year (TA + summer RA) <<<TOOK OFFER
UNC - Physics - Condensed Matter Waiting
NYU - Physics - Condensed Matter Waiting

Undergraduate Institution: Public University (Top 25)
Major(s):B.S. Physics
Minor(s):None
GPA in Major:3.88 (Upper Div)
Overall GPA:3.68
Length of Degree: 4 years
Type of Student: International, Undergrad US

GRE Scores:
Q:760 (89)
V:640 (91)
W:5.5 (90)
P:830 (78)

Research Experience:Condensed Matter, 1.5 years. Publication in obscure journal. a couple conference abstracts.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: dean's list....

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: summer job doing acoustics.


Applying to Where:

UIUC- Physics - Condensed Matter Exp - Accepted
UBC - Physics - Condensed Matter ExpAccepted
Penn State - Physics - Condensed Matter ExpAccepted
Northwestern - Physics - Condensed Matter ExpWithdrew Application
UChicago - Physics - Condensed Matter ExpRejected
Yale - Physics - Condensed Matter ExpRejected
UC Berkeley- Physics - Condensed Matter Exp Rejected
UCLA- Physics - Condensed Matter Exp- Rejected
UCSD- Physics - Condensed Matter Exp- Rejected
UCSB- Physics - Condensed Matter Exp- Rejected
Stanford- Applied Physics - Condensed Matter Exp- Rejected

Undergrad Institution: Top 10 in Physics and Astronomy
Major(s): Physics and Astrophysics
GPA in Major: 3.5
Overall GPA: 3.3
Length of Degree: 4
Type of Student: domestic female

GRE Scores:
Q: 780
V: 500
W: 5.0
P: 740

Research Experience:
Research and development of ILC particle detectors at DOE lab [physics]
Summer REU with the National Solar Observatory [astronomy]
Characterizing M Dwarf metallicities on campus [astronomy] (current)
Simulations and Developing the data pipeline for BOSS on SDSS-III at DOE lab [astronomy] (current)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Undergraduate coordinator and mentor for women in science society

Special Bonus Points: Most of the astronomy programs I applied to have professors collaborating with BOSS or SDSS

Applying to Where:

University of Washington - Astronomy - Accepted 1/30- Will be attending in the fall!!
University of Chicago - Astronomy - Waitlisted 3/6-Rejected 4/14
Princeton - Astronomy - Rejected 2/2
Yale - Astronomy - Rejected 2/5
University of Colorado - Physics - Rejected 3/3
UC Santa Cruz - Physics - Accepted 2/19 - Declined Offer
Colorado School of Mines - Physics - Accepted 3/3 - Declined Offer
Cal Tech - Applied Physics - Rejected 4/1
UC San Diego - Materials Science - Rejected 2/2
Northwestern - Materials Science - Rejected 2/16

Undergrad Institution:Small urban lib. arts school not known for physics
Major(s): Physics and Applied Mathematics
Minor(s): Music
GPA in Major: 3.72
Overall GPA: 3.21
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: near top
Type of Student: domestic non-minority male

GRE Scores:
Q: 750 (83)
V: 670 (95)
W: 4.0 (37)
P: 670 (49)

Research Experience: No

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: No

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor for a year, Ta for a year. Spent Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 teaching lower-division physics labs at my undergrad institution.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: No

Special Bonus Points: No

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where:

Colorado School of Mines - Physics - Accepted email 2/10 TA + RA this summer and possibility of continuing RA in the fall ~21K/yr- Will attend
Oklahoma University - Physics - Accepted email 2/28 TA + RA this summer ~20K/yr
Colorado State University - Physics - Accepted email 4/3 TA + summer RA ~21K/yr
University of Colorado - Physics - Rejected email 3/10
University of Colorado - Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences - Rejected email 2/3
University of Texas Austin - Physics - Rejected message on app status website 3/10

Undergrad Institution: Canadian school
Major(s): Engineering Physics
GPA in Major: we don't have GPAs here.. my average pretty decent though
Overall GPA: likewise
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: pretty close to top
Type of Student: Domestic (citizenship-wise) white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 790 (92%)
V: 600 (85%)
W:5.0 (77%)
P: 740 (63%) Go 700s!


