2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Forum for the GRE subject test in mathematics.
Channing
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Sep 16, 2017 1:51 pm

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by Channing » Wed Feb 21, 2018 2:51 am

Undergrad Institution: Foreign university, not well-known
Major(s):Mathematics
GPA:91.8/100
Type of Student: International Asian Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 168 (94%)
V: 153 (61%)
W: 3.5 (42%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 870 (90%)

TOEFL Score: (109 = R29/L30/S23/W27)

Program Applying: Pure Math

Research Experience: One published paper and one submitted, both on functional analysis
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: N/A
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: RA in a Canadian university for 3 months
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: N/A
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: N/A

Applying to Where:
University of California- Berkley - PhD Rejected on 22/02
New York University - PhD Rejected on 12/04 (offered master)
University of Wisconsin-Madison - PhD Waitlisted on 14/02; Rejected on 23/03
University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign - PhD Waitlisted on 28/02
Pennsylvania State University-University Park - Phd Admitted on 21/02, 25k stipend
Purdue University-West Lafayette - PhD Rejected on 11/04
Texas A&M University-College Station - PhD Pending
Vanderbilt University - PhD Admitted on 23/02, 26k stipend
Last edited by Channing on Wed Apr 11, 2018 10:50 pm, edited 6 times in total.

lehoangminh2195
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Oct 13, 2017 11:01 am

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by lehoangminh2195 » Fri Feb 23, 2018 11:49 pm

Undergrad Institution: Small univ in Asia
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s): None
GPA: 3.71
Type of Student: International

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 166 (91%)
V: 138 (8%)
W: 2.5 (8%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 790 (77%)

TOEFL Score: 90(S=22,R=24,L=22,W=22)

Program Applying: Pure Math Ph.D (PDEs and Sobolev spaces)

Research Experience: Not thing big.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Nothing worth mentioning
LORs: from 2 US professors and another from Australia professor.

Applying to Where:

Michigan State Univ- Admitted
Lousiana State Univ- Admitted (Lunar new year)
Pittsburgh Univ - Interview (24/2/2018)- accepted- decline

Wisconsin Madison - Rejected

CMU - pending
Indiana Bloomington - rejected
Gatech - pending
PSU - rejected
UTK- admitted :roll:
UCSD- rejected(24/2/2018) :cry:
UCI - pending
TAMU -pending
Virginia - pending.

I have heard that many universities may not send rejected letters. So how can we know whether we are rejected? Thank!
Last edited by lehoangminh2195 on Tue Mar 20, 2018 1:48 am, edited 3 times in total.

kstubbs216
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Feb 23, 2018 6:08 pm

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by kstubbs216 » Fri Mar 02, 2018 6:30 pm

Undergrad Institution: UG: Small Public Liberal Arts, Grad: Medium Public Liberal Arts
Major(s): Pure Mathematics
Minor(s): None
GPA: UG: 2.1, Grad: 3.5
Type of Student: DWF, First Generation

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 170
V: 152
W: 3.5
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 680 (55%)

Program Applying: Mathematics

Research Experience: No Publications, but have presented at many conferences. I currently have 3 research projects going, with one being my Master's Thesis.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: None
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: I've tutored in math labs all through school. I am now teaching a College Algebra course at my grad school
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Will have my Master's in May and I have connections with POI at BU and Santa Cruz.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: My research is in Celestial Mechanics so I had few, namely 4, options for PhD Programs.

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
Worcester Polytechnic Institute - Math PhD / Rejected on (3/20)
Boston University - Applied Math PhD / Rejected on (3/26)
UC Santa Cruz - Math PhD / Admitted via email, TA: $20,652, tuition waiver, and health insurance (3/6) Funded visit (4/11-4/15) Attending!
Northeastern - Math PhD / Rejected (5/30)
Last edited by kstubbs216 on Wed May 30, 2018 2:56 pm, edited 10 times in total.

badatmath
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Mar 06, 2018 2:03 pm

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by badatmath » Tue Mar 06, 2018 2:27 pm

