==> Sticky: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

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WhoaNonstop
Posts: 853
Joined: Mon Sep 21, 2009 1:31 am

==> Sticky: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by WhoaNonstop » Wed Oct 06, 2010 10:26 pm

This is the most useful resource PhysicsGRE has to offer. If you have used this information in the past or are currently using it to help decide upon schools, I highly suggest you help out and post your own profile once you have applied to schools. Future members of this forum will find it very useful! Don't be shy!

Copy and paste the template below in your reply to keep the formatting.

______________________________________________
[b]Undergrad Institution:[/b] (School or type of school, such as big state, lib arts, ivy, technical, foreign (what country?)... Overall Reputation in Physics?)
[b]Major(s):[/b]
[b]Minor(s):[/b]
[b]GPA in Major:[/b]
[b]Overall GPA:[/b]
[b]Length of Degree:[/b] (Are you graduating after 3, 4, or 5 years?)
[b]Position in Class:[/b] (No numbers needed, but are you top? near top? average? struggling?)
[b]Type of Student:[/b] (Domestic/International, male/female, minority?)

[b]GRE Scores:[/b]
[b]Q:[/b]
[b]V:[/b]
[b]W:[/b]
[b]P:[/b]


[b]TOEFL Total:[/b] (if applicable, otherwise delete this)

[b]Research Experience:[/b] (At your school or elsewhere? What field? How much time? Any publications (Mth author out of N?) or conference talks etc...)

[b]Awards/Honors/Recognitions:[/b] (Within your school or outside?)

[b]Pertinent Activities or Jobs:[/b] (Such as tutor, TA, SPS officer etc...)

[b]Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:[/b]

[b]Special Bonus Points:[/b] (Such as connections, grad classes, famous recommenders, female or minority status etc...)

[b]Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:[/b]

[b]Applying to Where:[/b]

[u]School[/u] - Department - Research Interest
[u]School[/u] - Department - Research Interest
[u]School[/u] - Department - Research Interest
______________________________________________

Thanks to quizivex for the template from previous years.

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WhoaNonstop
Posts: 853
Joined: Mon Sep 21, 2009 1:31 am

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by WhoaNonstop » Wed Oct 06, 2010 11:34 pm

Undergrad Institution: A dinky University. No physics reputation that I'm aware of.
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Math
GPA in Major: 3.92
Overall GPA: 3.92
Length of Degree: 5 Years
Position in Class: Top of small class (Five Students)
Type of Student: Domestic White Male. See Avatar for more info.

GRE Scores:
Q: 780
V: 430
W: 4.0
P: 890


Research Experience:
University of Nebraska - Spin Polarized Electron Physics - AMO - No Publications, Senior Thesis - Sponsored by NASA Space Grant
University of Florida - REU - Mapping Coexisting Phases of Perovskite Oxides - CMP

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Phi Eta Sigma - Freshman Honor Society
Phi Kappa Phi - Honor Society
Graduated in the Honors Program with Summa Cum Laude
2010 Student Fellowship Recipient - NASA Nebraska Space Grant
James W. Nielsen Scholarship Recipient
Kappa Mu Epsilon - Mathematics Honor Society
Various Research Fellowships at University of Nebraska

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
Academic Success Tutor - One Year
Society of Physics Students President

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: Recommendations coming from two professors I did research with and the other just a classroom professor. I'm expecting three really good recommendations. But none of these have huge connections to any of the schools I'm applying to.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I went on exchange to University of Minnesota my sophomore year of college, before I decided to become a Physics major and had a GPA of 2.13. This will show up on the transcript I have to send from Minnesota.

Applying to Where:

Top 10:
Princeton University - Physics - Condensed Matter - Rejected 02/17
Cornell University - Physics - Condensed Matter / Applied Physics - Rejected 02/16
Top 20:
Yale University - Applied Physics - Condensed Matter - Rejected 02/25
Top 50:
University of California, Santa Cruz - Physics - Condensed Matter - Rejected 03/18
Brown University - Physics - Condensed Matter - Accepted 02/15 - Teaching Assistant - ~$2275/month - Offer Declined 3/22
University of Virginia - Engineering Physics - Accepted 02/02 - Research Assistant - ~$1540/month - Offer Declined 3/4
University of Florida - Physics - Condensed Matter - Accepted 02/02 - Teaching Assistant - $1750/Month - Offer Declined 2/14
Top 100:
Dartmouth College - Materials Science Engineering - Application Withdrawn
College of William and Mary - Physics - Accepted 02/07 by Phone - $2150/Month (Received Additional Fellowship - $3,000 a year for first two years) - Offer Accepted
College of William and Mary - Applied Science - Accepted 02/24 - $1900/Month - Offer Declined 3/8
Oregon State University - Physics - Condensed Matter - Accepted - 01/25 - Teaching Assistant - $1804/Month - Offer Declined 2/16
Safety: =)
Wesleyan University - Physics - Condensed Matter / Atomic/Molecular/Optical - Application Withdrawn
Last edited by WhoaNonstop on Sun Apr 03, 2011 5:16 pm, edited 27 times in total.

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HappyQuark
Posts: 762
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 2:08 am

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by HappyQuark » Thu Oct 07, 2010 2:05 am

Undergrad Institution: Very Small Liberal Arts College. No physics reputation but well ranked as far as liberal arts schools go
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Mathematics, Music
GPA in Major: 3.65
Overall GPA: 3.5
Length of Degree: 4.5
Position in Class: N/A
Type of Student: Domestic Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 740 (80%)
V: 550 (75%)
W: 5.5 (94%)
P: TBA (October)
P: TBA (November)

Research Experience: 1 Senior project on Gauge invariance in E&M and the standard model and 1 on molecular modeling simulations of hydrophobic solvation of methane. No publications

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: SPS Historian for 2 years.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 2 years primary Mechanical/Network Engineer for a DoD Aerospace Program, half year as a lab analyst at microbiology testing facility, 3 years Physics/Math tutor.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Applying to Where:

Columbia University - Applied Physics - Plasma - Rejected 04/29 by E-mail.
Cornell University - Applied Physics - Plasma - Rejected 03/14 by E-mail. Offered non-funded M.S. option.
UCSD - Physics - Plasma - Rejected 03/11 by E-mail
UCLA - Physics - Plasma - Rejected 03/02 by E-mail
University of Colorado, Boulder - Physics - Plasma - Rejected 03/03 by E-mail
Stony Brook - Physics - HEP-EX - Rejected 03/19 by E-mail
Northwestern - Physics - HEP-EX - Rejected according to website, I was never contacted to check my status
Brown University - Physics - HEP-EX - Rejected 02/15 by E-mail
UC Irvine - Physics - Plasma - Rejected 03/28 by E-mail after requesting an update
Boston University - Physics - HEP-EX - Rejected 02/14 by E-mail
University of Utah - Physics - Condensed Matter - EX - Accepted 02/23 by E-mail, TA - $20,641/year ($23,500 if you pass the common exam)
University of Hawaii-Manoa - Physics - HEP-EX - Accepted 02/23 by E-mail, TA - $22,552 first year - OFFER ACCEPTED!
Last edited by HappyQuark on Fri Apr 29, 2011 4:55 pm, edited 15 times in total.

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satyad18
Posts: 233
Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2009 9:17 am

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by satyad18 » Tue Oct 12, 2010 2:30 am

Undergrad Institution: An ordinary engineering college in India. No reputation in Physics.
Major(s): Electrical Engineering
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: Got no GPA system. 62% total marks.
Overall GPA:
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Average
Type of Student: International Male [Indian]

GRE Scores:
Q: 750 (82%)
V: 570 (80%)
W: 3.5 (26%)
P: 590 (29%) - 2009; 770 (68%) - 2010


TOEFL Total: 93/120

Research Experience: Summer work with a professor on the use of Radio Occultation Technique for the Planetary and Terrestrial atmospheric/ionospheric research at Space Physics Laboratory, ISRO. (Theoretical work)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: None

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Was a participant of the International Congress of Mathematicians-2010.

Special Bonus Points: One recommendation from the professor with whom I did research.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: A few backlogs.

Applying to Where:

Penn State - Quantum Gravity - Rejected on 03/16 via email
U Maryland - Gravitational physics - Rejected on 04/14 via email
U Florida - HEP theory/Mathematical physics - Rejected on 03/14 via email
Louisiana State - Quantum Gravity - Rejected on inquiry via email on 03/09
U Pittsburgh - Theoretical Cosmology - Accepted on 02/19 via email - $23,280/year Will Attend!
U Rochester - HEP theory - Rejected on 03/14 via email
Syracuse - Gravitational physics/HEP theory - Waitlisted - withdrew application
UMass-Amherst - Gravitational physics/HEP theory - Application withdrawn
Brandeis - Gravitational physics/HEP theory - Application withdrawn
U Connecticut - Gravitational physics/HEP theory - Application withdrawn
Tufts - Theoretical Cosmology - Application withdrawn
UW-Milwaukee - Theoretical Cosmology - Accepted on 02/18 via email - $21,307/year - Offer declined-03/28
Last edited by satyad18 on Thu Apr 14, 2011 3:56 am, edited 37 times in total.

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philosophysicist
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 2:24 pm

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by philosophysicist » Tue Oct 12, 2010 1:46 pm

Undergrad Institution: UC in Southern California, top 10/20 in physics depending upon specialization.
Major(s): Physics, Mathematics
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 3.52, 3.59
Overall GPA: 3.44
Length of Degree: 5
Position in Class: No idea, probably average
Type of Student: Male, Hispanic Minority

GRE Scores:
Q(2009): 700 (71%), 720 (75%)
V(2009): 550 (75%), 520 (67%)
W(2009): 5.5 (92%), 5.0 (81%)
P(2009): 550 (20%)
P(2010): 660 (46%)


Research Experience: Experimental cosmology with a fairly young, up and coming professor. Summer at Caltech with a very well-known professor, publication in review, still currently working for this group. Researcher for the CMS experiment at the LHC, a few small time publications for some tools we developed.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Couple of small time academic awards for GPA above 3.5. Got a couple of grants, couple of fellowships, and a couple of scholarships during my time as an undergrad. Anything that shows people are willing to give you money to do research is a good thing.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Working for an engineering firm. Red Hat Certified Systems Admin.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I was president of the astronomy club here for a year and I obtained a grant to build a 12-inch telescope. I have initiated a lot of community outreach in physics and astronomy.

Special Bonus Points: Hopefully my minority status and publications help. I have spent A LOT of time writing my personal statements. After showing them to professors, other academics, and a ton of people I finally have something that they say is all anyone could ask for.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Just the outreach and publications. Wrote/Writing (support phase) a program to automate object acquisition and tracking during observation (used mostly for spectroscopy). Works great with Keck, still waiting to test it with Palomar.

Applying to Where:

Research interests in observational astronomy, extrasolar planets, planetary science and astrobiology.

Harvard - Astronomy - Rejected by snail mail 2/26
UC Berkeley - Astronomy - Rejected by email 2/18
Princeton - Astrophysics - Rejected by email 2/4
Yale - Astronomy - Rejected by email 2/3
Columbia - Astronomy - Rejected by email after inquiry 4/4
Univ. of Washington - Seattle - Astronomy and also the Astrobiology certificate program - Waitlisted by email 2/22 - Rejected by email 4/6
UC Santa Cruz - Astronomy - Rejected by email 3/18
Caltech - Astronomy - Rejected by email 3/24
Boston University - Astronomy - Accepted by phone 2/16, $9400/semester <--- Will Attend
San Diego State University (MS) - Astronomy - Accepted by email 4/14 <--- Declined
Univ. of Maryland - College Park - Astronomy - Waitlisted by via email inquiry 2/28
Last edited by philosophysicist on Fri Apr 15, 2011 6:42 pm, edited 19 times in total.

ramathorn
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2010 12:23 am

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by ramathorn » Tue Oct 19, 2010 12:34 am

Undergrad Institution: University of Chicago
Major(s): Physics, Classics(don't judge)
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 3.6, 3.9
Overall GPA: 3.54
Length of Degree: 3 yrs
Position in Class: Near top in major GPA
Type of Student: White male

GRE Scores:
Q(2008): 740(82%), (2010): 800(94%)
V(2008): 680(96%), (2010): 700(99%)
W(2008): 4.5 (67%), (2010): 5.0(82%)
P(2010): 870(83%)

Research Experience: 1 yr CMT group at Chicago, 1 yr theory group at UCSD in CM and fluids. I published a manual on an obscure Turkic language, but I don't think that's relevant...