Research Experience: Spent a summer at CERN through a position at a big Canadian school, with a decent position on a CERN note, and a summer at a big American lab under SULI

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Various school awards

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Some clubs stuff, frosh leader

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Winning personality

Special Bonus Points: Niche interest in physics

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where:

Cornell - Physics - Accelerator Physics - Accepted - Will attend
University of Toronto - Physics - Accelerator Physics - Accepted
University of British Columbia - Physics - Accelerator Physics - Accepted
Stanford - Applied Physics - Accelerator Physics - Rejected
Berkeley - Physics - Accelerator Physics - Rejected
MIT - Nuclear Engineering - Fission - Accepted
University of Michigan - Nuclear Engineering - Fission - Rejected

NSERC CGS-M - Awarded

Undergrad Institution: a private university, relatively new Physics department
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): -
GPA in Major: 3.76
Overall GPA: 3.76
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: something in the middle
Type of Student: International - not Chinese, not Indian, not Russian… so help me God…

GRE Scores:
Quantitative : 790
Verbal: 440
Writing: 3.5
P: 660 - 47th %

TOEFL Total: 109/120


Research Experience:
About a year as intern at National Nuclear Energy Agency, mostly in Radon laboratory


Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Captain of Young Physicists’ Team in 16th International Young Physicists’ Tournament in Uppsala, Sweden
Full scholarship for the whole 4 year of my undergrad studies


Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
English and Physics teacher for students in less developed region in my country; I still need to learn a lot more, though...
Tutor and scientific book translator during my part-time


Applying to Where:

MIT - Physics - Biophysics - Rejected
Harvard - Physics - Accepted, partial financial assistance --declined
NCSU - Physics - Physics Education - Rejected
K-State - Physics - Physics Education - Accepted, no financial assistance whatsoever --declined
WMU - Science Education & Physics - Concurrent-Enrollment - Accepted, a tuition scholarship to cover 100% graduate tuition + nice stipend -- although their Physics is not 'that good', WMU has quite a reputation for their Science Ed --> Lucky Winner!!
Texas Tech - Physics - Accepted, partial financial assistance & in-state tuition --declined
FIU - Physics - Physics Education - Rejected. However, my status was updated to Accepted one month later. Don't ask me how or why.... --declined
NUS - Physics - Nanotech Physics - Accepted, research scholarship --declined

Undergrad Institution: University of Cambridge
Major: Theoretical Physics
GPA in Major: distinction (guess it corresponds to 4.0?)
Length of Degree: 3 years of undergrad + Part III (roughly equivalent to Master's)
Position in Class: close to top
Type of Student: International

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 600
W: 6.0
P: 900


Research Experience:

1. 3 Months of Study on Yang-Mills thermodynamics. Published a paper in Mod.Phys.Lett as first author
2. 6 Months of Study on Braneworld Cosmology. Published a paper in JHEP as second author
3. 6 Months of Study on Minisuperspace Models. Published a paper in JHEP as second author
4. Part III Essay on The large-N limit in Quantum Field Theory
5. 3 Months of Study on Cyclic Cosmology. No Publication
6. Summer School in Utrecht University in Theoretical Physics

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Various college awards

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: Self funded?

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where:

Harvard - hep-th - Rejected
MIT - hep-th - Rejected
Princeton - hep-th - Rejected
UCSB - hep-th - Rejected
Chicago - hep-th - Rejected
Berkeley - hep-th - Rejected

Oxford - Maths - Admitted - Declined

Undergrad Institution: Technical University in Europe. Best University of the Country
Major(s): Applied Physics
Minor(s): Applied Mathematics
GPA in Major: 3.78
Overall GPA: 3.63
Length of Degree: 5 years
Position in Class: Top 10%
Type of Student: International, European

GRE Scores:
Q: 770 (88%)
V: 360 (21%)
W: 3.0 (7%)
P: 790 (73%)


