2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Forum for the GRE subject test in mathematics.
safetybelts
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Oct 29, 2013 10:29 am

2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by safetybelts » Tue Oct 29, 2013 10:37 am

Might as well get this party started. Share your application info and results here so we can learn from each other.

Previous threads:

2010 - http://www.mathematicsgre.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=357
2011 - http://www.mathematicsgre.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=495
2012 - http://www.mathematicsgre.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=685
2013 - http://www.mathematicsgre.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1003
the previous thread wrote:I will warn you, however, that mathematics graduate programs do not pick people with some sort of strict formula. That said, I believe that the years of data that are forming on this site are a good source to see where students might be competitive. Keeping that in mind, please adhere to the following format:

Code: Select all

[b]Undergrad Institution:[/b] (School or type of school (such as Big state/Lib Arts/Ivy/Technical/Foreign (Country?))
[b]Major(s):[/b]
[b]Minor(s):[/b]
[b]GPA:[/b]
[b]Type of Student:[/b] (Domestic/International (Country?), Male/Female?, Minority?)

[b]GRE Revised General Test:[/b]
[b]Q:[/b] xxx (xx%)
[b]V:[/b] xxx (xx%)
[b]W:[/b] x.x (xx%)
[b]GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:[/b]
[b]M:[/b] xxx (xx%)

[b]TOEFL Score:[/b] (xx = Rxx/Lxx/Sxx/Wxx) (if applicable)

[b]Program Applying:[/b] (Pure Math/Applied Math/Statistics/Operation Research/Biostatistics)

[b]Research Experience:[/b] (At your school or elsewhere? What field? How much time? Any publications or conference talks etc...)
[b]Awards/Honors/Recognitions:[/b] (Within your school or outside?)
[b]Pertinent Activities or Jobs:[/b] (Such as tutor, TA, etc...)
[b]Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help:[/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] (Color use here is welcome)
[u]School[/u] - Program / Admitted/Rejected/Waitlisted/Pending on (date) / Accepted/Declined
[u]School[/u] - Program / Admitted/Rejected/Waitlisted/Pending on (date) / Accepted/Declined
[u]School[/u] - Program / Admitted/Rejected/Waitlisted/Pending on (date) / Accepted/Declined

safetybelts
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Oct 29, 2013 10:29 am

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by safetybelts » Tue Oct 29, 2013 10:48 am

I decided I don't want this public anymore. Good luck!
Last edited by safetybelts on Sun Mar 15, 2015 2:34 pm, edited 16 times in total.

koala1992
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Oct 29, 2013 6:46 am

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by koala1992 » Wed Oct 30, 2013 1:50 am

Undergrad Institution: No.3 mathematics school in China
Major(s): Mathematics-Information Security(Cryptography)
Overall GPA:3.63
Major GPA:3.71
Type of Student: International Male

GRE General Test:
Q: 161 (86%) :cry:
V: 153 (58%) :cry:
W: 3.0 (14%) :cry:
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:N/A

Program Applying: Cryptography, Algorithm

Research Experience:
1.Research Assistant in the institute of information engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Project: Phishing and Botnets Detection based on Big Data, 2013.7-present
2.Project Leader, Big Integer Factorization, 2012.5-2013.5
3.Member in ACM Laboratory, Mathematical Modeling Laboratory, and Key Lab of Cryptologic Technologies and Information Security, Ministry of Education.

Publications:
The paper about Big Integer Factorization was submitted to LATIN2014, and a paper about Chance-Constraint Programming was submitted to IC&CT2014, the paper called "An Internet based networking recommendation method" was accepted by CCCC(Chinese Conference on Cloud Computing)2013(EI)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Some Scholarships, Meritorious Winner in Mathematical Contests in Modeling 2013 and other awards in Mathematical Modeling.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
Worked in a company of electronic and automatics as a software engineer, and some other experiences in organizations

Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: (you mean the letters of recommendations?)
1.Prof.Jianliang Wu, he was invited as the special reviewer of 《Mathmatics Review》, and researched with Prof. R.Oellermann in Canada.
2.Prof.Mingqiang Wang, my advisor of the project
3.Associate Prof. Shupeng Wang, my advisor in Chinese Academy of Sciences.
4.Prof.Meiqin Wang, my teacher of Network Security, her research interest is block cipher, and she has published a lot of papers in top conferences.
5.Puwen Wei, the teacher of Applied Cryptography.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
Experiences about volunteer and some activities at school.

Applying to Where:
Uh....I am not sure where to apply, and I just chose five universities I hope to go.

Carneigne Mellon
UC Davis
UC San Diego
UC Santa Barbara
Purdue

deltagammavega
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2013 8:36 am

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by deltagammavega » Wed Oct 30, 2013 8:42 am

Undergrad Institution: Somewhat well-known international school for math
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s): Finance and Computational Math
GPA: ~3.95
Type of Student: Domestic, Asian Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 170 (98%)
V: 151 (81%)
W: 5.0 (93%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
Sep13 M: 700 (61%)
Oct13 M: ?? (??%) - my guess is around 80%

TOEFL Score: N/A (if applicable)

Program Applying: Applied Math / Math Finance

Research Experience: None
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: None
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Working at an investment bank for almost 3 years; TA for Linear Algebra 2 for two semesters
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Not sure.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where:

Reach

Stanford - PhD Math - Rejected via email, 1/29 - as expected 8)
Princeton - PhD Applied/Comp Math - Rejected via email, 2/21 - oh well...
UWashington - PhD Applied Math - Rejected via email, 2/04 - Offered admission to Master's instead
Carnegie Mellon - PhD Applied Math

Reach/Match

The financial math programs:

CMU
NYU
Columbia MFE - Admitted!
Columbia MAFN - Admitted!
UChicago
MIT MFin (not math) - Withdrawn
Last edited by deltagammavega on Thu Feb 20, 2014 11:30 am, edited 6 times in total.

sfgiants49ers
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Oct 31, 2013 3:26 am

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by sfgiants49ers » Thu Oct 31, 2013 3:40 am

Undergrad Institution: Big state, top 10 in grad math
Major(s): Mathematics
Overall GPA: 3.94, Major GPA: 4.0
Type of Student: Domestic Asian Male

GRE General Test:
Q: 170 (98%)
V: 164 (89%)
W: 6.0 (99%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 890 (95%)

Program Applying: Pure Math

Research Experience: Went to pretty good REU over the summer, paper got accepted by journal, going to be published in the next few weeks
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 22 on 2012 Putnam
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Work with gifted middle school students, worked as a tutor for multivariable calculus class sophomore year
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Going to take 4 grad classes this year, none before
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
Passed exam given to incoming Ph.D. students to test undergrad prep
Took my first math class involving proofs less than 2 years ago
I think my letters of rec are solid, they at least have nice things to say about me
I like analysis most

Applying to Where:

Reach:
Michigan-Rejected 4/4
Texas Austin- Accepted 1/31 16.6k/9 months TA+ $5k for first summer
UCLA-Rejected 4/1
Wisconsin-Madison-Accepted 2/13 $21k/year + $4900/year fellowship
Cornell- Rejected 2/20

Manageable:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign- Accepted 3/3 $19k/9months TA, attending!
University of Washington at Seattle- Accepted 3/7 TA+Academic Merit Award= minimum 24k 1st year, min 25k/year all other years
Purdue-Accepted 2/7 $16.6k TA + $2k extra 1st year

Safety:
Georgia Tech-Accepted 1/29 $2100/month TA + $5500/year fellowship for 4years
Texas A&M-Accepted 2/5
University of Indiana at Bloomington-Accepted 1/30 graduate fellowship = $25k 1st year, extra $5k other years, $20k second year half TA, $16k other years
Vanderbilt-Offered to fly out for interview. 1/25 Declined
Last edited by sfgiants49ers on Fri Apr 11, 2014 7:43 pm, edited 22 times in total.

goatman2743
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon Sep 02, 2013 7:29 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by goatman2743 » Thu Oct 31, 2013 12:00 pm

^ curious if you're calling those schools reaches because professors have told you so or if you're just guessing, because that profile looks pretty perfect to me and I would hope that you have a good shot at getting into those schools. I'm was planning to apply to UT as a reach, and my profile is, uhhhhh, not exactly that impressive :(

sfgiants49ers
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Oct 31, 2013 3:26 am

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by sfgiants49ers » Fri Nov 01, 2013 2:43 am

^ Well, my professors said that I should be able to make it into a couple of reaches. But personally, it all just seems such a crapshoot in terms of which schools accept you. My profs suggest I apply a few higher reaches, so I'm in the process of choosing which other schools to apply to. But to answer your question, those schools just seemed like the most difficult ones to get into out of my list, it's hard to know which ones are difficult to get into.

avemarya
Posts: 18
Joined: Sun Sep 29, 2013 5:14 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by avemarya » Sat Nov 02, 2013 7:06 pm

Undergrad Institution: Small liberal arts, not known for math
Major(s): Math, Theology
Minor(s):
GPA: 4.0, math and general GPA
Type of Student: Domestic Hispanic Female

GRE Revised General Test: (percentages based on previous tables)
Q: 164 (89%)
V: 161 (87%)
W: 4.5 (78%) (not surprised, given I didn't even finish the essays)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 620 (42%)


Program Applying: Logic/ Foundations/ pure math

Research Experience: Other than an undergrad seminar, not much. Will be doing a thesis...
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: In school scholarships, some school wide academic awards, in the honors program.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: private tutor, college tutor
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: went to a women's conference sponsored by IAS. No class on foundations, so what I know has been self-taught (hopefully they see initiative in that).
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: very small department (only three full-time professors), no grad classes offered. My main hope at this point is good LORs but I really don't have a choice on whom to pick since most schools require at least three of them. I took the GRE without having finished some classes (Abstract algebra, which I took that same semester, and Real Analysis, which was taken the following semester).

