2017 Applicant Profiles and Admissions Results

mathandcoffee · Post by **mathandcoffee** » Wed Sep 28, 2016 1:11 pm

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

mathandcoffee · Post by **mathandcoffee** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 4:09 pm

Undergrad Institution: Kind of Small Liberal Arts, USA
Major(s): Mathematics and Computer Science
Minor(s): None
GPA: 3.4/4
Type of Student: Domestic White Female

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 163 (85%)
V: 162 (90%)
W: 4.0 (59%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: <25%

9/17/16 (Only submitting where required - Temple, University of Maryland, SUNY Buffalo)

TOEFL Score: N/A

Program Applying: Pure Math PhD

Research Experience: Independent study in representation theory
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's list, programming competitions, language awards, athletic awards
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: CS internship (for 4+ years), math and CS tutoring, CS club leadership roles for 3.5 years, volunteer experience
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Since I’m coming from a smaller school, I have had a lot of interaction with my recommenders. Also, I'm female
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Being a transfer student might hurt me, I'm not sure

Applying to Where:
University of Maryland Rejected via email 5/14 (so late!)
George Mason Accepted via website 3/6 (No word on funding yet) I haven't gotten an email from them yet, but I saw another admit on thegradcafe and checked the gmu website, turns out my decision was posted too Declined
Virginia Tech Rejected via email 4/18
University of California Riverside Accepted via email 3/3 (14k/year stipend for first two years from Dean's Distinguished Fellowship + 13.3k/year TA for first two years, then increases to 20k/year + tuition + health insurance) Declined
University of New Hampshire Accepted via email 3/29 (No word on funding yet) Declined
Tufts University Rejected via email 3/6
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Informal acceptance via email 4/20 (No word on funding) Declined
SUNY Binghamton Accepted via email 4/22 (short list for TA) Declined
SUNY Buffalo Rejected via email 2/28
SUNY Albany Accepted via email 8/11 (No funding) such a late decision! Declined
Syracuse Accepted via email 2/15 (17.7k/year TA + tuition + health insurance) Attending!
Temple University Rejected via website around 5/29 (so late!)
Lehigh University Rejected via email 3/8
Bryn Mawr Rejected via postal mail 3/25
Drexel Accepted via email 3/13 (17.5k/year TA + tuition + health insurance) Declined

Some advice for future applicants and reflection on my application process as of 4/21/17:
By the numbers, I was not an incredibly qualified applicant and my subject score was exceptionally terrible. For this reason, I panicked and applied to a ton of schools and figured I would get in somewhere hopefully. I chose some (but not all) of my schools based on who I thought would best appreciate my background in both math and CS, with hopes that this would better my chances. In hindsight, I think this was a little silly since I applied to pure math programs, and schools likely found the rigor of the programs to be a plus on my application regardless of whether or not they thought the CS would be directly useful.

I spent a long time putting together my CV and personal statement and I generally spent the last paragraph or so in my personal statement explaining what I liked about the school. The rest of my personal statement was about my transfer process, my double major, and how I came to want to pursue math. I did not think my personal statement was particularly interesting, but that bias might come from how much I struggled with writing it (I spent MONTHS, which is overkill I know). The strongest part of my application was absolutely my recommendations. My advice to anyone thinking about graduate school is to get to know your professors and interact with them a lot. If your professors know you, there is more they can say about you in a recommendation.

Also, for anyone who gets a score like mine on the subject area- don't panic. Plenty of good schools do not require the subject score, but more importantly, the exam is about 50% calculus, 25% algebra, and 25% everything else, and graduate school is so much more than that. The admissions committees know that this exam does not determine your overall aptitude for graduate study. I know that sounds like it should be obvious, but once I was panicking about my score, no one was going to convince me of this.

In terms of making a decision, I found it to be very useful to visit a school and meet a mix of faculty and students. I know this isn't an option for everyone, but if you are able to visit a school, you absolutely should. Also, put together a budget based on the cost of living in that area- see if any financial aid you've been offered is enough to live off of.

Overall, I hope my profile can give some confidence to future applicants who have stats similar to mine. Eight acceptances is so much more than I expected, and way more than I knew what to do with. My final decision was really difficult, but I am very happy with where I have been accepted, and where I have ultimately decided to go. If you have any questions for me, feel free to PM me. I am also mathandcoffee on thegradcafe forums. Best of luck to everyone who applied this year, and to those applying in future years!

danieloliveira56 · Post by **danieloliveira56** » Thu Oct 20, 2016 6:05 pm

Undergrad Institution: Brazilian Public University
Major(s): B.Sc. in Industrial Engineering
GPA: 7.13/10 = 2.85/4

Graduate Institution: Brazilian Public University
Major(s): M.Sc. in IndustrialEngineering
GPA: 8.19/10 = 3.28/4

Type of Student: International, male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 168 (95%)
V: 165 (95%)
W: 3.0 (17%)

GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 820 (84%)

TOEFL Score: (109 = R30/L30/S26/W23)

Program Applying: Operations Research Ph.D.

Research Experience: MSc Dissertation in the field of Integer Programming, one poster, two presentations in conferences, one submitted paper still in review

.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Best paper award at the SBPO 2016 (Brazilian Operations Research Society yearly Conference). Brazilian Government 1-year undergrad Exchange Scholarship (Science without Borders program).
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Middle/High School Mathematics Tutor for three years.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: My recommenders are acquainted with some of the prospective advisors. Kaggle's 2015 Christmas Optimization Challenge, placed 11th/1127 teams.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: 1-year exchange student at Kettering University (GPA 3.72/4)

Applying to Where:
Unniversity of Waterloo - Combinatorics and Optimization Ph.D. - Accepted (02/06) - Attending
Georgia Tech - Algorithms, Combinatorics and Optimization Ph.D. - Rejected (02/21)
MIT - ORC - Operations Research Ph.D. - Rejected (02/17)
Carnegie Melon - Tepper - Operations Research/Algorithms, Combinatorics and Optimization Ph.D. - Rejected (02/15)
Wisconsin Madinson - Industrial Engineering Ph.D. - Rejected (04/12)
U Michigan IEOR - Industrial Engineering Ph.D. - Rejected (04/12)

solveit · Post by **solveit** » Fri Oct 21, 2016 7:54 am

Undergrad Institution: Oxbridge
Major(s): Mathematics, Computer Science
GPA: Top 10%
Type of Student: East Asian male (International)

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 170 (97%)
V: 170 (99%)
W: 5.5 (98%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 890 (95%)

Program Applying: Pure Math

Research Experience: Summer reading course on topology (1st year), Currently writing a dissertation on quantum cryptography, 1 talk at undergraduate conference (topology, unrelated to reading course) - best presentation award

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Applying as a 3rd year undergrad from a country where a 4-year Bachelors+Masters is the norm.

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
Harvard - rejected 2/03
Princeton - rejected 1/20
UC Berkeley - accepted! 1/27 GOING
Caltech - rejected 2/17
Chicago - rejected 1/27
MIT - rejected Valentine's day
Stanford - rejected Valentine's day

INDEACA · Post by **INDEACA** » Thu Oct 27, 2016 7:15 pm

Undergrad Institution:(Foreign Regional University, unkown)
Major(s): (B.S. Applied Mathematics )
Minor(s):
GPA: (3.4 RANK:1)
Type of Student: (International Asian Male )

grad Institution: ( AMS Group 1 school, famous in applied math )
Major(s): (M.S. Applied Mathematics )
Minor(s):
GPA: (3.85)

GRE Revised General Test: (316 )
Q: (150 (47%)

)
V: (166 (91%))
W: (3.5(47%) )
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:(Didn't take)
M:

TOEFL Score: (waived)

Program Applying: (all applied mathematics)

Research Experience: (One semester independent research study of Numerical Solutions for Conservation Laws (Hyperbolic PDEs) supervised by advisor)
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: (bunch of stipends )
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (TA of a senior numerical analysis course (Full tuition and assistantship stipend) )
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: (4 recommendation letters from the professors in the department, numerous graduate math courses)

Applying to Where:
RPI-Applied Mathematics (home school, decided to withdraw)
Rice-CAAM Rejected 04/09
Notre Dame- Computational Mathematics Admitted 2/15 22k+4k summer excited! will attend
UNC pending
UCR pending
UCSC Unofficially Admitted 2/28 23k/year
Pittsburgh withdrawed
UMiami withdrawed
VT withdrawed
Emory Rejected 1/30 via email
Texas A&M Rejected 2/7 via website I don't wanna talk anymore....
U-Washington Rejected 1/27 via email

Any other recommendations?

pumpkinator · Post by **pumpkinator** » Fri Oct 28, 2016 11:17 pm

Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s):
GPA: 3.79
Type of Student: Domestic Male

GRE Revised General Test:
V: 152 (58%)
Q: 161 (79%)
W: 3.5 (42%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 640 (46%)

Program Applying: Pure Math
Research Experience: Master's thesis (1 year)
Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: 9 grad classes
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
UCB Rejected 2/3
UCI Rejected 4/4
UCLA Rejected 2/11
UCSB Rejected 4/10
UCSC Rejected 5/15
UCSD Rejected 3/1
UCR Accepted 2/28 attending
USC Rejected 3/10
UT-Austin
UW-Seattle Rejected 2/9

I'm surprised at all these rejections that I received...

wannabgrad · Post by **wannabgrad** » Wed Nov 02, 2016 8:50 am

Undergrad Institution: Big state school, not necessarily exceptional academics but a reputation of hard grading.
Major(s): BS Applied Mathematics, BA Philosophy
Minor(s): None
GPA: 3.2 (3.35 Math GPA)
Type of Student: Domestic Male, Hispanic

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 164 (88%)
V: 165 (95%)
W: 4.5 (82%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 540 (24%)

(Pretty bummed about this, only submitting it if schools require it)

TOEFL Score: N/A

Program Applying: Computability Theory / Logic

Research Experience: N/A
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Math Honors Society
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: High School Math Teacher for 3 years, I tutored college level mathematics before I got my teaching job
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: 3 independent studies: 2 in computability theory, 1 in mathematical logic
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Officer of my school's undergraduate Philosophy and Logic Club

Applying to Where:
UC Berkeley - Rejected 2/3
University of Chicago - Rejected 1/27
University of Madison-Wisconsin - Rejected 2/3
CUNY Graduate Center - Rejected 3/23
George Washington University - Rejected to PhD 3/30, Accepted 4/15 to Masters program with 12,000 stipend but no tuition waiver - Declined
Notre Dame - Rejected 3/2
Carnegie Mellon University - Poked with an email 3/21
Penn State - Rejected 4/3
University of Florida
University of Connecticut - Rejected 2/15
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa - Accepted 4/17 with no funding whatsoever

- Declined
Undergraduate Institution (Masters) - Accepted 3/17 with tuition waived and 12k TA position. - Position accepted

I am depressed now...

