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Oh, I see. Thanks!

Hi orgirl, your reply reminds me of another question. Some people would like to apply to PhD after they get bachelor degrees, but some other people like you are different. They don't rush their applications to Phd and prefer to get a Master first. So what is the difference? Why wouldn't you apply to Phd immediately after you got your bachelor degree because it seems that you can save a lot of time?

Thanks everyone for sharing experience with me. Very informative!

I know that publication is really important, but at the same time I'm also clear that sending paper is not an easy thing. In my opinion, most undergraduate students don't possess enough academic backgrounds to write a paper. So I want to know how much a professor can help to finish my research and write a paper. And today I saw one unluck guy who had recommendations from 2 distinguished MIT alumni, 5 publications, 4.0 grad. GPA and still was rejected. What is the reason? The number seems perfect, the connection is "not so bad". Is it all about bad luck? I just can't understand.

It seems that it's not as simple as I thought before. From your reply, I am clear about one thing, that is if you want to work with elites, then the first step is to make yourself an elite. Maybe I shouldn't waste my life any more. Thanks a lot!

Thanks DUguy333 and sigh. Your replies are really instructive! But I also want to know whether publication is a threshold. Does no publication mean no good offer?

Hello everyone! I am a sophomore student and transfered to a top 10 engineering school in US. I really want to go to the best engineering schools (like MIT) for my MS/PhD. So is there anybody who wants to share your experience with me? I just want to know which factors can determine the application results. I know that GPA is the most important, but how about the other factors, like publication and GRE? Is publication a must? Does the publication which I am just involved in but not the first-author count? And which is more important, GPA or publication? Thanks!