Applying to Where: not in any particular order (list subject to change)
Notre Dame - withdrawn
Carnegie Mellon - withdrawn
IU-Bloomington - accepted: 1/30. 20,400 first year, 16,800 TAship afterwards- declined. The department had only one Logic professor, and though he was doing some interesting stuff, I didn't want to limit my range of options for study
UC-Boulder -accepted 2/4. ~16,800 TAship and $2500 first year fellowship, full funding- declined. Lovely and friendly place, but again, their Logic program was at a turning point (the two "logicians" were more a mix of algebraists and logic, and their one renown professor was retiring). But I will miss the mountains...
Rutgers - rejected 3/21... surprised it took them so long
UI-UC - accepted 2/13 offered Masters option with potential to continue with phd, TAship and full funding-ATTENDING! - at first I was not certain about the ambient, but I was really impressed with the program, and the department members were also very kind. I saw students and professors alike there passionate about math, and know that I will definitely be challenged when I go there.
Ohio State withdrawn
UIC rejected 3/12... not surprised

I was super nervous about the results, but in the end I am pretty satisfied. Urbana-Champaign is an awesome place, particularly for my field of interest, and even though I'm only in the Masters en track to PhD, I see that as an added benefit since I can really ramp up on classes I was not offered in my undergraduate program.

Some advice? craft your personal statements carefully so as to present your personality and initiative... don't just spew off stats, and make sure you establish good connections with your recommenders. This is where you will set yourself apart from the rest of the applicants. Do some independent work if you have the time. I didn't have much going my way statistically (no official research, meh score, small and un-renown undergrad program), but some departments liked the fact that I taught myself Logic, and when I explained that my mediocre GRE score was due to not having taken certain classes (which I am now taking), they took that into account and were even impressed with that 42% (!). So there is hope!

Good luck to the rest of you!
Last edited by avemarya on Wed Apr 16, 2014 10:12 pm, edited 23 times in total.

veektorreeyah
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2013 5:01 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by veektorreeyah » Wed Nov 06, 2013 5:22 pm

Undergrad Institution: large state school, not well known
Major(s): Mathematics, Physics
Minor(s): none
Overall GPA: 3.66
Math GPA: 3.70
Type of Student: Domestic Hispanic female

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 165 (91%) V: 151 (49%) W: 3.5 (35%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
Sept 28: 580 (31%)
Oct 19: 620 (42%) - slight improvement

(I really stink at standardized tests!)

Program Applying: Mathematics Ph.D.

Research Experience:
-- Astrophysics research project at my school (2012), poster presentation
-- REU at another school in Statistics/Mathematics (2012), "published" paper (only on arXiv, we haven't submitted yet...), presentation at my school, presentation with research group at Joint Mathematics Meeting in January 2013
-- International REU in Optics/Physics (2013), will present at my school later this month
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: A few academic scholarships, Math Student of the year, Tutor of the year, Dean's List
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Math tutor, Workshop facilitator and TA, Grader for several math classes. Also served as Math Club President, Physics Department Representative, and mentor of all girls math club at local high school. I have won a lot of Integration Bees.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: One of my professors is pretty famous, his parents and grandparents work at some schools I am applying to. I am also a minority and female.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: My letters of recommendation will kick ass

Applying to Where: Pretty much all of these schools are reaches for me...

Super REACH (All of these schools have dream programs)
UCLA - Rejected, decision on website (1/28)
UPenn - Submitted (12/8)
NYU - Rejected via email (3/28)

Other Reaches
UC Irvine - Accepted (4/2) with $17.6k/9months TAship + tuition and fees + healthcare ($2.5k/year). Declined (4/14)
UCSD - Rejected via email (3/7)
UCSB - Accepted, email with decision on website (2/13); notified about funding on 2/14: $17.6k/9 months + tuition and fees waived + healthcare ($2.5k/year). ATTENDING!
Georgia Tech - Accepted via email (1/29) with tuition waiver + $2100/month TAship; travel + lodging covered for when I visit in February. Declined (4/7).
U Miami - Other (4/2): received email to check status online. Their online website says I am missing my GRE scores, personal statement, transcript, AND all my letters of recommendation when I know all of those have been submitted. Not going to bother to update my application, going to accept somewhere else.
Duke - Rejected, decision on website (4/7)

Safety
UNLV - Accepted via email (3/4); $13k/9 months + tuition and fee waiver, possibility of T.A. during the summer. Declined (4/6).

===

Final Update:
Coming into this process, UC Irvine and Georgia Tech were my two favorite picks and I was so ecstatic to be accepted by them! (Of course I hoped for some offers from other prestigious universities, but I am relieved I wasn't accepted into them.) I never thought campus visits would be such a big deal in helping me make my decision, but that's really what it came down to. I fell madly in love with UC Santa Barbara and their department and am so excited to attend their program!
Good luck to everyone :)
Last edited by veektorreeyah on Mon Apr 14, 2014 5:10 pm, edited 25 times in total.

mstrfrdmx
Posts: 12
Joined: Sat Jan 07, 2012 3:35 am

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by mstrfrdmx » Thu Nov 07, 2013 3:43 am

Undergrad Institution: small, public liberal arts college
Major(s): math
GPA: narrative evaluation system
Type of Student: dwm

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 165 (95%)
V: 170 (99%)
W: 5.5 (97%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: tbd (na%)

Program Applying: Pure Math

Research Experience: two summers bioinformatics research + 1 math REU
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: goldwater
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA'd a bunch classes
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: good hair

Applying to Where:
plsplspls
Bizerkeley
MIT (lol)
Stanford
U of Chi-town
Columbia
but rly, pls
University of Washington
University of Oregon
Boston College

kranthi
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Nov 08, 2013 8:13 am

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by kranthi » Fri Nov 08, 2013 8:44 am

Hi everyone... :)

My undergrad CGPA is 6.2 on scale of 10. :(

My gre score is 310(159Q+151V) :wink:

My TOEFL score is 101 !! :P

IELTS score - 6.6 !! :D

Only problem is I have a huge history of arrears and the count is 22 !!! :oops: :oops: :oops:

What are my chances of GETTING VISA :?: :?: :?: :!: :!: :!:

Is there anything I can do to improve my chances of getting VISA & ADMISSION!!! :idea: :idea: :idea:

My economic background is very good !!! 8) 8) 8)

I'm from INDIA!! :D :) 8) :P :wink:

Please help me by suggesting ways to improve my chances !!!

forallepsilon
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Nov 10, 2013 12:50 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by forallepsilon » Sun Nov 10, 2013 2:54 pm

Undergrad Institution: (School or type of school (such as Big state/Lib Arts/Ivy/Technical/Foreign (Country?)) Top 10 U.S. Public School, recognized in mathematics.
Major(s): Mathematics B.S.
Minor(s): Statistics
GPA: 3.51 (slightly higher in my major)
Type of Student: (Domestic/International (Country?), Male/Female?, Minority?) Generic domestic white male with a weird last name, maybe I can trick them.

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 163 (87%) (Didn't study at all!)
V: 161 (87%)
W: 4.0 (54%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 590 (34%) (No excuses here, I opted to work more than I should have and didn't study a drop. I got what I deserved!)

TOEFL Score: (xx = Rxx/Lxx/Sxx/Wxx) (if applicable) N/A

Program Applying: (Pure Math/Applied Math/Statistics/Operation Research/Biostatistics) Pure Math, preferably with Algebraic focus (I'm interested in MANY topics: homological algebra, representation theory of lie algebras, galois theory, commutative algebra). I also am interested in studying probability but this will perhaps be done as an application to algebraic research (ie: in the vein of Persi Diaconis).

Research Experience: (At your school or elsewhere? What field? How much time? Any publications or conference talks etc...) Two REUs (1 through my school and 1 with NASA), two conference appearances (UC Berkeley and UW Seattle), 1 small NASA internship, 1 minor publication (in Non-Linear Dynamics and Control Theory, completely unrelated to what I want to do).
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: (Within your school or outside?) Dean's list, McNair Scholar, etc.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Such as tutor, TA, etc...) Tutoring for the last 6 years, working with learning disabled students.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: (Such as connections, grad classes, famous recommenders, female or minority status etc...) Currently enrolled in two graduate sequences, close relationships with two of my letter writers (both of whom are respected in the fields I want to go into).
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Not sure if I should mention this but I worked full-time during my undergraduate degree, I was able to put two people through college during that time with minimum debt accrued. I thought this might highlight my work ethic and possibly clear up my lower GPA and subject score, for the schools that require it.

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)

All programs are for Pure Math.

EVERYONE CAN DREAM
University of Colorado - Boulder - Ph.D.
University of Oregon - Ph.D.
Boston University - Ph.D.
University of Waterloo - Master's (No MGRE required)
UC Santa Cruz - Ph.D.
Stony Brook University - SUNY - Ph.D. (No MGRE required)


...BEFORE REALITY SMACKS YOU IN THE FACE
Louisiana State University - Ph.D. (No MGRE required)
Binghamton University - SUNY - Ph.D. (No MGRE required)
University of Kansas - Ph.D. (No MGRE required)
University of Kentucky - Ph.D. (No MGRE required)
University of Nebraska - Lincoln - Ph.D. (No MGRE required)
University of Oklahoma - Ph.D. (No MGRE required)
UC Riverside - Master's (No MGRE required)
UC Davis - Master's

EGO CHECK
San Jose State University - Master's (No MGRE required)
San Francisco State University - Master's (No MGRE required)
Sacramento State University - Master's (Logistical reasons, this is literally my last choice and even if I got accepted, I might choose to wait another year instead of attending)

Extra Notes: I already missed last application cycle and frankly, I'm tired of waiting. My subject score is low and my GPA is mediocre (for Ph.D. applicants) but I'm tired of worrying about this process. My plan is, hopefully, to get accepted into one of the schools which did not require the MGRE. If I am lucky, perhaps I will get into one of my dream schools instead. You will never know if you don't try. If this does not work out, I will do my Master's at a California school and will simply do much better on my next subject exam!

fourierfanatic
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon May 20, 2013 4:46 am

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by fourierfanatic » Tue Nov 12, 2013 4:19 am

Undergrad Institution: UBC (Vancouver, Canada) - for Canadian universities, it's up there, but that doesn't say much.
Major(s): Honours Math
Minor(s):
GPA: We do % but it's about 86.1% (... I think that's 4.0?)
Type of Student: Canadian White Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 168 (96%)
V: 155 (66%) :(
W: 5.5 (97%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 780 (77%) :| ... retook the exam in Sept and did worse! Apparently the October one was super easy...

