Profile evaluation for astronomy Phd applicant in the fall 2023 cycle

[firearmsguy]

I will apply for a Ph.D. in Astronomy in the fall of 2023. I want to have a realistic evaluation of my profile to see if I am over-ambitious or not. I think I am out of reach for the "big four" universities. I will donate money to two of them only and will be targeting other top schools.

Undergrad institution: A top university in my country.

Nationality: Southeast Asian male.

GPA: 3.7/4.0.

Research experience: One summer at my school, one summer at a national lab, currently at a European school. I have three letters of recommendation.

Publication: I am writing up a paper that will be submitted soon.

GRE: I plan to take the GRE.

TOEFL: I plan to take the TOEFL.

Prizes and honors: Two dean's lists, one scholarship.

Research interest: I am interested in computer astrophysics simulation.

Here is my list grouped by ranking/reputation:

Donation:

• Princeton
• Harvard

Top schools:

• UCSC
• Arizona
• Colorado Boulder
• Columbia

Target:

• UIUC
• Virginia

Safety:

• Northwestern
• Georgia Tech
• Michigan State
• Rochester Institute of Technology

Am I too ambitious? What should I do to improve my odds?

 

[Vanadium 50]

First, always, always, write proper English. That includes capitalization and punctuation. There is a saying "practice makes perfect" but in fact "practice makes permanent:",

Second, nobody can tell you the exact answer to your question - we don't have your test scores (neither do you) or your letters of recommendation or even your country. If you want to go to a US grad school, apply to a wide range.

The fact that you have published is hardly relevant. What matters more is how good the papers are and what you contributed - which the letters should cover. "I published:" is the same as " said something"". Did you say anything meaningful and important?

"The best school in my country" is a country-dependent statement. India is not Pakistan is not Nepal is not Myanmar.

 

[Choppy]

Unfortunately, if you're hoping for fall admission, the deadline for applications has quite likely already passed. Typically deadlines for graduate programs that start in September have application deadlines in December or January. Check out the application deadlines for the particular schools that you're interested in, but if you don't already have your applications in, you're most likely looking at competing for admission for fall 2024.

 

[Vanadium 50]

I read this as he will apply in Fall 2023 for admission in Fall 2024.

 

[malawi_glenn]

Nationality: Southeast Asian male.

What has your sex to do with nationality?

 

[Vanadium 50]

What has your sex to do with nationality?

We know he's not an Amazon of myth?

 

[Vanadium 50]

I found the "donate money" to two top schools the more interesting comment. How much are we talking? For enough money, I expect pretty much anywhere will give someone a shot at a PhD. Whether they are successful or not, well, that's another story.

 

[gmax137]

I found the "donate money" to two top schools the more interesting comment.

At first I thought he meant, he was going to pay the application fee even though he expected to be rejected. Now I'm not sure what the intent is.

 

[firearmsguy]

Unfortunately, if you're hoping for fall admission, the deadline for applications has quite likely already passed. Typically deadlines for graduate programs that start in September have application deadlines in December or January. Check out the application deadlines for the particular schools that you're interested in, but if you don't already have your applications in, you're most likely looking at competing for admission for fall 2024.

Oh yes I should clarify that I am applying this fall

 

[firearmsguy]

At first I thought he meant, he was going to pay the application fee even though he expected to be rejected. Now I'm not sure what the intent is.

Somewhat a description of them being super competitive

 

[gwnorth]

You should know that unlike undergraduate admissions, the practice of designating universities as reach/target/safety does not apply for graduate admissions. Certainly there's more likely and less less likely, but your chances for admission can not be quantified in such a way as to reliably apply them to those buckets. Admission is holistic and research fit with potential supervisors, available funding, and departmental need have an outsized weighting in being successful. You could have an applicant with stellar stats, experience, and phenomenal recommendations be completely rejected and an applicant who on paper looks to be less competitive be admitted simply because the department does not engage in the field of research they wished to pursue, or the PI who typically does do research in that field is on sabbatical, or their lab is full, or they currently don't have funding etc. There are just too many variables outside of the control of applicants to be able to reliably predict who will or will not be successful in being admitted based on typical stats like GPA/GRE/PGRE and program ranking. It's also hard to quantify the quality of an applicant's research experience, SOP, or the strength of their recommendation letters.

The best you can do is maximize your chances for admission by carefully targeting programs to apply to where you are a strong research fit with researchers who you know have funding and will be accepting students in the upcoming cycle, and the best way to determine that, is to contact potential PIs in advance and ask for their input.

You should also be aware that Astronomy programs tend to be relatively small so take fewer applicants and admission has become highly competitive because the field is currently experiencing a boom in interest.

Good Luck