Any news from medical physics program?

  • This has become our largest and most active forum because the physics GRE is just one aspect of getting accepted into a graduate physics program.
  • There are applications, personal statements, letters of recommendation, visiting schools, anxiety of waiting for acceptances, deciding between schools, finding out where others are going, etc.

Post Reply
mart
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2009 5:32 pm

Any news from medical physics program?

Post by mart » Thu Jan 22, 2009 7:07 pm

Hi, guys. As it is end of Jan, I wonder anyone got some good news from medical physics program? I applied UWis, UChicago, UCLA and UT-Houston. I'm kinda nervous now. :?

User avatar
Helio
Posts: 809
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2007 7:11 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by Helio » Thu Jan 22, 2009 7:23 pm

mart wrote:Hi, guys. As it is end of Jan, I wonder anyone got some good news from medical physics program? I applied UWis, UChicago, UCLA and UT-Houston. I'm kinda nervous now. :?
There was one person that heard from UCLA here... check the profile page... UWisc will come in about 1.5 to 2 weeks with the rest of the decisions i guess

User avatar
twistor
Posts: 1529
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 2:47 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by twistor » Sat Jan 24, 2009 1:28 pm

Here is what I know:

You will get most offers by the middle of February, however certain schools take as long as the middle of March to reply.

Excalibur1986
Posts: 24
Joined: Tue Dec 23, 2008 8:08 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by Excalibur1986 » Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:39 pm

I just received an acceptance from Wisconsin in Med. Physics. UCLA sent out invitations for its candidates' weekend by email a couple of weeks ago, so I assume if you haven't heard from them yet that it's a long shot. UT-H, I believe, interviews its candidates as well. U. Chicago seems to take their sweet time, so I'm expecting something back from them in early March. Mart, did you only apply to medical physics programs? Also you should post your profile on the "2009 Profiles". Best of luck to you.

techodestructo
Posts: 20
Joined: Tue Dec 09, 2008 12:50 am

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by techodestructo » Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:56 pm

I got the UCLA invitation early January and an email from Wisconsin telling me my app was incomplete (dough!!!). Nothing yet from MIT or chicago

audreyh
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Jun 21, 2008 4:10 am

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by audreyh » Wed Jan 28, 2009 7:24 pm

bothersome to anyone that the open house for UCLA and UFlorida overlap? I mean, the programs are very distinct, but still, that means if I get invited to florida's open house, I'll have to choose one school to discard even before I'm admitted to any! :(

misterme09
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Feb 02, 2009 8:25 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by misterme09 » Mon Feb 02, 2009 8:32 pm

I applied to Medical Physics programs at UChicago, Wisconsin, UCLA, UT-Houston, UT-San Antonio, Duke, and Florida. I also applied to schools in traditional physics at UT-Austin, Texas A&M, Univ of Washington, and Northwestern.

I received an acceptance email from Wisconsin in Medical Physics on Jan 30 and an acceptance from UT-Austin today, but so far I haven't been contacted for a visitation weekend at UCLA, so that is a bad sign.

Did any of you get letters from UT-Houston recently? I got one saying I am qualified for admission but that they cannot make a final statement about admission until they rank their candidates. Did anyone else get something like this? What do you think it means? Good or bad?

I may have gotten it before the rest of you since I live nearby. But nevertheless, what do you think it means?

techodestructo
Posts: 20
Joined: Tue Dec 09, 2008 12:50 am

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by techodestructo » Tue Feb 03, 2009 12:58 pm

I am still waiting for replies from MIT, Chicago, and Stanford. So far I have heard replies from UCLA, Wisconsin, and Berkeley. I wonder if it's normal for the private schools take their time.

User avatar
Helio
Posts: 809
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2007 7:11 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by Helio » Tue Feb 03, 2009 1:07 pm

techodestructo wrote:I am still waiting for replies from MIT, Chicago, and Stanford. So far I have heard replies from UCLA, Wisconsin, and Berkeley. I wonder if it's normal for the private schools take their time.
stanford has as medical physics program? I just remember the regular physics will make you wait till march 1st.

mart
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2009 5:32 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by mart » Tue Feb 03, 2009 6:07 pm

Helio wrote:
techodestructo wrote:I am still waiting for replies from MIT, Chicago, and Stanford. So far I have heard replies from UCLA, Wisconsin, and Berkeley. I wonder if it's normal for the private schools take their time.
stanford has as medical physics program? I just remember the regular physics will make you wait till march 1st.
So far as I know, Stanford has medical physics program, but only post-doc positions are available.