TOEFL Score: n/a

Program Applying: Applied Math

Research Experience: Two research positions, each for 4 months long over the summer. Second one resulted in a potential paper, it's being submitted to SIAM as we speak. Gave a couple talks in each of them, the last one also had a talk to grad students in applied math.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's List each year, science scholar for year 4 (aka >90% average that year)
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutoring for three years, undergrad TA for two years (taught first-year calc workshops). Also worked as a co-op student for a hydrogen fuel cell company for 8 months, so I've got a little experience in industry as well.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Took a grad course as well as two cross-listed grad courses for my honours requirements.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I was a residence advisor for a year? haha, not that anyone cares about that. I have British citizenship as well.

Applying to Where:
(In order of preference)
Cornell -
Brown -
Oxford -
McGill (Montreal) -
UCLA -
UBC - Always safe to have a backup! Haha

safetybelts
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Oct 29, 2013 10:29 am

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by safetybelts » Tue Nov 12, 2013 11:02 am

kranthi, you might be better served by making your own thread.

Why are people saying UCSC is harder to get into that UCR? I want to know how you have information that I don't.

forallepsilon
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Nov 10, 2013 12:50 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by forallepsilon » Tue Nov 12, 2013 2:32 pm

safetybelts wrote:kranthi, you might be better served by making your own thread.

Why are people saying UCSC is harder to get into that UCR? I want to know how you have information that I don't.
Hi safetybelts. The main reason I listed UCSC above UCR is that I'm applying to UCSC's Ph.D. program (they don't accept Master's applications) and my MGRE scores completely suck. I'm only applying to UCR's Master program which, in general, I believe would be easier to get into as they don't require the MGRE.

dasgut
Posts: 250
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2010 12:20 am

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by dasgut » Thu Nov 14, 2013 12:39 am

Because I'm a damn glutton for pain...

Undergrad Institution: Top 25 Private University(US News)
Major(s): Finance & Accounting
Minor(s): Mathematics
GPA: 3.51 (3.87 Last 2 Years)
Type of Student: DWM

Grad Institution: Top 70 Math (US News)
Concentration: MS in Pure Math
GPA: 3.97

GRE General Test (Retake):
Q: 167 (95%)
V: 162 (90%)
W: 4.0 (48%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics (Retake):
M: 840 (89%)

Program Applying: Mathematical Finance (Applied Math, Statistics)

Research Experience: 2 Summers With Office of Naval Research
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: N/A
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for management accounting sophomore year (prolly not applicable, but it is teaching exp)
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: 7 grad classes with all A's (Measure Theory, Functional Analysis, Topology, Algebraic Topology, Differential Geometry, Applied Math I&II, Research Course in Minimal Surfaces)
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
-Currently working for a just sub-Ivy management consultancy that's considered the best in Big Data
-GPA over the past four years = 3.92
-Professors indicated my score on the PhD analysis qual (taken to receive my MS) was the highest my year and for a few years

Applying to Where:
Harvard - Statistics (MS) - Rejected 2/5
Stanford - Statistics (MS) - Rejected 3/22
Columbia - Statistics (MS) - Accepted 2/26 - Declined
UChicago - Statistics (MS) - Waitlisted 3/17
NYU-Stern - Statistics (PhD) - Rejected 3/5
Rice - Statistics (PhD) - Rejected 4/15
Duke - Applied Math (PhD) - Rejected 4/7
UMaryland - AMSC (PhD) - Rejected 3/28
Yale - Statistics (PhD) - Rejected 2/4
CMU - Math Finance (PhD) - Interview 3/5 - Accepted 3/6 (20k TA) ATTENDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last edited by dasgut on Tue Apr 15, 2014 8:05 pm, edited 14 times in total.

boo78
Posts: 36
Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2013 3:53 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by boo78 » Thu Nov 14, 2013 10:55 am

Undergrad Institution: Big State, nothing special math-wise
Major(s): Mathematics & Astrophysics (concurrent BSs)
Minor(s): none
GPA: 3.96 Cum / 4.00 Math
Type of Student: DWF

Grad Institution: Cornell
Concentration: PhD in Astronomy, Planetary Geology (did not complete thesis, but did complete coursework and Q exams, unfortunately they denied me a Masters because I had not passed my A exam)
GPA: 3.79

GRE General Test:
Q: 169 (97%) :x damn, missed one
V: 164 (93%) :D not to shabby for 12 years out of college
W: 4.5 (78%) :shock: I know I kicked butt on the argument essay, so I must have sucked even worse than I thought on the issue essay

GRE Subject Test in Mathematics
Nov 2012: 750 (72%) I had just given birth 2 months before and was very sleep-deprived, and also only prepped for 4 months and it had been 10 years since I took any math courses.
Oct 2013: 850 (88%) :D Whoo-hoo!

Program Applying: Applied Mathematics PhD

Research Experience: Tons in astronomy, but only my senior thesis in math
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: several in astrophysics, mathematics, and general academics (all undergrad)
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 6 years teaching high school math, last 3.5 years exclusively advanced and AP classes
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help:
-strong letters of recommendation, one from previous Cornell adviser, other two from same undergrad recommenders that got me into Ivy Leagues before, one from current employer (headmistress of my school)
-have been in contact with the chair of the grad math dept at Cornell, who looked at my app materials and said I would "get the admission committee's close attention"
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
-4 years working on NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers Mission on science team and critical ops
-pretty sure I want to work on astrophysics-related research and have already taken several graduate courses in physics and astronomy
-currently teaching a course I created for high school students who have completed AP Calculus, a survey course of college-level mathematics, their quiz questions are GRE problems
-currently working on a book about statistics and trying to make informed parenting decision in the Information Age

Applying to Where:
Cornell* - rejected 3/4

*Nothing cocky about the fact I'm only applying to one Ivy League school that has the second best Applied Math program in the country. I never left the area after I withdrew, and my family is in no position to move right now, so at least for this year it's Cornell or bust.
Last edited by boo78 on Thu Mar 13, 2014 1:58 pm, edited 5 times in total.

mathbacon
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Nov 16, 2013 3:49 am

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by mathbacon » Sat Nov 16, 2013 4:24 am

First of all, I want to thank everyone that has contributed/will contribute to this thread (and also those that have contributed to the previous threads). This is a really stressful process and it is nice to have a small community like this to help us cope through it.

Undergrad Institution: Top Twenty Liberal Arts (US News)
Major(s): Mathematics
GPA (Overall/Major): 3.6/3.80
Type of Student: Domestic, Male, Minority

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 158
V: 150
W: 3.0
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 560 (26%)


Program Applying: Pure Math

Research Experience: Four research papers written - two of which have been published.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: One graduate class

Applying to Where:
Stony Brook
Carnegie Mellon
University of Pittsburgh - Accepted with $16.7K TAship!!!
Vanderbilt University - Will Withdraw
Tufts - Will Withdraw
Wow... The GRE was a complete dud. Not gonna apply to a lot of schools.
Might take a year off and retake the GRE.

Good luck to everyone!
Ahhh! I got accepted somewhere! The above quote was me right after I received my GRE scores. Don't give up hope! I only applied to east coast schools because of personal preference (you could have probably guessed that I am from Pennsylvania). U Pitt is a good place. I think I will be happy there.

Good luck to everyone! Hang in there!
Last edited by mathbacon on Tue Feb 25, 2014 11:24 pm, edited 3 times in total.

shiki
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Nov 16, 2013 9:48 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by shiki » Sat Nov 16, 2013 10:20 pm

Undergrad Institution: Big state school
Major(s): Mathematics & Economics
Minor(s):
GPA: 3.76
Type of Student: International (China), Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 154 (62%)
V: 166 (93%)
W: 3.0 (14%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 900 (97%)

TOEFL Score:

Program Applying: Pure Math

Research Experience: 1 REU in Stony Brook University about Hyperbolic geometry;had a poster session and a talk session on this; 1 summer session in Utah hold by IAS/PCMI; 1 paper about fractal (not published yet), honors thesis on Markov chains and Shuffling.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 120 on 2012 Putnam; Stony Brook Foundation Award for Excellence in Mathematics; Undergraduate Recognition Awards for Academic Excellence
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 1 semester as a grader for Calculus II
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: 7 grad classes
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where:
UC Berkelay -
Chicago - rejected via email on Feb 14th
UCLA -
Columbial -emailed to check application status on Feb 13th, Fellowship 25000+ summer stipend 3000
Michigan - admitted via email on Feb 19th, 25000/year
U Maryland -unofficial email from director, invited to join in the dynamics group, Feb 25th
U Washington -
Rice U - admitted via email on January 23rd, Tracy Thomas Fellowship 27000/year
UIC - admitted via phone on Feb 20rd, TAship 17000/year+Fellowship 25000/year
I didn't attempt to apply for Columbia and Rice at first. That was my adviser's suggestion. Definitely need to say thank you to him!
Last edited by shiki on Thu Feb 27, 2014 12:50 am, edited 5 times in total.