Undergrad Institution: University of California
Major(s): Pure Mathematics
Minor(s): Philosophy
GPA: 3.3 (Major 2.9)
Type of Student: Domestic, Asian Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 160
V: 151
W: 4.5
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 540 (Not submitting besides UCSD)

Program Applying: Mathematics PhD (Topology) [with the exception of 2 master's program]

Research Experience: None whatsoever, not even an REU or Reading course
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: None
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: I've private tutored many people in Calculus and I am an online tutor for math on various websites. Worked in a pharmacy lab for a quarter helping out with developing a mathematics formula.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Taken 4 grad courses at the time of applying, currently enrolled in 2, and will be taking 1 more Spring quarter. (Algebraic Topology, Lie Groups, Differential Geometry, Topics course in Algebra, Applied Math course)
Did pretty poorly at the beginning when I entered college, due to a life issue out of my control. Didn't start improving my grades until this year. As a result I've received poor marks on my fundamental pure math courses (Abstract Algebra and Analysis). Hopefully they will notice that I gotten good grades in my graduate courses though (Mostly A's with 1 B+)
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Received funding to attend a Topology conference

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
San Jose State University (Master's)
UCSD (Master's) (3/10- emailed at midnight)
LSU- Rejected (2/27)
Claremont University- Rejected (3/2)
Uni. of Alabama- Birmingham- Rejected (2/28)
SUNY- Binghampton- Rejected (2/2)
Uni. of North Carolina- Charlotte- Rejected (3/6)

Wesleyan University
West Virginia University- Accepted to Master's w/o funding (Acceptance came in mail 3/12)
Uni. of Wisconsin- Milwaukee
UC Riverside
George Washington University- Accepted w/o Funding (1/31)
Last edited by badatmath on Tue Mar 13, 2018 4:18 am, edited 1 time in total.

MegaZeroX
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Mar 11, 2018 4:44 pm

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by MegaZeroX » Sun Mar 11, 2018 5:11 pm

Undergrad Institution: Small Liberal Arts College that no one has ever heard of
Major(s): Computer Science
Minor(s): General Math and Professional Communication
GPA: 3.77
Type of Student: Domestic White Male

GRE Revised General Test: 330
Q: 164 (87%)
V: 166 (97%)
W: 4.0 (60%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics: N/A
M: N/A (Don't need for CS Theory)

TOEFL Score: N/A

Program Applying: Theoretical Computer Science/Machine Learning

Research Experience: 1 Undergraduate first author paper, unpublished. Presented at an undergraduate conference, and did research during work shop sessions at a math conference over the summer 2017 (no paper).
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: 6 semesters of president's list, 1 semester of deans list, awarded a CS scholarship for academic excellence
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Fellow of the department. TAed 6 classes and tutored dozens of students in both 1 on 1 and groups. Competed with programming team and made it to regional ICPC finals in the Northeast.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: I have a good relationship with all my LoR writers (coming from a small university). One let me view and edit the letter and it was outstanding.

Applying to Where:
Reach Reach
Cornell - CS Theory: Rejected on February 8th
University of Washington - CS Theory: Rejected on February 9th

Reach
University of Southern California - CS Theory: Accepted on March 6th. TAship. $32,000 a year
Duke - CS Theory: Pending. Probably rejected, since grad cafe says they are done accepting.

Match
Boston University - Machine Learning: Accepted on March 2nd. RA/TAship. $11000 a semester.
University of Oregon - Machine Learning: Rejected on February 24th. Professor who said he didn't have any room this year.
University of California Merced - CS Theory: Accepted on February 20th after an interview on February 8th. RAship for 2 years, followed by either TAship or more RAship. $19,500 a year.

paarthsaarthi
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Mar 07, 2018 1:13 am

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by paarthsaarthi » Sat Mar 24, 2018 2:20 am

Deleted!
Last edited by paarthsaarthi on Fri Apr 20, 2018 2:01 am, edited 12 times in total.

grahamsp
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Mar 27, 2018 6:03 pm

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by grahamsp » Tue Mar 27, 2018 7:18 pm

Undergrad Institution: Medium University in NC
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s): None
GPA: Cumulative: 3.82, Math: 3.77
Type of Student: Domestic Male