Foobanana · Post by **Foobanana** » Fri Nov 04, 2016 3:56 pm

Undergraduate Institution: State University of New York at Geneseo (Liberal Arts, State School)
Major(s): Bachelor of Science in Mathematics
Minor(s): None
GPA: 3.12/4
Type of Student: (Domestic White Male)

(Didn't study at all for any of these, so I'm pretty happy with these results!

)
GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 166 (91%)
V: 152 (55%)
W: 3.5 (42%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 560 (26%) 10/29/16 (Senior)
M: 470 (08%) 9/17/16 (Senior)
M: 470 (08%) 9/19/15 (Junior)

Program Applying: Mixed areas that involve computation in any sense, like PDE's, Computability Theory, Modeling, etc.
All Mathematics PhD programs (except Carnegie Mellon, a Machine Learning PhD program)
Research Experience: Physics research at my school, which includes the overseeing and supervision of the research of five other undergraduates.
Honors/Awards: Mathematics department memorial scholarship recipient, Dean's List one semester.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Math learning center tutor, general physics lab instructor (involves independently running a section of physics lab, including making and grading quizzes and tests)
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Programming and Data Science Club of Geneseo VP, Treasurer, and Co-Founder.
I have also completed 16 upper level undergraduate mathematics courses with a collective GPA of 3.44, with 3 more planned for the spring.
I also have experience programming in 14 languages, mostly MATLAB, C, JavaScript, Mathematica, and have worked as a web developer.
I scored 1/120 on the Putnam exam as a sophomore.
Finally, as an interesting point, I submitted my subject scores to every school I'm applying to, whether pure or applied. I also didn't have my fall grades on my transcript, because I had some major things happen outside of my classes, and didn't want schools to see the awful grades.

Notes:
I've marked schools in the SUNY (State University of New York) system accordingly.
I've also marked which department I'm applying to (if applicable)
I hope that my profile becomes an inspiration for other awful-looking applicants, so that they know that there is hope for them

It seems like it is the case that even if you suck and have a terrible GPA and test scores, there will be places that will at least consider you, and (like Clemson for me) may even be places that love you from the get-go!

These schools are roughly ordered by preference, and I will keep the list updated as regularly as possible.
These results were updated by me on: 4/15/2017

Applying To:
Reach:
Duke University - Rejected (poked with an email 2/22, rejected on 2/23, official result on website on 3/13)
University of Notre Dame (Pure Math) - Rejected (poked with an email 2/6, 2/27, rejected 3/3)
Johns Hopkins University (Applied Math) - Rejected (poked with an email 2/22, rejected 3/9)
Stony Brook University (SUNY) (Applied Math) - Rejected (email on 2/21, accepted to unfunded Master's)
Carnegie Mellon University (Machine Learning) - Rejected (email on 2/20)
University of Oregon - Rejected (poked with an email 2/6, rejected later on 2/6)
University of Washington (Applied Math) - Rejected (Accepted to unfunded online Master's, email on 1/25)
University of Rochester - Rejected (poked with an email 2/6, 3/3, rejected 3/7)

Less-of-a-Reach:
Claremont University - Rejected (poked with an email 2/6, admitted to Master's on 2/8, no tuition waiver but a $10,000 fellowship)
Clemson University - Accepted (With likely funding on 2/5, offered $17,000 TA-ship on 2/8, visited on 2/28-3/1, offer accepted 4/14) ATTENDING
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Accepted (poked with an email 2/6, 3/3, waitlisted 3/6, poked again and sort-of-kind-of unofficially accepted 3/21, actually accepted 3/24 (no funding yet), visited 3/29-3/30, and offer declined, still with no funding, on 4/13)
University of Buffalo (SUNY) - Rejected (poked with an email 2/6, rejected by email 2/28)
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Applied Math) - Accepted (poked with an email 2/6, 3/3, asked to visit (but no acceptance yet) on 3/21, visited 3/28-3/29, accepted with $18K TA-ship on 4/4, offer declined 4/10)
Binghamton University (SUNY) - Accepted (with no funding, 1/25, declined 2/8)
Clarkson University - Accepted (poked with an email 2/6, accepted on 2/22 with partial tuition assistance of $8,070, but no tuition waiver, on 3/13 on waitlist for full TA-ship, offer declined 3/27)

7/21/17:
In similar vein to what the user bsplitter wrote, I want to leave a couple tips for applicants in future years. I don't have the best applicant's profile; poor GPA, math and overall, poor test scores, non-math research, and so on, and I was still considered for a fair number of PhD programs given my stats. Be proud of your accomplishments and let yourself shine through in your application, and you'll get into somewhere that will value you as a person, and know that some of these ‘negatives’ from your past aren’t actually negatives at all; my first semester GPA being a stunning 1.98 made me less afraid to take courses that might hurt my GPA, and so I took all the math courses I could, regardless of the consequences. I made my love of mathematics as a broad field apparent in my application, and this was what caused Clemson to accept me among their first bout of acceptances! I’ll always remember being on my visit to Clemson, sitting down with the chair of the department, and having his eyes light up when I said who I was, because in that moment he said that he remembered my application particularly, because the level of breadth across all of mathematics that I had in my coursework had especially caught his eye, and that he had felt it perfect for the program at Clemson, which emphasizes this breadth.

I also wanted to recommend to people who plan on posting profiles to this site; don't be afraid to chat to people in messages or on the forum; bsplitter is going to be my roommate at Clemson this coming year, all because I had noticed that he was applying to Clemson too and decided to message him!

We're all people, and so I definitely think that everyone should get connected with the other users on here, especially since we're all going to be a part of the same small network of mathematicians one day (hopefully, at least )

sadface · Post by **sadface** » Sat Nov 05, 2016 2:43 am

Undergrad Institution: Foreign, top 20
Major(s): Math, Physics
Minor(s):
GPA: 4.00
Type of Student: International Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 170 (97%)
V: 167 (98%)
W: 5.0 (93%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 890 (95%)
Physics: 990 (94%)

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

Program Applying: Pure Math/Geometry

Research Experience: Home institution, 1st year summer on quantum optics, 2nd year on geometry, 3rd year on Lie theory, 1 paper in preparation (probably will not have time to submit before deadline)
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: "Look, grades!"
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Handful of grad classes, a couple reading courses, 4 reference letters-shouldn't be too bad.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
Oh dear. All reach schools plus home institution (not listed here, but hopefully is not reach).

Harvard rejected Feb 3rd
MIT rejected Feb 14th
Stanford rejected Feb 14th
Princeton rejected Jan 20
UC Berkeley Accepted Jan 27th
Columbia Wailisted via email Jan 31st, don't expect to hear back until April
SUNY Stony Brook Accepted March 1st
UCLA
Caltech Accepted Feb 10th
London School of Mathematics, geometry & number theory Invited for interview Jan 18

Home institution accepted, thank god

Best of luck everyone!!

Some comments: ucla, and lsgnt already sent out their acceptances, so aside from stony brook I don't expect to get any more additional offers. Overall I'm quite happy with my results. My stronger points in my application seems to be my grades, whereas my weaker points seem to be research experience (which is probably more important). Also side remarks maybe useful for future applicants: I didn't get into contact with individual profs prior to application season, maybe having done so would have helped. In my SOP I didn't really say very specifically I want to do what this with which prof (In some of them I mentioned names of profs, but again not in detail and the ones I did do this they still rejected me). This is probably because my interests are still broadly in geometry and I haven't decided on any particular research topics. Maybe having more tailored SOPs would have helped.
Something else I learned through some internet search and guessing: if you are not admitted in the first round of admission, the probability of getting admitted is much smaller for 2nd or 3rd round. I think (correct me if I'm wrong) what some universities do is send out more offers in the first round than than they plan on accepting and they expect some of them to decline (usually the people who got into one big name also got into other big names).
anyhow this seems to be the end of cycle for me, again, I wish all of you best of luck with your applications!

mathemaniac · Post by **mathemaniac** » Sat Nov 05, 2016 11:07 pm

Undergrad Institution: Small state school.
Major(s): Math
Minor(s): CS
GPA: 4.0
Type of Student: Domestic White Male.

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 167 (97%)
V: 170 (97%)
W: 4.5 (82%) <- This percentile is strangely high. Hard writing prompt?
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 840 (87%)

TOEFL Score: N/A

Program Applying: Pure Math Ph.D.

Research Experience: A fair bit, both at my schools and REUs. Several published papers in pretty decent journals and a couple more submitted. Outstanding (Poster) Presentation Award at JMM a while back. A few presentations at home university.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Goldwater Scholarship, university-wide research fellowship, highest honors at BSM.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Already mentioned REUs, BSM. Help with the math club and helped found PME at my school.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: A couple well-known recommenders; very close with recommenders from my school. ~20 graduate courses, with some directed studies thrown in.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I'm thinking the smallness of my school's department will hurt me. Hopefully BSM and research will help that.

Applying to Where: (All Ph.D.)

I've been having a difficult time balancing my schools. This list is still being revised.

Harvard
Princeton
University of Michigan
Stony Brook
Stanford
Purdue
Columbia
UCSD

Fellowships
NSF GRFP

Good luck everyone!

tastykakes · Post by **tastykakes** » Mon Nov 07, 2016 1:05 am

Undergrad Institution: UC Berkeley
Major(s): Mathematics and Economics
GPA: 3.9
Type of Student: Domestic Asian Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 170 (97%)
V: 164 (94%)
W: 4.5 (84%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 890 (90%)

TOEFL Score: N/A

Program Applying: Applied Math Ph.D

Research Experience: Year long Senior thesis - nothing fancy
Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Been working for two years at a technology startup
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: A few graduate courses.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: No Clue! No idea what to expect

Applying to Where: (All Ph.D.)

UC Berkeley Admitted 1/27 ATTENDING
UCLA Admitted 1/18
UCSD Unofficial Admitted 2/9
Stanford Rejected 2/6
University of Washington Admitted 1/24 (With Boeing Fellowship)
UT Austin Admitted 2/6 (With CSEM Fellowship)
University of Chicago Admitted 1/24
Northwestern Admitted 2/8
Princeton Rejected 2/16
NYU Admitted 2/7 (With McCracken Fellowship)

Good luck!!