techodestructo
Posts: 20
Joined: Tue Dec 09, 2008 12:50 am

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by techodestructo » Tue Feb 03, 2009 8:39 pm

mart wrote:
Helio wrote:
techodestructo wrote:I am still waiting for replies from MIT, Chicago, and Stanford. So far I have heard replies from UCLA, Wisconsin, and Berkeley. I wonder if it's normal for the private schools take their time.
stanford has as medical physics program? I just remember the regular physics will make you wait till march 1st.
So far as I know, Stanford has medical physics program, but only post-doc positions are available.
I applied to applied physics at stanford and bioE at berkeley / ucsf. Both programs have no real certified medical physics programs, but they do have residencies (i think stanford's residency is certified). They also have numerous research areas that fall under the umbrella of medical physics. Since I would like to do more research than clinical work (even though the job prospects for this track are no where near as rosey), I don't think certification is as important. I am still not quite sure on the nuances of the certification, though; I am hoping to get some info from faculty at open houses.

mart
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2009 5:32 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by mart » Tue Feb 03, 2009 8:59 pm

misterme09 wrote:Did any of you get letters from UT-Houston recently? I got one saying I am qualified for admission but that they cannot make a final statement about admission until they rank their candidates. Did anyone else get something like this? What do you think it means? Good or bad?
Hi, dude. I guess I got the same letter from UT-Houston. Maybe we are selected into the second round, I wish.

Anyway, I think U Wis has better medical physics program, why are you still expecting UT-Houston?

misterme09
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Feb 02, 2009 8:25 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by misterme09 » Tue Feb 03, 2009 9:33 pm

Well, I'm already living in Houston, and moving to cold Wisconsin would be a huge change. I guess it'll depend on money and where else I get into.

Also, I'm into radiation oncology not so much imaging, and so UT-Houston seems like a better match for that. I contacted profs at Wisconsin in radiation therapy about Research Assistantships and they seem to hardly have any.

techodestructo
Posts: 20
Joined: Tue Dec 09, 2008 12:50 am

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by techodestructo » Fri Feb 06, 2009 2:33 pm

Did anyone apply to U Chicago or MIT Medical physics? Have you heard any news yet from them?

misterme09
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Feb 02, 2009 8:25 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by misterme09 » Fri Feb 06, 2009 11:21 pm

I applied to UChicago. Judging from years past, I think Chicago will be very slow at giving decisions.

Excalibur1986
Posts: 24
Joined: Tue Dec 23, 2008 8:08 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by Excalibur1986 » Sat Feb 07, 2009 2:23 am

Rejected from U. Chicago. :cry:

misterme09
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Feb 02, 2009 8:25 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by misterme09 » Mon Feb 09, 2009 2:12 am

Excalibur1986, did you hear anything about whether travel/lodging expenses for the Wisconsin Medical Physics Open House were paid or not?

Excalibur1986
Posts: 24
Joined: Tue Dec 23, 2008 8:08 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by Excalibur1986 » Mon Feb 09, 2009 12:05 pm

I assume that they would pay for flights and lodging, but I wish that they would supplement the cost of the coat I'm going to have to purchase because the lowest temperatures I'm used to hover around the mid 30's. I think Twistor should be an expert on this since, if I remember correctly, he actually goes there. We should be getting an e-mail sometime this week with further details though.

User avatar
twistor
Posts: 1529
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 2:47 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by twistor » Mon Feb 09, 2009 1:09 pm

I've never said which program I accepted an offer to, nor will I.

Excalibur1986
Posts: 24
Joined: Tue Dec 23, 2008 8:08 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by Excalibur1986 » Mon Feb 09, 2009 2:29 pm

I was mistaken and I'll adjust my statement accordingly: He was accepted to both the UWM and U. of Chicago and could provide information on the open houses.

Happy?
Last edited by Excalibur1986 on Mon Feb 09, 2009 2:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.

PoincareSection
Posts: 110
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2008 2:00 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by PoincareSection » Mon Feb 09, 2009 2:33 pm

Why can't people who want to remain anonymous stay that way? Isn't the point of this whole wonderful website to give and receive advice anonymously? Outing people is a real dickhead thing to do.
This is the reason that I, among many other people, refuse to post my profile.
Last edited by PoincareSection on Mon Feb 09, 2009 2:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

PoincareSection
Posts: 110
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2008 2:00 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by PoincareSection » Mon Feb 09, 2009 2:36 pm

Excalibur1986 wrote:I was mistaken and I'll adjust my statement accordingly: He was accepted to both the UWM and U. of Chicago and could provide information on the open houses.

Happy?
Thanks for amending your post.

User avatar
twistor
Posts: 1529
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 2:47 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by twistor » Mon Feb 09, 2009 4:49 pm

From what I remember, U. Wisconsin-Madison had their open house during the second week of March, and Chicago and theirs during the third. I got an offer from Madison first, then Chicago later.