emathfan
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Nov 18, 2013 2:30 am

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by emathfan » Mon Nov 18, 2013 2:50 am

Undergrad Institution: Big state school
Major(s): Math BS & Linguistics BA
Minor(s):
GPA: 3.88 (4.0 scale)
Type of Student: DWF

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 162 (84%)
V: 154 (62%)
W: 4.5 (78%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 650 (49%)


Program Applying: Pure Math PhD

Research Experience: Topology REU at my school for one summer, wrote a paper that will be an honors thesis that I will present on in the spring
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's honors list, math department honors program, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Golden Key
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor for upper division real analysis and advanced calculus, grader for homework and exams in those classes, private tutor for elementary school math, internship teaching knot theory to advanced high school students
Other: I think I will have pretty good rec letters

Applying to Where:
Brandeis Rejected via website (4/14)
U Washington-Seattle Rejected via email (3/2)
U Utah Admitted! via email (2/21) RTG in algebraic geometry and topology for the first year ($25k) and teach after that ($17k) + tuition waiver + health insurance
UCSD Rejected via email (3/6)
UCSB Admitted! via website (2/13) TA ($17.6k for 9 months) + tuition and fees waived + health insurance
UC Davis Admitted! via email (unofficially 2/18, officially 2/23) Financial offer on 3/4: TA ($17.6k for 9 months) + tuition + health insurance
UC Irvine Admitted! via email (2/28) TA ($17.6k for 9 months) + tuition and fee fellowship + health insurance
U Colorado-Boulder Admitted! via email (3/15) TA ($16.8k for 9 months) + tuition and fees waived + health insurance
U of Oregon Admitted! via email (2/24) GTA ($17.3k for 9 months + optional summer TA for $4.4k) + tuition and fees waived
Oregon State Admitted! via email (2/20) TA ($16k for 9 months) + tuition and fees waived + health insurance

Good luck, everyone!
Last edited by emathfan on Sat Apr 19, 2014 6:42 am, edited 18 times in total.

caxton
Posts: 32
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 7:49 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by caxton » Mon Nov 18, 2013 12:39 pm

Undergrad Institution: Big Federal University in Nigeria, West Africa
Major(s): Electrical / Electronic Engineering
Minor(s):
GPA: 3.20 (4.0 scale) [converted with solemn tears]
Type of Student: International Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 800 (93%)
V: 590 (81%)
W: 4.5 (78%)

GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 540 (21%) :x
(Very poor preparation within a little over a month of the exams, when I was advised to take the test after I "stumbled" on SIAM's website and found the interdisciplinary programs commonly referred to as Computational and Applied Math. Even worse, I fell ill the night before the paper. :cry: Meh. *inserts quip about spilled milk*)

Program Applying: Computational Science and Engineering / Computational Math and Engineering / Applied and Computational Math

Research Experience: Minimal to none (such opportunities like REAs are very limited and absolutely restricted in my country), but I have some informal research experience as I assisted a lecturer and an MSc student respectively, with their research by developing/enhancing FORTRAN software to (a) solve systems of equations in a Reservoir Simulation via matrix inversions, and (b) solve PDEs numerically.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Competitive winner of a Federal scholarship awarded by EXXON Mobil

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
* 6-month internship with Schlumberger, world leader in development of computational software for oil recovery and adaptive gridding
* Private tutor of high school Further Mathematics. While in college, I volunteered to teach tutorials on various University freshman, second, third and fourth year topics for non-major Mathematics undergraduates (especially for Science and Engineering majors).
* I have worked as a programmer for the past 5 to 6 years.

Programming experience: Average in Python, Well above average in MATLAB and great at FORTRAN (I believe these will come in very handy for my desired program)

Summary:
Total greenhorn compared with most of the profiles I have seen here on this forum (viz subject scores, CGPA, research and teaching positions, papers, etc)

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)

I want to try to apply to all the CSE programs listed on the SIAM website (http://www.siam.org/students/resources/cse_programs.php) especially since just 11 days ago ETS cancelled all testing in my country until further notice. I better get in this time, then. http://www.ets.org/gre/important_update/nigeria

I may end up not applying to them all (because it's so damn expensive for an applicant like me) but I'll simply categorize the programs below for easy reference. The ordering mostly correlates with the program faculty's current research and my personal research interests.

Can the odds ever favor this gamble?
UT Austin Applied
Stanford Applied
Purdue University
Rice University

If wishes were horses...
Notre Dame
Princeton Applied
UC San Diego
UC Santa Barbera

Still reaching...
Mississipi State University
UC Merced
Ohio University
North Carolina A&T
New York University
University of Colorado
Ohio State University Applied
University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
University of Iowa

Merely hopeful...
Georgia Institute of Technology
Central Washington University
Chapman University
University of Maryland
Florida State University
University of Tennessee, Chattanooga
George Mason University
University of Utah

Safety
:oops: lol :cry:
Last edited by caxton on Sun Dec 15, 2013 1:06 pm, edited 2 times in total.

math1300
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Nov 18, 2013 2:23 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by math1300 » Mon Nov 18, 2013 2:43 pm

*deleted*
Last edited by math1300 on Thu Aug 10, 2017 12:11 am, edited 11 times in total.

Atlas
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2013 12:49 am

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by Atlas » Mon Nov 18, 2013 6:49 pm

Undergrad Institution: Big state school with no math PhD program
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s):
GPA: 3.93 (3.97 math GPA)
Type of Student: Domestic Hispanic Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 169 (97%)
V: 160 (84%)
W: 4.0 (54%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 660 (52%)

Program Applying: Pure Math with a focus in geometric group thoery

Research Experience:
1. REU at home university in statistics. No publication, just a couple of medicore poster sessions.
2. REU at small liberal arts college in geometric group thoery. Publication is in progress and I gave a couple of talks based off the research.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Recieved two scholarships from mathematics department for "mathematical ability and showing promise for a distgished career in mathematics". Choosen to be a member of my universities Putnam team this year and last.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor at home university for several semesters. Grader for several classes including abstract algebra
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help:
I will have taken just about every math course offered by my university, including 5 graduate course by the time I graduate. I have also done two independent studies (algebraic topology and Galios theory). I am well know in my department as the strongest student, even when compared to the master's students, hopefully that makes for good letters. I also have a very clear and specific idea of the kind of math which I want to do and nearly everywhere I am applying has a strong group working in that area. I am hoping that will make me seem like a "good fit". One of my letter writers is a big name in his field (continuum thoery), but his field is very small.

Applying to Where:
All for Pure Math PhD

Reach:
University of Chicago -- Rejected via email 2/5.
Cornell -- Rejected via email 2/20
Columbia
Brown -- Rejected via email 1/28. Bummed, but not surprised.
Rutgers
Universtiy of Illinios UC

Target:
City University of New York
Ohio State -- Accepted via mail 1/31. $17325 per year TAship
Rice
Indiana University, Bloomington -- Accepted via email 1/29 . $20,400 fellowship for the first year, $16,800 normal support after that
UC Santa Barbra -- Accepted via email 2/25 . $17655 per year TAship
Michigan State

Safety:
University of Oregon
University of Iowa -- Application Withdrawn. I would not attend over other options I currently have
Oregon State -- Accepted via email . Offer declined
Last edited by Atlas on Wed Feb 26, 2014 1:34 am, edited 7 times in total.

allemanau
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat Oct 20, 2012 8:46 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by allemanau » Thu Nov 21, 2013 8:56 pm

Undergrad Institution: Lib. Arts University, well-ranked considering only master's-only universities.
Major(s): Mathematics, Computer Science
Minor(s):
GPA: 3.6
Major(s) GPA: 3.8
Type of Student: DWM

GRE Revised General Test: I took it cold during finals week. I would probably do it again with a little studying and sleep ;)
Q: 164 (89%)
V: 164 (93%)
W: 5.0 (93%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M:

TOEFL Score:

Program Applying: Statistics

Research Experience: Two poster presentations, one talk with a large audience (250+ folks), one talk with a smaller audience (~40 folks). One published paper in mathematical criminology. Two REUs in mathematical criminology. Currently doing a one-year research fellowship in statistics and social sciences at Stanford.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: A couple of awards for presentations at the Joint Math Meetings, a couple of departmental distinctions for research, Pi Mu Epsilon (whee!), undergrad scholarships and honors program.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: See "Research Experience". I did a 6-month internship at NASA during the school year, and I've also been a teaching assistant for sections of various engineering courses throughout undergrad.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: 3/4 of my recommendations are very explicitly connected to UCLA. Also, I spent a summer doing an REU there.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I applied to some of these schools last year with success. Things have only gotten better, I guess.

