SANDIEGO

Speaking from personal experience, I wouldn't overthink this too much despite the emotional maelstrom of the application process. Getting into a PhD program is often about finding a good fit with a professor, and there's still the possibility of that happening. Obviously it doesn't bode well to get rejections, but anyone applying to top schools are taking a shot in the dark, even many of the best candidates. Best of luck on getting at least 1 acceptance!

I would re-take the GRE, as the quant score is on the low side. The writing is pretty low too, I'd try to get a 4. Your chances (as well as anybody else applying to those schools) for Caltech and Berkeley are obviously slim. You have a good chance at the rest IMO. If you re-apply I'd consider broadening the range of schools you apply to.

I don't agree with what's been said about having a harder time finding a job as a "programmer" etc. with a PhD. The only reason that might be the case is they're worried about having to pay you more since you've had more education. Worst case scenario you can either omit your PhD or just say you're willing to get the same pay as someone without it. IMO a PhD is going to broaden your possibilities in terms of job opportunities, since you've reached a level of expertise that few others have. (academic/industry research, consulting, higher-level engineering positions) Just because you're specialized in, for example, "systems" doesn't disqualify you from jobs.. it just disqualifies you from those jobs that require an overwhelmingly different CS specialty, like "theory". Your overarching degree is still a Computer Science degree. Regarding your comment on "international students not understanding overqualification", this is because, frankly, for them, it's not overqualification at all. With a PhD from a good institution in the states, they're pretty set when they go back to their home country with a guaranteed job, either in the government, academia, etc. which they might not otherwise have. I am not saying a PhD is always a good thing. If your objective is to maximize your income, a PhD is not worth it. But if you're pursuing something you're interested in researching, you're not going to have less job opportunities from having a PhD. You're going to open up new avenues in which you will be an expert in. That's just my opinion. Feel free to counter with anecdotes/statistics/etc. as it would prove to be an interesting discussion.

It's safe to mention 2-3 different areas of interest, as well as a few profs, each of whom can be from a different area. You don't want to sound unfocused by being too general, but at the same time you don't want to limit yourself to a single adviser.

The problem with continually accepting this kind of behavior is that it continues to perpetuate and reinforce the same future behavior. For example, take the more charged topic of racial discrimination. If someone is continuing to use race as a means for harassment, it is not actually productive for society to "move on", but rather to make people aware of what's happening and the stakes involved.

Hi chron, I think you actually do have a shot at decent master's programs, but you'll need to frame your life in the right way in your SOP. You should touch base now with potential reference writers to gauge how they feel (if it's a cold reply then you should move on, but if they invite you to come in for meeting, do so). If you haven't been working or going to school for the last few years, you need to mention what you have been doing. Have you been involved in any projects that relate to Computer Science? Have you made websites or done any programming? They want to see that you're passionate and motivated in your SOP, not that you couldn't find a job and that going to their school is your last straw for employment.. U Waterloo is obviously a good school. U of T, UBC, U of A, McGill, are good schools. You could also look into Queens and U of C. If you put a good application together, you have a small chance at each of these schools, which gives you a decent shot of getting into at least one. There are TONS of good CS programs in the states. Many are in California/Massachusetts. For a list of these look at the U.S. News rankings for Computer Science and you probably want to aim for the 20-50 range on that list. You could apply to a few stretch schools ranked higher as well.

I wanted to get fellow experiences on the first year of your CS PhD. How is it going? Is it more or less work than you thought it was? How is your adviser treating you? Are you already doing a lot of research? Kind of like a poll across the board to see how others are faring. Mine is actually more work than I expected, and I'm getting pushed harder than I expected as well. But I'm learning tons and being quite productive. Research takes up a lot of time and I have to remember to keep up in my coursework which is imperative to the degree requirements. Overall I'm surviving but it is more work than I'm used to, and I have little time for doing things outside of academics.