For the open houses you should just save all your receipts for your travel expenses. I believe both schools reimbursed for coach airline travel and your hotel is booked and paid for by the school.

If you have to pay to go to an open house the school doesn't really want you anyway.

mart
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2009 5:32 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by mart » Fri Feb 13, 2009 4:56 pm

received the rejection letter from MIT today :(

but, still no message from u chicago .......................

techodestructo
Posts: 20
Joined: Tue Dec 09, 2008 12:50 am

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by techodestructo » Fri Feb 13, 2009 8:00 pm

mart wrote:received the rejection letter from MIT today :(

but, still no message from u chicago .......................

haha got mine too today! I'm annoyed because they had by far the most annoying application. I was hoping to at least get a trip to Boston out of it.

misterme09
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Feb 02, 2009 8:25 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by misterme09 » Wed Feb 18, 2009 2:20 pm

Rejected from Duke today via their online system. If you didn't get rejected today then that is a good sign.

audreyh
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Jun 21, 2008 4:10 am

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by audreyh » Thu Feb 19, 2009 4:20 am

what does this mean? should I expect acceptance? or still iffy?

"the committee concluded that you are qualified for admission... However, the final determination concerning your admission can only be made after Medical Physics faculty has made its overall ranking of applicants. This procedure will be completed during the month of March and we will notify you as soon as these decisions are reached."

misterme09
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Feb 02, 2009 8:25 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by misterme09 » Thu Feb 19, 2009 4:42 am

audreyh wrote:what does this mean? should I expect acceptance? or still iffy?

"the committee concluded that you are qualified for admission... However, the final determination concerning your admission can only be made after Medical Physics faculty has made its overall ranking of applicants. This procedure will be completed during the month of March and we will notify you as soon as these decisions are reached."
You are talking about the UT-Houston thing right? I got that earlier and just recently heard more from them (about the Open House with interviews). Things are still up in the air until March I guess.

User avatar
grae313
Posts: 2296
Joined: Tue May 29, 2007 8:46 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by grae313 » Fri Feb 20, 2009 12:10 am

audreyh wrote:what does this mean? should I expect acceptance? or still iffy?

"the committee concluded that you are qualified for admission... However, the final determination concerning your admission can only be made after Medical Physics faculty has made its overall ranking of applicants. This procedure will be completed during the month of March and we will notify you as soon as these decisions are reached."
Sounds like you've made it to the last round of cuts, wait till march to find out if you get in.

audreyh
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Jun 21, 2008 4:10 am

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by audreyh » Fri Mar 06, 2009 8:17 pm

anyone hear back yet? How'd you guys like the open houses? UCLA's open house?

Excalibur1986
Posts: 24
Joined: Tue Dec 23, 2008 8:08 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by Excalibur1986 » Sat Mar 07, 2009 2:20 am

The UCLA open house was pretty cool. The first day was campus tours and ~40min of interviews. Second was tour of Santa Monica. I'm still waiting to hear back from them though.

techodestructo
Posts: 20
Joined: Tue Dec 09, 2008 12:50 am

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by techodestructo » Mon Mar 09, 2009 7:35 pm

Excalibur1986 wrote:The UCLA open house was pretty cool. The first day was campus tours and ~40min of interviews. Second was tour of Santa Monica. I'm still waiting to hear back from them though.

tour of santa monica, eh? that sounds kinda nice. i ended up couch surfing and binge drinking at friends' houses for 3 days after the interview day. did you guys end up going bowling?

misterme09
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Feb 02, 2009 8:25 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by misterme09 » Tue Mar 10, 2009 2:59 am

audreyh wrote:anyone hear back yet? How'd you guys like the open houses? UCLA's open house?
UT-Houston was fun, except for the three hours of interviews! Will see about Wisconsin this weekend.

mart
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2009 5:32 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by mart » Tue Mar 10, 2009 2:45 pm

misterme09 wrote:UT-Houston was fun, except for the three hours of interviews! Will see about Wisconsin this weekend.
didn't receive the interview invitation from UT-Houston. Seems like I am out.

techodestructo
Posts: 20
Joined: Tue Dec 09, 2008 12:50 am

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by techodestructo » Tue Mar 10, 2009 5:07 pm

any news from chicago yet? ironic that the school with the earliest application due date is the only school I am still waiting on.

audreyh
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Jun 21, 2008 4:10 am

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by audreyh » Fri Mar 20, 2009 8:41 pm

anyone hear back from UCLA yet?

misterme09
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Feb 02, 2009 8:25 pm

Re: Any news from medical physics program?

Post by misterme09 » Fri Mar 20, 2009 11:34 pm

audreyh wrote:anyone hear back from UCLA yet?
Not me. But I've talked to some people who already did a visit there, so it's probably over for those of us who haven't heard.



Post Reply