Undergrad Institution: Private Foreign (Top undergrad in the country)
Major(s): Applied Mathematics B.Sc.
GPA: 3.65/4.00 (Converted)
Grad Institution: Public Foreign (Top research center in the country)
Major(s): Pure Mathematics Master
GPA: 3.70/4.00 (Converted)
Type of Student: International White Male
GRE Revised General Test:(Listing approximately)
Q: ~ 85%
V: ~ 55%
W: ~ 15%
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: ~ 65% (October 2013)
(At the time I thought this was a bad score, so I decided to not apply for Fall 2014 and to enroll in a M.Sc in my country and wait two years to apply for the PhD with a higher score. Did not go as planned of course)
M: ~ 35% (October 2015)
(I was aiming to score more than 75% the second time. In all my practice tests I ended in the 800's, but I only did a few ones a week before the test. I guess some days are bad ones. Since I have already sent only the second one, I decided to not send the first one since It could reflect a decrease on my mathematical abilities (It was only a bad day though). Do not let a bad math subject test score change your mind on applying, some places know that it is not the most important thing. There is always hope!)
TOEFL (iBT): : (105 = R26/L29/S26/W24)
Program Applying:All Pure Math (Analysis Concentration)
Research Experience: Undergrad and grad thesis (in complex and functional analysis).
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Research Prize for Best Undergrad Math Thesis (2nd place). Two years stipend to study the M.Sc.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Part-Time professor at my Undergrad Institution (one semester teaching Calculus 2 and other one Calculus 3 to applied math major students, had to prepare the lectures, hw and exams + grading).
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Will have a Master's degree by July (hence 10+ grad courses).
Applying to Where (USA): (Listing in alphabetical order)
Dartmouth College -
Rejected (02/25)
George Washington University -
Accepted (03/30) with 22K TA on (04/14) (Declined)
Indiana University (Bloomington) -
Rejected (04/15)
Kent State University -
Accepted (01/29) with 20K TA on (03/28) (Declined with great sadness)
Missouri "Mizzou" (University of)-
Pending as of (04/24)
NYU (Courant Institute) -
Rejected (04/21)
Ohio State University -
Rejected (03/2)
Oregon (University of) -
Accepted with 21K TA on (04/11) (
ATTENDING!)
Pittsburgh (University of)-
Wait-listed [4th place] (02/28) (Withdrew name of the wait-list when I narrow down to Kent vs Oregon)
Texas A&M -
Rejected (04/15)
UCSD -
Rejected (03/4)
Applying to Where (Canada): (Listing in alphabetical order)
Alberta (University of)-
Pending as of (04/24)
McGill University -
Pending as of (04/24)
Toronto (University of)-
Decision Made on (04/8) (*)
Post-April 15 I am posting this very late (I am still impressed that one US app still pending by now), but since this site helped me a lot throughout this process, I want to return the favor to future applicants and let them know that you can end in one of your top choices, even if you failed in the math subject. I am very happy with my final decision, It was a hard one but I think University of Oregon is a great place and I have a couple of potential advisors that I really want to work with.
However, I need to do an important comment. I feel quite robbed by the Canadian universities mostly by McGill and Toronto. On the first one they insist that I never sent my TOEFL scores, but I checked twice with the testing agency and they assured me McGill received the scores.
(*) As for Toronto, they did not bother to let me know what was the decision made, they only posted "Decision Made" on the website and have ignored my emails since then
. I have the impression that Canadian universities do not accept a significant amount of international applicants, so everyone reading this might want to consider spending their money on Canadian application fees.
