PROFILES/RESULTS of the 2006 graduate applicants

[asphalt]

I was helped immensely by the Fall 2005 thread by bigredx24x, so I thought it would be a good way to help the Fall 2007 candidates. Please contribute if you have heard from all your schools and chosen one.

__________________________________________________ ____________

Age:
M/F:
Location when applying:
Major(s) in undergrad:
Undergraduate institution:
Major(s) applying for:
Area of specialization:
Degree(s) earned:
Degree(s) applying for:
Undergrad GPA (try to adjust to 4.0 system):
Class Rank (if applicable):
GRE Verbal:
GRE Math:
GRE Writing:
How many months did you study for GRE general:
GRE Subject (if applicable):
How many months did you study for GRE subject:
Researched as undergrad in University (y/n & years):
Researched as undergrad in Industry (y/n & years):
Published (y/n & # of articles):
Other:
Advice to those applying to grad school:

Accepted Schools (aid: y/n and how much and what form; date notified and method of notification):

Rejected Schools (date notified and method of notification):

Waitlisted Schools:

Chosen School:

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Age: 23
M/F: F
Location when applying: Kuala Lumpur
Major(s) in undergrad: Civil & Environmental Engineering
Undergraduate institution:
Major(s) applying for: Civil & Environmental Engineering
Area of specialization: Hydrology, Climatology
Degree(s) earned: BCEng
Degree(s) applying for: MS
Undergrad GPA (try to adjust to 4.0 system): 3.36
Class Rank (if applicable): Top 5% of graduating class
GRE Verbal: 690
GRE Math: 780
GRE Writing: 6.0
How many months did you study for GRE general: 3
GRE Subject (if applicable): N/A
How many months did you study for GRE subject: N/A
Researched as undergrad in University (y/n & years): N
Researched as undergrad in Industry (y/n & years): N
Published (y/n & # of articles): Yes, 2 one submitted to international journal
Other: Work experience (one year) and internship in industry
Advice to those applying to grad school:
SOPs really do matter. If you can convey all your emotions and drive strongly one one page within the word limit, you have a good a chance as even the smartest of the lot. Research interests matter. Retake your GRE if you think your score is way below par. It's worth the effort.

Accepted Schools (aid: y/n and how much and what form; date notified and method of notification):
Stanford (no aid, 25 February, Mail)
UWashington-Seattle (TAship, 02 March, Email)
GATech (possibility, 7 April, email)
USC (no aid, 6 February, mail)

Rejected Schools (date notified and method of notification):
UTAustin (January,mail)
Columbia (05 April,mail)

Waitlisted Schools: -

Chosen School: UWashington (I really like the professor)

[moo]

ah, the vanity fest! I'm in.

Age: 24
M/F: m
Location when applying: burnaby, bc
Major(s) in undergrad: ee
Undergraduate institution: sfu
Major(s) applying for: mechanical and aerospace engineering/controls
Area of specialization: control and dynamical systems
Degree(s) earned: bachelor of applied science
Degree(s) applying for: phd
Undergrad GPA (try to adjust to 4.0 system): 4.258 (A+ = 4.33 at sfu)
Class Rank (if applicable): no idea. I expect to be up there, but the school doesn't keep track.
GRE Verbal: 700
GRE Math: 800
GRE Writing: 4.5
How many months did you study for GRE general: 0.5
GRE Subject (if applicable): n/a
How many months did you study for GRE subject: n/a
Researched as undergrad in University (y/n & years): n
Researched as undergrad in Industry (y/n & years): n
Published (y/n & # of articles): n
Other: interned at big-name companies for a while

Accepted Schools (aid: y/n and how much and what form; date notified and method of notification):

caltech cds (y, gordon moore 4-year fellowship)
cornell mae (y, 1st year fellowship)
princeton mae (y, 1st year fellowship)
purdue a&ae (don't know, don't care)

all but purdue got back to me very early in february. got the purdue acceptance in early march, but didn't care anymore (for those who're interested, yes, I turned it down already).

Rejected Schools (date notified and method of notification):

none

Waitlisted Schools:

none

Chosen School:

caltech

[klop]

Can you change the topic of this thread to be major specific? I don't think it would be easy to go through such a thread if you have all majors mixed into it.

[asphalt]

come on. please help. *bump*

[agcr1]

Keep going! I'll be fall2007 applicant.

[klop]

Originally Posted by asphalt

come on. please help. *bump*

Can you change the topic if this thread to be specific to your major? Do you really want other majors to post here too? I don't think it's going to be convenient for someone to go through such thread plus there already exist such threads for other majors.

[asphalt]

i thought it would be better to put all majors on one page. it's just a general overview of what kind of graduates were excepted where.

[ralphey]

Age: 28
M/F: M
Location when applying: US (Ohio)
Major(s) in undergrad: Applied Mathematics
Undergraduate institution: Rochester Institute of Technology
Major(s) applying for: Industrial Engineering / Management Science
Area of specialization: Operations Research (OR)
Degree(s) earned: MS in CS / OR expected this May
Degree(s) applying for: PhD
Undergrad GPA (try to adjust to 4.0 system): 3.36
Class Rank (if applicable): ?
GRE Verbal: 590
GRE Math: 800
GRE Writing: 5.0 / 6.0
How many months did you study for GRE general: 1 week
GRE Subject (if applicable): N/A
How many months did you study for GRE subject: N/A
Researched as undergrad in University (y/n & years): no
Researched as undergrad in Industry (y/n & years): no
Published (y/n & # of articles): nothing reported on my application
Other:
Advice to those applying to grad school: Contact schools (if possible, in person) ahead of time. This helped form (what I hope was) a good impression in their minds, and when they saw my application, they already knew who I am.