Applying to Where: PhD, unless otherwise indicated.
University of California, Los Angeles - Stat
University of California, Berkeley - Stat, Rejected by email on 2/20.
University of California, Santa Barbara - Stat, Interview by phone on 1/23, admitted and invited to open house on 2/26, awarded UC Regents Special Fellowship 2/27 -- 1st yr @ $29,000 stipend, 3rd yr @ $24,000 stipend, remaining 3 yrs TA or RA (TBD).
Carnegie Mellon University - Stat, Rejected by email on 2/14.
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor - Stat, Rejected by email on 2/20.
University of Washington, Seattle - Stat, Rejected by email on 1/31.
University of Colorado, Boulder - Applied Mathematics, Accepted by email on 2/5, awarded TAship @ $16,800 + $3,000 fellowship for the first year.
Oregon State University - Stat (MS), Nominated for competitive university fellowship by email on 1/29, guaranteed TAship. Formally accepted 2/18. Awarded Provost's Distinguished Graduate Fellowship on 3/7 -- 1st yr @ $22,000 stipend, 2nd yr TA @ $17,000. Awarded addt'l $3,000 scholarship in March.
Stanford University - Stat (MS), Rejected by website on 3/22.
Last edited by allemanau on Sun Mar 23, 2014 12:34 pm, edited 20 times in total.

poorasian
Posts: 35
Joined: Wed Nov 13, 2013 2:22 am

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by poorasian » Sat Nov 23, 2013 6:46 pm

~
Last edited by poorasian on Fri Apr 11, 2014 10:18 pm, edited 16 times in total.

cti112
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun Oct 20, 2013 2:32 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by cti112 » Fri Dec 06, 2013 10:09 pm

[delete]
Last edited by cti112 on Thu Mar 20, 2014 7:09 pm, edited 12 times in total.

leftarrow
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Dec 11, 2013 10:09 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by leftarrow » Wed Dec 11, 2013 10:25 pm

Undergrad Institution: University in the Big Ten
Major(s): Math
Minor(s): Physics
GPA: 3.93
Type of Student: Domestic White Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 167 (95%)
V: 156 (70%)
W: 4.5 (78%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 690 (59%)

TOEFL Score: (xx = Rxx/Lxx/Sxx/Wxx) (if applicable)

Program Applying: Pure Math

Research Experience: Two years of mathematical physics research, One year of research in topology with a paper submitted, an REU at Indiana.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 3 research awards
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor for the math departments tutoring center
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: By the end of the year will have 10 math grad classes and 1 physics grad class
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Advisor is fairly well known in his field.

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
Super Reach School
MIT Rejected 2/13 via email

Reach
Michigan
Cornell Regjected 2/20
UT Austin Waitlisted 2/7 via email
Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Duke

Target
Indiana Accepted 1/28 via email
UC Davis Accepted 2/18
UC Santa Barbara Accepted 2/13 via website
Michigan State Accepted 2/14

Safety
LSU Accepted 2/17
Last edited by leftarrow on Thu Feb 20, 2014 11:53 pm, edited 3 times in total.

ThisFoodIsEW
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon Dec 16, 2013 1:50 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by ThisFoodIsEW » Mon Dec 16, 2013 2:13 pm

Undergrad Institution: Ivy League
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s): Logic and Philosophy
GPA: 3.57; In-Major GPA: 3.79
Type of Student: Domestic/Male/White

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 170 (98%)
V: 169 (99%)
W: 5.0 (93%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 630 (44%) :(

Program Applying: Statistics

Research Experience: 1.5 years in a computational research project at my undergrad institution. One summer in an REU at a strong math school. One year post-college in biostatistics. Several publications in medical journals from the biostatistics work.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Just "Cum Laude" from my school. No math/stat related honors really other than summer "fellowships"
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: None
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Took 1 grad class in topology, 1 grad class in probability. Good letters of rec, but none really from math professors - just stats and research advisors. My math classes were mostly given by lecturers.

Applying to Where:
REACH
Harvard Statistics - Rejected by post 2/13
University of Washington Statistics - Rejected by email 1/23
Berkeley Statistics - Rejected by email 3/21
Carnegie Mellon Statistics - Rejected by email 1/14
Chicago Statistics - Waitlisted 3/6, by email / Accepted 4/7, by email. ATTENDING!!! Stipend of $22,500. SO RELIEVED!!
Yale Statistics - Pending - Rejected by email 2/2
UPenn Applied Math & Computational Science - Rejected by email 4/15

TARGET
UPenn Statistics - Rejected 1/28 by email/website
Brown Applied Math- Rejected 2/18 by email/website
NYU Computer Science - Rejected by email 4/10
University of Washington Computer Science - Rejected by email 2/1
Cornell Statistics - Admitted 2/13, by email
Columbia Statistics - Rejected by email 4/15 -- They were totally unresponsive to my emails for updates. Am pretty upset with their admission process. Other schools were much more communicative.

SAFETY
Rutgers Math - Rejected by email 3/14
OSU Statistics - Admitted 1/18, by mail
Boston U Statistics - Rejected by email 4/23
Last edited by ThisFoodIsEW on Wed Apr 23, 2014 12:59 pm, edited 16 times in total.

tsloth
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon May 20, 2013 11:22 am

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by tsloth » Mon Dec 16, 2013 8:44 pm

Undergrad Institution: Ivy
Major(s): Math
Minor(s):
GPA: 3.83 (3.96 departmental)
Type of Student: DWM

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 170
V: 170
W: 6.0
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 910 (98%)

Program Applying: Pure Math

Research Experience: 2 REUs, 1 publication
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: magna cum laude, phi beta kappa
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: lots of teaching experience
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Not really.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I've been out of undergrad for a while and haven't been doing math stuff, which might be a serious problem. Recommendations should be reasonably good.

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
MIT -- WAITLISTED on 1/29, ACCEPTED on 4/14, will attend!
Stanford -- WAITLISTED on 1/28, withdrew
Berkeley -- WAITLISTED on 2/25, ACCEPTED on 3/19, declined
NYU -- REJECTED on 3/28
Penn -- Inquiry from Grad Director on 3/23, I said I was planning to accept an offer elsewhere
Michigan -- ACCEPTED on 2/12, declined
Minnesota -- withdrew
UW -- ACCEPTED on 3/6, declined

I'm aiming a little high; hopefully it doesn't bite me. Good luck, everyone! I've been lurking on this forum for a while and it's been a lot of help. :)
Last edited by tsloth on Mon Apr 14, 2014 8:28 pm, edited 6 times in total.

kailun
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Dec 17, 2013 2:30 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by kailun » Tue Dec 17, 2013 2:41 pm

Undergrad Institution: Liberal Arts in top 20 according to US News and World Reports
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s): Chinese
GPA: 3.903/4.00
Type of Student: DWF

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 170 (98%)
V: 167 (97%)
W: 4.5 (78%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 750 (71%) (Not sure whether to be happy or sad about that one...)

Program Applying: Applied Math

Research Experience: Did an REU after my junior year that lead into my thesis work. Then did another summer research project after graduation. I've presented at national conferences twice and received awards for both of my presentations, and also did a lot of poster sessions and presentations at my college. Nothing was published though.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Phi Beta Kappa, a few school scholarships, I received an award for being the math major with "most potential to do more math" or something like that my senior year. Two prizes for presentations, and an honorable mention for the MCM

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Worked as a math tutor for my last two years in school, and have been tutoring 1st - 12th graders in various topics in math for over a year

Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Female? I really don't know. I think my recs are going to be pretty good. And my brother went to one of the institutions I am applying for Undergrad and a Masters and was pretty beloved (but in a different department)

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I did Chinese for two summers instead of research? I don't really know.

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
Brown via Website 2/11, Nice Funding (~29000/year + health insurance + student fees) Technically admitted 2/7... Attending
Caltech via email 3/24 It was a nice rejection as rejections go.
Carnegie Mellon via email 3/5 $20,500 for 9 months + opportunities for summer work 3/27 Declined
Cornell via email 3/4
MIT via email 2/13 No surprise
NC State via Email 2/11, Funded (TA) $16000 for 9 month + summer research after first year + health insurance; received $4000 first year fellowship + macbook pro 3/27 Declined
UNC via Email 2/25 (informal), via Website 2/27 (formal) Received second email about receiving fellowship ($22500/ 9months, teaching/research only years 2-4, summer research through department, health insurance, student fees); Declined
Northwestern via email 2/18 said due to lack of funding Offered to put application in MS pool - Declined, was sent a real rejection letter a few days later
RPI via website 1/30 Received TA info 2/24; Received First Year Fellowship $21000 + $7000 summer research grant, afterwards $18500 (I think) TAship; 3/27 Declined
Rutgers submitted
Stony Brook via automated email 3/6 Funded $17500/year I believe; 3/27 Declined
University of Chicago via email 2/05,
University of Washington via email 2/04, Offered admission to Master's - declined

I really don't even know what are reaches and what are obtainable. I'm just hoping I get in and get funding somewhere.

Edit: I did not expect to do this well at all. I guess my recommendations and essays must have been better than I thought.

Edit2: Fun Fact: be careful if you haven't heard from a school for a bit. Two of my schools actually accepted me, but sent the email to the wrong address. Just make sure that if you receive an update from the website, check in with the school. It really messed up my visitation of one of the programs because ALL of my emails went to the wrong person, so I didn't have the opportunity to meet with many faculty members because I didn't request to meet with them... because I didn't get the email telling me to request faculty members to meet with.
Last edited by kailun on Mon Apr 07, 2014 12:17 pm, edited 16 times in total.

lVlathI3oy
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Dec 22, 2013 8:05 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by lVlathI3oy » Sun Dec 22, 2013 8:52 pm

Undergrad Institution: UC Berkeley
Major(s): Applied Math
Minor(s): n/a
GPA: 3.85
Type of Student: domesticated white male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 170 (98%)
V: 163 (91%)
W: 4.5 (78%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 840 (87%)

Program Applying: Applied Math PhD

Research Experience: none
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: High Distinction in General Scholarship + departmental award
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: calc TA for 4 semesters
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: LORs from prominent math professors
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: 1 grad class, working for a year after undergrad

Applying to Where: (all programs are for applied math, PhD)

*Break out the Champagne*
UCLA - Admitted via email on 1/27. $23k/year teaching assistantship. Will attend!!!!!!!!!!
UC Berkeley - Rejected via email on 3/10.
Michigan - Waitlisted ---> Rejected via email on 4/4.
NYU (CAOS) - Admitted via email on 2/10. $27k/year McCrack'n stipend.

*All right, maybe some Gin and Tonic*
UCSD - Waitlisted ---> Rejected via email on 4/15.
UC Davis - Admitted via email on 2/14. $17k/year teaching assistantship.
UC Irvine - Admitted via email on 2/28. $17k/year teaching assistantship.

*In the bag...*
MIT :mrgreen: - Rejected via email on 2/13.