TOEFL Total: 87/120 ibt

Research Experience: Thesis on experimental Neutron Physics in a National Nuclear Laboratoty for 7 months

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: State Scholarship for the first year of studies

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: None

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: None

Special Bonus Points: None

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: None

Applying to Where:

All the applications in Physics Departments (Ph.D.) for experimantal Nuclear Physics

SUNY Stony Brook - Rejected via email on 03/24
University of Rochester - Accepted via email on 02/20 with TA
Yale University - Rejected via email on 02/11
Rutgers - Rejected via email on 03/31
University of Massachusetts at Amherst - Rejected via snail mail on 03/11
University of Virginia - Rejected via email on 02/13
Duke - Rejected via email on 02/11
North Carolina State University at Raleigh - Accepted via email on 04/09 with TA after being wait listed from 03/13
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - Rejected via snail mail on 03/13
Florida State University - Accepted via email on 02/16 with TA
University of Ohio at Athens - Rejected via snail mail on 04/05 after being wait listed from 03/18
Michigan State University - Rejected via email on 03/20
The University of Notre Dame - Accepted via email on 02/05 with TA
Purdue University - Accepted via email on 03/04 with TA
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Rejected via email on 03/25
Northwestern - Rejected via website on 03/17
University of Wisconsin-Madison - Rejected via email on 03/10
University of Minnesota - Rejected via email on 03/05
Texas A&M University - Accepted via email on 03/03 with TA
University of California at Los Angeles - Rejected via email on 03/21
University of California at Davis - Rejected via email on 04/10
Oregon State University - Rejected via email on 03/20
University of Toronto - Rejected via snail mail on 03/11
McMaster University - Rejected on 06/18
McGill University - Rejected via email on 03/19

And in Europe
Paris-Sud 11 University - Accepted for M.Sc. with the opportunity for Ph.D. after the completion of the M.Sc. No financial aid

Undergrad Institution: Ivy League
Major(s): physics
GPA in Major: 3.93
Overall GPA: 3.83
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: summa
Type of Student: domestic, male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 750
W: 5.5
P: 990

Research Experience: 1 year after high school working at a national lab (in radiation chemistry) with a published paper; 1 year after college working in industry (near-field optics); research in astronomy education for master's degree

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 6 years teaching high school physics

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: M.A. in science education

Applying to Where:

University of Maryland - Physics - Physics Education Research - Accepted 3/4 by email (fellowship)

Undergrad Institution: Large University
Major(s): Astrophysics
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 3.34
Overall GPA: 3.31
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Average?
Type of Student: Domestic, white female

GRE Scores:
Q: 710
V: 540
W: 4.0
P: 570

Research Experience: Research with a professor at my university in galactic astronomy for about a year and a half, goes toward my senior thesis

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Sigma Pi Sigma

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Was a TA for several classes, mentored an elementary student in astronomy, SPS Secretary one year and President the next

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Recommender liked a presentation I gave in class

Special Bonus Points: Grad class in Galactic Astronomy, one recommender is fairly well-known in his field

Applying to Where:

UTexas - Astronomy - Galactic - Rejected 1/22 (email)
UVirginia - Astronomy - Galactic - Rejected 3/21 (website)
UMass - Astronomy - Galactic - Rejected 3/12 (snail mail)
Cornell - Astronomy - Galactic - Rejected 3/4 (snail mail, expected result)
Penn State - Astronomy - Galactic - Rejected 3/25 (was told probably not going to be offered admission by email and then received snail mail rejection the next day)
UFlorida - Astronomy - Galactic - Rejected 3/24 (vague email, secretary was kind of rude every time she contacted me causing me to dislike their program)
New Mexico State - Astronomy - Galactic - Waitlisted 2/25 (email, 'chances of receiving offer fairly high') - Accepted! 3/24 (after email inquiry of status)

I'm off to New Mexico!

