Weighing my chances

[souvik.theory]

Hi,

I will be obliged if you could kindly hint at my chances of being accepted/rejected at the places I'm applying to. Should I apply to some more?

Undergrad Institution: IIT Bombay (Ranked first in India)

Major(s): Physics

Minor(s):

GPA in Major: 8.38

Junior Year GPA: 9.05

Overall GPA: 8.18

Length of Degree: 4 years

Type of Student: Male, Indian

GRE Scores:

Q: 170 (94%)

V: 160 (82%)

W: 4.5 (74%)

P: 990 (99%)

Research Experience:

Summer Research Internship at CERN (Theoretical Physics)

Yearlong internship at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai in HEP Phenomenology

Awards/Honors/Recognitions:

T.I.M.E. Scholarship for securing 99.92 percentile in IIT JEE.

Secured first position at Regional Mathematics Olympiad, 2007

Fellow of Loyola Honor Society

Publications:

Pileup subtraction in Jet shapes - arXiv 1211.2811 (Submitted to Physical Review Letters)

Special Bonus Points:

Published the paper with a big-shot, and is one of my academic referees. Has collaborators in all Univs I'm applying to.

Miscellaneous Accomplishments:

General Secretary (Student Head), Department of Physics

Elected core group member, Institute Academic Council

Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter:

Probably a well written SOP and CV

Applying to:

MIT

Harvard

Chicago

Cambridge

Oxford

University College London

Thanks a ton!

[natrajan]

Very good profile. Are you applying for MS/ MSc / PhD? In which stream at all places? Physics I presume.

[Usmivka]

Can you put your GPA through the calculators at any of those schools or give the total...eg 8/10? How about class status? And why highlight your Junior Year GPA if you did a four year degree?

Scholarship and extras are nice, although clearly it would be better if the paper was published, accepted, or in review (in that order) rather than submitted. Maybe that will change between now and apps?

I'd consider some other schools not because I think you can't get in to the ones you've chosen, but because you appear to have only picked "name brand" schools. There are lots of fantastic physics programs out there. I'm betting Cal Tech, one of the UCs, or U Colorado Boulder would all be better fits and higher octane programs in your field than a few of those listed (like all the UK schools...) if you are looking for rgeat all around programs.

But of course, adviser fit is the biggest thing to look for, irrespective of program.