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's List every year, besides that very little.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA'd in college and taught science in underdeveloped schools

Special Bonus Points: Spent the time between graduation and now in the Peace Corps.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I have recs from people with their fingers in a multitudinous amount of pies(postmortem: I never promised all three of them would be diligent in plying these pies for me.

Applying to Where:

Research interests in fluids and soft condensed matter. This splits me between ME, AP, and pure Physics programs:

Cornell - Applied Physics - Referred to MS program 3/14 by email
Stanford - Applied Physics - Rejected 2/23 by offhand GradCafe comment that all decisions had been made and they simply don't have the courtesy to tell us right away
Harvard - Applied Physics - Rejected 3/23 by post
Caltech - Applied Physics - Rejected 3/20 by email
Berkeley - Applied Science & Technology - Accepted 4/1 by email. First year $1820/mo RA
Princeton - Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering - Rejected 2/10 by email
Brown - Engineering(there aren't rigid divisions - bordering Solid and Fluid/Thermal/Chemical groups) - Accepted 3/2 by email. Six years $2330/mo fellowship - Will Attend
UCSD - Mechanical Engineering - Accepted 1/28 in person by my boss. First year $2015/mo fellowship.
UCSB - Physics(CMT) - Rejected 2/28 by website
Penn - Physics(CMT) - Rejected 3/4 by website

Note: Other soft-matter people might be confused at the omission of NYU and Yale AP; after investigating and talking to some students there, I've decided they weren't a good fit.

NSF - No
NDSEG - No
Hertz - No. For all these grants, one of my recommenders forgot to submit their stuff in time :twisted:
Last edited by ramathorn on Fri Apr 01, 2011 9:49 pm, edited 19 times in total.

ekuphysics
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 11:13 pm

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by ekuphysics » Mon Oct 25, 2010 9:48 am

Undergrad Institution:Eastern Kentucky University, Med sized state school, little Physics rep.
Major(s):Physics, Math
Minor(s):Actuarial Sciences, Statistics
GPA in Major:3.9
Overall GPA:3.80
Length of Degree:5 years
Position in Class:Top
Type of Student:Domestic non-minority male

GRE Scores:
Q:780 (89%)
V:520 (68%)
W:5.0 (84%)
P:590 (29%) 04/10, 660 (46%) 11/10

Research Experience:10 week REU at Marshall University working in Topology of Data. Poster, no talks. Summer helping with Physics Education Research at home institution.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:Dean's List a lot, President's award, Sigma Pi Sigma, Order of Omega, Excellence Scholarship, Physics Department Scholarship

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for 2 years, tutor for 2.5 years

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: SOP should be really good.

Special Bonus Points:Good letters of Recommendation, extremely involved in Undergraduate organizations, neither parent received bachelors

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

Applying to Where: All Schools are Astrophysics, High Energy, and Relativity and fields

UIUC- Rejected via email 3/18
Columbia- Rejected by email 3/15
UPenn- Rejected by email 3/4
Ohio State- Accepted via email 2/4, TA - $1946 a month
SUNY - Stony Brook-
Rutgers- Rejected by email 3/18
Brown- Rejected via email, 2/16
Georgia Tech- Accepted via email 3/3, TA - $23,000 a year Offer declined
NYU-
Boston- Rejected via email, 2/14
UMass Amherst- Rejected via email, 2/15
Vanderbilt- Extremely unlikely to receive offer (aka rejected) via email, 2/24
Northeastern-
Tufts-
Kentucky- Accepted via email, 2/28, TA - $14,000 9-month, $3000 1-year fellowship
Last edited by ekuphysics on Sat Mar 19, 2011 1:34 pm, edited 14 times in total.

matto07
Posts: 29
Joined: Tue Oct 26, 2010 1:03 am

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by matto07 » Tue Oct 26, 2010 2:02 am

Undergrad Institution: Big State/Barely top 100 grad program
Major(s): Physics, Math
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.98, 4.0
Overall GPA: 3.95
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Top
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 750 (82%)
V: 590 (84%)
W: 4.0 (45%) :?
P: 770 (68%)


Research Experience:
2 years studying non-equilibrium critical phenomena using Monte Carlo simulations; led to award winning poster presentation at a symposium and a first-authored paper in PRE. Currently studying random Boolean networks; 2 papers and a senior thesis in progress. 1 summer studying anthropological data using signal analysis.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Goldwater scholarship
Outstanding first year student in the Honors College
Summer research fellow (school SURF program)
Provost research fellow
Every department scholarship I could get my money-grubbing hands on.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
SPS president
Undergrad research network officer

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
Helped raise 10 grand to host first physics symposium at my college
Only the second Goldwater scholar from my school
In case there are jazz fans reviewing my apps: I've played jazz piano professionally 2 nights a week throughout my undergrad career.

Special Bonus Points:
Not much here... 2/3 of my letter writers are well known in their fields; the letters themselves should be pretty good. Hoping that graduating in the Honors College helps (or else I've wasted many hours and a few hundredths of a grade point).

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
Personal statements and related essays should be pretty good.
The crappyness of my college will probably matter to some of the upper-echelon schools I'm applying to.

Applying to Where: (all in CMT)

MIT - Physics - Rejected 2/28 via email
Harvard - Physics - Rejected 3/2 via inquiry
UCSB - Physics - Rejected 2/28 via status check
Cornell - Physics - Accepted! 2/5 via email. 25K 9 month Fellowship -Will Attend
UT - Physics - Rejected 5/12 via status check
UCSD - Physics - Accepted 3/4 via email. 17K 9 month TA - Offer Declined
Boulder - Physics - Accepted 2/18 via email. 15K 9 month TA (or possible RA) + 5K "signing bonus" - Offer Declined

NSF GRFP - Awarded! 4/5
Last edited by matto07 on Thu May 12, 2011 11:52 pm, edited 14 times in total.

bfollinprm
Posts: 1203
Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2009 11:44 am

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by bfollinprm » Mon Nov 01, 2010 9:18 am

Undergrad Institution: Small, regionally known liberal arts school. No national physics reputation, but 2-3 faculty members are significant contributors to their field (including my recommenders)
Major(s): Physics, Philosophy
Minor(s): Mathematics
GPA in Major: 3.7ish (4.0 for A+/A, 3.6 for A-)
Overall GPA: 3.6ish
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: #1 in physics, top 10% overall
Type of Student: Domestic White, first of my family to graduate college (heard this was important)

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 790
W: 5.0
P: 770 (700 on retake, after 2 years out of school: I doubt this hurt; most places accepted my self-reported 770 until after the decision was made)

Research Experience: 1 year of polymer research, 3 years astrophysics research at university, 1 year as part of an international collaboration. 1 summer at a major research university (top 5) under PI of a major collaboration. Paper published in major journal, second author. Another 2 years went to my senior thesis, which is close to publication (though probably not before applications are due). All research in CMB polarization simulation and analysis, with the exception of the first year.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Full scholarship to university, physics award for most likely to succeed (from university). Lots of small little research grants (my research was always paid).

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: tutored for 3 years in college, TA'd a class senior year, and taught for 2 years after school at a public high school. SPS treasurer, worked pretty hard on getting funding (first (and so far only) time SPS gained independence from funding through the department).

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I'm really hoping that my publication and summer spent at Chicago boosts my application. I was really heavily involved in things in college, so lots of things on my CV--leadership potential? Plus 2 years of teaching shows an aptitude for TAing.

Special Bonus Points: First to graduate from college in extended family, from a rural mid-atlantic upbringing, should have 3 very strong recommendations, including one from a top contributor to the field from a major university. I am also footnoted as a reference in 2 philosophy articles and a book chapter I was asked to look over by a philosophy professor, though I don't know if that's worth mentioning in my SoP.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I spent 2 years thinking about grad school. I'm very certain this is what I want to do, and it shows in my application.

Applying to Where: For all, I indicated astrophysics and particle physics simulation/analysis as my research preferences.

Top 10:
Stanford-Physics (Church)rejected (2/24/2011)
Chicago-Physics (Bruce Winstein (he will be missed), John Carlstrom, Wayne Hu) rejected (3/2/2011)
Berkeley-Physics (Holzapfel, Lee, Smoot) rejected (3/14/2011). Response to email.

Top 20:
U Michigan-Physics (Huterer, Evrard, Freese) rejected (3/15/2011).
UT Austin-Physics (Komatsu)--Waitlisted 3/5/11withdrawn
U Maryland-Physics (Center for Fundamental Physics) rejected (3/15/2011)
U Washington-Physics (ADMX)-- withdrawn
UCSD-Physics (Keating, Paar) 23k (3/4/11)--offer declined

Top 40:
NYU -Physics (Hogg, Blanton, Scoccimarro)rejected
UC Davis-Physics (Knox, Bradač)Accepted-- 28k (2/14/11)OFFER ACCEPTED: WILL ATTEND
UCSC-Physics (Blumenthal, Aguirre) rejected (3/15/2011). Response to email.
UC Irvine-Physics (Cooray, Bullock)Accepted--30k (2/4/11)--declined

Top 60:
Case Western-Physics (Ruhl, Shutt & Akerib, Starkman)Accepted--23K/yr TA (2/11/11)--offer declined
Pittsburgh-Physics (Kosowsky, Zentner) Accepted with fellowship, 28K/yr, 2K personal expense accnt(2/7/11)--offer declined (2/20)


NSF GRFP--nope.

EDIT: I think I was good enough to get in to most of the places on this list past the top 10s. My previous experience, however, is very extensive in a particular branch of astrophysics (CMB). My acceptances basically followed the pattern of yes from schools who had active CMB groups, no from everyone else. I wasn't married to CMB personally, but I guess I turned out to be professionally.

Also, my publication didn't seem to matter to anyone. Professors I met with were much more interested in the 2 REU's I did that I didn't publish in.
Last edited by bfollinprm on Mon Apr 25, 2011 10:38 am, edited 47 times in total.

SSM
Posts: 87
Joined: Mon Nov 01, 2010 10:57 pm

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by SSM » Mon Nov 01, 2010 11:07 pm

Undergrad Institution: Big State/Top 25 or so in Physics
Major(s):Engineering Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 3.85
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: Near Top
Type of Student: Domestic Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 760
V: 620
W: 4
P: 780 [70%]

Research Experience: 2 DoD REUs, 1 unrelated Astronomy REU (just found out that I'll be 7th author out of a billion for this work), 1 year of EE research, 2.5 years of AMO research, 1 paper in review (3rd author)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Research scholarship, honors thesis, Sigma Pi Sigma

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: None really to speak of.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Not really.

Special Bonus Points: One of my recommenders has nice connections at two of the schools I want to go to.

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

Applying to Where:

Cornell - Applied Physics-Optics, AMO -Rejected, e-mail, 3/14
Stanford - Applied Physics -Optics, AMO -Rejected, post, 3/3
Michigan - EECS - Optics & Photonics - Accepted, 3/3 e-mail, $26k for 5 years, 1st year fellowship -Will Attend!
Yale -Applied Physics -Invited for Phone Interview 1/29 -Rejected, e-mail, 2/24
Rice - Applied Physics - Withdrew application
Arizona - Optical Sciences -Accepted 2/7 e-mail, 15k RA and Fellowship-Declined Offer
Illinois - Physics - Exp Undecided - Accepted 2/11 e-mail, $20k stipend and TA
UCSD - ECE-Applied Physics -Accepted 2/14 e-mail, Powell Fellowship, $2100/mo. 12 months -Declined Offer
Maryland - Physics - Exp Undecided Accepted 2/24 e-mail, $23k 1st year, $26k 2nd year, RA + TA + Fellowship
Cornell MEng - Engineering Physics, Accepted 3/25 No fuding-Declined Offer
Last edited by SSM on Sun Apr 10, 2011 3:29 pm, edited 20 times in total.