Pretty overwhelmed with all the good news - going to be a tough decision....

aran1234 · Post by **aran1234** » Wed Nov 16, 2016 11:27 pm

Undergrad Institution: University of Minnesota
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s): None
GPA: 3.8/4
Type of Student: International Asian Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 170 (??%)
V: 162 (90%)
W: 3.5 (42%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 820 (Took it as freshman for fun. disappointed)

TOEFL Score: N/A

Program Applying: Pure Math PhD

Research Experience: none
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's list, a departmental award
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: none
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Although it doesn't help, I'm a junior and able to graduate a year early, so the following list is very ambitious.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Most of the math courses I've taken are grad courses. I'm visiting UC Berkeley this semester and attending a number of seminars with other 3~5th year grad students of math and physics departments. I'm giving four talks in these seminars, and very prominent mathematicians will write a letter for me based on that. Also, I've written several expository writings on them.

Applying to Where:
MlT
Harvard
UC Berkeley
Princeton
Caltech

RichardWayne · Post by **RichardWayne** » Fri Nov 18, 2016 5:21 am

Undergrad Institution: Foreign/one of TOP 9 (China)
Major(s):Mathematics
Minor(s):
GPA:85.1/100
Type of Student: Asian, Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 170 (98%)
V: 157 (74%)
W: 3.5 (38%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: xxx (not received)

TOEFL Score: 102 = R26/L25/S23/W28

Program Applying: Applied Math/Statistics

Research Experience: At my school, differential equations and numerical methods. Two papers have been submitted, no results yet.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Honorable Mention in MCM/ICM twice, first prize in China Undergraduate Mathematical Contest in Modeling
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Intern in a manufactory company as product analyst for two months
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: A few graduate courses.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:Have no idea.

Applying to Where:

Applied Math
Columbia University
University of Pennsylvania
University of Southern California
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Washington
Michigan State University-PhD

Statistics
University of Pennsylvania
Washington University in St. Louis
Carnegie Mellon University-PhD
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Boston University
University of Georgia
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Duke University
Rice University-PhD
University of California, Los Angeles

Good luck!

cjyl · Post by **cjyl** » Mon Nov 21, 2016 11:59 am

Undergrad Institution: Public University in Hong Kong
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s): None
GPA: Top 10%
Type of Student: International Asian Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 168 (95%)
V: 155 (68%)
W: 4.0 (59%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 910 (99%)

TOEFL Score: (103 = R29/L27/S22

/W25) (if applicable)

Program Applying: Pure Math

Research Experience: REU in University of Waterloo. No publications.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Scholarships and Dean's List Every Year from my home University; First Honour Degree
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for calculus courses and mathematical analysis
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Attended Research Postgraduate Studies with one strong supervisor recommendation
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where:

Super Reach:
Princeton - Math

Reach:
Chicago - Math
Berkeley - Math
UCLA - Math
Washington (Seattle) - Math
Wisconsin - Math
Toronto - Math

Match:
Pittsburgh - Math
Bonn - Math
Boston - Math
British Columbia - Math
Waterloo - Math

Safety:
None - My home university

eulerphi · Post by **eulerphi** » Fri Nov 25, 2016 12:37 pm

Undergrad Institution: Medium Sized Private Research University (Top 25 overall, but not very strong in math)
Major(s): Mathematics/Physics
Minor(s):
GPA: 3.89/4.00 (4.00 math)
Type of Student: Domestic, Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 168 (95%)
V: 160 (85%)
W: 5.5 (98%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 760 (74%)

Program Applying: Applied/Computational Math

Research Experience: Somewhat prestigious applied math REU, some computational physics research at my undergrad university.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: minor academic awards
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Lab instructor, grader
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: a couple grad classes by graduation but none completed before applications. 3 semesters of analysis, 4 semesters of algebra, some applied courses, physics major.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where:
Reach
MIT - Computational Science and Engineering - Rejected 3/2
UCLA - Math (Applied) - Rejected 2/10
Harvard SEAS - Applied Math - Rejected 2/22
Stanford ICME - Applied Math - Rejected 2/6
Washington - Applied Math - Accepted 1/24 (Tuition waiver + health insurance + $2,572/month teaching position for 5 years) Attending!
Michigan - AIM - Waitlisted 3/21, did not express interest to stay on waitlist
UT Austin - Applied Math - Applied

Less Reach
Wisconsin - Math (Applied) - Rejected 2/3 (A little surprised, I thought my research interests and experience aligned very well the Applied Math Lab at Madison)
Georgia Tech - Applied Math (CSE) - Accepted 1/16 (Tuition waiver + $2,185/month TA assistantship)
UC San Diego - Applied Math - Accepted 2/28 (Tuition waiver + $1,114/month 25% TA + $1,114/month fellowship + 2,500 startup stipend + 12,000 James B. Ax Graduate Fellowship)
UC Davis - Applied Math - Accepted 1/19 (Letter from Graduate Program Chair saying I have been recommended to Dean of Graduate Studies for admission. Funding TBD)
Rice - Applied Math - Withdrawn 3/12 (previous email about attending open house before admission decisions are made.)
Rutgers - Math (Applied) - Rejected 3/28
University of Maryland AMSC - Scientific Computing- Accepted 2/17 (19,500 TA assistantship + 5k stipend + tuition waiver up to 12 credits/sem)

Match
Northeastern - Network Science Institute - Accepted 3/2 (Tuition waiver + $23,190 fall/spring (20hr/wk of work) + health insurance)
Boston University - Math (Applied) - Accepted 2/17 (Tuition waiver + $32,500 fellowship (TA or research))

Note:
I am very happy with where I was accepted, and in retrospect I shouldn't have applied to so many schools. When filling out my applications I kind of panicked about a low GRE score, and started a lot of applications. My october GRE went much better, but I figured I may as well just submit the already complete applications.

I visited GT, UMD, BU, and UW. It came down to UW and GT mainly because of their geographic locations (cities). I ended up choosing UW because of the community in the applied math department, the political climate in Seattle, and to a lesser extent my funding.

itosformula · Post by **itosformula** » Sat Nov 26, 2016 10:29 am

Undergrad Institution: NYU
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s): N/A
GPA: Overall: 3.66 (3.82 in upper division math courses)
Type of Student: Chinese Female

GRE Revised General Test: very few people care about a pure math applicant's gre general scores, right?
Q: 170 (97%)
V: 157 (75%)
W: 3.5 (42%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 820 (84%) (I really don't know why those who from Chinese universities could get a percentile like 99%. My math test scores used to be very competitive among other Chinese students' before attending university

)

TOEFL Score: (109 = R30/L29/S23/W27)

Program Applying: Pure Math

Research Experience: participated in a famous professor's grand project (I did some numerical analysis things) and presented the project at an on-campus research exhibition. currently doing an independent study on SLE and will do another independent study on the ergodic theory supervised by a well-known professor in this field.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: department recognition awards
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: I don't remember any
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: I am an international female. One of my recommenders is really famous and he promised me a strong recommendation letter (I did the research with him and he offered me great help in revising my statement of purpose). Though my other recommenders are not that famous, I believe they will write me really strong recommendation letters. I took two Ph.D. analysis courses at the Courant and did not get bad grades.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I am extremely skilled in playing a musical instrument?

Applying to Where: ALL PURE MATH PROGRAMS

Throwing money away

Chicago - rejected
MIT - rejected
Caltech -rejected Nice rejection letter
Harvard -rejected
Perfect. Just as expected.

More Realistic Reach

UCLA -Pending
Columbia -Waitlisted I don't like their attitude
Michigan -Accepted (2.5k+TAship) Not going
UPenn -Accepted (27.5k+4530 summer+500 travel) See me in Philadelphia

At least one of them should accept me, hopefully

Washington St. Louis - Accepted
Minnesota - Accepted
Wisconsin Madison -Waitlisted
Stony Brook -Pending
UCD -Accepted
UCSD -Accepted

hawk · Post by **hawk** » Sun Nov 27, 2016 3:18 pm

Undergrad Institution: Christian liberal arts school in Mississippi.
Major(s): Physics and Mathematics
Minor(s):
GPA: 4.0
Type of Student: Domestic White Male

GRE Revised General Test:
I'm going to take this next week.
Q: 160 (82%)
V: 160 (76?%)
W: 4.5 (86%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 510 (15th percentile!!! It was a bad day. Timed math tests are ridiculous.)

Program Applying: Applied Math where possible (numerical analysis/scientific computing/PDE)

Research Experience: I have an honors thesis on a mathematical model I made to calculate electric charge transfer in lightning flashes, I
worked for 2 summers at a US Army laboratory writing hpc codes for modeling thermal signatures of rainforests(actually turned down a job offer here) - this produced a conference paper.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Plenty of Honor Societies, officer in MAA and a political club and my fraternity,
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Physics tutor at my school for 1 year.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: I think I have really really good recommendation letters.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
Reach:
Virginia Tech - Mathematics
NC State - Applied Mathematics - waitlisted Feb. 7 Accepted 3/13 $18000 TA!

Mid-Range:
University of Tennessee - Mathematics
University of South Carolina - Mathematics

Last Resort:
Mississippi State University - Mathematics - Accepted. Waiting to hear about financial support.

studsmckenzie · Post by **studsmckenzie** » Thu Dec 01, 2016 11:30 pm

Undergrad Institution: Smallish State School, not known for math
Major(s): Math
GPA: 3.83 (3.92 math)
Type of Student: Domestic white male

Graduate Institution: Same as undergrad
Major(s): Math
GPA: 3.97

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 162 (82%)
V: 159 (82%)
W: 4.5 (82%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 590 (33%)

Program Applying: Pure math Ph. D.

Research Experience: 2 undergrad projects, with a publication, 2 graduate projects, one of which is for a master's thesis. A couple independent study courses as well. Have presented research at several regional conferences.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Not much. A small scholarship, 2nd place in a state math competition, some certifications for work. summa cum laude for undergrad.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor for 3 years, including tutor certification. Have worked as a graduate assistant, grading papers for a few classes, including a proof course. Taught a basic computer science course for high school students one summer.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: I have done research/independent study courses with each of my letter writers. They all know me pretty well. One recommender is known in their (somewhat obscure field). This probably won't help much
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I taught myself calculus and skipped calc I-II by taking the CLEP, without ever having taken a calculus course. I only did math as an undergrad for two years, as I already had an AA when I began at my university. I don't know if these points are good or bad are neither, but I mention them in my statements.