EDIT: Can't wait to attend UCLA. Grad dorm 1 block from In-n-Out, 3 blocks from Five Guys? Son that's what I'm talking about.
Last edited by lVlathI3oy on Wed Apr 16, 2014 4:38 pm, edited 7 times in total.

Mathforlife
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Oct 28, 2013 8:46 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by Mathforlife » Sun Dec 29, 2013 3:42 am

Undergrad Institution: Large state university known for math.
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s): None
GPA: 3.9 Joint B.S./M.A. Degree
Type of Student: DWM

GRE Revised General Test: July 2013
Q: 169 (97%)
V: 170 (99%)
W: 4.5 (78%)

GRE Subject Test in Mathematics: April 2013
M: 840 (87%)

TOEFL Score: N/A

Program Applying: PhD., Pure math - algebra/algebraic topology/algebraic geometry.

Research Experience: Summer REU at my undergrad University resulting in an unpublished paper.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dept highest honors/Summa Cum Laude/Phi Beta Kappa.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Adjunct Lecturer at 2-year college.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Ten grad courses, solid recommendations.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Out of school for a few years.

Applying to Where:

Dream:
Princeton - Rejected 1/24/14 - email
UC Berkeley - Rejected 3/10/14 - email
University of Chicago - Rejected 2/5/14 - email

Reach:
Michigan - Ann Arbor - Rejected 4/4/14 via email
Wisconsin - Madison - Admitted 2/13/14 via email, good funding
Northwestern -Admitted 2/12/14, via email, good funding
UCLA - Admitted 1/27/14 via email, good funding

Match/Safeties:
UCSD - Admitted via email, great funding
UIUC - withdrew application
University of Washington - Seattle - withdrew application

Fellowships:
NSF - Did not qualify.
NDSEG - Applied. Rejected
Last edited by Mathforlife on Thu May 08, 2014 2:49 am, edited 11 times in total.

seanlikesmath
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri Jun 07, 2013 9:37 am

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by seanlikesmath » Tue Jan 07, 2014 11:29 am

Here goes my list:

Undergrad Institution: Midwest "University of X", non flagship
Major(s): BS/BA Math, BA Philosophy
Minor(s): none
GPA: 3.93
Type of Student: Whiter than wonderbread, male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 168 (96%)
V: 167 (97%)
W: 5.0 (93%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics: 660 (52%)

Program Applying: Listed by school. All my apps focus around an application of geometry to medicine.

Research Experience: Indepenent study in Galois Theory, another coming up in computational geometry.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Student Marshall (quivalent to valedictorian), summa cum laude, deans list, medaled in in house math competition
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Grader for some advanced math courses, math tutor on campus and off, GRE prep course instructor
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: 1 grad class done in differential geometry, another coming up in algebraic topology, former national lab employee
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I had terrible grades at my original institution and left without a degree, but that was around 8 years ago. I've been at the current school since 01/2012 and have never gotten anything less than an A-. I'm pretty sure my recommendations are strong, and I've given two talks (one at my school on what I proposed for my NSF fellowship, the other at a high school.) I've had my statement looked over by several people in and out of mathematics and gotten rave reviews. I've also worked as a reasonably high level athletic coach (one student competing internationally, several national medalists) and I'm in my early 30s, if that makes a difference.

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)

Hail Mary

U Chicago - Applied Mathematics Rejected via email, 2/05
Stanford - Applied Mathematics Rejected via email, 1/29

Reach

Johns Hopkins - AMS (Top realistic choice, perfect research fit, the school I selected for the GRFP) Asked on 4/8, informed of rejection.
OSU - Mathematics "Not accepted or placed on waitlist" but my app was held on to in case a spot opened, which sounds like a waitlist, after asking 4/8
Georgia Tech - Mathematics Rejected via email, 2/14
Duke - Mathematics Rejected via email, 2/24 (Told to check website.)
UCSD - Mathematics Rejected via email, 3/7
Illinois - Mathematics Rejected via email, 3/3
Northwestern - ESAM Asked to consider unfunded MS via email, 2/18. Haven't responded in hopes of enough spots opening.
UMD - AMSC
PSU - Mathematics Rejected via email, 4/8.
Rutgers - Mathematics Rejected via website, 3/27 (I checked on my own initiative; they sent nothing.)
UCLA - Biomathematics Waitlisted via email after asking, 4/8
UNC - Mathematics Waitlisted via email, 3/3. Skype interview set up for 3/11 and invited to attend their recruitment event on my dime. Attended the event and this might be even better than UCI. Tough choice if admitted.Told I was "high on the waitlist" on 4/10, but rejected 4/14. Heartbreaker, but life goes on.

Good fit

UC Santa Barbara - Mathematics Rejected via email, 3/18 (Told to check website.)
UGA - Mathematics Informed via email that an offer may be made after 4/15 after I asked, 4/9
UIC - Mathematics Rejected via mail, 4/2
Vanderbilt - Mathematics Rejected via email, 2/21 (Told to check website.)
CU Boulder - Mathematics Rejected via email, 2/14
UC Davis - Applied Mathematics Waitlisted via email after asking (with small chance of getting in) 4/8
NC State - Biomathematics
UC Irvine - MCSB Invited 1/20 for interview on 2/10-11 Accepted via email on 2/25 with just > 30k stipend and a free macbook for first year! The interview was amazing and this is very tempting. ATTENDING!
Wash U in St. Louis - Applied Mathematics and Systems Science Rejected via website 3/14, received notice of impending decision 3/12.
U of Arizona - Applied Mathematics

Safety

UC Riverside - Mathematics
Mizzou - Mathematics Accepted via email on 2/24 with 16.2k TA-Ship!
UC Santa Cruz - Mathematics Rejected via email after asking, 4/9
UT Knoxville - Mathematics Accepted via website check on 2/24, no notification. No mention of funding. Withdrawn 3/3.

Fellowship

NSF GRFP Rejected via email 4/1 G/G, G/G

I know it's a ton of schools, but my only acceptances last year (when I only had 2 semesters of good academic performance, and before any real academic honors) came without money. I figured I would cast a wide net to avoid that happening again and hopefully even snag something that seemed out of reach. If anyone has any commentary, please feel free!

EDIT: This will be updated as I get information.
Last edited by seanlikesmath on Tue Apr 15, 2014 8:25 am, edited 17 times in total.

hectarromano
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2014 2:30 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by hectarromano » Thu Jan 09, 2014 2:57 pm

Deleted
Last edited by hectarromano on Fri Feb 07, 2014 6:57 pm, edited 4 times in total.

yl2868
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri May 24, 2013 12:38 am

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by yl2868 » Fri Jan 10, 2014 3:34 pm

`
Last edited by yl2868 on Tue Mar 25, 2014 9:08 pm, edited 14 times in total.

rmhism
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Jan 10, 2014 3:47 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by rmhism » Fri Jan 10, 2014 4:18 pm

Undergrad Institution:[/b] Public State University with a very small math department
Major(s): Mathematics, Physics
Minor(s):None
GPA: 3.95 (Cumulative), 4.00 (Major)
Type of Student: White Domestic Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 169 (97%)
V: 157 (73%)
W: 4.0 (54%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 900 (97%)

TOEFL Score: N/A

Program Applying: Pure Math-Algebraic and Differential Geometry, Theoretical Physics

Research Experience: REU at Utah: Lie Groups and Riemannian Geometry. Basically a small class with an open problem session afterwards.

General Relativity and Differential Geometry research at home university. Used a lot of Analysis. Most was over my head but I was able to teach myself GR and semi-Riemannian geometry while doing this research. The main problem focused on relating a Riemannian manifold to a given Lorentzian one and coming up with a guide between their two geometries. For instance, how are their Ricci and Riemannian curvatures related, Hausdorf measures, etc. Just describing it can get very technical, very fast.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Several scholarships/awards within my school (Rising Senior Award, etc.)

MASS Merit Fellowship from Penn State

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor for every semester since my second semester of freshman year. Mostly analysis classes: Real Analysis, Vector Analysis, Probability and Statistics, etc.

Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Several graduate classes: Graduate Analysis, Functional Analysis, Algebraic Geometry, Commutative Algebra. Independent studies in Functional Analysis, Riemannian Geometry, Algebraic Topology.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Can't really think of anything.

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
MIT: Rejected (2/13)
Wisconsin-Madison: Accepted (2/13) Teaching Assistantship and extra funding
Chicago: Waitlisted (2/13) and Accepted (4/14) $26.5k/yr and $250/mo health insurance.
CalTech: Rejected (3/13)
Rutgers: Accepted (2/14) Guaranteed support for five years; fellowship for yrs 1,4 and Teaching Assistantship for yrs 2,3,5
Utah: Accepted (2/13) I get a fellowship for $25k my first year and don't have to TA. (Teaching Assistantship, $17k/yr stipend, and Tuition Waiver after 1st year.) They made a mistake with my email.
Vanderbilt: Interview (1/25) - Cancelled Application (2/14)
Stony Brook: Rejected (3/20)
Massachusetts-Amherst Accepted (2/13) $18.8k/yr with no Teaching Duties

Attending: University of Chicago
Last edited by rmhism on Sun Apr 20, 2014 4:53 pm, edited 19 times in total.

Steve
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Jan 10, 2014 7:44 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by Steve » Fri Jan 10, 2014 8:12 pm

Undergrad Institution: Private(School or type of school (such as Big state/Lib Arts/Ivy/Technical/Foreign (Country?))
Major(s): Math, physics
Minor(s):
GPA: 3.9
Type of Student: Domestic, Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 170 (98%)
V: 167 (97%)
W: 5.5 (97%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 860 (90%)

TOEFL Score: N/A

Program Applying: Pure Math/Applied Math/Statistics, all PhD

Research Experience: Physics research and math REU. No publications.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's list, some scholarships.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: N/A
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: N/A
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: No graduate level classes.

