3.43 GPA, ~1.5 years research including a few months as a post bacc, no publications. Oh well :]

:-(

"Thank you for your application to the graduate program in the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics at Penn State. We have now completed the selection process and we regret to inform you that we will not be offering you admission to our program. We received a record number of applications this year, 60% more than we typically receive, so we were unable to admit many qualified applicants. We hope you will find an opportunity to pursue your career goals elsewhere."

For those claiming they are waitlisted, were you notified?

First Class, 1-year research experience, Abstract publication, 9 months TA experience, 3 Good LOR, 2 winning Poster presentations. Had an interview with 2 professors and got the offer after 6 days.

Generic rejection mail

a little bit surprised, this year is extremely competitive.