On strategies, procedures, and problems related to getting admitted to, or selecting students to be admitted to, a graduate degree program. Please click on “info” before asking a question.
I have a master's degree in International Studies, and a double major with Computer Science from undergrad. My transcripts suck. There's no other way to dress it up. I have pretty good teaching experience, and my GRE scores are awesome, and I…
How does a typical graduate program's admissions committee operate? (In the US --- I understand that in Europe admissions are often structured differently.)
My mental model at the moment is several professors sitting in a conference room with a…
So here's a funny thing: I have 3 Fs and 1 D on my transcript, but my GPA is ~3.8, which is "high" because I double majored in math and computer science. The reason for those 4 bad grades is that I had 2 bad semesters where I suffered from…
What do the admission committees learn about an applicant by knowing which other programs and schools one has applied to? Does applying to another program which is more prestigious make the applicant seem more serious?
Many months ago, I had to drop out from a prestigious university.
Lately, the university contacted me and asked me if I were considering enrolling once again, and said that if yes, I should do so before a certain deadline.
Is it common for…
I just got into a PhD program and was asked to give a presentation to my juniors regarding grad school applications.
In my country (Asia region), people are fanatical about non-academic extra curricular activities that are totally not related to…
This is one question that has been bugging me for a long time now. Why do universities consider GRE/TOEFL scores at all? Perhaps it is fine for master's degrees, where there will be an enormous number of applicants whose language abilities cannot be…
Out of 9 applications to graduate schools ranked in the top 25 according to US News, I was accepted to only one PhD program in Electrical Engineering, and just barely (see note below). According to my GPA, GRE scores, letters of recommendation, and…
I applied to 10 schools and have heard formally from 3, 2 rejections, 1 admission. I just received an email from another school (a very good one) saying that they are seriously interested in me, but would like to know if I am still interested in…
I am an undergraduate at a large public research university in the US, finishing my second year. I have done some theorycrafting around my graduation course requirements, and I have realized that it is possible, with some work (and generous CLEP…
As a 19 year old I had to withdraw from a university because of depression. However, at the time, one professor refused to let me withdraw and gave me an F. On the strength of that grade I was dismissed from the university.
I got myself together and…
I'm taking some time off between my undergraduate and graduate studies. I've definitely kept up the practice of my field during this time through self-study. My question relates to how I can show this to graduate admissions next year. Let's say I've…
I'm sure it's common for students to reject 1-2 recommendations for admission to a graduate school, because they often apply to several places and sometimes they get accepted in more than one place. But what impression does this give to the graduate…
My performance in my bachelor's degree was adversely affected by some medical extenuating circumstances (related to physical injuries). I am currently in a master's program and my performance is much better. Should I mention these extenuating…
I'm in the process of applying to Ph.D. programs right now, and professors from two schools have let me know that I've been recommended for admission and that the graduate studies department still had to approve the recommendation. In both cases, I…
