Graduate School Application Results and Strategies - Fall 2008

Click For Summary
The discussion centers on graduate school applications, particularly in mathematics and related fields. Participants share their experiences applying to prestigious programs, expressing anxiety over waiting for admission decisions. Many have applied to a wide range of schools, from top-tier institutions like MIT and Harvard to more accessible options, highlighting the competitive nature of admissions. Some applicants discuss their specific research interests, emphasizing the importance of aligning their applications with faculty expertise at each institution. Concerns about the GRE scores and the impact of application essays are prevalent, with some participants reflecting on their preparation and the necessity of tailored statements for each school. The conversation also touches on the emotional toll of waiting for decisions, with rejections from high-profile schools leading to feelings of discouragement. Overall, the thread captures the uncertainty and strategic considerations involved in the graduate school application process, as well as the shared experiences of applicants navigating this challenging journey.
  • #61
Brad Barker said:
today i heard from berkeley and stanford. got into berkeley. got rejected by stanford. :/

my status (physics student, here):

accepted with fellowship:

uiuc
u chicago

accepted with teaching assistantship:

cornell
ucsb
berkeley

rejected:

stanford

waiting on:

MIT
harvard


don't think i got into MIT, since they haven't contacted me yet. :/

wow, you got pretty good admissions there! What do they look for? Hows your GPa and everything like, if you don't mind me asking...! Did you publish any papers in journals? I hope to be able to get a TA with a good graduate school when i graduate from my under-grad course!
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #62
Brad Barker, congratulations! That's some fantastic record you've got there.

Everyone else, good luck with your applications!
 
  • #63
It seems that American students apply to a lot more schools than people I know in Canada. Most people I know applied to 1-3 grad schools. I personally applied to 4, three and a backup. These lists I see here are upwards of 10. Why apply to so many schools?
 
  • #64
CaptainQuaser said:
Why apply to so many schools?
I found this surprising as well. This could also be one of the reasons for rejection from the schools-- if the application letters and statements were copied for each school, then they will not be specific to the actual school you're applying to. I applied to four or five grad schools, and wrote a different statement for each one, focusing on the strengths of the department, and aimed at the specific people who are researching specific areas in the departments. (This point may be less important in the US, since I know that you tend to apply for a grad course, but do not straight away start on a PhD and so do not specify a research area until the end of your first year)
 
Last edited:
  • #65
CaptainQuaser said:
It seems that American students apply to a lot more schools than people I know in Canada. Most people I know applied to 1-3 grad schools. I personally applied to 4, three and a backup. These lists I see here are upwards of 10. Why apply to so many schools?

It's because American universities can be very fickle. There are no sure things. For example, I've been admitted to Princeton and MIT but got rejected from Harvard, whereas a friend of mine received the opposite treatment (accepted to Harvard but rejected from the other two).
 
  • #66
I understand, but again, you listed 3 schools, I understand applying to more than 1, but 10 seems excessive. Especially with the cost of applying.
 
  • #67
Right, sorry I applied to seven schools. I really had no idea that any of those three schools would accept me. I was told by my advisor that I had a good shot, but that when it comes down to the final decisions, it's all a crapshoot. So I was basically told to apply to the "big 5" (Berkeley, Chicago, MIT, Princeton, Harvard) since I could probably get into at least one (but not so clear _which_ one), and then pick some backup schools. So I picked two more.
 
  • #68
I see. Out of curiosity does anyone know how often do people do PhD's in the US after doing a Masters in Canada. I know here you do a Masters first, then PhD (with the exception of transferring from Masters to PhD). When as in the US it is my impression most people apply for a PhD program out of Undergrad. So how do US schools look at students who have completed a Canadian Masters for PhD studies?
 
  • #69
CaptainQuaser said:
I see. Out of curiosity does anyone know how often do people do PhD's in the US after doing a Masters in Canada. I know here you do a Masters first, then PhD (with the exception of transferring from Masters to PhD). When as in the US it is my impression most people apply for a PhD program out of Undergrad. So how do US schools look at students who have completed a Canadian Masters for PhD studies?

I don't think it matters that you've completed a masters first.
 
  • #70
hello...
sorry to digress a little bit..
how would you guys rate UIUC and UCSD in terms of mechanical engineering?
Reserarch, fame etc?
 
  • #71
Oerg said:
wow, you got pretty good admissions there! What do they look for? Hows your GPa and everything like, if you don't mind me asking...! Did you publish any papers in journals? I hope to be able to get a TA with a good graduate school when i graduate from my under-grad course!

GPA: 4.0
GRE physics: 920
GRE General
--Math: 800
--Verbal: 800
--Writing: 5.5
Research: Two REU's, plus research during senior year (no publications, though)
Work: TA'd for a math class; worked as a physics tutor during freshman year (and now)
 
  • #72
I don't understand the point of the GRE, is it due to inconsistent teaching in the US at the undergrad lvl?
 
  • #73
CaptainQuaser said:
I don't understand the point of the GRE, is it due to inconsistent teaching in the US at the undergrad lvl?

That is a reasonable question. According to ETS' statistics, between 20 and 30% of electrical engineering majors get an 800 on the quantitative portion. If so many people hit the ceiling of the test in a particular major, the test isn't very good for that particular major. Subject tests are probably more appropriate in describing what GPA cannot, but to me the GRE represents a test of minimum competency.