Applying to Where:
Cornell Rejected 2/7/2017 via email
Penn State Withdrew application after 4/15/2017
University of Virginia Rejected off of wait-list 4/10/17 via email --- I emailed them and was told in response that they don't anticipate sending out any further offers -- Officially rejected via email 4/29/2017
UC Davis Rejected off wait-list 4/30/2017 vis email
UC Santa Barbara Rejected 4/3/2017 via email
University at Buffalo Accepted 2/7/2017 via email -- $24,800 stipend, TA and fellowship Declined 4/14/17
University of Iowa Accepted (unofficial) 2/24/2017 via email Declined 4/10/17
University of Oregon Rejected via email 3/10/2017
Indiana University - Bloomington Wait-listed via email 3/1/2017 Accepted 4/14/17 via email -- $19,000 first year, $18,000 every other year for up to five years -- ATTENDING!!!!!
Brandeis University Emailed 3/1/2017 -- told I'm on the "short list", specific news to come... Received email 4/26/2017 asking if I was still interested in a position, I declined
University of Illinois - Chicago Rejected via website after 4/15/2017
Ohio University Accepted 2/28/2017 via email -- $17,080 minimum TA stipend; details to come Declined 4/10/17

I'm going to Indiana! I'm super excited! As far as the schools I haven't heard from yet, I'm assuming I got rejected, but I don't care anymore!

To anyone coming from a relatively unknown math school and with lackluster GRE scores, it is still possible to get into a good school. Just be ready to bust your ass doing research, going to conferences, and acing your classes, and build relationships with your letter writers. I have a feeling my applications would have performed better if I had strong GRE scores to back them up, and I certainly would have been less stressed overall if I had better scores. So even if you don't absolutely need great scores, you should still study hard and try to get great scores!

spablo · Post by **spablo** » Fri Dec 02, 2016 5:14 am

Undergrad Institution: Big/Medium Research 2 University, Southeast USA
Major(s): Mathematics - Honors
Minor(s): Took almost enough classes to get a CS minor but I dropped it to focus more on maths (I did not even mention it in my application, but I suppose admissions may like that I have coding skills? Cannot hurt too much).

GPA: 3.61/4.0
MGPA: 3.89/4.0
Type of Student: Domestic Multi-racial Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 163 (85%)

V: 147 (34%)

W: 4.0 (59%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 670 (53%) 10/29/16

TOEFL Score: N/A

Program Applying: Pure Math PhD - Algebra/Algebraic Topology/Representation Theory (It's too early for me to have well defined research interests, but I love pure math and could see myself working in algebra, topology, or analysis.)

Research Experience: Will complete an undergraduate honors research project in computational commutative algebra (Senior Thesis)
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Honors Concentration, Dean's list (4.0 for 3 semesters, one of which was Fall 2016), 5 departmental scholarships, ΠΜΕ
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: >2.5 years of math tutoring, online math grading job, grader for junior-level abstract algebra course at my university, SI Leader for computer science (implemented it for the first semester)
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: All important upper division courses are honors (algebra sequence, analysis sequence, topology). Taking a graduate sequence in algebra right now. Professor is one of my letter writers and I got the highest score on the midterm. (+1)
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I got a <1.5 GPA my first semester and went far away from math. So I got into my major really late, then got invited to the honors program my 4th year. But considering how fast I went into the upper division courses, I have been doing really well.
I have multiple illnesses and other stuff that I've had to deal with... that may help on "diversity" essays (required by some schools)?
My partner lives in one of the cities for one of the schools---that could possibly "help" (should not hurt) that that is a personal/financial motivating factor in choosing that program which I very briefly mentioned in the SOP.

Applying to Where: (Kind of a competitive list for me, but I don't want to settle

)

Dream
University of California, San Diego Rejected 03/17/17 via Email

My dream school...
University of Texas, Austin Unnoficial Rejection via Phone 04/12/17 (Called and was told it is unlikely that I will be given an offer :/)
University of Wisconsin, Madison Rejected 02/03/17 via email (400+ applicants for ~20 spots)
University Of Washington, Seattle Rejected 02/14/17 via email ("Extraordinary number of high-quality applicants" for ~16 spots. Very nice rejection email.)

Reach?
Brandeis University Unofficial Rejection (Poked with email 03/03---Told they will give me an official answer in a few weeks, but due to a huge number of high quality applicants, it is unlikely that they will be able to give me an offer. Very nice email.)
University of California, Santa Barbara Admitted 03/20/2017 via website (50% TA with a $20,050 minimum stipend per year + health insurance, 5 years of funding offered and can get funding for a 6th year if necessary. Excited!) ATTENDING
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Waitlisted (Poked with email 03/13/17) Rejected 04/05/17 via website
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Submitted (Poked with email 03/13---Told that they have sent out first offers, and that they "cannot predict with any certainty whether the committee will eventually be able to make more offers".) Expecting rejection

Match/I hope one of these will accept me
University of Colorado, Boulder Waitlisted (Poked with email 03/03) Withdrew 04/08/17
University of Georgia, Athens Under Consideration/Waitlisted (Poked with email 03/06) Withdrew 04/08/17
University of Oregon, Eugene Under Consideration/Waitlisted (Poked with email 02/21) Withdrew 04/08/17
Vanderbilt University, Nashville Rejected 03/03/17 via website (email to check website)---Cold, generic rejection letter.

"Safety"
University of South Carolina Told that I am in top group of applicants to receive offers and asked if still interested Declined 04/04/17
University of Tennessee, Knoxville Admitted 03/20/17 via Email ($21,000 combined teaching assistantship/fellowship for 4 years plus tuition waiver. $18,000-21,000 for a 5th year depending on progress.) Declined 04/04/17

03/20: Two offers in one day and I feel great!

Takeaways:
GRE score will not completely determine your admittance to a program! Though, I was (and my professors were) quite surprised that I wasn't admitted to one of my match schools before I withdrew. UCSB is a great program: Group I under the old and new AMS rankings (though on the lower end), but it is historically strong in my biggest research interest (topology). I am grateful to be given an offer. I was discouraged that it was my only option, but it really felt like a great fit for me during the visit (visits are important). You can't really take rejections personally because there are so many qualified applicants that get rejected.

Waiting to get your first offer is incredibly stressful, especially when you follow sites like these and see other people getting offers left and right. But you may be lucky enough to be in a later round, as I was. Also, don't follow these sites, because it's really stressful.

Lastly, checking in with departments can be very helpful for the committees to know whether or not you're still interested in a program (but read the admissions FAQ on the department page before you do this--for example, UCSD says they will not respond to such inquiries). In particular, UCSB's coordinator told me that she would let the committee know that I am still interested and even asked if I had gotten other offers (which I hadn't). I think this definitely helped give my offer a little push because I would be more likely to accept.

Mathemaconomist · Post by **Mathemaconomist** » Sat Dec 03, 2016 4:18 am

Undergrad Institution: Small No Name Southern School
Major(s): Mathematics and Economics
Minor(s): Political Science
GPA: Math 4.0, Econ 4.0, Overall 3.8/4.0
Type of Student: Male/Black American

Program Applying: Math/Applied Math/Economics

Research Experience: 6 research projects @ Current Uni., 4 published, 1 submitted for publication, Math REU and published research, Presented at 11 math conferences and 4 economic conferences

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Fellows Scholarship @ Current Uni., Several Outstanding Presentation Awards, Several Research Awards, National Alliance Pre-Doctoral Scholar, Omicron Delta Kappa, Kappa Mu Epsilon, Honors Program

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Math Tutor 3 years, Econ Tutor 2 years, President of Math Club 2 years, Research Intern for Police Department

Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Being a Minority Student, Research Experience

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Attended Nearly 30 Conferences, Finished Math Major Requirements by the end of my 2nd Year, Could have graduated in 2 year but decided to stay to gain research experience and take on a second major

Applying to Where: Will post all schools when I submit all applications.

alaino · Post by **alaino** » Sat Dec 03, 2016 5:40 pm

Undergrad Institution: Big state
Major(s):Business Economics
Minor(s):Mathematics
GPA:3.715
Type of Student: Male, Undocumented (So some schools clasify me as International some as Domestic)

Masters: Mathematics from a small state school.
GPA: 4.0

GRE Revised General Test: (studied the night before)
Q: 91%
V: 68%

W: 15%

GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 790 (79%)

TOEFL Score: All the Schools which I have contacted do not require it.

Program Applying: Pure Math

Research Experience: 2 Years of Research Experience with a professor at my current university.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: A lot of scholarships and a lot of awards from my current university.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutored as an Undergrad and I am currently a TA for Calculus 1 and 2.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: 7 graduate classes all with grade A. Latino Male.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:An error in my transcripts that I may not be able to fix. (low grade in a class that should have been dropped)

Applying to Where: All pure

I Can Dream:

UCLA Denied
Far-Reach:

Cornell Denied
Brown Denied
University of Texas-Austin Admitted: $31k per year first year no teaching requirement Attending
University of Pennsylvania Denied
University of Maryland College Park Withdrew

Reach:

Rutgers Withdrew
UCSD Denied
Stony Brook Denied
University of Washington Denied
Ohio State University Withdrew
Purdue Withdrew
Rice Withdrew

Realistic:

UC Davis Admitted: 22k per year funding for four years
UC Irvine withdrew
Cuny withdrew

Safety:

USC waiting
UCSB withdrew
UCR withdrew

mzhaox · Post by **mzhaox** » Sun Dec 04, 2016 11:19 pm

Undergrad Institution: Large state school
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s): Computer Science
GPA: 3.99/4.0
Type of Student: Domestic, Chinese male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 163 (85%)
V: 164 (94%)
W: 4.5 (82%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 850 (89%)

TOEFL Score: NA

Program Applying: Pure Math (number theory) everywhere

Research Experience: Research class in materials science (paper submitted, SIAM conference talk), research project on spectral/random graph theory at my school, Research in Industrial Projects at Hong Kong (no publications, talks at JMM and elsewhere). Thesis research in number theory.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Barry Goldwater scholarship.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for Models of Computation course, SETI intern at Google.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Grad classes in class field theory, algebraic geometry, representation theory, plus others. My thesis adviser collaborated with someone at UCLA. Another collaborates with someone at UMichigan.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Archery?

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
Princeton - Pure math
UChicago - Pure math
UMichigan - Pure math
Columbia - Pure math
UC Berkeley - Pure math
UCLA - Pure math
Boston College - Pure math

Possibly some more. Would this be a good idea?

boredom · Post by **boredom** » Mon Dec 05, 2016 10:08 am

Undergrad Institution: Private, math well known.
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s):
GPA: 3.59(major 3.67)
Type of Student: Domestic male, asian

Grad Institution: Private, math well known.
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s):
GPA: 3.85

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 170 (97%)
V: 158 (80%)
W: 5.0 (93%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 800 (80%)

Program Applying: Pure/Applied depending on the program. My primary interest is in nonlinear PDEs and harmonic analysis.

Research Experience: Nothing really.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Departmental Honors.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA/Tutor/Grader
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: I'm in the BA/MA program; took around 13 grad classes.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Nothing really.

