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Question: Georgia Institute of Technology emailed me a week ago telling me that they made a "decision" about my app. They had attached a "decision letter" to the email in the form of a PDF, but the PDF is blank? Tried opening it on a different computer too, but it's still blank. Even Gmail says it's blank. The file name of the letter has the word "decline" in it, yet my application status still says "pending department review." It's been that way since they emailed me this "decision letter." I'm expecting denial, but anyone else have this issue? And should I contact admissions now or give it another week first? edit: no letter in the mail either

Thank you all for your advice! @Mnemonics: Wow! cool. But you must've had a solid SOP, GRE scores, etc.? Yeah. I was and still am a bit afraid to contact professors. Maybe I'm wrong, but I always thought that professors would get a little skeptical - sort of like they KNOW you're trying to get a leg in. So they might view it as you trying to gain an unfair advantage over other qualified students. I don't know. But hopefully you see what I mean. I definitely see what you're saying, and I think I'll contact them if I get denied... like St Andrews Lynx said. No, I totally agree with you. RPI is about at the same level as my undergrad institution, maybe a little lower actually. I got in for early decision at RPI as a high school student with $5000 a year, but was able to back out due to financial issues. Doubt they're going to remember that, though. I guess I don't really want to go from a higher-tier school to a lower-tier one, which is probably a bad attitude/choice, but I'd rather take a year off to improve my package and potentially get into the school I want. I know GA Tech is a reach for sure, as is UT Austin - at least more so than RPI and Penn State.

I'm looking to apply for a MS in electrical engineering. I applied to 4 schools in total. To cut to the chase: I'm afraid my GPA might not let me make the cut. It's a 2.9. I did poorly in some of my courses (mostly my mechanical engineering ones), but my electrical engineering courses I have a B or better in. I guess it's because I never cared for mechanical engineering, so I never tried. (GRE = 160Q, 150V if you're wondering. That's about 760Q, 450V on the old scale.) Last semester, I earned a 3.7 GPA while taking 5 courses. One of the courses I took was a graduate-level course, which I earned a solid A in. This 3.7 GPA brought my overall GPA up from a 2.75 to a 2.9 (roughly speaking). The other courses (with the exception of a writing course that I also earned a solid A in) were senior-level engineering courses. I sent my transcript to universities with my most recent grades, but I have a feeling I'll be rejected anyways based on my previous grades. I applied to GA Tech, RPI, UT Austin, and Penn State. I never bothered contacting professors, which I guess I should have done in hindsight. What can I do to boost my application if I get denied at all 4? I have 1 years research experience, but no publications. (Obviously publication is an option, as is improving my GRE score, but aside from the obvious.) And how would I approach a professor at another university?