User avatar
LoronDotCom
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 4:07 pm

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by LoronDotCom » Tue Nov 02, 2010 11:28 pm

Undergrad Institution: Midwest commuter state school; maybe known for some nano stuff, if anything
Major(s): Physics, astrophysics emphasis
Minor(s): Math
GPA in Major: 3.95
Overall GPA: 3.89
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: Top 1 of class of ~6
Type of Student: Domestic female, no ethnic minority

GRE Scores:
Q: 760 (84%)
V: 520 (68%)
W: 4.5 (67%)
P: 570 (25%) :oops:


Research Experience:
3 months summer research studying optical spectroscopy. I wrote a paper and presented at the 2010 NASA-Missouri Space Grant Consortium.
Observed exoplanet transit on 80cm telescope and wrote a paper and presented results for a class project.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Scholarships for highest GPA in class.
Multiple academic scholarships at previous university.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
2006 - Present: Technical Data Designer for major aerospace DoD Contractor
2005: TA for aviation systems class at previous university

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
I already have a BS in Aeronautical Technology from Purdue University in 2006, plus my Airframe & Powerplant and Private Pilot certificates.
I've pursued my physics degree while working full-time since 2007, plus got promoted within 4 years when it normally takes people over 10 to get their first promotion.

Special Bonus Points:
Female.
My husband is currently in the physics graduate program at University of Michigan.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I've got strong recommendations from 4 professors, 2 of them from the only 2 astronomy professors at the school.

Applying to Where:

University of Michigan - Astronomy - Accepted via email 5/4 after all this: Rejected via email 3/10; 3/25 - after I contacted them again, I got an offer to let me sit in on upper level astronomy courses to strengthen my app for next year; Offer declined 5/5, what a rollercoaster :?
University of Michigan - Physics (astrophysics) - Rejected via email 4/12
Michigan State University - Astronomy - Rejected via email 4/15
University of Hawaii - Astronomy - Accepted via email 4/8 - $31k/year for TA or RA + $650 for moving - Will Attend!
University of Toledo - Astrophysics - Accepted via email 2/27 - $22k/year for TA - Offer declined 4/8
Eastern Michigan University - Physics - Accepted via snail mail 4/5 - Offer declined 4/9
Last edited by LoronDotCom on Thu May 05, 2011 8:59 pm, edited 15 times in total.

axiomofchoice
Posts: 198
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 11:45 pm

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by axiomofchoice » Sat Nov 06, 2010 12:21 pm

Undergrad Institution: top 20 or so in physics
Major(s): physics, math (+ masters degree), music (+ masters degree)
Minor(s): I got too many majors already
GPA in Major: 3.95, slightly lower in math/music
Overall GPA: 3.9
Length of Degree: 5 years for 2 undergrad degrees + 2 masters degrees
Position in Class: top?
Type of Student: domestic female

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%)
V: 720 (98%)
W: 4.5 (67%) :oops: can't write under time pressure to save my life
P: 860 (82%)

Research Experience: three summers, all in HEP-ex - one in Germany, one at an ivy school, one at CERN. Internal publications (one of many many authors) inside large collaborations.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: award for being the (one of two) most outstanding graduating senior from math department; the usual blahblahblah: Dean's List, school scholarship, blah...

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: tutored in chemistry

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I was a fiend in time management, and I have amassed an insane amount of credits.

Special Bonus Points: grad classes in math + a year of grad QFT. A bunch of A+'s in physics classes which may look good on transcript but do not repair my GPA. Female? One rec letter from a famous prof in my field of interest from whom I took classes and did well; other rec letters from profs I done research with, and should be very good.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I have a bachelor and a masters degree from a major music conservatory. Don't know how much that would hurt me in the application - I might appear to lack focus in life :(

Applying to Where:
all for hep-th, with interest in hep-ex

Stanford - accepted via email on 2/23, two year physics departmental fellowship - Will Attend!
Berkeley - accepted via email on 3/3, standard TA affair + $1500/year fellowship for 6 years
MIT - accepted via email on 2/2, $2400/month fellowship for the first 12 months
Princeton - rejected via email on 2/17
Columbia - accepted via email on 2/23, 5-year fellowship
Harvard - accepted via email on 2/17, all first-years get Purcell fellowship for ~$2519/month for the academic year
Chicago- accepted via email on 3/1, TA for $20,700 / 9 months + RA $2300/month for at least two months in the summer
Cornell - accepted via email on 2/8, TA + 4k fellowship for the first year
U of Washington - Seattle - accepted via snail mail postmarked 2/9, TA ~$1800/month + 5k first year scholarship - offer declined 2/17

For future applicants: I really thought my PGRE is too low for a theory applicant, and I am pleasantly surprised by the results... Based on conversations during open house visits and the "recruitment" efforts from the professors, my background in hep-ex and secondary interest in hep-ex are what got me a foot in the door in some places and the fellowship offers in some others. If you apply on theory only, your mileage will vary.
Last edited by axiomofchoice on Thu Apr 14, 2011 7:00 pm, edited 14 times in total.

pjfoster
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Nov 06, 2010 3:53 pm

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by pjfoster » Sat Nov 06, 2010 4:07 pm

Undergrad Institution: Large State School (Big 10)
Major(s):Physics and Mathematics
Minor(s): NA
GPA in Major:3.79
Overall GPA:3.70
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Hard to say...near top?
Type of Student: Domestic White Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 740 (80%)
V: 530 (70%)
W: 4.0 (45%)
P: 670 (48%)




Research Experience:
1 Summer REU in Biophysics at the University of Illinois UC
1 Summer in Physical Chemistry lab at the University of Chicago
1 year in a Biochemistry Lab a the University of Iowa

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Dean's List (3 years)
Departmental Scholarship
Departmental Research Grant
University Research Grant

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Worked 3 years for the department maintaining and building equipment for the undergraduate lab classes

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
Skipped my senior year of high school?
Special Bonus Points: Recommendations from 2 recommenders at schools I'm applying to and all recommenders are very well known in their fields.

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

Applying to Where:

University of Chicago - Biophysical Sciences - Biophysics - Accepted 2/14 via phone call - Offer Declined
University of Chicago - Physics - Biophysics - Accepted 3/1 via email - Offer Declined
Harvard - SEAS - Applied Physics/Biophysics - Accepted 2/9 via email - WILL ATTEND!
UIUC - Physics - Biophysics - Accepted 2/14 via email - Offer Declined
UIUC - Biophysics - Biophysics - Accepted 3/8 via email - Offer Declined
U Washington Seattle -Physics -Biophysics - Rejected
U Minnesota Twin Cities - Physics - Biophysics - Accepted 2/9 via email - Offer Declined
UCSF - Biophysics - Biophysics - Accepted 2/28 via email - Offer Declined
UCSD - Physics - Biophysics - Accepted 3/4 via email - Offer Declined
Johns Hopkins - Molecular Biophysics - Biophysics - Accepted 3/7 via email - Offer Declined
MIT - Physics - Biophysics - Rejected
MIT - Biology - Biophysics - Rejected
Last edited by pjfoster on Sun Apr 24, 2011 6:22 pm, edited 17 times in total.

Ragnord
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2010 12:11 am

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by Ragnord » Mon Nov 08, 2010 12:06 am

Undergrad Institution: Arizona State. Pretty decent physics department I think.
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Mathematics
GPA in Major: 4.00
Overall GPA: 3.89
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Near top I think
Type of Student: Domestic, Hispanic

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%)
V: 570 (80%)
W: 4.0 (45%)
P: 780 (70%)

Research Experience: One semester computational supernova nucleosynthesis, a summer and a semester on computational density functional theory with 4th out of 5 author credit on a paper submitted to ACS Nano Letters

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: National Hispanic Scholarship (4 years), Dean's List every semester

Special Bonus Points: First in my family to finish college. One of my recommenders really likes me and says I'm more productive than most of his grad students so that should be a great letter.

Applying to Where: All Astronomy departments with Computational Astrophysics as specialization
Princeton - Rejected via email 2/4/11
Ohio State - Rejected via mail 3/20/11
Illinois Urbana-Champaign - Accepted via email 1/19/11
Chicago
Penn State - Accepted via phone/email 1/29/11
Cornell - Accepted via email 1/24/11 - Attending
Columbia
UC Berkeley - Rejected via email 2/17/11
UC Santa Cruz - Rejected via email 3/20/11
UC Los Angeles - Accepted via email 2/9/11
Colorado - Accepted via email 2/2/11
Michigan
Virginia
Last edited by Ragnord on Sun Apr 03, 2011 6:15 pm, edited 8 times in total.

CarlBrannen
Posts: 381
Joined: Mon May 24, 2010 11:34 pm

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by CarlBrannen » Mon Nov 08, 2010 1:35 am

Undergrad Institution: New Mexico Tech -- extremely small domestic PhD granting school with little reputation.
Major(s): B.S. Mathematics, 1979
M.S. Mathematics, NMT, 1982
M.S. Physics, U. California, Irvine (passed PhD prelims) 1984
Passed PhD prelims in Mathematics at U. Washington, around 1994
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.50 ?
Overall GPA: 3.50
Length of Degree: 3 years
Position in Class: Highest honors (maybe top 10%)
Type of Student: Domestic

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 94% (2010)
V: 690 97% (2010)
W: 5.5 94% (2010)
P: 990 95% (2010)

I've given ETS a lot of money over the years. Some old scores, correct / not correct:

Quant: 800 96% (1992) 59/1
Verbal: 750 98% (1992) 69/7
Analytic: 790 98% (1992) 47/3
Math: 990 92% (1992) 61/5

Physics: 840 88% (1982)

Quant: 870 99% (1978)
Verbal: 670 97% (1978)
Analytic: 710 --% (1978)
Math: 990 96% (1978)

Research Experience:
Designed and built electronic apparatus for three HEP experiments.
U.S. patent 7,257,086
Three single-author theory publications in last year:
Int.J.Mod.Phys.D18 (2009) 2289-2294; 0907.0660
AIP.Conf.Proc.1246 FFP10 (2010) 182-185;
Found.Phys.40 (2010) 1681-1699; 1006.3114
Lots of citations.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Honorable mention in annual gravitation essay contest 2009
Member of nationally ranked computer programming teams in late 70s early 80s.
Fourth in state in high school math contest (1976).

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
25 years engineering experience, mostly chip and FPGA design.
Includes strange but useful stuff like chemical engineering, pinball repair, truck driving, forklift / heavy equipment operator, EPA (pollution) and building permits, etc.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points:
Gray beard amateur physics hobbiest?

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
Passed PhD prelims twice before but didn't find a PhD thesis. Now I know what I want to write and am busily writing away.

Applying to Where: (Elementary particles theory, astrophysics theory, quantum information theory)

Cal Tech - rejected by email, March 15, 2011 -
Harvard - rejected by snail mail, March 8, 2011 -
MIT - rejected by email, Feb 28, 2011 -
Stanford - rejected by email, Feb 24, 2011 -
Princeton - rejected by email, Feb 17, 2011 -
U. California, Berkeley - rejected by email, March 18, 2011 -
U. California, Santa Barbara - rejected by email, Mar 1, 2011 -
U. Texas, Austin - rejected by email after inquiry, April 14, 2011 -
U. Washington, Seattle - rejected by email, March 30, 2011 -
Washington State University, Pullman- accepted by website, April 29, 2011 - (will attend) Teaching assistantship, $1,762/month. Tuition waiver and health insurance, July 6, 2011
Last edited by CarlBrannen on Thu Jul 07, 2011 11:20 am, edited 13 times in total.

sandiego11
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri May 22, 2009 9:08 pm

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by sandiego11 » Tue Nov 09, 2010 5:58 pm

Undergrad Institution: Top 15 Liberal Arts School
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: 4.00/4.00
Overall GPA: 3.93/4.00
Length of Degree: 4 Years
Position in Class: Top 10% of Class. Top 2 or 3 in department.
Type of Student: Domestic White Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 790 (91%)
V: 660 (94%)
W: 6.0 (99%)
P: 780 (70%) bleh

Research Experience: One Summer doing femtosecond spectroscopy. Four semesters and a summer working on a computational condensed matter project at my university that will result in an honors thesis. Computational project will result in a publication but probably not before applications are due.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Various departmental and school awards. Dean's List, etc.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for Intro Mechanics, Intro E&M, and a physics for non-majors course.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Work 10-15 hrs per week at my work study job.