Applying to Where:

Brown - Applied Math Rejected 1/31
Carnegie Mellon Interview Offered 1/23 Admitted 2/16
City College of New York Admitted 3/10
Cornell - Applied Math Rejected 2/1
Columbia - Applied Math Withdrew
Johns Hopkins Waitlisted 2/1 Withdrew
MIT Rejected 2/14
NYU Withdrew
University of Chicago Rejected 1/27
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Rejected 2/14
UCLA Rejected 2/11
University of Maryland Admitted 3/30
University of Michigan Rejected 3/8
University of Pennsylvania Withdrew
University of Texas Withdrew

Note to future readers: I got my offers relatively late, but in the end everything worked out. Be patient and make sure you visit the schools before you reach a final decision. Good luck!

verysweetjuices · Post by **verysweetjuices** » Mon Dec 05, 2016 8:33 pm

Undergrad Institution: Top 5 Canadian school
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s):
GPA: 3.7/4
Type of Student: Domestic male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 70%
V: 68%
W: 82%
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 44%

Program Applying: PhD/MSc/MA Math

Research Experience: NSERC USRA.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: in course awards
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: 2 grad classes; thesis

Applying to Where:
McGill - Accepted (February 20, 2017)
University of Toronto - Accepted (January 25th, 2017)
McMaster University - Accepted (December 9th, 2016)
University of Western Ontario - Accepted (December 13th, 2016)
Ohio State - declined
Univeristy of Wisconsin Madison - rejected (February 3, 2017)
Univeristy of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - rejected (February 2, 2017)
Dartmouth College - rejected (March 1, 2017)

mathnotherdrugs · Post by **mathnotherdrugs** » Tue Dec 06, 2016 10:24 pm

Undergrad Institution: Mid-sized state school, not well known for math but somewhat active
Major(s): Math
Minor(s): None
GPA: 3.69/4.0, math GPA is 3.85ish/4.0
Type of Student: Domestic White Female

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 161 (79%)
V: 158 (80%)
W: 5.5 (98%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: <10%

I'm not a great standardized test taker.

Program Applying: Pure Math Ph.D. (Algebra, Algebraic Topology)

Research Experience: Eh. 2 semester long research projects as part of coursework leading to two papers, no publications, one presented at a conference. Senior thesis, more of an independent study than research, but in my area of interest.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's list, departmental scholarships
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor in campus math lab, Graded for Survey of Calc for 2 years
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Female, LORs should be pretty strong... Hopefully. I failed a (non-math) class in my second semester, but my GPA for the last 5 semesters is a 3.9. I've taken 4 classes co-listed as Grad courses and will take 1 grad only course before Fall 2017!

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
Reach
Brandeis Pending

Reach-Matchish
University of Iowa Waitlisted (3/2 in response to email inquiring about status) - Emailed again 4/3, still waitlisted. Asked if I was still interested/unofficial offer 4/12 Declined.
University of Nebraska - Lincoln Accepted 2/17 by email with TA funding!! ATTENDING!
University of Missouri Accepted 1/31 by email with TA funding and additional scholarship Declined.

Safety/good bets
University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Admitted to funded master's (told me they typically only admit people with master's degrees to the PhD program), TA-ship, Chancellor Fellowship, and additional research funding; exact amount tba Declined.

I was going to apply to more schools in my eye level range, but received my first acceptance before several of the deadlines, so opted not to! In hindsight, I wish I had applied to a couple more reach schools, but I didn't have a ton of extra money and the mgre really hurt my chances for a lot of programs I had been thinking of. I took it late, in October, without really preparing for it. That's definitely my biggest regret of this process. BUT, while it did hold me back, it didn't prevent me from getting into a good school. If you're reading this with an mgre score like mine, you are not out of options

I think Nebraska was a great match overall and I'm excited to get started!

grapeabelian · Post by **grapeabelian** » Fri Dec 09, 2016 4:22 pm

Undergrad Institution: Top 30 US Liberal Arts
Major(s): Mathematics, Physics
Minor(s): Philosophy
GPA: 3.02 (stellar, I know)
Type of Student: Domestic White Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 161
V: 158
W: 4

Program Applying: Master's programs and 2 PhD. Using master's to reprove myself before trying to get into more exclusive programs for PhD since I have been out of school for a while. All have a pure math focus and faculty specializing in differential geometry/topology/mathematical physics.

Research Experience: Invited to do research sophomore year, had to decline due to health issues
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Member of my university Putnam Team
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor at university for 4 years, TA for 2, home school teacher in math for a semester
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: I think that my letters of recommendation will help balance out my GPA and other negatives quite a bit. I was a clear standout in my class (if not number one in terms of abilities), although my grades didn't reflect it due to health issues. My letter writers acknowledge that. Also, I write a pretty mean personal statement.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I have had somewhat of an interesting life that has tested my mettle.

Alabama - Master's - Admitted without funding on 2/10, will not attend
University of Hawaii, Manoa - Master's - Admitted on 2/28. Attending unfunded.
University of Alaska, Fairbanks - Master's - Admitted on 2/23 with $17.8k assistantship $2.3k health insurance and tuition waiver
Bucknell University - Master's - Admitted on 2/21 with $11.3k minimum assistantship and tuition waiver
Bryn Mawr College - PhD - Denied on 3/14
Virginia Tech - Master's - Waitlist as of 3/8
LSU - Master's - Denied on 3/7.
Wesleyan University - PhD - Denied on 2/28.

fierydemon · Post by **fierydemon** » Tue Dec 13, 2016 3:19 pm

hihi2712 · Post by **hihi2712** » Thu Dec 15, 2016 7:04 am

Undergrad Institution: Foreign (Singapore)
Major(s): Pure Math
Minor(s): Physics
GPA: ~3.8
Type of Student: International Asian Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: ~95%
V: ~75%
W: ~55%

GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: >90%

TOEFL Score: >100 (S24)

Program Applying: PhD Pure Math

Research Experience: one conference paper, some journal papers in math(low impact factor), one journal paper in another field, invited to conference, research experience in second and third years
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: departmental awards
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA + RA for 2 years.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: nothing, probably some small disability (?)
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: (minus points) low grade in some lower course, international student

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
Princeton - Rejected 1/20
UC Berkeley - Rejected 2/4
Columbia - Rejected 1/31
U Notre Dame - Accepted 2/9 - with funding
Northwestern - Rejected 3/1
NYU - Rejected 3/10 - Accepted to Master with no funding

mgre_app · Post by **mgre_app** » Thu Dec 15, 2016 12:19 pm

Undergrad Institution: Chinese university, 3 tier or 4 tier in the country, XXX University of Posts and Telecommunications
Major(s): Communication Engineering
Minor(s): English Literature
GPA: 3.4 / 4
Type of Student: International Chinese Male, does minority group in China count as the Minority?

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 167 (93%)
V: 159 (82%)
W: 4.0 (59%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 900 (97%)

TOEFL Score: 112 = R30/L29/S24/W29 (if applicable)

Program Applying: Pure Math or Applied Math

Research Experience: Nope
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Nope
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: C++ programmer at a local startup for 2 years
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help:
A personal blog with several naive math related posts
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
Since I don't have a degree in any of these fields related to math, I'm pretty much self taught.
Analysis by rudin and zorich, abstract algebra by dummit & foote, game theory by Open Yale Courses, formal logic by GEB and another chinese textbook.

As I've worked for 2 years, what I'm looking for here is an early career change.
I think faculty is a better way for me because working does not attract me, even in such a nerd industry as computer programming.
I've been learning serious math sporadically throughout my undergraduate years as well as while working, which is the main reason for my excellent mGRE test result. Moreover, I like the way it trains my mind.
Frankly speaking, my major is a total crap despite of the fact that it is the best major in my school.
My minor has taught me much much more since so few students are attending that the classes actually turn out to be seminars.

IMO my application would not be favorable due to my background

, so maybe I would try a Post-baccalaureate program instead if it turns out to be disappointing.

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
UIUC - Pure / Admitted / Accepted Holy Cow, I just got admitted...
UMN - Pure / Rejected on 4/19/17
UCSD - Pure / Pending

bee3.14 · Post by **bee3.14** » Mon Dec 19, 2016 7:11 pm

Undergrad Institution: Small State University
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s): Statistics
GPA: Cumulative 3.04/ Major 3.20/ Minor 4.0
Type of Student: Domestic Minority Female

GRE Revised General Test: GOING TO RETAKE IN 2 WEEKS
Q: 161 (79%)
V: 150 (50%)

W: 3.5 (42%)

GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: Do not wish to take

Program Applying: M.S. (Applied) Statistics/Data Science

Research Experience: Undergraduate research with professor & poster presentation at conference related to our study. Current Statistical Research Assistant at my university in the economic/business development center. Current focus on policy making, demography, & spatial analysis. No publications thus far.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Nothing Pertinant
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Research Assistant Part-Time, President of the Mathematical Association for 2 years, Treasurer for the Statistical Association, multitude of volunteer work
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Hispanic female, first generation Mexican-American, Particular love for philanthropy
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: One sterling LOR and 2 very nice LOR

Applying to Where:

Highly Unlikely
University of Washington - Seattle - M.S. Statistics (Part-Time)
University of Chicago - M.S. Statistics

Possible
Colorado State - Ft. Collins - M.S. Applied Statistics

More Likely
Southern Methodist - M.S. Applied Statistics & Data Analytics
George Washington - M.S. Statistics

hopeful2060 · Post by **hopeful2060** » Thu Dec 22, 2016 3:05 pm

Undergrad Institution: Small Liberal Arts College (Not known for Anything)
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s):
GPA: 3.98 (Math), 3.90 (Overall)
Type of Student: International Student (Male)

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 170 (97%)
V: 158 (80%)
W: 4.5 (82%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 760 (74%)

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

Program Applying: All Pure Mathematics

Research Experience: One at my school and one at a very well known School in Mathematics
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Largest Scholarship in the college (for mathematics)
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for 3 years and a lot of other jobs
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: I studied at a very well known mathematics school for a semester and did research there. That is only different thing on my app.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I am a non-traditional Student

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
School -

UMich (Ann-Arbor) --Denied

UPenn -- Emailed them and got the standard cookie cutter reply that they will let me know before April 15 --> never heard back

U of California, Berkeley --> Denied

U of Wisconsin-Madison --> Waitlisted then Denied

Penn State ---> Denied--- Received an email stating that no further offers will be made.