Undergrad Institution: small school in Hong Kong, physics department is reasonably famous for solid state/astro, no one in biophysics - so I have to do a few internships in California
Major(s): Physics, Math
Minor(s): Statistics
GPA in Major: 3.97
Overall GPA: 3.90
Length of Degree: 3 years
Position in Class: top 1 among some 40 students
Type of Student: International

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%)
V: 700 (97%)
W: 6.0 (96%) (I write for pleasure)
P: 990 (95%)
M(Sub Math): 900 (99%) (I always do better in math)

Research Experience:
1st author in small journal with a UCSF professor, on system biology of the cell cycle (theory/modeling)
paper in preparation with a Stanford Applied Physics group, in molecular biophysics (theory/simulation)
other unpublished reviews/small projects with various professors at my own university

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
bunches of awards at my university for having high GPA

Special Bonus Points:
Graduate coursework in quantum mechanics, stat mech, ODE, PDE, probability theory, machine learning, and nonlinear control. As said, went to labs at UCSF and Stanford as interns and got recommendations. Now in UC Berkeley as an exchange student (which is where I took half of those grad classes).
I also translated volumes of poetry into English from their original ancient Chinese. But I guess that didn't help much.

Special Weaknesses:
Not a single college-level course in biology. I'm too busy taking math/physics classes & doing research. My biology is self-taught, but apparently little-recognized. I also suffer from a severe case of megalomania. As you see:

Applying to Where:
Princeton - Physics -> Quantitative & Computational Biology (QCB) - rejected [ALMOST made it ]
Harvard - Biophysics - rejected
MIT - Computational and Systems Biology (CSBi) - rejected
Stanford - Statistics - rejected
Brown - Applied Math - rejected
NYU - Computational Biology - rejected
UCSF - Bioinformatics - waitlisted and rejected
Caltech - Applied Physics - accepted from the waitlist on April 16th

I missed the deadlines of Berkeley.

And yeah, I admit I'm more than a bit insane. But just sane enough to stay out of an asylum.

Undergrad Institution: Top liberal arts college in math, science and engineering
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 3.75
Overall GPA: 3.71
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: ~ Top 10-15%
Type of Student: Domestic Asian Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 660
W: 5.0
P: 880

Research Experience: One summer at school, one REU, one senior thesis. No publications.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's List, Merit Scholarship

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Graded for four classes, TA'd two labs, tutored for two classes

Special Bonus Points: One of my letter writers is pretty well known. My school has a reputation for intense grade deflation and for producing solid students.

Applying to Where: (All in Condensed Matter, undecided between theory /expt)

Rutgers - Physics - Accepted - Will Attend
UMaryland - Physics - Accepted - Declined
Rice - Physics - Accepted - Declined
UCSD - Physics - Accepted - Declined
Penn State - Physics - Accepted - Declined
Florida State - Physics - Accepted - Declined
U Central Florida - Physics - Accepted - Declined



________________________________________

Undergrad Institution: UC Berkeley
Major(s): Electrical Engineering / Computer Science
Minor(s): n/a
GPA in Major: 2.9
Overall GPA: 2.9
Length of Degree: 4 (graduated '07)
Position in Class: probably average
Type of Student: domestic asian male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 740
W: 4.0
P: 740

Research Experience: Spent a summer during undergrad building a detector; continued with the group and was hired after graduating to build electronics. Group does nuclear physics.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Nothing in college.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: See Research -- I've been working in research since I graduated in '07.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Not really. Took some upper div Physics classes, but not enough for a minor.

Special Bonus Points: ?

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Just to sum things up, I'm going from EE to Physics, and my GPA is lousy. My recommenders are my PI, plus two professors in the EE department whose classes I actually got As in. (But those classes are considered some of the most challenging in the department.)

Applying to Where:

MIT - Plasma Exp - nope
UT Austin - Plasma Exp (MS) - nope
Maryland - Plasma Exp (MS) - nope
Indiana Bloomington - Beam/Accel (MS) - nope
Northern Illinois University - Beam/Accel (MS) - accepted w/TA, declined offer
Illinois Institute of Tech - Beam/Accel (MS) - accepted w/TA, will attend
Stony Brook - MS in Instrumentation - accepted? (no communication / miscommunication?, had to decline)

Sorry for the navel-gazing, but here's some additional thoughts:

Strategy: My main interest is experimental plasma physics / fusion, and my goal is to get into a PhD program that actually has a fusion device, like a tokamak or a stellarator. With my grades, though, I figured it'd be nearly impossible to get into those schools. So I applied to Masters programs in beam physics, which is related to plasma physics.

