string theory phd

[physicsisfun000]

What are the top schools for string theory and mathematical physics (focusing on the mathematical side of string theory) in the US ? And What are good schools to apply to (in string theory and mathematical physics ) as a backup in case this doesn't work out ? What is the required PGRE score and other criteria such that one can have a high chance of getting accepted into a string theory program ?

Thanks

[quizivex]

Probably Princeton is the ideal place for string theory. I met a student there who was working with Ed!

[Jding]

By looking at past profiles you can see that for international applicants if you want to do HE-th in top 10 schools you need near perfect scores on pretty much everything+1st author publications or REALLY STRONG recommendations.

I'm applying this year, with 95%tile+ on all my GREs(except AW of course..) & top 5% rank in my major, but as an international applicant with no publications I can only think about applying to 50-100 universities if I'm serious.