U of Maryland, College Park -- Emailed to ask and go the same standard reply that they will let me know by April 15th --> Never heard back again

Ohio State --> Accepted; $2050/month with Graduate Research Assistant in first summer --> Upgraded to University fellowship for the first year, Research Associateship 4th Sem and an additional $1800 each semester

-- I accepted this offer

Michigan State --> Accepted with Fellowships for first and second year --> I had to turn this offer down

U of Georgia --> Emailed to ask, got no answer

U of Rochester --> Emailed to ask, got no answer

University of Colorado, Boulder --> Accepted on 22nd Feb with TA-ship --> Had to turn this offer down

Minnesota, Twin-Cities---Denied

Original post -- I would consider myself very lucky to get into any of these programs and would be very content to attend there and pursue mathematics. I have gone to an unknown college and my recommenders are not very well known (except my research advisor for my summer research at another better university).

On March 8th -- I decided to apply to UMich, Minnesota,Berkeley because one of my new adviser asked me to. I did not stand a chance in such great schools. I am just grateful that these folks reject nicely enough.

camillesaisae · Post by **camillesaisae** » Mon Dec 26, 2016 4:38 pm

Undergrad Institution: Foreign
Major(s): Mathematics and Electrical Engineering
GPA: 3.84
Type of Student: International Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 97%
V: 60%
W: 59%
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 99%

TOEFL Score: 106

Program Applying: Applied Math

Research Experience: One Engineering REU.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's List, Math Olympiads, Scholarships.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for several math courses from calculus 1 to Functional Analysis.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: 6 grad classes.

Applying to Where: Dream
UCLA - Applied Math
MIT - EECS Rejected Mar. 1
Princeton - PACM Rejected Feb. 16
UC Berkeley - Statistics Rejected Mar. 7
Cambridge - Part III Math Tripos Withdrawn Mar. 13
MIT - Math Admitted! Feb. 3
Cornell - CAM Admitted! Feb. 1
Stanford - ICME Admitted! Jan. 26
BMS - Phase I Admitted! Invitation! Jan. 20

I hope you all get to a good school, but, more importantly, end up in place where you will be happy.

bsplitter · Post by **bsplitter** » Sat Dec 31, 2016 12:04 am

Undergrad Institution: University of Missouri
GPA: 3.82, Math GPA 3.76
Type of Student: White Domestic Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 165 (89%)
V: 157 (75%)
W: 4.0 (59%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 620 (42%)

Program Applying: Not sure, really. I said topology and algebraic geometry on my statement of purpose.

Research Experience: None. I switched into math too late and didn't get accepted to any REUs the summer I applied.

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's List every semester, Scholarships. Nothing special.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Worked as a mathematics tutor for 6 semesters and a Peer Advisor for two semesters. (Peer Advisors have to teach a freshmen seminar class, non-math related)
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: I also worked as a writing tutor

Applying to Where:

MS in math:
University of Missouri - Accepted to MA program 1-31-17; can move to PhD after qualifying exams! $16.4k stipend. Declined 4-3-17.
University of Wisconsin-Madison - Rejected 2-3-17

PhD in math:
University of Missouri - Accepted to MA program 1-31-17; can move to PhD after qualifying exams! $16.4k stipend. Declined 4-3-17.
University of Wisconsin-Madison - Rejected 2-3-17
University of Louisville - Accepted, waiting on funding information 3-27-17. Offered GTA 4-6-17. $16.6k stipend. Declined 4-11-17.
Washington University in St. Louis - Rejected 5-10-17 by email. A bit late, eh?
University of Oregon - Rejected 3-9-17 by email
University of Oklahoma - Accepted 3-29-17 after poking with an email about a week prior. $16.4k stipend. Declined 4-13-17.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln - Rejected 4-21-17 by email. Thanks for the timely response UNL

.
Clemson University - Accepted to PhD program 2-5-17! $17k stipend. ATTENDING
Louisiana State University - Accepted, waitlisted for funding 2-27-17. - Declined 4-12-17.
Boston College - Rejected 4-3-17 by letter in the mail.
Vanderbilt University - Rejected 3-4-17. Expected this one. I didn't meet the suggested GRE subject test cutoff score.

I am so excited to attend mathematics graduate school next year. I have officially accepted the offer from Clemson University. Incidentally, this will be my 11th consecutive year of being a tiger! I can't wait! Good luck to everyone else!

What I learned from this process:
- I became a math major my 5th semester of school. Late bloomers can still make it.
- I didn't do any research. I still made it.
- I scored below the 50% mark on the GRE subject test, and still got into three group-II schools. (Mizzou, OU, Clemson).
- I didn't take any graduate level courses. I still made it.
- Casting a wide net was one of the best decisions I could have made. I didn't know where I wanted to go, so I applied all over the country, sometimes arbitrarily. I am now attending a school that I applied to on a whim, because I was so impressed with the university when I visited.
- The application process is stressful (and expensive), but it's worth it in the end.
- I still don't know what field of mathematics I want to go into. Don't feel pressured to have that decision made before you apply.

marmle · Post by **marmle** » Sat Dec 31, 2016 1:50 pm

Undergrad Institution: Top 35 US Undergrad
Major(s): Math, Computer Science
Minor(s):
GPA: 3.94
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 167 (93%)
V: 163 (92%)
W: 4.0 (59%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: Didn't take

Program Applying: Statistics/Biostatistics

Research Experience: One summer of SIBS, one REU in biostatistics
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Pi Mu Epsilon, Awards for being in top 5% of class
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Math Grader, Computer Science TA
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Rec letters should be good
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where: All PhD
Berkeley - Statistics Reject 3/7
Chicago - Statistics Accepted 1/24
Washington - Statistics Waitlisted 1/18
CMU - Statistics, Joint Statistics+ML Reject 2/23
Duke - Statistics Reject 2/3
Wisconsin - Statistics Accepted 2/24
Michigan - Statistics Reject 3/14
Columbia - Statistics Reject 3/8
Cornell - Statistics
Yale - Statistics Interview request 1/27, Reject 2/21
UT-Austin - Statistics Reject 3/21
Washington - Biostatistics Accepted 1/6
Harvard - Biostatistics Interview invitation 1/6, Waitlist 2/3
UNC-Chapel Hill - Biostatistics Accepted 1/3
Penn - Biostatistics Interview invitation 12/20, Accepted 2/15
Princeton - Operations Research Reject 2/10
Chicago - Computer Science Accepted 2/23

topologyandtacos · Post by **topologyandtacos** » Fri Jan 06, 2017 2:50 pm

Undergrad Institution: Medium State School
Major(s): Math
Minor(s):
GPA:3.51
Type of Student: Domestic Female; first gen. college

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 165 (89%)
V: 159 (82%)
W: 4.5 (82%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: Opted out; I hadn't taken abstract algebra, analysis, or any topology at the time so I didn't want to bank on what I did know to get me very far

Program Applying: Pure Math (Topology, Number Theory, Abstract Algebra)

Research Experience: I have been working with a professor in my department on an individual project in Linear Algebra; no results as of yet, but may present at my regional MAA meeting
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: departmental scholarships, dean's list
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: tutored at a youth rehab facility. I was basically a full-on teacher to those kids
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: I have taken just about every elective available at my school, my recommendations should be very very strong, and personally, I think my personal statement was pretty on point.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I spent my entire undergraduate career working ~30 hours/week, so I discussed my feeling that once I enter grad school, all those hours will become purely dedicated to my studies, which I think would be a key factor in potential success.

Applying to Where:

Reaching:
Univ. of Washington - MS Rejected via email 02/09
Brandeis - PhD

Reasonable:
Oregon State - PhD
UC Riverside - PhD
Washington State - PhD
Colorado State - PhD Rejected via email 2/17
Wesleyan - PhD
University of Nebraska - PhD

Safe bets:
LSU - PhD Accepted 2/27, waitlisted for funding (like everyone else, it seems)
University of Louisiana-Lafayette - PhD Accepted 2/24, funding info to come

Truthfully, I have no idea how I'll end up. This site has basically indicated to me that it's anybody's guess.

thing1 · Post by **thing1** » Fri Jan 06, 2017 11:57 pm

Undergrad Institution: University of Dayton (private research mid-sized)
Major(s): Math & Computer Science
Minor(s): Physics
GPA: 3.95
Type of Student: Domestic White Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q:166 (91%)
V: 155 (68%)
W: 3.5 (42%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 730 (67%)

Program Applying: Math, Applied Math, a couple interdisciplinary math programs

Research Experience:
Rejected by my 5 REUs --> Sophomore-Junior Year Summer: Undergrad thesis program at home university (9 students total accepted)
Junior-Senior Year Summer:
First half-University of Oxford tutorial in functional analysis, got a grade of α-, which is like an A-
in the English system (btw Oxford's a really cool place and they hook you up with nice housing that's right next to the Thames, so if you
ever get a study-abroad there then go if you have the money and/or external funding)

Second half-Came back to home university and used functional analysis stuff for my thesis...ended up learning stuff that helped me break a
huge roadblock in my thesis big time (so this is actually a huge part of my personal statement)

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Just stuff at my university stuff like Dean's list and getting accepted to be part of math and computer science
teams for COMAP and ACM-ICPC...didn't do crazy good, but we didn't score zero either

Pertinent Activities or Jobs:
Private tutor my freshman year (btw you make a LOT more money this way than being a TA but it's not as fun)
Teaching assistant sophomore-junior year (so 4 semesters)
Fitness instructor freshman year-now (pertinent b/c it's similar to being a TA)

Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help:
Had 5 letter writers that were all pretty strong I'm guessing (I waived my right to access on every one)...some applications allowed 3, some
allowed 5...I shuffled some around based on program I was applying to, e.g. one was a comp. sci. prof so I used his for every applied math or
interdisciplinary program, used my measure theory prof if I was interested in pure math profs at the dept...my thesis advisor was the only one I
used for every application. Then for ones with 5, I just requested all 5.

