Physics GRE Discussion Forums

would anyone be interested in a grad school admitted students profiles site? (basically, like thegradcafe, but with admissions stats reported by supposedly-admitted anonymous students)

i'd start the site if we can get *at least* 20 yes votes... the site would only work out if there are people willing to share their admissions information. and supposing that all 5 who voted post their info on the site, the # is way too small to help keep anonymity.

I would post. It would be very useful for all those future applicants. I just wish I'd had a site like that before I applied to grad school.

I voted and would happily post. Also, I don't think keeping it anonymous is much of an issue...at least not for me. We would have names, scores, grades, experience, etc...I guess someone COULD figure out who you were if they really tried, but even if they did...you're already in grad school, so who cares anymore? This is just my opinion, of course.

The yahoo physics GRE discussion group has a breakdown of user stats and where they got in but a better format and a dedicated site would be helpful. Economists have something like this.

Some prefer anonymity. Moreover, a site with just 6 admit profiles would be rather shabby.

Secondly, for the record, I do not steal or transmit content from an existing source. So, HCarrias, since you propose re-formulating the admissions content from the physicsgre yahoo group, would you be kind enough to do the slave-work of data-entry? Enter it in the form of an excel file with stuff like gpa/gre scores/admit school 1/admit school 2/(etc) as data columns -- or wait until I have the basic form up to enter each entry form-by-form.

(The site that I *might* make would allow search and sorting based on information in the data columns above. Search would seek data from a database, of course, so hence the usefulness of having content in an excel file.)

Ideally, individuals who were admitted/rejected would post their stats *themselves*.

The whole thing's still a tentative idea, though...

If you wish, you can post further ideas on what other data you'd like from the user profiles.

GPA and GRE scores are important, but average scores of admitted students are generally available already (gradschoolshopper, etc). What is more important for the site, in my opinion, is a good description of research experience and strength of LORs. Obviously scores and GPA should be included, but I think an excel-type format might not as appropriate for showcasing this other info.

the mockup i created last week would include supplementary information (see below), such as LOR's etc. note that on the development-side, each form field would be stored as a column in a database. therefore, i would still prefer an excel file with the proper columns --- see the link below for which columns to include.

also, although average scores of schools are available, they tend to not reveal the *lowest* and *highest* scores they admit. moreover, the schools do not reveal whether a 3.0 student with a 990 gre score can compete against a 4.0 student with a lower score. realistically, one would assume that's a fair fight. but, some schools are fairly conservative and believe that the high-scoring student slacked off, while the 4.0 student "worked hard" as an undergrad.

http://www.yosunism.com/bragshow/brag.php (the general picture is there, but: the form currently does NOT work right now. mainly, i have yet to code the server-side processing scripts. do NOT waste your time filling it in just yet.)

All the points you made are good. It's also good that the format includes all the supplementary info. Even though I'm done with the grad school admissions thing now, I'll be curious to see how the site ends up. I'll check back here in a while and see when you are ready for posting.

the coding should take about an hour including debug time. i should have a spare hour after i finish my final projects for the term. the hardest part would be getting the word out for people to post their information.

would having too many form fields (all of which are optional) make the form look too imposing?

also, since the form will take quite a few minutes to fill out if filled out in detail, i will probably add in a user/password login system (for editing).

I got a username just to vote (although now I guess I will post every now and then). These are statistics that I would really like to see and I would happily contribute.
By the way... congratulations for such an excellent site, it's a great resource for all of us.

ok so now that my computer is back up and running, i'd probably launch the site in the next few days or so.

aside from posting your profile on the site (whose url i'd post here in the nxt few days), i'd appreciate it if you could spread word of the site... whether by word of mouth or email or aim/icq/yim/msn/whatever.

the site's been finished for about a week now. i'm debating whether to register a domain name for this or to serve it on a subdomain. i'm tending towards a domain name, but then, i'm frugal and waiting for another ad-based endeavor to earn at least $2.99 to purchase a yahoo domain name.

and, i'm still not sure what to call it. my initial idea was to call it bragshow.com ... but would that tend to insult anyone? i've heard mixed opinions from people, some claiming the name sounds "cute," and others claiming it sounds presumptuous. ideally, i'd like to register a domain name that's both memorable and relevant. the obvious ones have already been taken, so i decided to go for something with a bit of flair.

just fyi for those waiting to post on the site...

I'd think that would be a great idea. But, also, I think they should also post the REUs or undergraduate research experience they had in addition to their admission numbers.

the form includes subjective info, i.e., research, letters, etc. here's what the form (all fields optional) would look like:

this form is NOT yet operational. do not waste your time filling it in. look through the fields, and if you have any suggestions for other form fields i should include, please post your comments on this thread.

http://www.yosunism.com/bragshow/brag.php

I think it's a good form. But what if they attended college or university in another country? (I am writing this in regard to the school type.) Also, some schools in other countries do not grade on the 4.00 scale. Some schools (in other countries) grade on the 10.0 scale.

yeah, so i decided to include a comments section for strange grading. (some schools use a percentage scale!)

i guess if they don't use the standard 4.0 and can't convert, i'd have a note in that field saying "Type in NON if you cannot convert your grades into a 4.0 GPA scale, and then describe in the 'Comments' section below why."

and i'd also add in a us/non-us field below school type.

thanks for the suggestions!

done. more or less: http://bragshow.yosunism.com .... check it out... and post your profile, brag or cry.

didn't get to scoop up enough money to purchase the domain name, so it's currently hosted as a subdomain:

Check it out: http://applycorner.com It has for every field including physics

http://graduateschool.applycorner.com/Database.php