Argon

To clarify a previous post, the UPenn visiting dates are: February 19th-21st and March 5th-March 7th (yes, Thursday through Saturday).

Many congrats to everyone's new acceptances! You're on quite the roll there, doomination

Yeah, this seems to be a pretty quiet week (to my surprise). I'm definitely feeling that there'll be a buzz with some big name schools next week. Time will tell!

You'll find out soon enough, I suppose. I don't have much to say, but I hope you have a good chance because we have very similar stats and backgrounds I, too, hope that the GRE doesn't weigh me (and you) down. It's very frustrating that such a meaningless examination could carry such weight... Best of luck!

Yeah, I don't think (m)any people have heard from Stanford. I, too, am interested in SUNCAT, but mainly because there is a fair degree of theory and computational work going on there (not super focused on catalysis in particular).

Thank you! Here's hoping you have quite a number of acceptances to choose from (and positive news from UChicago!).

Thanks for the update! It's always nice to know when to expect things. I'm interested in computational work - mainly transport phenomena and/or reaction kinetics. How about yourself?

Congrats! The Delaware admits seem to be making their rounds. Still waiting for the big hitters (MIT, Princeton, Berkeley, Stanford, etc.). Based on previous years' results, it seems of those 4, Princeton's up next with a decision likely to come out this week sometime. Fingers crossed, although, based on a variety of reasons, of the 4 I think Princeton is my worst chance.

I submitted my application a few weeks before the deadline, but my last recommendation came in the day it was due. They said they had read my application last week and made the formal offer yesterday. Good luck! I'm sure there will be more admits! They made no reference to how many other applications they read or the admissions process as a whole when I talked to them on the phone (granted, I didn't ask), so I don't have too much more info for you regarding that.

Don't be concerned! This happens quite a bit, both from personal experience and from the results board. It seems that schools that really want an applicant (and tend to offer a scholarship/fellowship) will notify you ASAP even if it's before the deadline (in my case, all my letters weren't even in yet). The truth of the matter is that they really want you, and by notifying you early they know they'll be on your mind. Take it as a compliment and don't fret -- it's likely legit! For a second I had the same sense of doubt as well, but just enjoy! And of course, many congrats

Congrats on Caltech (and to everyone else thus far)! Just saw that on the results. Personally, only heard from Illinois so far. Getting anxious about the rest!

Thank you! It was certainly very exciting and surprising. I was contacted by email regarding my acceptance, although I know that a good number of schools in my field (ChemE) will give phone calls. I would expect the unexpected -- you just don't know! That's the crazy part about all this. A bunch of schools I applied to also said they send out responses in February, but if you look at the results board, I see people historically get in in January (although some also get accepted later on as well). Who knows! Best of luck to you, though!

I don't think there's any harm at all by submitting before the deadline, no matter how close. That being said, I also heard back very quickly (a few days) after submitting one of my applications. I got accepted about a week before the actual deadline and with only 2/3 of my letters in with no indication that the university does rolling admissions. To the best of my understanding, some schools will absolutely not touch applications before the deadline (MIT from what I've heard). Other schools will do what they want. In the case of UIUC, for instance, it seems to be that they are offering a fellowship to one highly qualified applicant in a few of their programs to provide incentive to attend the institution. So, while it won't hurt you if you submit close the deadline, it can be beneficial to submit beforehand in some cases, but it's unpredictable! If you want more proof of this, check the results board. Some schools (at least in chemical engineering) have accepted 1 applicant before the deadline even happened (e.g. U Delaware, UPenn, UIUC, etc.)

Thanks for the replies. I thought the first score was better, but it's nice to just validate my opinion there. Some schools have options to send two scores, but those are the vast minority, so I feel more comfortable sending one. And that was the logic I felt too, bsharpe269. Much appreciated!

I took the GRE twice. I am applying to top 20 ChemE PhD programs (my other stats are fairly strong: 3.97 GPA, Goldwater and other awards, 1st author pub, 2.5 years research (2 REUs), strong LORs -- one from big name in the field, polished SOP, etc.). I'm just not very good at taking standardized exams. Just how it is. I'm worried about the quant score. V: 163 (92%) Q: 163 (86%) AW: 6.0 (99%) or V: 158 (78%) Q: 165 (92%) AW: 4.5 (80%) I feel like the first score is stronger, but I'm hoping the 163 doesn't count me out from top schools. Really my only weakness is my GRE score, unfortunately.

I didn't get one either, but I entirely expected this, as I spent all of my time on the NSF GRFP app and wrote the Hertz app in the last 5 hours before it was due. Still, it marks the start of decisions, and it's quite a scary thought!

Undergrad Institution: Private university (well-respected; non-ivy) Major(s): ChemE Minor(s): N/A GPA in Major: 3.97 Overall GPA: 3.97 Length of Degree: 4 years Position in Class: top Type of Student: ​average white male GRE Scores: Q: 163 V: 163 W: 6.0 Research Experience: sophomore summer at MIT, junior year and summer at home institution, senior year research at nearby institution (kept confidential for my anonymity). 1 first-author publication, 2 national conferences, 4 home institution conferences. 2 letters from PIs, 1 from adviser/professor for 2 classes Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Goldwater, National Undergraduate Fellowship, Home institution's summer scholarship program, APS Poster Award, Tau Beta Pi, Dean's List Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Science all day everyday Applying for PhD at: MIT, UIUC, Princeton, Stanford, Berkeley, UPenn, Northwestern, Harvard SEAS, Delaware, Penn State, Yale SEAS, UChicago IME Applying for Fellowships: NSF GRFP, Hertz, USDEG, and DoE CSGF

I threw my name into the ring! My guess is that we'll hear about interviews at the end of next week.