niven2

CMU: I was finally told by my POI that I was his top choice but that he could not move enough funds for me, O-o.

I also think your GRE scores are low. However, I would not go as far as Arcanen and say that you necessarily need to reach the average scores of the school you consider, at least, not for Verbal. I confess I would not have applied to such schools as you mentioned with a lower score than 500-770-3.5 (now worth 153-161-3.5), that I subjectively see as a bare threshold for foreigners in engineering. As Arcanen wrote, while GRE scores can not grant you admissions, they surely can turn you down.

As it occurs to me, it may have nothing to do with your nationality, nor with your alma mater. Actually, students from Sharif can be very successful in admission polls. It is well-known that they are the finest product of one of the most selective academic systems around the world. Experienced professors are also used to see how well those last perform in qualifying exams, and how productive some of them can be. As a result, you can find former Sharif students in most of the best universities of the world (e.g. MIT, Stanford, McGill, ...) and even more in some specific places such as Virginia, Florida, Australia and Canada. You could even find more of them in States if you were considering the non-negligible part of them who get admits but do not manage to get visa afterward. Hence, I would rather first rise the question of the intrinsic potential of competitivity of your file, and then put it in perspective with the files of other students from your alma mater that were accepted in the places you target. Coming from a great school with great academic results is good, but if some students in the very same situation than you can claim they were first authors of journal papers, international conference papers, or even book chapters (it does happen), and can provide strong letters of recommendation (as in the terms described by Cup o' Joe), it is crystal clear that they'll be more competitive. Plus, are your Qualitative and Analytical Writing GRE scores OK (they do not need to be great)?

Anybody is still waiting from CMU? My POI told me it was not clear whether he would be able to make an offer or not. I guess it either means I am wait listed, or he is pending to get funds for the project he wants me to work on.

UCB: Ah! I finally got my reply after sending mails to my POI and the responsible of graduate admissions, I feel somehow relieved.

Thanks for following this up.

Yeah... Me neither, and I'm super mad of not knowing.

Plus, when I called the responsible of graduate admissions last week, she told me they were still working on the case of International students. I let you the choice to see hope in here ;-)

For Master, there were 2 acceptances posted, one on Feb. 22, and another one on Feb. 27. For Ph.D., there was an acceptance posted by a domestic student on Feb. 21, and Lebiatan who told us he got his acceptance too.

Well, it seems it's only out for Master.

UCB: The first rejection of the week in SEMM has just been posted, for Master.

It also occurs to me that applying to UC's is a very painful process. Not only their application fee are expensive and their deadlines are early, they also let you suffer without any notification until the very end. So mad...

UCB: Well, if I compare with the posted results of last year, I presume all what we wait for is a massive rejection day by next week. Let's see what happens...

UCB: I called Shelley Okimoto today who told me that they were mostly done with the admission of domestic students while still working on the case of international candidates. I have asked only for SEMM.

I was informed on late February. I wish you to hear good news soon.

Does anybody know when UCB is supposed to be done with Ph.D. admission decisions in Structural Engineering, Mechanics and Materials (SEMM)?

Updates: - UCB: Still no news. - CMU: Contacted by POI for "Skype session".

Updates: - UCB: Still no news. - MIT: No additional news. - CMU: Still no news. - JHU: Received a scanned copy of my acceptance letter by e-mail. Awarded the Meyerhoff Fellowship for research in the field of Mechanics of Materials.

Thank you. My focus is Mechanics of Materials and Structures. Congrats for CMU.

- UCB: No news. Read many instances of and complaints about the slowness of their process. Although, somebody already posted "Accepted" for the Master on thegradcafe. - MIT: Got a scanned copy of my acceptance letter by e-mail. Saw few other results on thegradcafe. - CMU: No news. - JHU: Was told by a POI that he had recommended me for admission and funding; was told by another one that an invitation was being issued. All by e-mail.