Lots of my CV stuff is at my home university, which that along with my subject score (which isn't awful but not great...it's Ohio State's median)
is what makes me most nervous...gave two colloquium talks at my home university, one publication through my home university (so not like
a legit journal), a couple talks as part of our honors program, and only one talk at an AMS national conference (literally yesterday)

Putnam score of 9 my sophomore year (0 junior year)

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:
Oxford's transcripts give you a numerical grade AND your tutor (~professor) has to write a quick blurb (like quarter to half page) about you,
so I uploaded that to my application when I could because it was pretty positive stuff

Applying to Where:
Texas Austin - CSEM (sent in subject test score, though not required) Accepted, Feb. 6 with funding, ATTENDING
GA Tech - Math Accepted Jan. 17 with funding
Missouri - Math Accepted Jan. 31 with funding
Michigan State - Math Accepted Jan. 29 with funding
Nebraska - Math Accepted Feb. 10 with funding
Carnegie Mellon - Math Interview for Feb. 15, Accepted Feb. 16 with funding
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - Math, Accepted Feb. 22 with funding
UC Davis - Math Accepted with funding April 14

Johns Hopkins - Math Rejected Feb. 2
Vanderbilt - Math Rejected March 3
Duke - Math Rejected March 13
Caltech - Computing+Mathematical Sciences Rejected March 27
Ohio State - Math Waitlisted April 14, Rejected May 4
Maryland - Math Didn't hear back...officially rejected sometime in May
Maryland - AMSC (Applied Math & Scientific Computation) Rejected mid-April
Texas Austin - Math Rejected didn't hear back...officially rejected on July 3

Fellowships
NSF GRFP Rejected March 17 -- very detailed feedback on application
DOE Computational Science Rejected April 4

ghostfish · Post by **ghostfish** » Sat Jan 07, 2017 5:01 am

removed

omhk · Post by **omhk** » Sat Jan 07, 2017 11:30 pm

Undergrad Institution: R1 private US university
Major(s): Applied Math, Mechanical Engineering
GPA: 3.94
Type of Student: Domestic male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 89%
V: 92%
W: 93%
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: didn't submit

Program Applying: Applied Math Ph.D.

Research Experience: two years of research at my home university, which resulted in a 1st author publication in a journal relevant to the subfield I want to go into. Lots of research experience abroad.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions:
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: not much outside of research
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: One of my recommenders is kind of 'famous' in my subfield, as in people in this subfield know him well and hold him in high regard, but it's a narrow field. I doubt his name would ring bells outside of that subfield.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: i've been out of school for two years now, verging on three by the time fall 2017 rolls around. I've been working in a completely unrelated (and non-STEM) field since last year.

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
Reach
Stanford - ICME rejected 2/6
Brown - Applied Math admitted 2/2 - attending!

Less of a Reach
University of Washington - Applied Math admitted 1/24
UT Austin - CSEM admitted 2/6 with fellowship
University of Waterloo - Applied Math admitted 1/23
Stony Brook - AMS admitted 3/3
University of Maryland - AMSC admitted 2/27

Pretty much all of my schools are reaches, and I don't expect to get in to most of them, but I think I'll get into one or two. I had a really great skype session with a prof at one of my reach schools whose research interests align very well with mine, and who explicitly told me he'd go to bat for me with the admissions committee, so I have to think that's a good thing...finger crossed!

yv1 · Post by **yv1** » Mon Jan 09, 2017 10:05 pm

Undergrad Institution: Top LAC
Major(s): Math
Minor(s): None
GPA: 4.0
Type of Student: International Female

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: >90%
V: >90%
W: >90%
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 80% - 90% range

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

Program Applying: Pure Math

Research Experience: one applied math REU, two pure math (number theory) REUs, thesis. 1 publication, a few preprints, a bunch of talks, including at JMM.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: one national award, a few home institution/departmental awards
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Tutor analysis, abstract algebra, discrete math, linear algebra, ODE, calc 2, grader for calc 3, number theory
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: relatively well-known (but young) recommenders, exchanges at top 5 program in US and abroad with good grades.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: have only taken 1 grad class so it may hurt. Socio-economic background may help.

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
Super Reach
Princeton Admitted Jan 20
Harvard Admitted Jan 26
Stanford Waitlisted Jan 23, asked if have accepted offer elsewhere Feb 24 admitted off the waitlist Feb 27
UC Berkeley rejected Feb 3

Reach
UChicago rejected Jan 27
UCLA
UMich admitted Feb 1

Match
Brown admitted Jan 27
UIUC interview Jan 04 admitted Jan 10
Rutgers admitted Feb 13
Ohio State admitted Jan 19
Other
Tripos Part III admitted March 1, waiting on funding.

blackadder · Post by **blackadder** » Tue Jan 10, 2017 10:27 am

Undergrad Institution: Foreign Institution (Europe)
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s):
GPA: 9.75/10 (3.9/10)
Type of Student: International (Europe), Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 168 (95%)
V: 153 (60%)
W: 4.0 (59%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 850 (89%)
TOEFL Score: 108 = R30/L28/S23/W27

Program Applying: Pure Math

Research Experience: Non
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Medals in high school and undergraduate mathematical olympiads, each year ranked among the students with highest grades in the department
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Some lecturing for younger students competing at mathematical olympiads
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: I have taken 2 graduate classes and met all other requirements for obtaining my degree by the end of my 3rd year of studies, 1-2 known recommenders in their respective fields

Applying to Where:

Princeton University - Rejected on 01/21
MIT - Rejected on 02/14
University of Chicago - Admitted on 01/09
Columbia University - Rejected on 01/31
UCLA - Rejected on 03/28
Yale University - Admitted on 01/17
NYU - Courant - Waitlisted on 03/01
Brown University - Rejected on 02/07
Cornell University - Rejected on 04/14
University of Michigan - Waitlisted on 03/20
University of Wisconsin-Madison - Admitted on 02/08
University of Minnesota - Rejected on 04/14
Northwestern University - Rejected on 04/16
University of Pennsylvania

tpbb · Post by **tpbb** » Tue Jan 10, 2017 10:48 am

Undergrad Institution: Ivy
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s): N/A
GPA: 3.8-3.9
Type of Student: DWM

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: >90%
V: >90%
W: >90%
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: >90%

Program Applying: Pure Math (want to go into either Topology/Geometry or Rep Theory)

Research Experience: 3 REUs resulting in a couple of preprints/submitted articles and a couple of talks.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Departmental award
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Grader for 3 years
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Did a directed reading program. 12 grad courses at the time of application.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: 1 great letter of recommendation, 2 not sure of but probably pretty good.

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
Berkeley waitlisted (2/8)
Brown rejected (2/7)
UChicago rejected (1/27)
Columbia rejected (1/31)
Harvard rejected (2/3)
UIUC inquiry about my interest (2/13) (asked about my interest in the program, I withdrew my application)
Michigan accepted (2/1)
MIT rejected (2/14)
Princeton rejected (1/20)
Stanford rejected (2/14)
Texas waitlisted (3/8) withdrew my application (3/13)

I'm probably foolish for not applying to more match schools.

LeeGroups · Post by **LeeGroups** » Wed Jan 11, 2017 8:03 am

Undergrad Institution: Top Canadian School
Major(s): Pure Math
Minor(s):
GPA: 93/100
Type of Student: Canadian Male

Grad Institution: Top Canadian School
Major(s): Pure Math
Minor(s):
GPA: 4/4

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 170 (97%)
V: 152 (55%)
W: 5.5 (98%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 850 (89%)

TOEFL Score:

Program Applying: Pure Math PhD

Research Experience: 3 math REU, one publication, completing a Master's
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Some undergraduate awards, CGS NSERC
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 3 undergraduate marking positions, two graduate TAs
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help:
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
Harvard - Rejected (2/3)
Stanford - Rejected (2/14)
Berkley - Rejected (2/3)
Princeton - Rejected (1/20)
Chicago - Admitted (1/10)
Columbia - Waitlisted (1/31)
MIT - Rejected (2/14)
Michigan - Waitlisted (3/20)

bluesandsquareroots · Post by **bluesandsquareroots** » Fri Jan 13, 2017 12:13 am

Undergrad Institution: Small, liberal arts college
Major(s): Mathematics and Computer science
Minor(s): Physics
GPA: 3.65
Type of Student: dwm

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 161 (88%)
V: 165 (89%)
W: 4.0 (59%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 560 (26%)

Program Applying: Applied math (though some places don't make a distinction - it's all under one department - I made it clear in the personal statement that is the general direction I want to go).

Research Experience: 1 REU in graph theory over summer 2013 (no publications, however there is a paper from this still floating around in revision limbo...), since June 2016 been working on research in bioinformatics - a paper from this work was just submitted for review in a reputable journal.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: graduated w/ high honors in major, also magna cum laude
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA experience with calculus, linear algebra, discrete mathematics. Also taught high school math for a bit and tutored privately.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: I expect the recommendations are solid. Put a good deal of time and thought into personal statement and tailored it well to each school.

Applying to Where:

3/3 update: all of the waitlists I have found out by emailing. If you haven't heard anything from schools, I suggest doing the same.

gonna need a ladder
MIT - Applied math Rejected 2/14
University of Washington - Applied math Rejected 1/25 - accepted to unfunded masters
New York University - 3/8 (rather surprised I haven't been rejected yet. Got an email earlier today saying my application was still being reviewed...) Applied math

on my tippity toes
UTexas Austin - Applied math Rejected by email 2/28 Was told very unlikely.
CUNY - Applied Math Rejected after asking by email 3/7 paid $125 to hunt down this rejection. jeesh. Update 4/10 - apparently not rejected. asked if I was still interested. withdrew application.
Brandeis - Pure math Rejected after asking by email 3/7 (they have some faculty in applied areas, including a group in complex networks and dynamics, but it's mostly a pure math group from what I could tell).

eye level (I think...)
Iowa State - Waitlisted 2/28 , Accepted 3/7!, Declined 4/11 (email) Applied math
University of Pittsburgh - Waitlisted 3/3 , withdrew 4/11 Applied math
UC Davis - Waitlisted 3/3 , withdrew 4/11 Applied math
UFlorida - Waitlisted 3/1 , withdrew 4/11 Applied math
Tulane - Accepted 3/8!, Decided to go 4/11! (email) Applied math - 19.5k/yr TA for 5 years, half health insurance. Not the best financial package for sure, however considering everything (research interests/quality of life), this is the right choice for me.
Berlin Mathematical School - Applied math Rejected 1/20/17

crescent_benimamet · Post by **crescent_benimamet** » Fri Jan 13, 2017 10:06 am

Undergrad Institution: Big State
Major(s): Math
Minor(s): None
GPA: 3.92 (3.98 math)
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 170 (97%)
V: 163 (92%)
W: 4.5 (82%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 730 (67%)

Program Applying: Pure math

Research Experience: One REU, presented results at YMC & JMM
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Departmental awards
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: None
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: Have taken several grad courses, with one A- and the rest A
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
Chicago - Rejected (1/27)
UCLA - Rejected (2/10)
Michigan - Accepted (2/1)
Cornell -
Brown - Rejected (2/7)
UT Austin -
Wisconsin - Rejected (2/3)
UIUC -
Maryland - Accepted (3/2)
Minnesota - Accepted (2/23)
Penn -
Washington -Accepted (2/14)
Ohio State - Accepted (1/12)
Purdue - Accepted (1/31)

easttoast · Post by **easttoast** » Fri Jan 13, 2017 6:26 pm

Undergrad Institution: NJIT - Small engineering college near NYC (only applied math)
Major(s): B.S. in Applied Math
Minor(s): none
GPA: 4.0
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 164 (87%)
V: 166 (97%)
W: 6.0 (99%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 600 (36%) (sept.)
M: 710 (63%) (oct.)