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
Caltech - Applied and Computational Mathematics / Rejected 3/24
Brown - Applied Math / Rejected
UCSD - Math / Accepted
Minnesota - Math / Accepted
Wisconsin - Math / Accepted
Carnegie Mellon - Math / Accepted
Washington - Math / Rejected/waitlisted
Vanderbilt - Math / Accepted
UChicago - Statistics / Rejected
Last edited by Steve on Wed Mar 26, 2014 7:22 pm, edited 2 times in total.

acjzqy
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Jan 12, 2014 12:20 am

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by acjzqy » Sun Jan 12, 2014 12:39 am

Undergrad Institution: Big state
Major(s):Mathematics BA and Economics BS
Minor(s):
GPA:4.00/4.00
Type of Student: International Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 167(95%)
V: 145(24%)
W: 3.0 (14%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M:Will take it on April

TOEFL Score:N/A
Program Applying: Pure Math
Research Experience: One-year honors thesis research on nonlinear ODE, will publish a paper later this year
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Highest academic achievement award within the department, essay contest award, dean's list
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: N/A
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: 3 grad classes with 2 A+, strong letters,
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
Cambridge - M.A.St. in Pure Mathematics, Admitted (12.24) / Accepted! will attend!
Oxford - MSc in Mathematics and CS, Pending
Imperial College - MSc in Pure Mathematics, Pending

Elanicus
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Jan 12, 2014 9:30 am

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by Elanicus » Sun Jan 12, 2014 9:49 am

Undergrad Institution: Big State
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s):
GPA: 3.92
Type of Student: Domestic almost-white male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 167 (95%)
V: 163 (91%)
W: 5.5 (97%) (I lucked out and got a topic that I knew very well.)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 750 (71%) (All of my practice tests were way higher...I think I ran out of juice right before the test. :/)

Program Applying: Pure Math

Research Experience: An REU...that went a bit sour. Mutual hate between me and my advisor, and so forth.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: A departmental scholarship that's not given to too many people, and the standard "you did absurdly well in high school" free ride scholarship. Plus, I got a 30 on the Putnam.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: I joined Math Club...because they have free pizza at every meeting.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: I strongly said that I want to work in Harmonic Analysis. Also, I was double majoring in Electrical Engineering...until the last design class came along. (I was spending 60 hours a week on that class, and I was failing!) So I know a lot of programming and engineering science.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I've not had a few "standard" math classes, but I've mentioned that I've read books related to them. Also, I took the standard grad courses (2 semesters of Algebra and Analysis) plus a Diff. Geo course and a Fourier Analysis course. And of course, straight As in Math courses.

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)

Not Happening:
Cornell Rejected, naturally.
University of Wisconsin - Madison Rejected. Looks like I got binned immediately. No surprise here.
UIUC Rejected. It seems like they took my application more seriously, so I feel a bit proud of that.
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities No response.

More Realistic:
Purdue Accepted, Offer of ~$14500 after tuition for Assistantship.Attending. I'm happy with this.
Rice Waitlisted...but Rice was lower on my list than Purdue, so I told them to consider someone else. Houston's too hot for my tastes. :p
Vanderbilt They offered me an interview...which I turned down. Again, Purdue was higher on my list than Vanderbilt.

Surefire:
Current institution Accepted: one of the professors came up to me and said "Expect an acceptance letter this week." Offer of ~$20K after tuition...It's tempting, for sure.

Afterthoughts:
It seems that I had very realistic expectations of what I could get, which is...rare. Rejected from all of my reach schools, at least some positive response from everywhere I thought was possible. Very nice.

I worked myself into a hole for the GRE, and I was dealing with a hellish design course while studying for it. So, I didn't do as well as I could have. However, I did well enough; for some reason, Purdue took me.

It seems like there were two major driving factors regarding my acceptances: I was driven to study on my own, and I showed to my letter writers that I can push myself very, very hard (they all saw me deal with that design course. They saw the effects of long-term sleep deprivation in me. They know when you're almost killing yourself for it and when you're not.)

I got instantly binned from some of the canonically great places...and I expected that. I honestly feel a little silly wasting the money on applying to those sorts of places...but I can't regret it too much. If I got into everywhere I applied, I'd feel like I was selling myself short/like I deserved better. So, knowing that I deserve exactly as good as I got...makes me feel good.

I think I would've skipped applying for Cornell if I could do this again. I knew that application was going to be trash when I sent it in; I shouldn't've bothered blowing the ~$150 on application fees/sending scores/etc. Probably should've applied to a "nice weather" place like Boulder, so that I could've actually weighed my options a little more.

So, as advice to those following me:
1) Y'know those people who tell you not to push yourself too hard? Screw 'em. I worked myself mad and it worked out better than not working myself mad.
2) Apparently my GRE score is good enough.
3) Study math things other than your classes. It shows drive/initiative/"I WANT THIS"-ish-ness.
4) Speed-type math contests (think Math Jeopardy and Integration Bee) are nothing. Nobody cares that you're fast and know lots of tricks. The Putnam is a lot better, and if you think you can score strongly, then pursue it (it certainly put me in nicer spots).
5) Even mediocre research trumps math contests. Really! My REU totally flopped, and it seems to have helped me about as much as an excellent score on the Putnam. It seems they don't actually call the people who run the REUs at some places, haha.
Last edited by Elanicus on Mon Apr 14, 2014 7:21 pm, edited 13 times in total.

S_Dimitrov
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2012 7:49 am

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by S_Dimitrov » Sat Jan 18, 2014 7:09 am

Undergrad Institution: Sofia university, Bulgaria Major(s): Computer science
GPA: 3.91 , 4-Math
Graduate Institution: Sofia university, Bulgaria Major(s): Probability ans Statistics [Masters]
GPA: 4.00
Type of Student: International, Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 167 (95%)
V: 146 (28%)
W: 2 (02%) :oops: :oops:
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 770 (75%)

TOEFL Score: (87 = R23/L24/S20/W20) (if applicable)

Program Applying: (Pure Math/Applied Math), Combinatorics

Research Experience: One paper in preparation, related to Ramsey theory, Two REUs, last two summers, in Rennes, France- game theory and stochastic optimization(in the context of Smart Grids)- another paper in preparation,
A small paper on Enumerative combinatorics, in a local journal without Impact factor.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: IMC- Honorable mention, Balkan olympiad for students- bronze medal,
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA- 5 different courses- Discrete math, Calculus, Statistics, Design and analysis of algorithms, Information theory, Three months work as a software developer.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Participated in a Short course on Random graphs, of London Mathematical society.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Recommendation from one well-known professor in Combinatorics.(the other two are on average level).


Applying to Where:

Michigan Ann Arbor
CMU - ACO
Rutgers

User avatar
Gasquet
Posts: 237
Joined: Thu Nov 15, 2012 5:00 am

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by Gasquet » Sat Jan 18, 2014 8:17 am

Will edit for the full profile later.

Program Applying: Applied(Computational) Math PhD

Applying to Where:
Snowball's chance in hell:
UT Austin CSEM : didn't hear back
Caltech CMS : didn't hear back

Blind man throwing darts:
Northwestern ESAM : Rejected 2/20
Illinois Urbana-Champaign Math: didn't hear back
Purdue CCAM : didn't hear back
Michigan AIM : didn't hear back
Arizona Applied Math : didn't hear back
Arizona State Applied Math : Accepted 2/4, No word on funding

The only safety for the conquered is to expect no safety:
NC State Math (CMA) : didn't hear back
IIT Applied Math : Interview 2/5 Accepted(Unofficial) 2/13
Last edited by Gasquet on Thu Feb 20, 2014 6:16 pm, edited 2 times in total.

poorasian
Posts: 35
Joined: Wed Nov 13, 2013 2:22 am

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by poorasian » Sat Jan 18, 2014 3:47 pm

Gasquet, what are you interested in working on at IIT?

Nikita92
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Jan 19, 2014 9:02 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by Nikita92 » Sun Jan 19, 2014 10:29 pm

Undergrad Institution: Tiny Liberal Arts College
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s): None
GPA: 4.0
Type of Student: Filipino-American Female

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 168 (96%)
V: 154 (62%)
W: 5.5 (97%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 560 (26%)

Program Applying: Pure Mathematics

Research Experience: I have attended two REUs. One on graph theory, resulted in presenting at three national conference; The second on semi-group theory, resulting in a published paper and presentations at two national conferences.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Sigma Zeta; Phi Kappa Phi;
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TAing Calc I and Linear Algebra this semester
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Taking a few graduate level courses; worked with a fairly famous mathematician very closely at my second REU.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Interested in working in outreach programs

Applying to Where:

SUPER REACH:
Duke - Pure math / Rejected via email
Cal Tech - Pure math / Rejected via email
Dartmouth - Pure math / Rejected via email on 2/10
UW - Seattle - Pure math / Rejected via email

REACH:
UIUC - Pure math / Rejected via email
Vanderbilt - Pure math / Rejected via email on 2/21
Rice - Pure math / Rejected via email
UCSB - Pure math / Rejected via email
Wash U - STL - Pure math / Accepted with TA position via email on 3/14(ish)
UC - Boulder - Pure math / Accepted with TA position via email on 2/4 ATTENDING

REALISTIC:
University of Nebraska at Lincoln - Pure math / Accepted with TA position via email on 2/12
Last edited by Nikita92 on Mon May 19, 2014 5:00 pm, edited 7 times in total.

rmg123
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Jan 19, 2014 9:58 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by rmg123 » Sun Jan 19, 2014 10:30 pm

Undergrad Institution: Small Liberal Arts College in Minnesota. Strong math program.
Major(s): Math, Physics, Economics
GPA: 3.97//4.0 Each major is 4.0
Type of Student: Domestic white female

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 165 (95%)
V: 160 (86%)
W: 5 (93%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 590 (34%) I was not expecting this... every practice test was well into the 60th percentile and upward.


