Chances of Getting Into Cornell, Stony Brook, UIUC for Physics Major

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the chances of gaining admission to graduate programs in physics at Cornell, Stony Brook, and UIUC. Participants share their academic profiles, GRE scores, and experiences related to the application process, including the importance of GPA, research experience, and recommendation letters.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant shares their academic credentials, including a 3.90 GPA and expected GRE scores, and inquires about their admission chances at the mentioned schools.
  • Another participant provides average GRE scores for admitted students at Cornell, UIUC, and Stony Brook, suggesting that the verbal-quantitative split may also be significant.
  • Some participants express concern about their GRE scores in relation to the averages, with one feeling discouraged about their chances of admission.
  • Another participant notes that average scores imply that some admitted students have lower scores, potentially providing hope for those with lower GRE results.
  • A participant discusses the importance of GPA and research experience as emphasized by a Cornell admissions official, suggesting these factors may outweigh GRE scores.
  • Concerns are raised about the recommendation letter process, with one participant questioning the practicality of submitting individual recommendation forms for multiple schools.
  • Another participant expresses anxiety about applying to multiple schools without a "safety school" to ensure they have options post-graduation.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that GPA and research experience are important for admissions, but there is no consensus on the weight of GRE scores or the recommendation letter process. Multiple competing views remain regarding the best strategies for applications and the significance of various components of the application.

Contextual Notes

Participants express uncertainty about the admissions process and the relative importance of different application components, including GRE scores, GPA, and research experience. There are also concerns about the recommendation letter requirements, indicating a lack of clarity on how to navigate this aspect of the application.

Who May Find This Useful

Prospective graduate students in physics or related fields considering applications to Cornell, Stony Brook, or UIUC may find this discussion relevant, particularly those interested in understanding the admissions landscape and the factors influencing acceptance decisions.

mathlete
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I'm a physics major at a SUNY school. I have a 3.90 GPA, got a 1380 on the GRE and expect ~750 on the GRE physics that I took today. I also have decent research experience. I know you can't really say for sure but what would my odds be for a school like Cornell, Stony Brook, or UIUC?
 
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According to some data I found, the average GRE (for enrolling students) at those schools are

Cornell ~800
UIUC ~780
Stony Brook ~800

Check out gradschoolshopper.com

I think the verbal-quant. split is also important (in particular, the verbal).
 
Euclid said:
According to some data I found, the average GRE (for enrolling students) at those schools are

Cornell ~800
UIUC ~780
Stony Brook ~800

Check out gradschoolshopper.com

I think the verbal-quant. split is also important (in particular, the verbal).
I had a 590/770.

After looking through all the average GRE Physics scores at some of these schools it feels like I have no shot at getting into somewhere good :cry:
 
Keep in mind that if those are average, it means there are people with lower scores
 
I thought you were already in graduate school mathlete, and I thought you were at UIUC for undergrad.
 
leright said:
I thought you were already in graduate school mathlete, and I thought you were at UIUC for undergrad.
No, I'm not... do I know you? :confused:
 
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Also, an unrelated question since I don't want to make too many threads. From what I can see, all these graduate schools require individual recommendation forms. This seems pretty stupid to me. Do people really give their professors a shaft of recommendation forms and ask them to complete each one? I don't think i'd be comfortable applying to even 2 schools because of this (added to the fact that I've already asked for recommendation forms which I can send out through my school's service).

Can anyone "enlighten" me here?
 
mathlete said:
No, I'm not... do I know you? :confused:

Are you the mathlete from the genmay forum? I recall the mathlete from the genmay forum claiming that he posted on this forum.
 
leright said:
Are you the mathlete from the genmay forum? I recall the mathlete from the genmay forum claiming that he posted on this forum.
Hmm... not sure what you mean, I don't know what this genmay forum is?
 
  • #10
well the head of grad school admissions here at cornell gave us a talk this year (senior physics majors) on what he looks for in applications and he said that a good gpa and research experience will be more important than a perfect GRE score anyday. From what he told us, it seems you would be the ideal candidate in his eyes and he will be running the grad school admissions this year...

Now I'm another story all together, i get very good grades in both math and physics and have taken lots of advanced classes and i expect good GRE scores from the test today, but i have no research experience at all so i don't know how schools will feel about me, despite the fact that I specifically am interested in theory rather than experiment.
 
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  • #11
dimachka said:
well the head of grad school admissions here at cornell gave us a talk this year (senior physics majors) on what he looks for in applications and he said that a good gpa and research experience will be more important than a perfect GRE score anyday. From what he told us, it seems you would be the ideal candidate in his eyes and he will be running the grad school admissions this year...

Now I'm another story all together, i get very good grades in both math and physics and have taken lots of advanced classes and i expect good GRE scores from the test today, but i have no research experience at all so i don't know how schools will feel about me, despite the fact that I specifically am interested in theory rather than experiment.
Thanks for that! Makes me feel better

So I'm planning on applying here so far:

Cornell
Berkeley
UIUC
University of Rochester
Georgia Institute of Technology

Does anyone think I have a shot at getting into at least one? I'm so scared about getting rejected from all of them and having no place to go after I graduate :cry:
 
  • #12
Why not put a "safety school" or two on your list? It's fine to aim high, but you don't want to risk leaving yourself empty-handed.
 

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