Graduate Institution: Same Medium University in NC (M.A. Mathematics)
Major(s): Mathematics
GPA: Cumulative: 3.77, Math: 3.77
Type of Student: Domestic Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 164 (87%)
V: 152 (56%)
W: 4.0 (60%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 620 (42%)

Program Applying: Mathematics PhD

Research Experience: Nothing special
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Chancellors Lists, Phi Kappa Phi, Comap Modeling contest award
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Lots of tutoring experience, 3 semesters of T.A. experience (1 semester Instructor of Record), Good relationships with my recommenders
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help:
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I had 2 years off between undergrad and grad school working at a bike shop and a bakery :)

Applying to Where:
University of Tennessee in Knoxville - Waiting
University of Georgia in Athens - Waiting
University of Kentucky in Lexington - Accepted! 22k/year T.A.
University of Virginia in Charlottesville - Rejected 3/30
NC State University in Raleigh - Waiting
Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA - Waiting
Last edited by grahamsp on Mon Apr 09, 2018 8:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

xyzz
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2018 5:36 pm

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by xyzz » Mon Apr 02, 2018 3:01 pm

Undergrad Institution: Foreign public research
Major(s): Math
Minor(s): Physics
GPA: 3.88
Type of Student: International, female

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 160 (76%)
V: 165 (96%)
W: 4.5 (82%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 600 (37%) (yeah, I know... there are some mitigating circumstances, but still, I totally bombed it)

TOEFL Score: 117 = R30/L30/S27/W30

Program Applying: Pure Math PhD

Research Experience: Bachelor's thesis, currently working on Master's thesis
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: don't think so
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: tutoring and grading for calculus, linear algebra, differential geometry
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: I assume, strong LORs; took some advanced grad classes, some much earlier than recommended
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: put a lot of sweat into transitioning from another degree & career into mathematics; my research interest is in geometry

Applying to Where:
Georgia Tech - Admitted (01/20) (!!) with TAship + tuition waiver - ATTENDING!
University of Connecticut - Admitted (02/01) with TAship + tuition waiver
North Carolina State - Waitlisted (02/05) - Admitted (03/02) with TAship + tuition waiver + health insurance
Duke - Rejected (02/09)
University of Utah - Waitlisted (02/10)
Utah State - Admitted (02/16) with TAship + tuition waiver + some health insurance, nominated for fellowship
UNC Chapel Hill - Pending (04/02) (probably rejected)

Musicbears
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Feb 13, 2018 3:00 pm

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by Musicbears » Tue Apr 17, 2018 3:23 pm

curvature-form wrote:Undergrad Institution: Well known school
Major(s): Computer Science BSc, Mathematics MSc
Minor(s):
GPA: 3.6
Type of Student: Domestic, Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 158 (80%)
V: 165 (89%)
W: 4.5 (82%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 720 (64%)

TOEFL Score: Not applicable.

Program Applying: Pure Math / Applied Math

Research Experience: Two years of research in applied mathematics and differential geometry. Submitting our research for publication this month.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: N/A
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for introductory proof based mathematics course. Several software engineering internships.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: 18 graduate courses in mathematics (mostly analysis -- harmonic analysis, functional analysis, PDE, geometry, Sobolev and BV spaces, optimal transportation, etc. / some category theory and homological algebra, and nonlinear optimization). Recommendation letters from very well known professors.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: N/A

Applying to Where:
Princeton - Pure Math - Rejected on 1/30
Columbia - Pure Math - Rejected on 2/5
UT Austin - Pure Math - Accepted on 2/7
MIT - Pure Math - Accepted on 2/8
MIT - EECS - Accepted on 2/7
UCLA - Pure Math - Accepted on 1/19
UC Davis - Applied Math - Accepted on 1/19
NYU - Pure Math - Accepted on 2/7
University of Chicago - Pure Math - Rejected on 2/8
Caltech - ACM - Accepted on 2/26
Carnegie Mellon University - Pure Math - Accepted on 2/21
Duke - Applied Math - Rejected on 2/9
Brown - Applied Math - Accepted on 2/8
Wow very impressive! Where are you attending out of all these amazing choices?