Special Bonus Points: Rec writers have connections to Northwestern. Otherwise not much.

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

Applying to Where:

Berkeley - Physics - CME - Rejected 3/18
Colorado - Physics - Chemical Physics - Accepted 2/18
UCSD - Physics - CME Accepted 3/3
Stanford - Applied Physics - Rejected 2/12
Cornell - Applied Physics - Accepted 2/25
Harvard - Applied Physics - Withdrew Application
Michigan - Applied Physics - Accepted 2/10
Northwestern - Chemistry - Physical/Theoretical - Accepted 1/28
CalTech - Chemistry - Physical/Theoretical - Accepted - 1/21
Last edited by sandiego11 on Sat Mar 19, 2011 9:53 am, edited 9 times in total.

Alice
Posts: 21
Joined: Sat Oct 02, 2010 4:48 pm

Post by Alice » Tue Nov 09, 2010 8:04 pm

Last edited by Alice on Sat Apr 16, 2011 1:45 am, edited 1 time in total.

Astro-K
Posts: 32
Joined: Sun Apr 11, 2010 11:37 pm

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by Astro-K » Wed Nov 10, 2010 1:52 am

Undergrad Institution: wannabe Ivy in the South, decent physics/astro programs
Major(s): astrophysics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.61
Overall GPA: 3.78
Length of Degree: 4 (graduated in 2007)
Position in Class: average in physics overall, top in astro subgroup
Type of Student: domestic white female

GRE Scores:
Q: 700 (71%)
V: 740 (99%)
W: 5.0 (81%)
P: 560 (22%) (2007), 620 (37%) (2010)

Research Experience: Two years astro research with a prof at my school--two AAS posters and my senior thesis--while working on that, went on two observing runs at a decent sized research telescope, running operations on one of them for most of one run (we were using two at the mountain at a time to get near-simultaneous photometry/spectroscopy); 1 astro REU--1 publication in AJ (2nd author out of 4) and an AAS poster

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: award for top astro grad, Dean's List, National Merit scholarship

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for a non-major astro lab; academic adviser for general freshman orientation

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Technically I did two senior theses--one for my major and one as part of a special honors class that I won some school grant money for (I paid my own way to one of the AAS conferences)

Special Bonus Points: Two excellent recommendations by professors who are well respected (though not major names)

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I'll have spent a total of 4 years out of school by the time I start again--one year working and traveling in Europe and three working in tech support at a software company. I've done very well in the "real world" and one of my supervisors is writing my third letter.

Applying to Where: all in astronomy (focus in observational/instrumentation, but keeping my options open on sub-field); last two are safeties

University of Texas rejected 2/7
University of Hawaii accepted 2/2 $31k RA ATTENDING
UCLA rejected 2/17
University of Washington rejected 2/18
University of Colorado - Boulder rejected 3/16
University of Florida accepted 2/2 $22k RA/TA declined 3/21
New Mexico State accepted 2/20 $20k TA declined 3/21
Last edited by Astro-K on Tue Mar 29, 2011 9:22 pm, edited 9 times in total.

retardphysicist
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Nov 09, 2010 2:48 pm

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by retardphysicist » Sat Nov 13, 2010 4:54 am

Undergrad Institution: RPI (tech school, top 50/60-ish)
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): None (almost in Math, we'll see)
GPA in Major: 3.9
Overall GPA: 3.9
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: near top, at least top 5 out of 40 physics majors
Type of Student: Domestic, white male....

GRE Scores:
Q: 790
V: 460 (ouch)
W: TBD
P: 720 (also ouch)


Research Experience:
-about three years on Solid State research at my school (in and out of semester)
-Summer REU at RPI (more Solid State)
-SULI at Stanford (summer, studied particle astrophysics)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
-Phi Theta Kappa
-Sigma Alpha Pi
-Sigma Pi Sigma
-several scholarships and awards
-Math Contest in Modeling participant

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
-Tutor for Math and Physics for 1.5 years
-TA for a year (Modern Physics and one other course to be determined)
-picked up some private tutoring
-Involved with my SPS chapter

Special Bonus Points: (Such as connections, grad classes, famous recommenders, female or minority status etc...)
-Graduate Quantum Mechanics I and II
-they won't be able to see this but most of my classes for senior year are filled with grad students
-Met some pretty well known people at Stanford that know me
-my recommenders have contacts at most of the school I am applying to, and they are very well respected by everyone that knows them
-I have some publications in the works but they won't be ready in time to help me :(

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
-Started College a year early, or finished high school a year early depending how you look at it
-Made several research related presentations and poster presentations
-Started at a community college, but 4.0'ed it and easily transitioned to my current school

Applying to Where: All are Physics departments and I am looking at HEP and High Energy Astrophysics (most likely experimental)

Stanford Rejected (2/24)
UC Berkeley Rejected (3/18)
UC Santa Barbara Rejected (3/1)
U Chicago Rejected (2/17)
UCLA Wait listed (2/26)
UPenn Rejected (3/4)
U Minnesota Accepted (2/9) at least 16,700TA
U Washington Rejected (3/30)
UC Irvine Accepted (1/7) 16,500TA + 5kFellowship + summer RA
U Maryland - College Park
NYU

Edit: Revised list of graduate schools
Last edited by retardphysicist on Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:29 pm, edited 9 times in total.

badphysicist
Posts: 84
Joined: Sat Nov 13, 2010 11:20 pm

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by badphysicist » Sun Nov 14, 2010 4:39 pm

Undergrad Institution: Sonoma State University
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Chemistry
GPA in Major: 2.6
Overall GPA: 2.5
Length of Degree: 5 years + a summer
Position in Class: Average
Type of Student: Male - mixed race (Chicano/White)

Masters Institution: California State University, Long Beach
Major(s): Physics, Applied
Focus: Condensed Matter Experiment
GPA in MS program: 3.9
Position in Class: Top

GRE Scores:
Q: 770 (87%)
V: 560 (78%)
W: 3.5 (26%)
P: 520 (13%)


Research Experience:
1 year + summer condensed matter experiment in undergrad
Almost 2 years on MS thesis, helped to build the lab from scratch about half a year ago - pub in progress; on campus presentations only


Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Philip Ord Johnson Scholarship

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
Currently RA for MS advisor
Teaching Associate during MS
Worked for CDG, a boeing company for 2 years before enrolling in MS program

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
Will have 3 excellent rec letters from MS institution.
In a mentor role for the undergrad and first year grad students in the lab, thesis advisor will mention this.


Special Bonus Points:
Attended the 2010 Berkeley Edge Conference


Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
Volunteer work at California Science Center for about half a year

Applying to Where:

NSF GRFP - nope

With interest in
1) Condensed Matter Experiment
2) Atomic, molecular, and optical physics

UC Merced - Accepted 1/25 - TA or RSA for first two semesters; ~22k by email (Offer Accepted)
UC Santa Barbara - Rejected 2/28 by website
UC Davis - Rejected 3/1 email to check website
UC Los Angeles - Rejected 3/2 email to check website
UC San Diego - Rejected 3/11 by email
UC Santa Cruz - Rejected 3/15 by email
UC Berkeley - Rejected 3/18 by email (requested status update)
UC Riverside - Rejected 4/7 by email
UC Irvine - Rejected 4/25 by email
Last edited by badphysicist on Mon Apr 25, 2011 9:21 pm, edited 26 times in total.

The_Duck
Posts: 41
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2010 12:04 pm

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by The_Duck » Tue Nov 16, 2010 12:16 pm

Undergrad Institution: Top 20 private school, top 40 in physics.
Major(s): Physics, Computer Science
GPA in Major: 3.89, 3.91
Overall GPA: 3.90
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: unknown
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%)
V: 650 (93%)
W: 5.0 (84%)
P: 990 (95%)

Research Experience: 1 year in an AMO lab at school. A summer REU in radio astronomy. Two summers on NASA bases on non-physics stuff. Only publication is a non-refereed first-author conference paper from one of the NASA things.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 1st prize in campus-wide robot competition, NASA Aeronautics Scholarship, Dean's list

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: not really

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: probably not?

Special Bonus Points: Taking QFT this year. Some math classes (real analysis, topology, abstract algebra, Lie algebras) though I didn't go for a major. CS major may help since I'm particular interested in a computational field (lattice QCD). One recommender works with someone on the admissions committee at Washington and talked me up to him; we'll see if that helps.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I'm a few years younger than most. Rec letters are from the AMO lab, the radio astronomy REU, and my particle physics professor.

Applying to Where:
My stated interest on applications is nuclear and particle physics. Emphasized theory but open to experiment.

MIT - Physics - rejected by email 2/28
Columbia - Physics - accepted by email 2/10 - TA $31k/year - will attend
Stanford - Physics - rejected by email 2/24
UIUC - Physics - accepted by email 2/14 - $20k/11mo TA
Cornell - Physics - wait-listed by email 2/15; rejected by email 4/12 (informed not enough space in particle theory)
U. of Washington - Physics - accepted by snail mail postmarked 1/19 - TA $1900/mo for 9mo or AMO RA+ $5k one-year scholarship
Maryland - Physics - accepted by email 2/16 - TA, + fellowship of $25k spread over 4 years, total $31k/year.
U. Michigan - Physics - accepted by email 2/14 - TA
UW Madison - Physics - accepted by email 1/25 - TA $14k / 9mo or hep-ex RA, + $4k in fellowships
Penn State - Physics - accepted by email 2/25 - fellowship $16k/10mo + $5k/year scholarship for two years, total $25k/year
Carnegie Mellon - Physics - accepted by email 2/9 - TA "at least" $2000/mo for 9mo
Indiana - Physics - accepted by snail mail postmarked 2/10 - TA $15.7k/10mo + $2.5k fellowship

NSF - rejected by email 4/5
NDSEG - rejected by email 4/18
Last edited by The_Duck on Tue Apr 19, 2011 4:15 pm, edited 26 times in total.

chairific
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2010 6:45 pm

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by chairific » Wed Nov 17, 2010 9:48 pm

Undergrad Institution: Top 15 liberal arts School
Major(s): Physics
GPA in Major: didn't do the calculation
Overall GPA: 3.88
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: top
Type of Student: Domestic Asian Female

GRE Scores:
Q: 660
V: 390
W: 4.5
P: 640

Research Experience: 3 years of research experience. 3 publications. 2 second author, 1 first author

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: phi beta kappa, 3 departmental awards, dean's list

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA, tutor, RA

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I went to a few conferences and gave talks.

Special Bonus Points: First generation college student. female. I really just need them to look at my not too terrible application and skip my terrible standardize exams (after all, studies did show that standardized exam reflects money rather than ability to do well in grad school. I did terrible on the SAT and ended up top 10% of my class in my decent university.)

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

Applying to Where:
Stanford - Physics -
MIT - Physics -
Harvard - Physics -
UCSB - Physics -
Yale - Applied Physics
U Maryland - Physics

The lack of safety is because I plan on re-taking the standardized exams if they care so much about them.

NomadaNare
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Nov 12, 2010 6:29 pm

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by NomadaNare » Mon Nov 22, 2010 5:06 pm

Been Lurking for a little bit. A little embarrassed about my profile but, whatever.

