Other institutions you've applied to? Very worried...

[MONKEYMAN]

Hey guys. My first post but I've read this forums for a while.

When I saw the section of the application to Irvine asking what other schools I'll be applying to, I just deferred it till later. Unfortunately, I realized I forgot about it only after submitting the application. I'd consider myself a strong applicant. Do you think this is a game changer? I know schools use it to guage how likely I am to accept but it kills me to think a detail like that could hurt my chances.

Thanks

[eragon]

No. It wont affect your chances of admission

[MONKEYMAN]

Thanks!

[Quantum Buckyball]

Yes it could, my PI is on the admission committee and they only makes offer to applicants who are "more" likely to attend our program.

[bsharpe269]

Yes it could, my PI is on the admission committee and they only makes offer to applicants who are "more" likely to attend our program.

 

How do they determine who is likely to attend? School rankings? Research fit? For example, of the schools that I am applying to, some of the lower ranked programs (which are still amazing, just ranked around 30 instead of 10) are the best fits for what I want to study and have some of the strongest professors in my subfield. If I get into a program ranked around 30 with the very top professors in my particular research area then I am much more likely to accept that offer than a top 10 school with slightly weaker research.

 

Any idea how they determine who is likely to attend? I am basically applying to the 10 strongest programs in the country for the subfield I want to research. They are all amazing fits for my research intersts which are clearly laid out in my SOP. Would a program reject me because they think that I will get into a "higher ranked" program even if their program is a better research fit than the higher ranked one?

[MONKEYMAN]

From what I understand, the number of people accepted depends mostly on how many people were accepted the year before, whether it was more than anticipated or less than anticipated. I'd bet a school wouldn't deny you based on your potential for a better school, especially if you sound interested in the research. Hopefully, in our cases, it'll be in our favor.

[Quantum Buckyball]

How do they determine who is likely to attend? School rankings? Research fit? For example, of the schools that I am applying to, some of the lower ranked programs (which are still amazing, just ranked around 30 instead of 10) are the best fits for what I want to study and have some of the strongest professors in my subfield. If I get into a program ranked around 30 with the very top professors in my particular research area then I am much more likely to accept that offer than a top 10 school with slightly weaker research.

 

Any idea how they determine who is likely to attend? I am basically applying to the 10 strongest programs in the country for the subfield I want to research. They are all amazing fits for my research intersts which are clearly laid out in my SOP. Would a program reject me because they think that I will get into a "higher ranked" program even if their program is a better research fit than the higher ranked one?

 

Research fit, LORs, internships/work experiences

 

We put very little attention to GPA and GRE because of grade inflation.

[ghostar]

Research fit, LORs, internships/work experiences

 

We put very little attention to GPA and GRE because of grade inflation.

This is reassuring =)