I think you should probably let you adviser know sooner than later. Then if he's upset about it at least you've given him leeway to adjust plans, whereas picking up and leaving in an instant could be worse. Honestly two weeks off for Xmas sounds reasonable to me.

Looks like a decent list to me. You'll probably get rejected by about half of those on your list. If you were applying for a PhD then you'd be lucky to get into any of them, but for a masters I think you're competitive for those schools.

This seems to corroborate that PEs make more: http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Degree=Doctorate_%28PhD%29%2c_Chemistry/Salary http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Petroleum_Engineer/Salary But as I was saying, you don't know what the industry will look like in 5 years when you graduate. Don't be too shortsighted!

acceptance letter

I think that score is decent. They're mainly looking at your Quant score, so keeping that in the upper nineties would be best. Having good english (Verbal and AW) is a bonus for them, but not their priority. Bottom line: try to do well on everything, but you should try and ace the quant.

If you're in your PhD for money (and apparently not even enough in your case!) then it will be a very very long road ahead to finish. However, salaries fluctuate as supply and demand of different skills does. But one thing that doesn't (normally) change as much, is what you're actually interested in! Even if your drop out of your program and pursue a BS in petroleum engineering, it doesn't guarantee that in 5 years you'll be making more than with your chemistry PhD. You did note that you loved mathematics and science, just not the researchy part that involves paper-writing. In this case engineering might indeed be a better choice for you, but make sure you're not just saying this because you hate your current situation, the grass usually looks greener on the other side. Money though is always a short term gain plan, if you end up hating petroleum engineering, you won't end up making much in the long run because you'll hate your job and (frankly) be bad at it. You should also consider Chemistry PhD vs industry afterwards. I don't know much about the field but I'm certain the jobs are more application based than grad school. In that case it could be worth toughing out.

It sounds like you're trying to do too much, and then not doing a good job at any of it. Are you really trying to do two program's worth of work?? You should speak to your adviser(s) and/or graduate counselor and figure out a course of action that makes sense..

Thanks TakeruK, good luck to everybody who applied this year

Hi guys, I got a PGS M for my masters, and now I'm doing a PhD. Can I apply for the PGS D next year? (I started my PhD this september)

Guard Doggie

I wouldn't send it, and I wouldn't mention it. Pretty sure you're not obligated to report a score that is only "recommended".

Yes, you can still check the status of your recommendations after submitting your application. Otherwise the system is very, very broken.

I'm not exactly sure what school PSU is, it could refer to a number of different state universities (penn, pittsburgh, portland) but I'll assume you're referring to Penn since that seems the most well know of the bunch. Personally I think U Waterloo is a top CS school in Canada and the CS reputation is better. I could be coming from a biased point of view though and others should pitch what they think.

A good masters GPA will do good in offsetting a poor undergrad GPA. As for GRE, well, I would of course recommend re-taking if at all possible. It's hard to say whether you must re-take it or not, I think if a professor saw you as a great fit they would overlook something like the GRE score (I would say the GRE is one of the least important pieces of your application for a PhD in CS). Personally I would re-take it, and if I was too busy/overloaded with work to do a good job on it, I'd consider applying the following year instead.

If your tiers are divided by admission difficulty Harvard would probably go into Tier 2, even though they have a lower ranking. Their lower ranking comes mostly as a result of having a very small CS department (I think).

Hey, sounds like you're in a pretty good spot already with a good masters GPA and research. I would say keep working hard on the research part, but make sure you get good recommendations from people other than just your adviser! You'll need 3 in total and you want them all to be good. After that, there's no guarantees you'll get into a top program, but that will improve your chances, so just shoot for the moon and hope for the best

I think research experience is your best bet to make yourself more competitive, which you said you're already doing. 3.53 really isn't that bad, it certainly doesn't disqualify you from any schools, but it doesn't help at really well ranked ones either. Getting accepted on a PhD track is about a good fit, not really your GPA. Just continue to do your best, try to raise your grades, but realize that it's still very possible to get into great programs (like UT Austin) with what you have + research experience.