Undergrad Institution: Top 100 School Overall, Unknown in Physics (Probably not very high)
Major(s): Physics, Mathematics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.38
Overall GPA: 3.44
Grad GPA: 3.50
Length of Degree: 4 undergrad, 2 grad
Position in Class: Near Top
Type of Student: Domestic Male, Underrepresented Minority

GRE Scores:
Q: 790 (91%)
V: 580 (82%)
W: 5.0 (84%)
P: 590 (29%) Nov 2009, 640 (41%) Nov 2010


Research Experience:
1 Summer REU at home institution, Atmospheric Physics
1 SULI at Argonne National Lab, HEP-Ex, deep inelastic scattering of electrons from carbon target
1 SURF at Yale University, HEP-Ex, jet identification and cataloguing from p-p collisions
1 SURF at NASA, Atmospheric Physics, cloud climatology of mid-atlantic region
Senior Thesis, Cirrus Cloud Uncertainty and Clobal Climate Model accuracy
No undergrad publications

2 Years MS research at home institution/NASA, expanding undergrad research into satellite and instrument network validation
2 publications expected by end of program (April 2011)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Honors Program
Cum Laude Grad
MS Fellowship from NOAA
Outstanding Physics & Astro student, 2008
SPS-VP

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
TA through outside program
3 year undergrad research assistant at home Inst,
(mostly doing non-intensive research, i.e. grunt work)


Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
Took a couple of grad courses in physics, atmospheric physics as an undergrad, made A's in the physics courses, B's in the atmospheric physics courses

Special Bonus Points: Minority, expecting a strong recommendation from mentor at Yale, strong recommendation from respected string theorist at home inst, strong recommendation from atmospheric physics PI

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Hurricane Katrina victim, family still has not recovered financially, worked part time throughout all of undergrad as research assistant, also held outside part time jobs so that I could eat, medical problems (partially torn ACL) really hurt my later grades.

Applying to Where: All for HEP-Ex

Pie in the Sky (Recommenders, mentors, and advisors keep telling me to apply to these places, I don't know why.):
MIT - Application Withdrawn
Stanfordl - Application Withdrawn
Princeton - Rejected
Yale - Rejected

Not Impossible (but still unlikely):
UMD-CP - Application Withdrawn
JHU - Application Withdrawn
Brown - Application Withdrawn

Still working on safeties (which I think I will need a lot of), will update when I finish research into them. As you can tell, I'm not planning on getting in any places. I may do another Masters in HEP-Ex somewhere, or simply go take some undergraduate/graduate courses.

Update: So... some sort of way my application made it to Applied Physics program of University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, I will be attending in the fall with a 5-year tuition fellowship and about $30,000 in stipend. I guess it just goes to show, you never quite know where you will end up and you never quite know how you will get there. IMHO this is probably one of the most surprising results I have seen on this board.
Last edited by NomadaNare on Mon Jul 18, 2011 7:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.

megalaser
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 6:56 pm

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by megalaser » Mon Nov 22, 2010 7:13 pm

Undergrad Institution: Top 5 public school
Major(s): Physics, Math
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: 4.00, 4.00
Overall GPA: 3.87
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Top
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 670
W: 6.0
P: 970
Math: 880

Research Experience: 3 REUs, one in experimental nonlinear dynamics, one in condensed matter theory, one in algebraic topology. Publication submitted for the one in condensed matter theory, publication in preparation for algebraic topology. Did a year in a condensed matter theory group starting sophomore year, and then have been working in a mathematical physics group since junior year. No publications from either, though.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Random scholarships and local awards.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Was an undergrad TA for differential equations for a semester.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: President of my social fraternity for 2 years? That's about it.

Special Bonus Points: I know all of the professors giving me recommendations quite well, and I think they will be pretty good. Strong connections to Caltech, UC Berkeley, and Harvard. I also came in with no AP credit but took a ridiculous number of classes every semester so that I could graduate in 4 years with two majors (and I'll actually be graduating with more credits than necessary). I've taken a handful of graduate level classes too: in quantum mechanics, classical mechanics, general relativity, differential topology, algebraic topology, commutative algebra, and algebraic geometry. Also, I'm applying to both math and physics programs, depending on the school. Finally, I've done quite well in the Putnam exam every year.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Misdemeanor charge for drug possession freshman year.

Applying to Where:

Berkeley - Math - Mathematical Physics
Caltech - Math - Mathematical Physics
Harvard - Math - Algebraic Topology
MIT - Physics - Condensed Matter Theory
Princeton - Physics - Condensed Matter Theory
Stanford - Math - Algebraic Geometry
U Chicago - Physics - Condensed Matter Theory
UC Santa Cruz - Physics - Condensed Matter Theory
UIUC - Physics - Condensed Matter Theory
UT Austin - Math - Low-dimensional topology
______________________________________________

DHam
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Aug 05, 2010 4:39 pm

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by DHam » Wed Nov 24, 2010 6:59 pm

Undergrad Institution: UC Berkeley
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Music
GPA in Major: 3.91
Overall GPA: 3.94
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Probably near top
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%)
V: 630 (91%)
W: 4.5 (67%)
P: 800 (73%)

Research Experience: 2 summers space plasma physics at national laboratory, 3 summers in a materials science R&D lab

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's list, "honors to date" 5 semesters, departmental scholarship, member of Phi Beta Kappa, twice invited to golden key, once to NSCS

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 3 seasons marching band, 2 years dorm academic advisor, editor in chief of a well-respected campus news magazine, various music ensembles

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: My research will be used to help plot the orbits of some satellites for an upcoming NASA mission. Several A+ grades on transcript.

Special Bonus Points: Well rounded?

Applying to Where:

(Top Choices)
UIUC - Physics - CME - Accepted 2/11 via e-mail. TA with $20,000 stipend. Visited Open House 3/11.
UCSB - Physics - CME - Accepted 2/23 via online status check. TA + $17,000.
Stanford - Physics - CME - Rejected 2/24 via e-mail.
Berkeley - Physics - CME - Rejected 3/11 via e-mail.

(Medium Interest)
UCSD - Physics - CME - Accepted 2/4 via e-mail. 10,000 excellence award + $17k TA.
UCLA - Physics - CME - Accepted 2/16 via e-mail. $15,000 department fellowship + optional ~$14,000 TA/RA.
Ohio State - Physics - CME - Accepted 2/4 via e-mail. $26,000 2-year fellowship + half-time TA in year 2. Visited Open House 3/10. Declined offer 3/15.
Maryland - Physics - CME - Accepted 2/18 via e-mail. RA/TA + Fellowship for $23,710 (yr 1) and $26,010 (yr 2). Declined offer 2/24.

(Mild Interest)
Harvard - Applied Physics - Rejected 3/21 via snail mail.
Yale - Applied Physics - Rejected 2/25 via e-mail.
UCSC - Physics - CME - Withdrew application 2/19. Accepted anyway via e-mail 2/24. TA + Fellowship with $21,000 stipend. Declined offer 2/24.
Last edited by DHam on Mon Mar 21, 2011 10:38 pm, edited 22 times in total.

KalmanK
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Nov 26, 2010 8:50 pm

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by KalmanK » Fri Nov 26, 2010 9:10 pm

Undergrad Institution: Big state school - great physics program (Top 20? 50?)
Major(s): Physics & Astronomy
Minor(s): Russian
GPA in Major: 3.97
Overall GPA: 3.98
Length of Degree: 4 Years
Position in Class: Near top?
Type of Student: Domestic White Male. No diversity whatsoever

GRE Scores:
Q: 900
V: 540
W: 5.0
P: First time: 660 (46%) Second time: 680 (50%)

Notice GPA vs. PGRE score. It should be interesting how this affects where I get into...


Research Experience:
Have been doing summer research since junior year of high school. Four summers at NASA GSFC and one random research position at a university. Not REU. Two years of part time research during school year. Unfortunately no publications. Bunch of stuff is in progress, but nothing published.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Various university scholarships. Nothing too big. Probably will graduate Magna Cum Laude

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
None, other than my research experiences.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
Native Russian Speaker

Special Bonus Points: I have three very solid letters of recommendation. Two from research mentors, one from professor who I've taken two classes with.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
I did research my junior year of undergrad with a professor that I did not ask for a letter of recommendation. I quit the research because I did not like it, so I felt it would be in my best interest to not ask him. However, the research still shows up in my transcript and essays, so I am not sure if admissions committees will consider this positively or negatively.
Also, lots of A-'s on transcript. A's and A-'s count the same towards GPA at my university.

Applying to Where:

Princeton University - Physics - Plasma rejected by email 2/17
Johns Hopkins University - Physics - Particle Physics accepted by email 2/1 ($21,000 for 9 months) Offer Accepted!
University of Maryland - Physics - Space Physics rejected but not informed of this
University of Pennsylvania - Physics - Particle Cosmology rejected by email instructions to check website 3/4
University of Virginia - Physics - High Energy accepted by email 3/1 ($24,000/year TA) Offer Declined
Boston University - Physics - Space Physics rejected after email inquiry 3/7 (?!)
Dartmouth College - Physics - Space Physics accepted by email 2/21 ($24,000 Fellowship) Offer Declined
University of New Hampshire - Physics - Space Physics accepted by email 2/11 ($21,000/year TA/RA) Offer Declined
University of Delaware - Physics - Space Physics accepted by email 2/22 ($25,000/year TA + $4,000 scholarship) Offer Declined
Safety:
George Mason - Physics - Space Physics accepted by email 2/27 (~$29,000/year RA) Offer Declined

Fellowships:
NSF GRFP rejected by email 4/5
NDSEG
SMART rejected by email 4/1
CSGF
Last edited by KalmanK on Wed Apr 06, 2011 11:39 pm, edited 15 times in total.

chickenz
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2010 2:46 pm

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by chickenz » Thu Dec 02, 2010 2:58 pm

Undergrad Institution: UC Berkeley
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Math
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 4.0 (at time of applying)
Length of Degree: 4 Years
Position in Class: ???
Type of Student: Domestic Asian Male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%)
V: 580 (82%)
W: 4.0 (45%)
P: 980 (94%)

Research Experience: Very little... No publications.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: None.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: None.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Nothing.

Special Bonus Points: Nothing Special.

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

Applying to Where:

UC Berkeley - Physics - Condensed Matter Experiment - Accepted - Will Attend
Stanford - Physics - Condensed Matter Experiment - Accepted - Declined
MIT - Physics - Condensed Matter Experiment - Rejected
Harvard - Physics - Condensed Matter Experiment - Rejected
Princeton - Physics - Condensed Matter Experiment - Accepted - Declined
University of Chicago - Physics - Condensed Matter Experiment - Accepted - Declined
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign - Physics - Condensed Matter Experiment - Accepted - Declined
UCLA - Physics - Condensed Matter Experiment - Accepted - Declined
UC Santa Barbara - Physics - Condensed Matter Experiment - Accepted - Declined
Columbia - Physics - Condensed Matter Experiment - Accepted - Declined
Caltech - Physics - Condensed Matter Experiment - Accepted - Declined
Cornell - Physics - Condensed Matter Experiment - Accepted - Declined
Last edited by chickenz on Thu Apr 14, 2011 6:54 pm, edited 3 times in total.

iplayterran
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu May 13, 2010 8:29 pm

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by iplayterran » Thu Dec 02, 2010 8:12 pm

Undergrad Institution: UCLA
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: between 3.8-3.9
Overall GPA: 3.54
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: not sure
Type of Student: domestic asian male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 94%
V: 520 68%
W: 4.0 45%
P: 930 90%



Research Experience: two years, theory and simulation in beam dielectric interactions. couple papers submitted to conference in next year.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: few school awards

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: tutoring in school and private

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: none

Special Bonus Points: one grad class. adviser is well known

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Switched majors, low engineering grades (C's)

Applying to Where:

UCLA - Physics - Beam & Accelerator accepted
Cal - Physics - Beam & Accelerator accepted
Indiana - Physics - Beam & Accelerator accepted
Maryland - Physics - Plasma accepted
Wisconsin - Physics - Plasma rejected
Princeton - Plasma Physics - Plasma rejected
Caltech - Applied Physics - Plasma rejected
MIT - Physics - Plasma accepted
Cornell - Physics - Beam & Accelerator accepted
Stanford - Physics - Beam & Accelerator rejected
Last edited by iplayterran on Tue Apr 05, 2011 6:07 am, edited 2 times in total.

meichenl
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Nov 09, 2010 5:39 pm

Re: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by meichenl » Wed Dec 08, 2010 8:57 am

Undergrad Institution: Caltech
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 2.8
Overall GPA: 3.0
Length of Degree: 6 years
Position in Class:
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 800
W: 5.5
P: 970


