glinker

Putting aside your grades in undergrad and your idea of where you could get in, a good place to start thinking about is where would you like to live for the next couple of years? What kind of job do you eventually want to do?

Hey Geodude, It's great that you're thinking up new ideas. That's always a good thing. Many times people in academics are chasing their own narrow alleys, so sometimes they don't see opportunities right next to them. BUT it may also be that such an idea has already been worked on in a different context, and results were not promising. This is sometimes hard to find just by looking through papers. It might be useful to discuss your idea with someone who a) knows said field well/better than you (b)is trustworthy. Yes, ideas get stolen too. That way you can find out if it's worth pursuing.

Hi geodarmy, To my knowledge, a PhD is a full time degree. I have never heard of anyone doing a part time PhD. If you don't want to spend 5 years, going to the UK makes sense, but they are very very strict about who they pay to do a PhD. Sometimes even people from the EU have trouble finding funding, and non EU people are even lower on the priority list.

@rockbender: Yeah, that makes sense. I should probably think a little and have some questions prepared too. Thanks! @Hvfth: I only heard from the prof I mentioned in my sop. The official emails (mails) haven't been sent out as I understand. It maybe that some profs haven't bothered to send out such un-official confirmations. Don't lose all hope!

Guys, I'm going to have a skype call with the professor who might be my advisor at Caltech. He didn't give any details, and I don't know what he wants to talk to me about. Anyone have experience with stuff like this?

Congrats all. I was getting a bit depressed yesterday, but I woke upto a Caltech acceptance @rockbender: we might be classmates (colleagues?)!

It seems admits are out at MIT, Caltech and UCSD. Someone got into all of them out on the results page.

Undergrad Institution: In far away India. Major(s): Physics Minor(s): none GPA in Major: Overall GPA: oops Position in Class: Marginally above average Type of Student: International/ Male GRE Scores (revised/old version): Q: 800/166 V: 730/168 W: 4.5 P: 870 TOEFL Total: (if applicable, otherwise delete this) 118 Research Experience: Thesis work is significant (or so I'm told). One publication, second author out of two. Possibly one more in the pipeline (being listed as such in the apps). Five or six interns at various research institutes, no special outcomes. Awards/Honors/Recognitions: A fellowship, some minor academic honors Pertinent Activities or Jobs: I keep mentioning that I have experience with crowd control, dunno why. Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Being Indian might actually hurt my chances, since there are so many of us already in US universities. Diversity factor probably will not count at all. Special Bonus Points: I'm in grad school now, tons of grad courses, better grades than undergrad. Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: none Applying to Where: I'm looking to work on planetary atmospheres and climates. UWashington - Earth and Space Sciences Caltech - Geological and Planetary Sciences UCB - Astronomy MIT - Earth and Planetary Sciences Harvard - EPS UChicago - Geosciences Princeton - Astrophysics Given my profile, it seems my list is biased rather high. Oh well, it is what it is.

I don't know if this is too late, but I wouldn't mind reading them.