Analysis: I'm satisfied with how things turned out. Since I wasn't a physics major in undergrad, now I've got the opportunity to patch up areas I didn't take classes in. For 2011 I expect to apply again to PhD programs. And to have cured my laziness.

Undergrad Institution: A very famous school in Hong Kong, if you know where Hong Kong is :p
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Mathematics
GPA in Major: 3.79 (mentioning GPA is unfair to us, our A's are rare)
Overall GPA: 3.72
Length of Degree: 3 + 2(MPhil)
Position in Class: Top 6 (as there are 6 1st hon, I am 1st hon)
Type of Student: International male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 350
W: 3.0 (well....)
P: 990 (I think it is extremely easy, I tried 3 past papers and all got 990, please don't think all Chinese are cheating on this)


TOEFL Total: iBT 106

Research Experience:
Mathematics research in year 1, got a local award with international judges.
Undergraduate project on mathematical physics, published 2 Journal of Physics A
MPhil thesis on gravitational wave astronomy, my name pasted on an ApJ, 2-3 papers are in preparation

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
That mathematical research award, the certificate is signed by a Fields Medalist
Dean List, university scholarship, etc
Best TA award in 2007-08

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Such as tutor, TA, SPS officer etc...)
TA, private tutor, part-time teacher in secondary school........all about teaching

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: + Special Bonus Points: +
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Once I thought many of my qualifications are great, but it appears none of them is useful


Applying to Where:

Caltech - Quantum Information Theory - Rejected
U of Chicago - Condensed Matter Theory - Rejected
Yale - Quantum Information Theory - Rejected
U of Michigan at Ann Arbor - Quantum Optics - Rejected
U of Maryland College Park - Quantum Computing - Rejected
U of Texas at Austin - Condensed Matter Theory - Rejected
U of Wisconsin Madison - Quantum Computing or High Energy Theory - Rejected
U of Rochester - Quantum Optics - Withdrawn
U of Pittsburgh - Condensed Matter Theory - Accepted - Declined
U of Virginia - Theoretical Physics - Accepted - Declined
U of Toronto - Quantum Optics - Accepted - Will Attend
International Max Planck Research School for Quantum Dynamics - QED - Accepted - Declined (this is really a tough decision)

Undergrad Institution: Well ranked state university
Major(s): Physics
GPA in Major: 2.9
Overall GPA: 2.9
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: Middle
Type of Student: Domestic female

Research Experience:
-2 years of research within geophysics conducting data analysis
-1 year lab assistant in experimental astrophysics group studying the CMB

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
-Academic workshop facilitator in Mechanics and Multi-variable calculus
(conducted two-hour workshops twice a week explaining material in depth and demonstrating problem solving)
-TA for high school math and science summer program

Special Bonus Points:
-Took graduate QM
-Had some decent letters

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
-Worked part-time all throughout college career
-Spent a LOT of my first three years in college doing student affairs activities- had an effect on my academic work, but I learned a lot of skills from these activities
-Was a resident advisor for a year (during my first year of upper division classes) - very hard, took a lot of time away from personal and academic life, but a lot of fun and quite rewarding

Applying to Where:

University of Minnesota - Physics - particle/astrophysics ~ Accepted w/ TA offer! (accepted offer!)
UCSD -Physics- particle/astrophysics ~ rejected
Penn State - Physics - particle/astrophysics ~ rejected
UCSC - Physics - particle/astrophysics ~ rejected
WUSTL - Physics - particle/astrophysics ~ rejected
SUNY Buffalo - Physics - particle/astrophysics ~ no response
Cal State LA - Physics - Masters program ~ Accepted ~ will decline

Good luck to 2010 applicants!