Research Experience: Summer research in 2004, 2005. Nothing much came of it.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Extensive tutoring, TA, and lecturing experience, worked as a statistician for a year after school

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: athlete, writer for school paper

Special Bonus Points:

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

Applying to Where:

Applying in general theory to

Stanford Rejected 2/24/11
Cornell Rejected 2/16/11
Perimeter Scholars International (Waterloo) Rejected 3/23/11
UCSB Rejected 2/28/11
UC Riverside Rejected 4/6/11
MIT Rejected 2/28/11
Harvard Rejected 3/7/11
UC San Diego Rejected 3/11/11
Maryland College Park Rejected 4/13/11
Hopkins Accepted 2/1/11 will attend
Princeton Rejected 2/17/11
Berkeley I made a mistake on my application and never caught it - wasn't considered.
Last edited by meichenl on Wed Apr 13, 2011 2:41 am, edited 13 times in total.

vbk5mnnit
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2010 8:49 am

Re: ==> Sticky: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by vbk5mnnit » Sat Dec 11, 2010 12:37 pm

Undergrad Institution: Motilal National Institute of Technology Allahabad India,One of the Top Technical Universities of India,No Reputation in Physics
Major(s):Electronics And Communication Engineering
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 9.37/10
Overall GPA: 8.77/10
Length of Degree: 4years
Position in Class: Near Top
Type of Student: International

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 510
W: 3
P: 800


TOEFL Total: 88

Research Experience: Done Projects On VLSI, Microcontroller ,Digital Signal Processing & Electromagnetic Field Calculation.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Designer at One of the World's leading Heavy Electricals Equipment Company

Applying to Where:

TAMU - Physics - rejected via email inquiry 3/29/11
UFL - Physics - rejected via email 3/14/11
ASU - Physics
Pennstate - Physics rejected via email 4/08/11
Univ. of Rochester - Physics - rejected via email 3/14/11
Univ. of Pittsburgh - Physics
University of Maryland - Physics rejected via email inquiry 3/14/11
Purdue - Physics
Last edited by vbk5mnnit on Fri Apr 08, 2011 10:55 am, edited 7 times in total.

RabiFlops
Posts: 15
Joined: Fri Dec 10, 2010 10:31 am

Re: ==> Sticky: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by RabiFlops » Sat Dec 11, 2010 12:56 pm

Undergrad Institution: Top 10 liberal arts
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): --
GPA in Major: 3.9
Overall GPA: 3.9
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: near top
Type of Student: domestic, male, non-minority

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 620
W: 4.5
P: 860

Research Experience:
Summer NSF REU (~3 months, experiment)
Research with professor on open quantum systems (~12 months, theory) => poster presentation at DAMOP 2010
Fulbright grant (10 months; in progress, experiment) => poster presentation at national conference

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Fulbright grant (as mentioned above)
graduated magna cum laude, with distinction on thesis/in major
Phi Beta Kappa
Sigma Xi
one other science prize at my school

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
Tutor/Grader/Lab Assistant (3 years)

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
Wrote paper with professor (on arXiv), but rejected by PRL; actively seeking other venues for publication

Special Bonus Points:
Somewhat famous recommender

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

Applying to Where:

University of Texas at Austin - Physics - AMO - Open house invite 2/2 via email - Accepted 3/2 via email - Declined 3/14
Princeton - Physics - condensed matter - Rejected 2/17 via email
University of California at Santa Barbara - Physics - quantum information science - Accepted 2/9 via website - Declined 4/11
MIT - Physics - quantum information science - Rejected 2/28 via email
University of California at Berkeley - Physics - AMO - Accepted 3/11 via email - Declined 4/12
Caltech - Physics - quantum optics - Accepted 2/24 via email - Attending! 4/11
University of Colorado at Boulder - Physics - AMO - Accepted 2/18 via email - Declined 4/11
Stanford - Applied Physics - quantum optics - Accepted 2/15 via email - Declined 4/12
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Physics - quantum optics- Accepted ♥2/14♥ via email - Declined 4/4
University of Maryland - Physics - quantum information - Accepted with JQI Research Assistantship 2/11 via email - Declined 3/7

all in experimental physics
______________________________________________
NSF - Rejected 4/5 via email
Last edited by RabiFlops on Tue Apr 12, 2011 12:42 pm, edited 24 times in total.

skcush
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2010 1:08 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by skcush » Sat Dec 11, 2010 1:31 pm

Undergrad Institution: Not a top 10 school
Major(s): Physics and Mathematics
GPA in Major: 3.9
Overall GPA: 3.9
Length of Degree: 5 (internal transfer, began studying physics after 3rd year)
Type of Student: Domestic male

GRE Scores:
Q:800 (94%)
V:610 (88%)
W:4.5 (67%)
P:890 (85%)

Research Experience:
- Summer REU studying topics in topological string theory; wrote two surveys; conference presentation
- Independent studies in QFT, GR; wrote a paper and submitted, currently under review; conference presentation
- ~2 years of continuous research in condensed matter experiment; obtained NSF funding for academic year REU; conference presentation

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
- Goldwater, Phi Beta Kappa

Special Bonus Points:
- Some grad courses

Applying to Where:
(All for physics/condensed matter experiment)

Berkeley - Accepted, via email 3/10 (TA, 21.563k; summer RA, 5.937k)
Caltech - Accepted, via email 2/24 (RA, 27.504k, including summer RA)
Chicago - Accepted, via email 2/12 (Millikan Fellowship, 30k first year)
Harvard - Accepted, via email 2/17 (Purcell fellowship for first year students, 25.19k)
Princeton - Accepted, via email 2/17 (Fellowship for first year students, 22.92k; merit prize, 3k; summer RA after first year, 6.1k)
UCSB - Accepted, via website 1/28 (Broida fellowship, 30k first year, 10k second year)
Stanford - Accepted, via email 2/23 (TA/RA, ~34k each year, including summer RA)
MIT - Rejected, via email 2/28

Also applied for NSF and NDSEG
Last edited by skcush on Sat Mar 12, 2011 2:23 pm, edited 12 times in total.

tut tut
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2010 2:30 am

Re: ==> Sticky: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by tut tut » Tue Dec 14, 2010 1:04 am

Undergrad Institution: MIT
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.9
Overall GPA: 3.8
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: don't know
Type of Student: Domestic, Female

GRE Scores:
Q: 790
V: 780
W: 5
P: 990


Research Experience: 5 years -- 3 different groups at MIT, 1 group at Stanford. Summer at NASA. Mostly astrophysics, cosmology, statistics, solid state devices in space flight instruments, stuff like that. Senior thesis on CCDs. 1 publication under peer review. Now I'm working at a photovoltaics start up as an engineer. Don't know if that's relevant.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: some physics dept distinctions, some outside, one fellowship

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 3 years TA-ing/grading. 3 classes at MIT. 2 lab courses at UCSC as a lab tech after I graduated. A lot, a lot of tutoring... Science journalist for a summer, will continue freelance... Oh, and solar stuff. :)

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: :/ None?

Special Bonus Points: 1 grad class? I actually am not applying anywhere where I have connections. Unless I apply to UCSC. Minority but not underrepresented. I am a girl, though.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Yeah, I'm a year out of college. I've thought pretty hard about this. I have a great job. That's why I'm not applying that many places. Also, I'm switching fields ostensibly. Though all I've done in astro/cosmology are instruments and statistics.

Applying to Where:

UC Berkeley - Physics - CME -- Accepted by unofficial notification 2/8/2011
UCSB - Physics - CME
Harvard - Applied Physics - Photonics/Materials -- Accepted by email 2/5/2011 "2500/mo stipend"
Caltech - Applied Physics - Photonics/Materials -- Invited for a visit? 2/8/2011
Columbia - Applied Physics - Materials -- Accepted 1/18/2011 "Full stipend"
UCSC - Physics - CME (or I might apply to the astro dept... haven't quite made up my mind yet, I know it's late)
Last edited by tut tut on Wed Feb 09, 2011 5:13 am, edited 2 times in total.

Dreaded Anomaly
Posts: 49
Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2010 2:13 am

Re: ==> Sticky: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by Dreaded Anomaly » Fri Dec 17, 2010 2:35 am

Undergrad Institution: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (tech school, top ~50)
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): none
GPA in Major: 4.0
Overall GPA: 3.97
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Top, more or less (>top 5% in major, >top 2% overall)
Type of Student: Domestic, male, white

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%)
V: 700 (97%)
W: 5.5 (94%)
P: 750 (65%)

Research Experience:
3 years working on Daya Bay Neutrino Reactor Experiment collaboration at RPI, during the semester
Summer student at CERN, worked on CMS and CLIC
REU student at Fermilab through University of Rochester, worked on CMS

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Dean's List
Sigma Pi Sigma
Meritorious Winner in the Mathematical Contest in Modeling (top 20% of participants)
Rensselaer Presidential Scholar
Rensselaer Mathematics and Science Medal (scholarship)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
3 years as an undergrad TA for Honors Physics I and II courses (physics for physics majors)
1 semester as sole TA for intro to physics computing seminar course (Matlab, Maple, Mathematica), helped my advisor develop the course

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
Letters from all 3 of my primary research supervisors (one of whom is my advisor, for whom I TA'd in the above described courses)
While at Fermilab, had work included in a CMS public document that was presented at ICHEP (not actually published, but the next best thing for hep-ex)

Special Bonus Points:
Grad-level courses in elementary particles, quantum mechanics, and ordinary differential equations

Applying to Where: (hep-ex in all cases)
Harvard University - Rejected 3/4/2011
Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Rejected 2/28/2011
Princeton University - Rejected 2/17/2011
Cornell University - Waitlisted 2/15/2011 - Rejected 4/12/2011
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign - Admitted 2/14/2011 - Declined 4/12/2011
University of Maryland, College Park - Admitted 2/24/2011 - Accepted 4/12/2011
University of Rochester - Admitted 1/31/2011 - Declined 4/12/2011
Last edited by Dreaded Anomaly on Tue Apr 12, 2011 7:27 pm, edited 11 times in total.

blahblahblah
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Dec 18, 2010 10:31 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by blahblahblah » Sun Dec 19, 2010 1:09 am

Undergrad Institution: US Liberal Arts, ~40 in US news and world physics grad schools, ranked better elsewhere
Major(s): Physics, Math (Both B.S.)
GPA in Major: 3.92 (Same for both majors)
Overall GPA: 3.80
Length of Degree: 4
Position in Class: top
Type of Student: domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%) / 800 (94%)
V: 580 (82%) / 550 (75%)
W: 3.5 (26%) / 4.5 (67%)
P: 890 (85%)

Research Experience: REU at a UC school, particle beam physics experimental. Taking a year off after graduating in 2010, doing full-time research in experimental particle physics.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's List, Sigma Pi Sigma

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for physics and math

Special Bonus Points: Took graduate algebra. Professor I'm doing research for right now who wrote a recommendation is a very well-known experimental particle physicist (also an alumnus of MIT).

Applying to Where:
(All Departments Physics, experimental/undecided, HEP/Atomic/Plasma except a few special cases below)
Princeton - Rejected via email 2/17
MIT - Accepted via email 2/2, Fellowship 2400/mo for first year - Will Attend
Harvard - Rejected via mail 3/8
Columbia - Accepted via email 2/20, TA ~31K/12mo - Offer declined
UPenn -Application Withdrawn
UCLA - Application Withdrawn
Rutgers - Quantum computing - Application Withdrawn
Brown - Application Withdrawn
University of Rochester - Accepted via email 2/1, 18K-9mo + Summer Offer declined
Boston University - Computational Physics Application Withdrawn
Last edited by blahblahblah on Tue Apr 12, 2011 12:32 pm, edited 19 times in total.