Accepted Schools (aid: y/n and how much and what form; date notified and method of notification):
Virginia Tech - T/A ~ $1650 / month; emailed on 2/4/06
U of Iowa - T/A ~ $16,000 / year; emailed on 3/15/06
U of Cincinnati - T/A ~ $14,000 / year; voicemail on 3/2/06
Clemson - T/A ~ $14,000 / year; post on 2/7/06
UCF - Fellowship $10,000 / year; emailed on 3/15/06

Rejected Schools (date notified and method of notification):

Carnegie Mellon - 3/17/06 on website

Waitlisted Schools:
U of Florida (paid visit in February)
U of Pittsburgh (paid visit in March)

Chosen School: 99% sure Virginia Tech

[Bubba]

Age:28
M/F: F
Location when applying: US (California)
Major(s) in undergrad: Chemistry
Undergraduate institution: UC Santa Cruz
Major(s) applying for: Chemistry
Area of specialization: Computational/Theoretical
Degree(s) earned: BS
Degree(s) applying for: PhD
Undergrad GPA (try to adjust to 4.0 system): 3.57 transfer, 3.2? cumm
Class Rank (if applicable): no idea
GRE Verbal: 620
GRE Math: 580
GRE Writing: 4.5
How many months did you study for GRE general: 0.25
GRE Subject (if applicable):
How many months did you study for GRE subject: 0
Researched as undergrad in University (y/n & years): 1
Researched as undergrad in Industry (y/n & years): 0
Published (y/n & # of articles): 1 in press, 1 in progress
Other:
Advice to those applying to grad school: I obviously got in based on my particular focus, LOR and SOP, definately not GRE and GPA. Played up age, maturity, research and teaching skills in SOP.

Accepted Schools (aid: y/n and how much and what form; date notified and method of notification):
Colorado State (TA/RA for four years, 21500, Jan 17th, email)
USC: (TA/RA for four years, 22500, Feb 10th, email)
UC Davis: (TA/RA + 2 year fellowship, 28K for the first two years, 22,500 min thereafter, Feb 13th, 1st phone then email)
UCLA: (TA/RA + fellowship, 27K first year, 23K thereafter, Feb 28th, phone then email)
UCSC: (TA/RA, 15K, March 7th, email)
Rejected Schools (date notified and method of notification):
none
Waitlisted Schools:
none
Chosen School:
UCLA, found a really good group to work with. USC is a close second. Great theory department.

[EquosAmo]

Age: 21
M/F: M
Location when applying: Rolla, MO, USA
Major(s) in undergrad: Mechanical Engineering B.S.
Undergraduate institution: Univerisity of Missouri - Rolla
Major(s) applying for: Mechanical Engineering PhD
Area of specialization: Controls and Mechatronics
Degree(s) earned: B.S. in May 2006
Degree(s) applying for: PhD
Undergrad GPA (try to adjust to 4.0 system): 4.00 at UMR (Past two years) I transfered from Cedarville University in Ohio so my cumulative is 3.7
Class Rank (if applicable): Somewhere around 160 of 1200 or so
GRE Verbal: 640
GRE Math: 720
GRE Writing: 4.0
How many months did you study for GRE general: 2 months
GRE Subject (if applicable): N/A
How many months did you study for GRE subject:N/A
Researched as undergrad in University (y/n & years): 1 year in multiple areas (composite manufacturing, lazer deposition control, ane electrohydraulic control)
Researched as undergrad in Industry (y/n & years): Internship with a foundry; it was work experience not really research
Published (y/n & # of articles): none
Other:
Advice to those applying to grad school: Work hard on you SOP and have some good research background. If you notice my GRE scores weren't real good, but I am content with my admits. I think what helped me the most was one of my recommendations. It was from the department head who taught at two of the schools to which I was applying. Try and get recommendations from professors that are well known at the school to which you are applying. They don't even have to be professors that know you the best, as long as they know enough good things to write about you. Since I transfered between schools after my sophmore year, I didn't know any of my professors for over two years.

Accepted Schools (aid: y/n and how much and what form; date notified and method of notification):
Penn State - PhD - Tuition Remission + TA or RA $7222.5/semester - email on 1/30/2006
Purdue University - PhD - Tuition Remission + RA $24,600/year - email on 2/7/2006
University of Texas Austin - PhD - No aid initially offered - email on 3/22/2006
University of Michigan Ann Arbor - MS - No aid initially offered - email on 3/28/2006
Cornell University - MS - No aid - email on 4/3/2006

Rejected Schools (date notified and method of notification):
None
Waitlisted Schools:
Ohio State Univeristy wanted me to retake the GRE by email on 4/6 and I told them heck no.

Chosen School:
Purdue University