Musicbears
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Feb 13, 2018 3:00 pm

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by Musicbears » Tue Apr 17, 2018 3:32 pm

paarthsaarthi wrote:Undergrad Institution: Big Indian (but not known for Mathematics) and big UK (well-known for Mathematics)
Major(s): Mathematics (Geometry and Topology)
Minor(s):
GPA:
Type of Student: International(Indian), Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 164
V: 156
W: 3.5
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 680 (55%) (October 2013)

TOEFL Score: (101 = R27/L25/S24/W25) (if applicable)

Program Applying: Geometric Group Theory: Mapping Class Groups, Teichmuller Theory, etc. Flat Structures and Moduli.

Research Experience: One master's thesis, several undergraduate projects, two presentations, no published works.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: NSO Silver Medal, NBHM MA/MSc Scholarship, several research fellowships
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: NTT assistant professor at home institution
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: advanced applicant, broad range of knowledge and focussed interest.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Ordinary recommendations, big people though.

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
UIUC ! - Waitlisted (27/02/2018) rejected (13/04/2018)
LSU - Waitlisted (27/02/2018) Accepted with 22k TAship (16/04/2018)
GaTech ! - Rejected (13/02/2018)
UCSB - Rejected (06/02/2018)
Suny at Buffalo ! - Rejected (19/03/2018)
Tufts - Rejected (19/03/2018)
Vanderbilt ! - Rejected (23/03/2018)
CUNY ! - Pending on (24/03/2018) - Never heard back
BostonC ! - Pending on (24/03/2018) - Never heard back
SUNY Binghamton ! -Pending on (24/03/2018) - Rejected (crazy morons! They told me that I'm a very advanced and dedicated student and won't like the environment at SUNY Binghamton.)
Oklahoma -Pending on (24/03/2018) - Never heard back !
SUNY Albany - Pending on (24/03/2018) - Rejected (16/04/2018)
Arkansas ! - Pending on (24/03/2018) - Accepted w 14,600 TA (16/04/2018)


! = potential match of research interest.
I have assumed that I have been rejected from the universities I have never heard back. I decided to post this as I felt that being an international candidate I have been misled by the data on the forum. Since I have a good friendship with many well-known mathematicians, for the sake of future international candidate, I would like to talk about certain realities. First that the university's claim that all candidates are given equal opportunity is a bluff - not because that they are partial but because of the difference in education system which makes it much easier for US undergraduates to get into US grad program (it shouldn't surprise anyone). Second, that your personal statement is very important is also a bluff (but that doesn't mean that you should be sloppy.) Third 'your recommendation is the most important part of your application' is another bluff (I would suggest a blog by Igor Pak if you don't believe me.) What is the most important thing is your undergraduate institution. So, if you want to go to a good grad school then you should consider it four years before you apply. But, if you are here reading this then most probably you have already spent most of your undergraduate years. So, let me write a final remark - the best idea is to grab it from wherever you get it - you just need one place. Since, we are not living in the Gottingen era, but in the pragmatic world where success generate success. Your good grades in school would help you to get in to good undergraduate programs, and an active life (e.g. REU) will help you to get in to a good graduate programs. What next? May be it also help you in good post-doc, but what next? Here's an excerpt from an interview of J. P. Serre: "When I was in college, the journals were full of researches in Topology which made me so scared of my own ability. Most of these are forgotten now; they deserved so." (Not the exact words) So, just take a look around, and you would found a number of well-known mathematician from average grad programs, and you won't find a trace of many graduates of Princeton, MIT, etc. Life is the second most complicated dynamical systems I have ever come across. Good Luck to those people who got into some grad program. Have a nice mathematical journey ahead.
I think the recommendations still play an incredible role in our applicatipns. I come from a top 100 big state school not known for math and got into what is now ranked #2 graduate program for pure math. If it wasn't for my recommendations, I'm sure I wouldn't be going to where I am. I understand what you mean by success generates success, but I definitely think that there are exceptions. I had really good numbers gpa(4.0) and Mgre (97%ile) wise, but I think what got me into top programs was certainly my recommendations. I have heard that internationals have a lot more difficult time getting into US grad programs, even the ones with 97 percentile Mgre...

paarthsaarthi
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Mar 07, 2018 1:13 am

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by paarthsaarthi » Wed Apr 18, 2018 3:52 pm

.
Last edited by paarthsaarthi on Thu Apr 19, 2018 1:12 am, edited 2 times in total.

lambert
Posts: 65
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2017 7:41 am

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by lambert » Wed Apr 18, 2018 7:09 pm

paarthsaarthi wrote:At the same time, the mathematical environment at Glasgow and Bristol is no less than that of Stanford, or MIT
lol, come on son.