Kaumz
Posts: 28
Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2010 11:23 am

Re: ==> Sticky: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by Kaumz » Wed Dec 29, 2010 9:43 am

Undergrad Institutions:1. A decent college in Bangalore - not much reputation in physics
2. Inidan Institute of Technology, Madras (great reputation for engineering, average for physics)
Major(s): Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics
Minor(s): English, Sanskrit
GPA in Major:1. 98%
2. 9.3/10
Overall GPA: 1. 96%
2. 9.3/10
Length of Degree: 3 years of Bachelor of Science + 2 years of Master of Science
Position in Class: top
Type of Student: International, female

GRE Scores:
Q: 790
V: 670
W:4.5
P:840 :(


TOEFL Total: 114

Research Experience: various projects at highly reputed institutes in India

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 2 National level scholarships, various prizes in science related competitions

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: NA

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: 2 article published in Indian Science Journals

Special Bonus Points: female (will this really help???? :? )

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

Applying to: physics department

University of Maryland Reject March 17
UCLA Reject March 8
UCSB Reject 1 March
Univ. of Calif. Berkeley :roll: Reject March 16
Princeton University :roll: Reject 17th feb
Cornell University Admit on 3 Feb
UIUC Reject March 18
University of Chicago Reject March 3
Rutgers Reject March 10
Last edited by Kaumz on Fri Mar 18, 2011 12:53 pm, edited 9 times in total.

Jackadsa
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2010 7:13 am

Re: ==> Sticky: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by Jackadsa » Wed Dec 29, 2010 2:10 pm

Undergrad Institution: University of Cambridge
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): N/A
GPA in Major: N/A
Overall GPA: N/A
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: ~85%ile
Type of Student: International

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 640
W: 5.5
P: 990

Research Experience:
1 Summer intern at a defence lab
1 Summer doing lab work in Camb
1 Summer research in HEP phenomenology at CERN
Currently working on a HEP phenomenology project.
No publications

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Some little ones

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Nope

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: No

Special Bonus Points: Nada

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Not really

Applying to Where: (all HEP Theory)

Harvard ..... Rejected by mail 03/20
MIT .......... Rejected via email 02/28
Berkeley .... Rejected via email 03/16
Princeton ... Rejected via email 02/17
Cornell ...... Accepted via email 02/07 - 25k 9 month fellowship - Will attend
Chicago ..... Accepted via email 02/12 - 32k 1 year fellowship - Declined
UMich ....... Accepted via email 01/09 - 2.2k/month stipend TA - Declined
UMD, CP .... Application withdrawn 02/09

Cambridge - DAMTP ....... Accepted via email 02/09, effectively unconditional, STFC funding - Declined
Cambridge - Cavendish ... Rejected via email 02/24
Oxford ...................... Application withdrawn 02/24
Durham ..................... Application withdrawn 02/16
Southampton ............... Application withdrawn 02/16
Last edited by Jackadsa on Wed Mar 23, 2011 5:51 pm, edited 5 times in total.

anotherstudent
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2010 8:47 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by anotherstudent » Wed Dec 29, 2010 9:59 pm

Undergrad Institution: highly ranked liberal arts school, with a focus on engineering and science
Major(s): Physics, Math
Minor(s): Nope
GPA in Major: 3.95 (just physics)
Overall GPA: 3.80
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: top
Type of Student: domestic caucasian male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800
V: 670
W: 5.0
P: 990


Research Experience: One summer studying fluid dynamics of insect flight, 2nd author on a paper published in J. Fluid Mech.
2 years working in the field of laser driven nuclear fusion. No publications (but I've left behind me an impressive trail of ideas that did not work).

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's list every semester.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor for lower division physics classes.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Can't think of any right now.

Special Bonus Points: My adviser is a longtime collaborator with the High Intensity Laser Science Group at UT Austin, and we spent a month there one summer, using their facilities.

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

Applying to Where: For every school, I indicated a preference for either plasma or AMO. All experimental.

UC Berkeley
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory - Accepted 2/3/11
Harvard
UT Austin - Invited to Open House 2/2/11
U Maryland College Park - Accepted 2/16/11
MIT - Accepted 2/2/11
Stanford - Accepted 2/23/11
U Wisconsin Madison - Accepted 1/25/11
Last edited by anotherstudent on Sat Mar 05, 2011 1:35 am, edited 3 times in total.

kapil_ds
Posts: 35
Joined: Fri Dec 24, 2010 11:50 am

Re: ==> Sticky: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by kapil_ds » Thu Dec 30, 2010 11:13 pm

I have an atypical background and am not applying to physics departments but my profile may help some engineers trying to switch careers. I am applying to astronomy and planetary sciences depts.

Undergrad Institution: Indian Institute of Technology
Major(s): Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduated - 1996
Minor(s): Computer Science
Overall GPA: 8.61 / 10.00
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Rank 1 in civil & environmental eng.
Type of Student: International, male

Graduate Institution: MIT
Major(s): Logistics, Graduated in 2004
Overall GPA: 4.4 / 5.0
Length of Degree: 1 year
Type of Student: International, male

GRE Scores: 1540 (Dec. 2010)
Q: 800
V: 740
W: 3.5
Physics: 900 (86 % - April, 2010), 930 (90% - Nov. 2010)

GMAT Scores: 760 / 800 (99 % - Oct. 2001)
Q: 50 (97 %)
V: 44 (97 %)


Research Experience:
At MIT - worked as a visiting engineer, did industry sponsored research on applications of radio frequency identification (RFID) in the business world.
In India - As Environmental Engineer, worked on developing techniques for safe disposal of As contaminated waste.
No publications.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Institute silver medal from IIT, multiple scholarships, Merit certificate for attaining 99.9 percentile in biology in all india high school graduation exam.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
2 years as environmental engineer, Last 12 years in logistics and supply chain management in India and US. Worked with supply chain software companies, provided consulting to pharmaceutical companies on how to secure supply chains using Radio frequency identification.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points:
Ran multiple marathons to raise funds for primary education initiatives. Tutored disadvantaged kids in India and US in math and computers.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
Grading in IIT is merciless. I have some C & C- on my transcript in addition to plenty of B.
Did some coursework in Physics during IIT - Modern Physics, Electromagnetism but no Quantum or other advanced topics. Did self study for PGRE.
The schools don't know my recommenders as none is from astronomy or planetary science. (One recommender each from IIT & MIT, 3rd is CEO of my previous company)
Member of amateur astronomy clubs.

Applying to Where:

Harvard - Astronomy - Extra solar planets, origins of life -- Rejected by snail mail postmarked 2/23
Harvard - Earth and Planetary Science - Extra solar planets, origins of life -- Phone interview 02/01, Wait-listed upon email enquiry 03/15
MIT - Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Science - Extra solar planets, origins of life -- Rejected upon email enquiry 3/22
Last edited by kapil_ds on Wed Mar 23, 2011 5:52 pm, edited 4 times in total.

User avatar
Blue Slime
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2010 6:16 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by Blue Slime » Sat Jan 01, 2011 6:52 pm

Undergrad Institution: University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (4 years); Crookston (1 year)
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Astrophysics
GPA in Major: 2.91
Overall GPA: 3.13
Length of Degree: 5 years
Position in Class: Unknown
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q (2009): 580 (43%) (2010): 670 (63%)
V (2009): 550 (75%) (2010): 590 (84%)
W (2009): 4.0 (45%) (2010): 3.5 (26%)
P (2009): 560 (22%) (2010): 520 (13%)

Research Experience:
  • U Minnesota - Undergraduate research grant correlating Soudan-2 muons with EGRET gamma-ray bursts
  • U Minnesota - "Methods" class is 1-semester research project; developed robot to balance inverted pendulum
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: None

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
  • U Minnesota - developed interactive software for the physics courses (3 years). Web quizzes, simulations, etc.
  • CERN - Did software development for 8 years. Two conferences/publications on a crucial computing component. On the long author list of numerous other publications. Managed a project with small development team for 3 years.
Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:
  • CV is full of technical experience. Numerous programming languages and technologies.
Special Bonus Points:
  • CERN experience might have some weight to it
  • Two Recommenders are in high-level management positions at CERN
  • Already toured the department/met faculty at Montana State
  • 2nd application to Arizona and Colorado. Persistence bonus?
  • B- in graduate-level quantum mechanics
  • A- in graduate-level cosmology
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
  • Gave an outreach presentation on physics and the LHC to high-school students in Brazil
  • Well traveled; Lived abroad for 5+ years; Can speak two foreign languages
  • Difficult to explain my career change from IT professional/HEP to Astronomy/Planetary sciences
Applying to Where:

U Colorado, Boulder - Astrophysical & Planetary Sciences - Exoplanets, planetary formation - Rejected 3/4
U Arizona, Tucson - Astronomy - Exoplanets - Rejected 2/7
U Arizona, Tucson - Planetary Science - Planetary formation - Rejected 2/7
U California, Santa Cruz - Astronomy - Exoplanets - Rejected 3/18
U Minnesota, Twin Cities - Astronomy - Space/Solar physics - Rejected 3/10
Montana State - Physics - Solar physics - Accepted 4/21, $7k/semester
U Washington, Seattle - Astronomy - Exoplanets - Rejected 2/18
U Texas, Austin - Astronomy - Exoplanets - Rejected 2/28
U Florida - Astronomy - Exoplanets - Rejected 3/17
Washington University, St. Louis - Earth & Planetary Sciences - Exoplanet atmospheres - Rejected 3/16

Lesson learned: Don't stop believing!
Last edited by Blue Slime on Sun May 01, 2011 3:52 pm, edited 6 times in total.

peko
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Jan 03, 2011 3:05 am

Re: ==> Sticky: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by peko » Mon Jan 03, 2011 3:39 am

Undergrad Institution: Small engineering school in western US, decent physics program
Major(s):Physics
Minor(s):Math
GPA in Major:3.91
Overall GPA:3.91
Length of Degree: 5.5 years
Position in Class: Near top
Type of Student: Domestic male

GRE Scores:
Q:780 (89%)
V:440 (46%)
W:4.0 (45%)
P:800 (73%)


Research Experience: 1 year senior project on quantum information. Working on publication, probably too late for it to matter

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: High grade recognitions (deans list, etc)

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Nope

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:Probably not

Special Bonus Points: None

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Dropped out of high school, went community college to university...

Applying to Where:

Columbia - Physics - CMT - Rejected via email to check website 03/15
Illinois - UC - Physics - CMT - Rejected via email 03/18
Washington - Physics - CMT - Rejected via email 03/30
Maryland - CP - Physics - QIS - Rejected via email to check website 04/12
UCSD - Physics - CMT - Accepted via email 03/04 (received at 12:59 AM) - Teaching Assistant - $16,969.50/ 9 months - Attending beautiful La Jolla :)
Ohio State - Physics - CMT - Accepted via email 02/04 - Teaching Assistant - $1946/Month
Penn. State - Physics - CMT
SUNY - Stony Brook - Physics - CMT - Rejected via email 03/19
New Mexico - Physics - QIS - Accepted via email 02/11 - Teaching Assistant - $15,196 / 9 months
Last edited by peko on Wed Apr 13, 2011 1:51 am, edited 10 times in total.

turgonel
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Jan 03, 2011 11:49 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by turgonel » Tue Jan 04, 2011 12:07 am

Undergrad Institution: Regional Midwestern University, unknown in physics
Major(s): Physics/Math
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.8ish
Overall GPA: 3.65
Length of Degree:4 years
Position in Class: Probably #1
Type of Student: Domestic Hispanic Male

GRE Scores:
Q:790 (91%)
V:550 (75%)
W:4.5 (67%)
P:550 (20%)


Research Experience: 2 years experimental research in condensed matter with three 3rd person publications, one REU in computational physics with a poster presentation. Also slated to give a talk at the APS Conference in March on continued research from the REU program.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Recipient of 4 or 5 different academic scholarships; Dean's List 4 or 5 times.

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Veteran of the United States Marine Corps

Special Bonus Points: Minority applicant I guess. I also make a mean pot of coffee.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: After receiving my soul-crushing PGRE score, I spent a ton of time on my SOPs, so I think I knocked them out of the park.