There is definitely a huge variation between difficulty of subjects between universities, but the GRE isn't exactly designed to pick that stuff out. Where I went to undergrad, the grad classes I took were curved so that about 50% of people got A's, while the undergrad classes were curved so that the average was a B. Other places still curve based on C+ or C, and I think that's fair. I actually felt bad for getting A's in a few classes because I did not feel that I learned what I wanted to learn, but the other students were so apathetic that I shined by comparison.
 
Last edited:
  • #74
CaptainQuaser said:
I don't understand the point of the GRE, is it due to inconsistent teaching in the US at the undergrad lvl?

Most math departments don't like the general GRE, but it is a requirement for university admissions. From my understanding, most departments don't care much for the subject GRE score--if you do well, it won't help you, but if you do poorly, it raises a flag. I think it's particularly important to do well on the subject GRE if you come from a small school.

I suspect the point of the GRE is for ETS to suck more money out of students' pockets. (the price of these things are ~$130)
 
  • #75
note to future applicants: stanford apparently doesn't care if you got a ****ing perfect score on the general gre. :/
 
  • #76
Brad Barker said:
GPA: 4.0
GRE physics: 920
GRE General
--Math: 800
--Verbal: 800
--Writing: 5.5
Research: Two REU's, plus research during senior year (no publications, though)
Work: TA'd for a math class; worked as a physics tutor during freshman year (and now)

Where did you study at, if you dun mind me asking again hahha
 
  • #77
Oerg said:
Where did you study at, if you dun mind me asking again hahha

IIRC University of Florida
 
  • #78
Has anyone heard back from Texas-Austin for mathematics?
 
  • #79
leright said:
IIRC University of Florida

that is correct.
 
  • #80
Brad Barker said:
that is correct.

Obligatory "go gators!"
 
  • #81
My friend, she got into stanford. (engineering, Mechanical).

Hope you guys get into wherever it is you want to go!
 
  • #82
I got my acceptance letter from Georgia Tech today. They offered me a TA with other random amounts of fellowships that total about 30k. Applied for MS. Florida accepted me unofficially for a similar amount of money but no TA requirement, plus I would have a great advisor already. There is something to be said for experiencing the hardship of seeking out new professional ties at a new university though.

Fun fact about the Tech letter: It was dated a month and a half ago!
 
Last edited:
  • #83
Just out of curiosity, I've heard that they do not give financial support for MS, only PhD. So it is wrong then?
 
  • #84
Gtay said:
Just out of curiosity, I've heard that they do not give financial support for MS, only PhD. So it is wrong then?

I'm guessing you're addressing my post, but yeah they do apparently. I did indicate my interest in continuing on through PhD so that might have something to do with it, though I was not admitted as a PhD student.
 
Last edited:
  • #85
Gtay said:
Just out of curiosity, I've heard that they do not give financial support for MS, only PhD. So it is wrong then?


I've never been on a graduate admissions committee (being only a grad student myself), but this is what I've gathered: Different universities have different preferences.

Some universities prefer to fund Ph.D. students because it's more likely that a doctoral student will contribute significant research. Also, some universities are pressured to increase their Ph.D.-granting statistics for reputation purposes, and therefore are more likely to offer funding to Ph.D. students.

On the other hand, some universities prefer to give M.S. students teaching assistantships in order to free up their Ph.D. students for research assistantships. Some universities even find that an M.S. student is easier to fund because a master's degree is typically only a two-year funding commitment (compared to a doctoral degree, which is longer, and typically a little more expensive per year).

There are probably other factors as well. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. In general, it's uncommon for physics departments not to give any funding at all to full-time graduate students.
 
  • #86
Gtay said:
Just out of curiosity, I've heard that they do not give financial support for MS, only PhD. So it is wrong then?

Depends on the school, I get a fellowship. Honestly, I would turn down any school that required you to pay to attend, and did not pay you in the process.
 
  • #87
jhicks said:
Fun fact about the Tech letter: It was dated a month and a half ago!

That's weird, didn't the online admission status changed a month and a half ago or just now?
 
  • #88
Cyclovenom said:
That's weird, didn't the online admission status changed a month and a half ago or just now?

It's said "decision made" since about Jan 15. They were definitely just extremely tardy in giving me my decision.
 
  • #89
jhicks said:
I'm guessing you're addressing my post, but yeah they do apparently. I did indicate my interest in continuing on through PhD so that might have something to do with it, though I was not admitted as a PhD student.
Sorry I forgot to quote. Thanks for sharing and congrats.
 
  • #90
Hey eastside, did you ever hear back about the funding? Hope everything turned out OK.
 

Similar threads

Admissions Advice to enhance my profile for grad school
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Schools Help with shortlisting graduate programs in HEP-PH/TH
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
2K
Admissions Curious about my grad school prospects
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K
Admissions Advice on how best to spend my time for graduate school applications
  • · Replies 15 ·
Replies
15
Views
2K
Admissions Comments on my physics PhD applicant profile
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
3K
Admissions PhD Programs for Mathematical Physics (Experimental Condensed Matter Physics)
  • · Replies 119 ·
4
Replies
119
Views
16K
Admissions How to prove Physics competency to grad school admission committees?
  • · Replies 24 ·
Replies
24
Views
4K
Schools What would be my chance of admission for graduate school
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K
What Are My Chances of Acceptance Into a Statistics or Math PHD Program?
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
3K
Admissions Need advice on how realistic my graduate school prospects are
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
3K