Rise
Posts: 73
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2016 6:48 pm

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by Rise » Wed Apr 18, 2018 8:12 pm

paarthsaarthi wrote: that's why went on applying places despite I had no intention to go there (as I'm already doing my PhD from Max Planck Institue).
Post proof

paarthsaarthi
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Mar 07, 2018 1:13 am

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by paarthsaarthi » Thu Apr 19, 2018 1:34 am

lambert wrote:
paarthsaarthi wrote:At the same time, the mathematical environment at Glasgow and Bristol is no less than that of Stanford, or MIT
lol, come on son.
The best idea is that I shouldn't make a comparision, but what I can say that the mathematical environment at UK universities is entirely different. Same is true for European universities, they are different from UK either. I don't know how should I put it, but if you have read Hardy's lecture of "Waring's Conjecture" he talks about the difference in the mathematical tradition in UK, and in Germany and France. Well, it's this kind of thing I'm talking about. What you like might depend up on your mathematical upbringing, I like the environment at IMJ-PRG better than I did at Cambridge. However, I'm sure that majority of Indian students will like US environment better. Onlympiad and competition culture could never catch on in UK, France, and Germany. If you want to see that, just compare the question papers (graduate level) of Cambridge/Warwick/Oxford with that of IMJ-PRG/ Paris-Sud and Stanford/MIT (I'm afraid that it will work with Princeton and Courant though.)

djysyed
Posts: 359
Joined: Sat Oct 28, 2017 9:59 pm

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by djysyed » Thu Apr 19, 2018 1:45 am

paarthsaarthi wrote:
lambert wrote:
paarthsaarthi wrote:At the same time, the mathematical environment at Glasgow and Bristol is no less than that of Stanford, or MIT
lol, come on son.
I don't know how should I put it, but if you have read Hardy's lecture of "Waring's Conjecture" he talks about the difference in the mathematical tradition in UK, and in Germany and France.
Wasn't this 100 years ago?

paarthsaarthi
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Mar 07, 2018 1:13 am

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by paarthsaarthi » Thu Apr 19, 2018 3:37 am

I don't know how should I put it, but if you have read Hardy's lecture of "Waring's Conjecture" he talks about the difference in the mathematical tradition in UK, and in Germany and France.
Wasn't this 100 years ago?
100 years ago, it was terrible, and the gap was huge with political factor of colonial arrogance mixed. Today it's not of that kind, I mean no such thing as political or nationalistic non-sense involved, but more related to emphesis. I'm trying my best to put things precise, and I think the best I can suggest is one article by V. I. Arnold. Google "Arnold on teaching mathematics". This's not the all as Arnold compares only two of the prominent schools, but it's something of this kind that I am talking.
(PS:- I don't hate anything more than the people. And there's nothing as irritating to me as having a conversation with someone, especially when that conversation is not objective in nature. So, please don't mind if I choose not to talk to you anymore. My only goal was to help misinformed international students, and I will like to stick to that. There were some problem in that comment for prospective students which I have corrected now.)

spijuank
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Sep 17, 2017 12:07 am