Applying to Where:

Washington University in St. Louis - CME Accepted via Email 2/1/2011: 20k/9mo -Will Attend
Vanderbilt University - CME Rejected via E-mail, 4/14/2011
Indiana University - Bloomington - CME
Tennessee University - Knoxville - CME Accepted via USPS 3/7/2011: No funding info yet
Last edited by turgonel on Thu Apr 14, 2011 8:44 pm, edited 6 times in total.

t2kburl
Posts: 101
Joined: Thu Dec 23, 2010 2:52 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by t2kburl » Tue Jan 04, 2011 2:04 pm

Undergrad Institution: Small midwestern state school. No reputation in Physics
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.5
Overall GPA: 3.65
Length of Degree: 5 years
Position in Class: near top
Type of Student: Domestic, male

GRE Scores:
Q: 670
V: 620
W: 4.5
P: 490



Research Experience: Internship @ NASA. Poster presentation at LPSC

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Honors in Physics

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 10+ years as electronics technician

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: Recommendation from NASA mentor

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: work experience. Certified in LabVIEW

Applying to Where:

Colorado - APS - Exoplanets or Instrumentation Application withdrawn
UCSC - Astro - Exoplanets Application withdrawn
Arizona - Astro - Exoplanets - Rejected via email 2/7/11
Arizona - LPL - Planetary system formation/evolution - Rejected via email 2/8/11
Wisconsin - ECE - Accepted via email 1/11/11. Declined
New Mexico Tech - Physics - Astrophysics/instrumentation - Rejected via email 4/11/11
Montana State - Physics - Optics Application withdrawn
UW-Milwaukee - Physics - Optics - Accepted via email 2/17/11.TA @ ~21k/year
Colorado State - ECE - Accepted via email 1/24/11. RA in laser applications @~24k/year
Utah State - ECE - Space Systems Accepted via email 3/9/11. TA @ $750/month Declined

*** What I learned here: A very poor PGRE is not necessarily the end of the world, but sure doesn't help. Real world experience means nothing to Physics adcoms.
Last edited by t2kburl on Wed Apr 13, 2011 7:40 pm, edited 11 times in total.

BrianFantana
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2011 2:26 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by BrianFantana » Tue Jan 04, 2011 2:37 pm

Undergrad Institution: Top 20 Public
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): None
GPA in Major: 3.9
Overall GPA: 3.7
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Top 1 or 2
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%)
V: 640 (91%)
W: 4.5 (67%)
P: 910 (88%)

Research Experience: 2 years with condensed matter experimental group at my school, one summer at a national lab, also in condensed matter. Two publications in progress, both second author, but not submitted before apps were due. I am second author out of 3 on both pubs.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: A couple of awards from my school for good undergraduate research and good grades

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA'd a few times

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Nope

Special Bonus Points: Nope

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

Applying to Where:

Physics: CME
MIT-Rejected 2/28/11
Princeton-Accepted 2/17/11 via email-Declined
UC Berkeley-Accepted 3/10/11 via email-Declined
UCSB-Accepted 2/9/11 via website-Declined
Colorado, Boulder-Accepted 2/18/11 via email-Declined

Applied Physics
Harvard-Accepted 2/10/11 via email-Declined
Stanford-Accepted 2/14/11 via email-Attending!
Cornell-Rejected 3/14/11
Michigan, Ann Arbor-Accepted 2/8/11 via email-Declined
Last edited by BrianFantana on Fri Apr 15, 2011 1:19 am, edited 17 times in total.

User avatar
kubikat
Posts: 42
Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2010 12:26 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by kubikat » Wed Jan 05, 2011 3:29 pm

Undergrad Institution: Satellite campus of a high ranked University
Major(s): physics
Minor(s): math
GPA in Major: 3.85
Overall GPA: 3.85
Length of Degree: 4 years (+ 2.5 years studying business when I was right out of high school)
Position in Class: Near top (1st or 2nd) in a small dept.
Type of Student: International female(eastern European), undergrad in US

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%)
V: 590 (84%)
W: 4.5 (67%)
P: 820 (76%)

Research Experience: Summer REU in Astronomy + a poster at the AAS, DAAD Rise in AMO, Thesis in my school in optics, a research + publication in Computer science my freshman year

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Just school stuff, dean's list etc nothing special

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor and TA for 3 years+ for many different classes (like 2-3 every semester), SPS president

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: know a bunch of programming languages, speak 3 languages fluently (not that anyone cares)

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

Applying to Where:

Yale - Physics - AMO - Accepted by Website 2/4/2011. $29550 fellowship+TA+Extra $1000 addition to fellowship. - WILL ATTEND!
Boulder - Physics - AMO - Rejected by email. 3/14/2010
Duke - Physics - Cold atoms and such-Accepted by E-mail 2/4/2011 $27000 TA +$3000 fellowship Declined :(
University of Southern California - Physics - AMO - Accepted by Skype 1/14/2011. $30000 felloship - Declined 3/1/2011 :( . No LA for me...
University of Georgia - Physics - AMO
University of Virginia - Physics - AMO - Accepted by Email 2/23/2011. $23000 TA - Declined
Vanderbilt - Physics - AMO -Accepted Declined 02/07/2011
Lehigh - Physics - AMO-Accepted last year. Declined 02/07/2011

Note to the future applicants: Duke has a wonderful physics program. The faculty are nice and really smart. The research is accessible and interesting. One of the guys that I wanted to work with just left thought, so that's what made me decide against it.
____________________________________________
Last edited by kubikat on Fri Apr 08, 2011 2:21 pm, edited 16 times in total.

tapauly
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2011 8:10 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by tapauly » Fri Jan 07, 2011 8:15 pm

Undergrad Institution: Iowa State
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Astronomy
GPA in Major: 3.75
Overall GPA: 3.73
Length of Degree: 4 years.
Position in Class: Unknown.
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%)
V: 620 (89%)
W: 4.5 (67%)
P: 820 (76%)

Research Experience: Summer REU in Astronomy, publication in progress from REU.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: scholarships, National Merit, Dean's list, etc.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: active member of physics club, ...

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: ran for political office?

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

Applying to Where:

Yale - Astronomy ---------Rejected;
Caltech - Astronomy ------Rejected;
Cornell - Astronomy -------Accepted, 31k/12mo. Will Attend!
Ohio State - Astronomy ---Accepted, 24k/12mo.
Virginia - Astronomy -------Accepted, 23.5k/12mo.
Maryland - Astronomy -----Accepted, 24k/12mo.
Arizona - Astronomy -------Accepted, 30k/12mo.
Texas Austin - Astronomy -Accepted, 22k/12mo.

NSF GRFP: Nope
DOE CSGF: Nope
Last edited by tapauly on Sun Apr 17, 2011 4:47 pm, edited 16 times in total.

mfc51
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 12:11 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by mfc51 » Sat Jan 08, 2011 3:37 pm

Undergrad Institution: Small liberal Arts school.
Major(s):Physics
Minor(s):Mathematics and Biophysics
GPA in Major:3.3
Overall GPA:3.3
Length of Degree: 4 yr
Position in Class: No idea. Probably average?
Type of Student: WASP

GRE Scores: 1270
V: 500 (63%)
Q: 770 (87%)
W: 4.0 (45%)
P: 750 (65%)


Research Experience: 3yrs of High Energy Nuclear Physics. 5yrs Biophysics (master's thesis on on this research)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award, Dean's Honor Roll, Graduate Student Government, Graduate Representative to the physics department

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA 2yrs

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: I'm getting my master's now so I'm hoping this gives me a leg up. Also, been to CERN twice and presented at the DCS meeting for ALICE.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Hoping master's and research xp help. Not the best GPA (3.5 for masters)

Applying to Where:

MIT - Nuclear Engineering - Neutron Therapy - Rejected 3/22 via website
UC Berkeley - NucEng - Theraputic Radiation modeling
Texas A&M - NucEng - Proton and Heavy Ion Therapy
LSU - Physics - Proton RT
UNM - Physics - Ion Therapy - Accepted 2/16 via email (15k TA offer)
WashU in StLouis - Physics - Accepted 2/9 via email (20k offer)
Syracuse - Physics - Medical Imaging - Accepted 2/13 via email ($20.6k TA)
UFL - Physics - MRI and Spectroscopy - Rejected via email 3/9
Oklahoma State - Physics - Biophysics NMR - Accepted 2/18 via snail mail ($1461/month)
Last edited by mfc51 on Tue Mar 22, 2011 12:23 pm, edited 8 times in total.

zhuo90
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Jan 08, 2011 11:37 pm

Re: ==> Sticky: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by zhuo90 » Sat Jan 08, 2011 11:49 pm

Undergrad Institution: Ivy
Major(s): Physics, Math
Overall GPA: 3.98/4.00
Length of Degree: 3
Position in Class: near top
Type of Student: Domestic Asian male

GRE Scores:
Q:800
V:680
W:6.0
P:990

Research Experience: three REUs, each producing a publication; one sole author, other two first of three authors

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Twice honorable mention on Putnam exam

Special Bonus Points: Have taken primarily graduate courses

Applying to Where:

Cambridge - Part III - accepted, email 2/2 (will attend, will defer one of schools below)
Harvard - Physics - CMT - accepted, email 2/17
Princeton - Physics - CMT - accepted, email 2/17
MIT - Physics - CMT - accepted, email 2/2
Berkeley - Physics - CMT
Last edited by zhuo90 on Wed Feb 23, 2011 9:27 am, edited 3 times in total.

tdk333
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2010 4:02 am

Re: ==> Sticky: 2011 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by tdk333 » Mon Jan 10, 2011 1:58 am

Undergrad Institution: Foreign State University, not known for physics
Major(s): Physics
Minor(s): Not applicable
GPA in Major: 98/100
Length of Degree: 4 years
Position in Class: Top
Type of Student: International, Latin American

GRE Scores:
Q: 790 (92%)
V: 570 (80%)
W: 4.0 (41%)
P: 840 (79%)

TOEFL Total: 111/120

Research Experience:
1.- REU in an USA university in a non-related topic to my research interest.
2.- Research project in a non-related topic to my research (submitted to Journal).
3.- 8 months in a local university on a research project related to my research interest. First author in a book chapter.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: (Within your school or outside?)
Higher GPA in my class.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Such as tutor, TA, SPS officer etc...)
- Secondary school teacher for a few months.
- Temporary teacher substitute at my university (I guess an unofficial TA).
- Member of the tutoring team for undergraduate physics a math courses in my university

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points:
- Transferring from another USA institution (top 40) and with a recommendation from a professor.
- Got A on all first semester grad classes.

Applying to Where:

Northwestern University - Physics & Astronomy - Complex Systems and Biological Physics Rejected on 4/8 through website.
Pennsylvania State University - Physics - Biological Physics Accepted on 3/11. $20k per year as TA, including fellowship plus $4-6k for summer - Accepted offer on 4/8
Last edited by tdk333 on Fri Apr 08, 2011 2:01 pm, edited 3 times in total.

giga17
Posts: 57
Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2010 11:35 am

temp

Post by giga17 » Wed Jan 12, 2011 3:26 am

Undergrad Institution: Ivy
Major(s): Physics, Math
Minor(s):
GPA in Major: 3.95
Overall GPA: 3.91
Length of Degree: 3 years
Position in Class: Near top I guess
Type of Student: International

GRE Scores:
Q: 800 (94%)
V: 690 (97%)
W: 5.5 (94%)
P: 880 (84%... it's ok, but not quite there)

Research Experience: A few internships here and there, and worked with this prof in my uni for a year. But nothing groundbreaking

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: One school department award

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Currently working as a research engineer in spintronics

Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:

Special Bonus Points: Did 2 grad classes, did a degree in ChemE as well. Hoping doing 159 credits in 3 years impresses someone, but doubt it.

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

Applying to Where:

Harvard - Condensed Matter - Rejected by implication
Princeton - Condensed Matter - Rejected via email 2/17
Stanford - Condensed Matter
Berkeley - Condensed Matter
UCSB - Condensed Matter
U Washington - Condensed Matter - Accepted via email 2/8
U Chicago - Condensed Matter
MIT - Condensed Matter
Caltech - Condensed Matter
U Colorado Boulder - Condensed Matter - Accepted via email 2/18
Last edited by giga17 on Tue Feb 22, 2011 8:07 pm, edited 8 times in total.



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