Program Applying: Pure Math PhD. in topology/geometry/algebra

Research Experience: Research at SUMSRI program at Miami University in geometric group theory (group homology), no publication yet but presentations at my school and at the Young Mathematicians Conference at OSU.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's list/Honors College/Pi Mu Epsilon membership
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: attended University of Chicago's summer school in Algebraic Topology (one of my main interests that I've talked about on all applications)
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: I got a recommendation from my research mentor and have also taken several grad classes in algebra, differentiable manifolds, Lie groups, and real analysis. Most of these taken at another university nearby aside from real analysis/PDEs/qualitative ODEs. Recommendation letters are from both schools.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: US citizen but not born in US (native English speaker though), have had contact with professors at OSU, UIUC, Northwestern, and a few other schools because of well-connected professors at my university.

Applying to Where:

Reach:
University of Chicago - Pure Math PhD - Rejected 1/27/17
Ohio State University - Pure Math PhD - Admitted 1/12/17, funding upgraded 3/6/17 from GTA to DDU Fellowship (36 months), TRA and SRA research assistantships (each one semester) - ATTENDING
UIUC - Pure Math PhD - Rejected 2/21/17
Northwestern - Pure Math PhD - Rejected 3/1/17

Realistic:
University of Washington at Seattle - Pure Math PhD - Waitlisted after emailing about my status 3/9/17 - apparently near the middle of the list - Rejected 4/12/17
Stony Brook - Pure Math PhD - Rejected 3/16/17
University of Maryland - Pure Math PhD - Pending/Waitlist after emailing about my status 4/11/17 - Rejected 5/14/17
UBC Vancouver - Pure Math PhD - Likely Rejected after emailing about status 4/12/17 - Withdrawn 4/13/17

Safety:
CUNY - Pure Math PhD - Admitted 2/22/17, offered Mathematics fellowship ($25,128 first 2 years, decreasing award and increasing TA duty next few years) - Declined 4/11/17
University of Oregon - Pure Math PhD - Admitted 1/30/17, funding by GTF ($22,730/year with summer teaching) - Declined 4/13/17

Fellowships:
NSF GRFP - Rejected 3/17/17 - Reviews (intellectual merit/broader impacts): good/very good, very good/very good, very good/fair
NDSEG - Rejected 4/11/17
NPSC - Rejected 4/25/17

FrobeniusObject · Post by **FrobeniusObject** » Sat Jan 14, 2017 12:26 pm

Undergrad Institution: Top public institution
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s): Philosophy
GPA: Overall: 3.93, Mathematics: 3.98
Type of Student: Domestic white male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 170 (97%)
V: 169 (99%)
W: 3.5 (42%) This doesn't worry me.
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 740 (69%) This does worry me.

Program Applying: Pure Mathematics Ph.D.

Research Experience: 2 8-week REUs, 1 brief directed-reading REU at my university. Both my 8-week REUs resulted in papers which have been submitted, but not yet published. I've done several conference talks on my research.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: A couple accolades
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Mathematics tutor for 3 semesters (abstract alg / real analysis), Mathematics grader for 2 semesters (real analysis / complex analysis)
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: 6 graduate courses: five A's and one A-. Also a few self-directed studies.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I am primarily interested in low-dimensional topology.

Applying to Where:

UC Berkeley - Rejected 2/3
U Chicago - Rejected 1/27
Princeton - Rejected 1/20
UCLA - Applied, Withdrawn
Columbia - Rejected 1/31
UT Austin - Applied, Withdrawn
U Michigan - Admitted 2/1, ATTENDING!

Harvard - Rejected 2/3
MIT - Rejected 2/14
U Minnesota - Twin Cities - Applied, Withdrawn
UC Santa Barbara - Admitted 1/27, Declined
U Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Waitlisted 3/8, Withdrawn
Stony Brook - Applied, Withdrawn
Indiana University - Admitted 2/13, Declined

zorgon2 · Post by **zorgon2** » Sun Jan 15, 2017 7:13 pm

Undergrad Institution: Small southern liberal arts college
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s): Studio Art
GPA: 3.74/4.00 (Math: 3.82)
Type of Student: Domestic White Male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 164 (87%)
V: 162 (90%)
W: 4.0 (59%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 580 (31%) (when that depression hits you just right and you don't study)

Program Applying: Pure Math/Philosophy (category theory/homotopy type theory)

Research Experience:
1 year funded in mathematical biology research group between my school and another (more well-known) school, poster presentation at small but respected conference
2 years (mostly summers, one funded) research at my school in algebraic number theory (one talk at tiny conference, poster presentation at JMM, paper submitted for publication)
Currently working on senior thesis in algebraic topology and commutative algebra

Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's list, KME, school's biggest math scholarship, ALD

Pertinent Activities or Jobs: 3 years tutor in math help center (calculus III and below)
TA for upper-level probability course
TA for abstract algebra course
Worked with chemistry professor to write a workbook on group theory/representation theory for inorganic chemistry students
President of KME/Math Club

Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: one independent study in graduate measure theory/lebesgue integration (A)
one independent study of second semester of abstract algebra (A)
one letter writer has a graduate degree from Purdue, another has a graduate degree from CMU, someone from my department has gone to UNL recently

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I had health problems throughout college that somewhat explain low-ish grades

Applying to Where:

Reach-ish:
Johns Hopkins University - Pure Math PhD - Rejected (2/2)
Purdue University - Pure Math PhD
University of Illinois at Chicago - Pure Math PhD - Admitted - full tuition + $18k TA, etc. super duper lit, one of my top choices, though the stipend may be a bit tight in Chicago
Indiana University Bloomington - Pure Math PhD - Rejected (2/16)
Carnegie Mellon University - PhD in Pure & Applied Logic (I'm applying through the philosophy department, not math, due to my research interests)

More reasonable:
CUNY Grad Center - Pure Math PhD
Brandeis University - Pure Math PhD
University of Nebraska-Lincoln - Pure Math PhD
Florida State University - Pure Math PhD - Admitted - full tuition + $18k TA

???:
ALGANT - Master's

derpderpderp · Post by **derpderpderp** » Sun Jan 15, 2017 10:55 pm

Undergrad Institution: Big Public School, very well known in math
Major(s): Applied Math
Minor(s):
GPA: 3.5 definitely going to hurt, but my upper division math gpa is a 3.8. had a lot of trouble my first two years.
Type of Student: domestic white male

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 164 (87%)
V: 170(99%) lol
W: 5.0 (93%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 610 (39%) .. I studied really hard

only submitting where required

Program Applying: (Probability/Statistics/Applied Math CS) either places with stat/probability or applied/computational math.

Research Experience: 2 REU, one publication, some talks at conferences
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: few dean list's i guess that's it
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: pretty good letters of rec (one famous young hotshot, other two very relevant to what I want to do), by the time I matriculate will have 10 quarters of grad classes. have coherent argument about what I want to research/supported by grad classes

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
I was pretty aggressive so I went sorta crazy and applied everywhere. sorta demoralized by the process but I am pretty excited about all these schools

Stanford - Statistics /rejected 2/8/17
Udub - Statistics / rejected
Berkeley - Statistics / rejected
CMU - Statistics / rejected
Stony Brook - Applied Math / Accepted without Support
Texas A&M -Math / ACCEPTED!! 1/30/2017!! 26k/year fellowship
Austin - CSEM / rejected
Duke - Math / rejected
Chicago -Applied Math /Waitlisted
Princeton - ORFE / rejected
Upenn - Applied Math / rejected
Brown - Applied Math / rejected
UMD - AMSC / rejected
TTIC - CS / ACCEPTED 32K/Year
Penn State - Math / rejected
Rice - CAAM /ACCEPTED 26k/year
CMU - ACO / rejected
Cornell - Applied Math /rejected I actually thought i'd get in here. sorta surprised
Purdue - Math /rejected
Nyu - Math /accepted unfunded masters

Death · Post by **Death** » Tue Jan 17, 2017 1:43 pm

Undergrad Institution: Ivy
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s): Physics
GPA: 3.93 (general)/4.0 (Math)
Type of Student: DWM

Masters Institution: Top rated in Geometry
Degree: MA in Mathematics

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 164 (87%) <- Wasn't Sure if I should retake. This seemed fine and my MGRE score is decent
V:165 (95%)
W: 4.5 (82%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 810 (82%)

Program Applying: Pure Math PhD (Differential Geometry)

Research Experience: REU in Topology at my undergrad. No publications/recommendations.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's List
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA for a number of classes in my undergrad
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: One very famous recommender, the fact that I have a Masters degree.
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Applying to Where: (Color use here is welcome)
Stanford
UMich
UPenn
Columbia
Northwestern
UIUC

mobius.dickus · Post by **mobius.dickus** » Tue Jan 17, 2017 1:49 pm

Undergrad Institution: UC**, well known in math
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s): None
GPA: Cumulative: 3.747, Math: 3.846
Type of Student: DWM

GRE Revised General Test:
Q: 159 (82%) (lol)
V: 161 (79%)
W: 4.0 (59%)
GRE Subject Test in Mathematics:
M: 610 (39%) (

only submitted if required)

Program Applying: Masters programs in pure math

Research Experience: Mentored study for two quarters at my undergrad institution, didn't accomplish what I set out for, didn't publish anything.
Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Just honors lists for my college.
Pertinent Activities or Jobs: TA'd for 3 quarters as an undergrad, TA'd for a semester as grad student, taught a bit at a high school, and tons of tutoring experience.
Any Miscellaneous Points that Might Help: I've got what seems like a lot of upper div math courses under my belt (I think 21).
Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: I took the "Intro to Analysis / Advanced Calculus" sequence as an undergrad, instead of the Real Analysis sequence, which might hurt a lot of places. I also started a masters in applied math (1 semester), but didn't like the program --- might seem "flaky".

Applying to Where:

Reach:
U Washington - Rejected on 04/05/17. Was on waitlist for about a month.
UC San Diego - Accepted! on 04/04/17. So stoked!!!

unfunded in the official sense, but should have consistent TA spots + tuition waivers. ATTENDING

Realistic:
U Colorado Boulder - Rejected on 04/27/17.
UC Santa Barbara - Rejected on 03/15/17. Hurts, man.
UC Irvine - Accepted on 02/13/17, declined on 03/08/17. First year zero funding, then guaranteed admission into funded PhD program.
UC Santa Cruz - Accepted on 02/16/17, declined on 04/13/17. Possible funding based on available TA positions.

Safety:
Colorado State U - Rejected on 03/06/17

Oregon State U - Withdrew application on 03/09/17