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by spijuank » Thu Apr 19, 2018 2:52 pm

paarthsaarthi wrote:
I don't know how should I put it, but if you have read Hardy's lecture of "Waring's Conjecture" he talks about the difference in the mathematical tradition in UK, and in Germany and France.
Wasn't this 100 years ago?
100 years ago, it was terrible, and the gap was huge with political factor of colonial arrogance mixed. Today it's not of that kind, I mean no such thing as political or nationalistic non-sense involved, but more related to emphesis. I'm trying my best to put things precise, and I think the best I can suggest is one article by V. I. Arnold. Google "Arnold on teaching mathematics". This's not the all as Arnold compares only two of the prominent schools, but it's something of this kind that I am talking.
(PS:- I don't hate anything more than the people. And there's nothing as irritating to me as having a conversation with someone, especially when that conversation is not objective in nature. So, please don't mind if I choose not to talk to you anymore. My only goal was to help misinformed international students, and I will like to stick to that. There were some problem in that comment for prospective students which I have corrected now.)
Okay objectively speaking, your test scores were pretty mediocre. No need to write a philosophical treatise explaining why so many places rejected you.

djysyed
Posts: 359
Joined: Sat Oct 28, 2017 9:59 pm

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by djysyed » Thu Apr 19, 2018 5:54 pm

spijuank wrote: Okay objectively speaking, your test scores were pretty mediocre. No need to write a philosophical treatise explaining why so many places rejected you.
No need to rub habanero in his wound. Many of us are pretty pissed off at our results so bitching about admissions committees and expressing our feelings is something expected.

In all honesty, we don't even know what parth wrote in his statement of purpose. Dude could've wrote, "I clearly know wtf I'm doing" and that could've upset admissions committees.

ponchan
Posts: 126
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2018 6:30 pm

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by ponchan » Thu Apr 19, 2018 6:00 pm

He probably wrote, as he did above, "I don't hate anything more than the people". If not, perhaps he or his letter writers conveyed it.

grothendieck
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jul 09, 2015 10:22 am

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by grothendieck » Thu Apr 19, 2018 8:32 pm

Okay objectively speaking, your test scores were pretty mediocre. No need to write a philosophical treatise explaining why so many places rejected you.
Well, I think he's dropped enough hint that I can recognise him. If it is the same person then he is capable of getting into any grad school only because of his master's thesis (just like he got into many universities in UK and France). He did tell us about this but we thought that he was joking. It always fascinates me that how an extreme introvert, who barely talks, cares so much about human welfare; this quality of him amazed us all. Anyway, spending more than 1000 gbp just to know some kind of truth sounds both crazy and deserves some respect.

ponchan
Posts: 126
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2018 6:30 pm

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by ponchan » Thu Apr 19, 2018 11:02 pm

grothendieck wrote:
Okay objectively speaking, your test scores were pretty mediocre. No need to write a philosophical treatise explaining why so many places rejected you.
Well, I think he's dropped enough hint that I can recognise him. If it is the same person then he is capable of getting into any grad school only because of his master's thesis (just like he got into many universities in UK and France). He did tell us about this but we thought that he was joking. It always fascinates me that how an extreme introvert, who barely talks, cares so much about human welfare; this quality of him amazed us all. Anyway, spending more than 1000 gbp just to know some kind of truth sounds both crazy and deserves some respect.

Again, he said "I don't hate anything more than the people". I don't know how that translates to "cares so much about human welfare". In fact, it is the opposite. But really, it appears that this might just be a second account for the same person

paarthsaarthi
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Mar 07, 2018 1:13 am

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by paarthsaarthi » Fri Apr 20, 2018 2:58 am

Okay objectively speaking, your test scores were pretty mediocre. No need to write a philosophical treatise explaining why so many places rejected you.
You are indeed write, but compare that statistics with domestic applicants. In fact, this's how I chose universities. By taking intersection of universities where candidates with the same data got successfully admitted. Although this was an overgeneralisation as I had no idea about their SOPs and LOR, but I actually did what I was going to do two years ago. This's not the case that admission comitee is biased or something like that, but could be other genuine reasons e.g. lack of REU, thesis, etc. Which is largely the problem with the education system of these countries. Well, these people should know where they are heading to. I won't be able to tell you what I'm worried about as you won't understand the situation in these countries because of cultural difference. I will just conclude by saying two crux of my observation that I believe that in a certain education system if everytime bad students excels and good student fails then it's system that fails, and if someone fails because of his background then it's state that fails. I'm mathematical grandson of S. P. Novikov, what I have to bother about, but what bothers me that you know one Ramanujan, but you know what several Ramanujans perished solely because you don't get Hardy everytime. (cf a book by Dillip M Salvi; and also an article by J. B. S. Haldne) Not only me, but this happens on a regular basis that mathematics undergrads go to UK and then excels. How long this will keep happening? Not everyone can go to UK, and you see that they can't get selected to USA. Hope you people would understand and stop thinking that I am trying to prove you anything or defend me. I don't need your approval to prove me that I have capabilities. Yes, I hate people, and the reason behind this is I'm abnormal (I hope I sound like that) and do/talk things that barely anyone understand. It's better to be alone than to be misunderstood. Well, that's all. Let's not spam this by so many talks. The better idea would have been to not to write my opinion (even though I invoked references) but to let readers infer of the data. I'm really sorry for that and you have my apology.