Program Applying: Applied Math

Research Experience:
Two years of geophysics research (on an NSF funded project) at my school. Resulted in poster at national conference and a paper that has been accepted to a peer reviewed journal.Summer program for women in math this past summer.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Phi Beta Kappa, Omicron Delta Epsilon, Sigma Pi Sigma, Pi Mu Epsilon. Top merit scholarship at school. Large physics scholarship.

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
Learning consultant (glorified tutor), physics TA, math TA. Sing in choir. Volunteer at high school.

Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help:
Very interdisciplinary coursework. One well known recommender from Physics.

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Studied abroad in Scotland for a semester.

I guess the hardest thing for me is to get a feel for what my chances actually are for these programs. My professors seem very optimistic, but I am not so much. I also have a two body problem, which adds a whole other layer to stress. Luckily, my fiance has already gotten into five of these schools for a Chemistry phd (and his grades were not as good as mine and a Chem gre of 39th percentile)! I wish math was as fast as chem for getting back to people.

Applying to Where:
School - University of Minnesota -Twin Cities (math) Admitted! First year fellowship as well. $24000 plus $8000 to TA. Declined Offer.
School - University of Wisconsin - Madison (math) Admitted! Guaranteed TAship plus funding for this summer and next summer Declined offer.
School - University of Chicago (applied math) Rejected. Bummer.
School - University of Washington (applied math) Admitted! Fantastic funding. Declined offer.
School - University of Arizona (applied math) Invited to visit and then recommended for admission. $16800 half TA half Fellowship. Declined offer.
School - Northwestern University (Engineering Sciences and applied math)-Admitted with full (and very good) funding! $2900 a month (fellowship) plus $7000 scholarship. Attending!!
School - University of Michigan (AIM)
School - University of Colorado-Boulder (applied math) Informal acceptance by email from grad director! Fully funded plus chance for fellowships! $16800 TAship plus $7500 fellowship for first two years. Declined offer.
School - Stanford University (math)- Rejected by email 1/19/13. Expected due to low Math GRE Score.
School- University of California-Berkeley (math)- Rejected. No surprise here.
Last edited by rmg123 on Sun Apr 06, 2014 4:33 pm, edited 10 times in total.

Pink Floyd
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2009 5:04 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by Pink Floyd » Mon Jan 20, 2014 4:04 pm

Undergrad Institution: A good foreign university
Major(s): B.Sc. in Pure Mathematics
Minor(s):
GPA: 3.0 (It's a fantastic GPA for Math students in my country)
Grad Institution: A good foreign university
Major(s): M.Sc. in Mathematical Analysis
Minor(s):
GPA: 3.25
Type of Student: International , Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 156 (65%)
V: 142 (18%)
W: 3.0 (14%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 580 (31%) Believe me I know some math, this score doesn't show my knowledge in math.

TOEFL Score: (98 = R26/L23/S23/W26)

Program Applying: Pure Math, Mathematical Analysis

Research Experience:
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: (Within your school or outside?)
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Such as tutor, TA, etc...) I am a Math lecturer at university, around a decade, well-experienced in teaching Analysis and Complex Functions.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: My references do like me, and said they've written solid letters of recommendation, hope they do :D
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where:

Hopeful - :D

University of Missouri - Pure Math / Waitlisted / Withdrew
University of Kansas - Pure Math / Admitted on 3/1/2014 vial email. Declined
CEU Central European University - Pure Math / Waitlisted on 3/1/2014 vial email. Withdrew
University of Kentucky - Pure Math / Waitlisted on 2/24/2014 vial email. Withdrew
ETH Switzerland - Pure Math / Withdrew
Tulane University - Pure Math / Rejected via email on 2/24/2014.
Wesleyan University - Pure Math / Withdrew
Oklahoma State University - Pure Math / Admitted informed through an official email on 3/19/2014. TA-ship $16k/yr, health insurance and 1k fellowship for first year. No teaching duties first semester. Will Attend! :D . I have a close friend there, so I declined the other offer and withdrew the universities where I hadn't heard back. (didn't report GRE General nor Subject scores)

Reasonablel -

University of Tennessee--Knoxville - Pure Math / Admitted informed through an official email on 1/15/2014, no words of TA so far. They will make their decision on funding in March.Withdrew They are notoriously famous for offering admission without funding.
University of Rhode Island - Pure Math / Never heard back.
Wayne State University - Pure Math / Rejected via email on 3/4/2014
Drexel University - Pure Math / Withdrew
Kent State University - Pure Math / Rejected via email on 2/13/2014, My first rejection, but there are some other I am hopeful about.
Baylor University - Pure Math / Rejected via email on 3/18/2014.
LSU - Pure Math / Rejected via email on 4/4/2014

P.S. (on March 21): Applying to a dozen of out-of-ranked universities doesn't mean you will end up with an admission. For International fellow applicants:
1. Your score on Speaking part of iBT is of great import to your success, so take it seriously.
2. Do not waste your time corresponding emails with faculty members.
3. Try to apply to universities with big programs (Public Universities), you know, applying to some Private Universities with very limited spots for Int. applicants just wasting your money.
4. As far as I know Northwestern University is very difficult-to-reach university for Int. applicants.
5. Best Luck with Your Application.
Last edited by Pink Floyd on Thu May 01, 2014 8:23 am, edited 15 times in total.

l0019
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat Dec 07, 2013 4:31 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by l0019 » Fri Jan 24, 2014 9:10 am

Pink Floyd wrote: University of Tennessee - Pure Math / Admitted informed through an official email on Jan. 15, no words of TA so far. I hope to get TA due to my years of teaching experience
Is this UT Knoxville PhD? When did you apply?

Pink Floyd
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2009 5:04 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by Pink Floyd » Fri Jan 24, 2014 3:26 pm

l0019 wrote:
Pink Floyd wrote: University of Tennessee - Pure Math / Admitted informed through an official email on Jan. 15, no words of TA so far. I hope to get TA due to my years of teaching experience
Is this UT Knoxville PhD? When did you apply?
Yes, It's UTK. I submitted my application on December 20.

catallus
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Jan 25, 2014 1:34 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by catallus » Sun Jan 26, 2014 8:22 pm

Undergrad Institution: Large Private University in Top 30
Major(s): Archaeology and Geology
GPA: 3.91
Type of Student: Domestic Asian Female

Since I'm trying to effect an early-career change, my math coursework has mostly been completed at...
Postbacc Institution: A Cal State Campus
GPA: 4.00

Old GRE General Test:
Q: 750 (89%)
V: 780 (99%)
W: 4.0 (44%) :|
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics: didn't take it

Program Applying: Master's Programs in Math

Research Experience: A few semesters of archaeological research including school-wide symposium honors, but nothing published or at the national level. My senior thesis was in earth sciences and included MATLAB data analysis.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: No math awards; merit scholarships, Phi Beta Kappa, department award in earth sciences, honors programs at first university
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Currently tutoring math
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Female?
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: My math background was extremely sporadic during my undergraduate years (including a couple of dropped classes), as I didn't have the confidence to pursue a math major at the time. After working a while as a consulting geologist for an environmental firm, I decided to finish up analysis, algebra, etc. at a local state school which, unfortunately, has none of the cachet of my original institution. LORs are probably blandly positive.

Hopeful Matches:
Colorado State University, Fort Collins - M.S. in Math - admitted early March, no funding
Miami University in Ohio - M.S. in Math - admitted with full tuition waiver of $30K + $15K stipend 2/13/14--attending!
Wake Forest University - M.A. in Math - admitted late February with 85% tuition remission. They sounded really nice in my phone interview and perhaps would be a better pathway to the PhD given that Wake Forest is ranked #23 among national universities. However, I had no time to visit so if I ended up hating it here, it would be a $30,000 mistake. I'd rather get paid by Miami to make the same mistake
University College Dublin - Higher Diploma - conditionally admitted 2/1/14 (depends on final transcripts)

Also, I specifically limited my search to funded master's programs without a subject GRE requirement since my preparation wasn't adequate. EDIT: The Irish school is not funded

Post-op: I am thrilled, almost to the point of being shocked, with my results. The schools which accepted me may not seem like anything to write home about, but I literally had one semester of real analysis under my belt at the time of application plus the lower division calc series. Taking classes at a Cal State was a risky move--had I entered the postbacc at Columbia University instead (which I had actually saved up for while working), my preparation in the fundamentals would probably have been much stronger. However, because almost no one at my school is planning to pursue graduate studies in math, I believe my teacher was able to write things like "top x percent of her class." I would've undoubtedly been squashed by stronger competitors at a school with research focus.

Another point I made was to emphasize my passion for communicating mathematics in my personal statement. The cloistering of math away from the lay public is salient enough, in this country at least, that admissions committees may have been intrigued by this aspect of my application. I've dabbled in investigative journalism and science writing before, so I'm hoping to do something like an AAAS fellowship in the future.
Last edited by catallus on Mon Apr 28, 2014 10:31 pm, edited 3 times in total.

poorasian
Posts: 35
Joined: Wed Nov 13, 2013 2:22 am

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by poorasian » Mon Jan 27, 2014 1:34 am

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Last edited by poorasian on Thu Feb 20, 2014 3:50 am, edited 1 time in total.

Ryker
Posts: 74
Joined: Mon Jul 08, 2013 11:27 pm

Re: 2014 Applicant Profiles and Admission Results

Post by Ryker » Mon Jan 27, 2014 3:20 am

poorasian wrote:I thought UK schools didn't offer funding for their non-Ph.D. programs to international students?
Dublin is in Ireland.



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