Graduate School Application Results and Strategies - Fall 2008

[JasonJo]

It seems like every school is accepting a small class this year. I've heard it from Berkeley, UCSD, Penn, Cornell, etc.

 

[eastside00_99]

I have been rejected by Duke. That wasn't all that big of a surprise though. I am now on a waiting list for a TA at UIUC. They say they won't know if they will give me support for a few more weeks. So, probably they want to see how many of the people they accepted with definite support decide to go there. Anyway, it would have been nice to go to duke because it is close to home, but I never really expected to be admitted anyway.

 

[wbclark]

I have been rejected by Duke. That wasn't all that big of a surprise though. I am now on a waiting list for a TA at UIUC. They say they won't know if they will give me support for a few more weeks. So, probably they want to see how many of the people they accepted with definite support decide to go there. Anyway, it would have been nice to go to duke because it is close to home, but I never really expected to be admitted anyway.

Where are you from? I lived in Durham and now I'm an undergrad at Chapel Hill.

 

[eastside00_99]

I grew up in sanford and I am an undergrad at NC State.

 

[Mystic998]

Is this for undergrad or grad?

Grad. Don't ask me how I managed it. I personally vote for black magic.

 

[JasonRox]

Oh, it wasn't anything special. Just "we don't think MIT would suit you" or something along those lines. I just love how the rejection letters are so patronizing. As though I pinned all my hopes as a rather unremarkable math student on getting into a university that probably wouldn't even accept the top 5 mathematicians at the school I went to.

Probably wouldn't accept any students from your school. Think about it.

They are hundreds of universities across the country and hundreds overseas where students are applying to MIT. They can only take so many of them. Taking 3 from each school is not reasonable.

 

[Ben Niehoff]

So, I got my official rejection from Stanford today. They were polite and not patronizing. They didn't make any comments about whether Stanford is "for me"; they just said that they could not admit me.

 

[eep]

Same here for Stanford. I'm wondering who they did let in, as I have a couple friends who got into either MIT or CalTech but were denied by Stanford as well!

 

[JasonJo]

Quick update

Rejects: Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, Stanford, Princeton, Chicago, Yale, NYU, Columbia, Cornell, UPENN, Duke

Waiting on: Texas, Rutgers, UCSD

I called UCSD and they said my application is on hold, but it doesn't seem like I am that high on their waiting list to begin with. I know Rutgers is a far shot and my only realistic chance is Texas-Austin.

I am already considering staying a 5th year to bolster my application and apply for not 2009, but 2010 admissions. I know it's a long way away, but I want to get into graduate school.

 

[Brad Barker]

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. :/

 

[Oerg]

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!

 

[octahedron]

Brad Barker, congratulations! That's some fantastic record you've got there.

Everyone else, good luck with your applications!

 

[CaptainQuaser]

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?

 

[cristo]

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)

 

[masnevets]

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).

 

[CaptainQuaser]

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.

 

[masnevets]

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.

 

[CaptainQuaser]

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?

 

[masnevets]

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.

 

[hanson]

hello...
sorry to digress a little bit..
how would you guys rate UIUC and UCSD in terms of mechanical engineering?
Reserarch, fame etc?

 

[Brad Barker]

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)

 

[CaptainQuaser]

I don't understand the point of the GRE, is it due to inconsistent teaching in the US at the undergrad lvl?

 

[jhicks]

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.

 

[masnevets]

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)

 

[Brad Barker]

note to future applicants: stanford apparently doesn't care if you got a ****ing perfect score on the general gre. :/

 

[Oerg]

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

 

[leright]

Where did you study at, if you dun mind me asking again hahha

IIRC University of Florida

 

[JasonJo]

Has anyone heard back from Texas-Austin for mathematics?

 

[Brad Barker]

IIRC University of Florida

that is correct.

 

[jhicks]

that is correct.

Obligatory "go gators!"

 

[Cyrus]

My friend, she got into stanford. (engineering, Mechanical).

Hope you guys get into wherever it is you want to go!

 

[jhicks]

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!

 

[Gtay]

Just out of curiosity, I've heard that they do not give financial support for MS, only PhD. So it is wrong then?

 

[jhicks]

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.

 

[Laura1013]

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.

 

[Cyrus]

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.

 

[Pyrrhus]

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?

 

[jhicks]

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.

 

[Gtay]

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.

 

[JasonJo]

Hey eastside, did you ever hear back about the funding? Hope everything turned out OK.

 

[eastside00_99]

eh,..., well, I don't know they emailed me at one point to say that I have been waitlisted for funding but then a couple of days latter I get postal mail saying I will not be offered support. So, at this point this is how I stand:

UIUC (admit w/o funding)
Tufts (admit w/o funding)
CUNY (admit, on funding wait list)
Duke (rejected)
UWash (rejected)

Haven't heard from:
Rice
USC
Wake Forest
Boston College

So, I am pretty sure everything is going to be up in the air for about 3-4 weeks.

 

[JasonJo]

If you were from NY, going to CUNY without funding is not a big deal since it is pretty cheap but if you are not from NYC it is very expensive, i.e. paying for an apartment, and overall living expenses.

Did you ever hear back from Rice, USC, Wake or BC?

 

[eastside00_99]

yeah, its like 10,000 a semester to go to CUNY. Luckily, I still have a shot since I am on the waitlist for support. Uh, Rice says they are only accepting 5-6 people?!? And, they said that it doesn't appear like I will be accepted. I messed up the application for USC. I put the wrong semester down on the application and it is too late to fix it. I am on the waitlist for both Wake and BC.