Tianma799
Posts: 61
Joined: Fri May 05, 2017 1:29 pm

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by Tianma799 » Sat Apr 21, 2018 6:56 am

ponchan wrote:
grothendieck wrote:
Okay objectively speaking, your test scores were pretty mediocre. No need to write a philosophical treatise explaining why so many places rejected you.
Well, I think he's dropped enough hint that I can recognise him. If it is the same person then he is capable of getting into any grad school only because of his master's thesis (just like he got into many universities in UK and France). He did tell us about this but we thought that he was joking. It always fascinates me that how an extreme introvert, who barely talks, cares so much about human welfare; this quality of him amazed us all. Anyway, spending more than 1000 gbp just to know some kind of truth sounds both crazy and deserves some respect.

Again, he said "I don't hate anything more than the people". I don't know how that translates to "cares so much about human welfare". In fact, it is the opposite. But really, it appears that this might just be a second account for the same person
No wonder I have trouble understanding what he was talking about...

JL_MATH
Posts: 14
Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2018 12:24 am

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by JL_MATH » Mon Apr 23, 2018 1:21 am

Undergrad Institution 1: Unknown 3-tier Foreign, mediocre even within the country
Major(s): Computer Science
Minor(s):
GPA: ~2.6/5 (for two years, it sucks, I know, but nothing can be changed :? )
Type of Student: International Asian

Undergrad Institution 2: Medium size public state school, not famous
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s):
GPA: 3.84/4
Type of Student: International Asian

Program Applying: Pure Math

Research Experience: Numerical PDE with ME Dept(absolutely hated it), reading course on knot theory(Loved it despite the professor was busy babysitting). Nothing serious though.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Award for outstanding senior in math. My school doesn't have many awards for international students.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: None
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Miserable first two years due to motivation, personal reasons and poor study environment and then a huge upward trend. I started from Calculus 1 at my US institution and finished with 8 grad courses. At least one awesome LORs (I didn't ask about quality of the rest but all are from professors I took grad classes with).
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Some schools might just throw out my application upon seeing my first GPA.

Applying to Where: All Pure Math PhD programs except one

Super reach/Impossible:

UC Berkeley Rejected
Cornell Rejected
Duke Rejected
UT Austin Never heard back

Reach:

Penn State Rejected
U Washington Rejected
Ohio State Admitted with Fellowship
Georgia tech Rejected
University of Illinois at Chicago Admitted, ATTENDING!!!!!!!! :D :D :D
University of Georgia Never heard back
UC Davis Never heard back

Resonable:

U Oklahoma Admitted with Fellowship
Kansas State U Withdrew (told they want to accept me but ask for TOFEL :( :( )
Western Ontario (MS) Admitted

Safe:

Safe schools doesn't exist for people with GPA like mine.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All in all I am satisfied with my results. Though if I do it again, I probably wouldn't apply for UC Davis, GA tech and Duke. But I got into the school that I have been interested for quite a while so I am happy with it.

Moral of the story:
Late Bloomers can still make it!!!!

Edit: Hide some information for privacy reasons.

mooooo
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Nov 26, 2017 2:35 pm

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by mooooo » Mon Apr 23, 2018 5:12 pm

JL_MATH wrote:Undergrad Institution 1: Unknown 3-tier Foreign, mediocre even within the country
Major(s): Computer Science
Minor(s):
GPA: ~2.6/5 (for two years, it sucks, I know, but nothing can be changed :? )
Type of Student: International Asian

Undergrad Institution 2: Medium size public state school, not famous
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s):
GPA: 3.84/4
Type of Student: International Asian

Program Applying: Pure Math

Research Experience: Numerical PDE with ME Dept(absolutely hated it), reading course on knot theory(Loved it despite the professor was busy babysitting). Nothing serious though.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Award for outstanding senior in math. My school doesn't have many awards for international students.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: None
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Miserable first two years due to motivation, personal reasons and poor study environment and then a huge upward trend. I started from Calculus 1 at my US institution and finished with 8 grad courses. At least one awesome LORs (I didn't ask about quality of the rest but all are from professors I took grad classes with).
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Some schools might just throw out my application upon seeing my first GPA.

Applying to Where: All Pure Math PhD programs except one

Super reach/Impossible:

UC Berkeley Rejected
Cornell Rejected
Duke Rejected
UT Austin Never heard back

Reach:

Penn State Rejected
U Washington Rejected
Ohio State Admitted with Fellowship
Georgia tech Rejected
University of Illinois at Chicago Admitted, ATTENDING!!!!!!!! :D :D :D
University of Georgia Never heard back
UC Davis Never heard back

Resonable:

U Oklahoma Admitted with Fellowship
Kansas State U Withdrew (told they want to accept me but ask for TOFEL :( :( )
Western Ontario (MS) Admitted

Safe:

Safe schools doesn't exist for people with GPA like mine.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All in all I am satisfied with my results. Though if I do it again, I probably wouldn't apply for UC Davis, GA tech and Duke. But I got into the school that I have been interested for quite a while so I am happy with it.

Moral of the story:
Late Bloomers can still make it!!!!

Edit: Hide some information for privacy reasons.
Congrats!!! What made you choose UIC over Ohio State's fellowship offer?

JL_MATH
Posts: 14
Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2018 12:24 am

Re: 2018 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

Post by JL_MATH » Mon Apr 23, 2018 8:55 pm

mooooo wrote:
JL_MATH wrote:Undergrad Institution 1: Unknown 3-tier Foreign, mediocre even within the country
Major(s): Computer Science
Minor(s):
GPA: ~2.6/5 (for two years, it sucks, I know, but nothing can be changed :? )
Type of Student: International Asian

Undergrad Institution 2: Medium size public state school, not famous
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s):
GPA: 3.84/4
Type of Student: International Asian

Program Applying: Pure Math

Research Experience: Numerical PDE with ME Dept(absolutely hated it), reading course on knot theory(Loved it despite the professor was busy babysitting). Nothing serious though.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Award for outstanding senior in math. My school doesn't have many awards for international students.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: None
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Miserable first two years due to motivation, personal reasons and poor study environment and then a huge upward trend. I started from Calculus 1 at my US institution and finished with 8 grad courses. At least one awesome LORs (I didn't ask about quality of the rest but all are from professors I took grad classes with).
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Some schools might just throw out my application upon seeing my first GPA.

Applying to Where: All Pure Math PhD programs except one

Super reach/Impossible:

UC Berkeley Rejected
Cornell Rejected
Duke Rejected
UT Austin Never heard back

Reach:

Penn State Rejected
U Washington Rejected
Ohio State Admitted with Fellowship
Georgia tech Rejected
University of Illinois at Chicago Admitted, ATTENDING!!!!!!!! :D :D :D
University of Georgia Never heard back
UC Davis Never heard back

Resonable:

U Oklahoma Admitted with Fellowship
Kansas State U Withdrew (told they want to accept me but ask for TOFEL :( :( )
Western Ontario (MS) Admitted

Safe:

Safe schools doesn't exist for people with GPA like mine.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All in all I am satisfied with my results. Though if I do it again, I probably wouldn't apply for UC Davis, GA tech and Duke. But I got into the school that I have been interested for quite a while so I am happy with it.

Moral of the story:
Late Bloomers can still make it!!!!

Edit: Hide some information for privacy reasons.
Congrats!!! What made you choose UIC over Ohio State's fellowship offer?
Locations, research interest and how the program runs are far more important than money imo,provided that the stipend is enough to live on :)



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