ShadowFairy

Update: I also received official admission to Yale. I was kind of expecting it though after such a good conversation with a POI. Good luck to everyone with admissions! I can say that what I believe got me in to both Princeton and Yale are my research fits. No 4.00 GPA, perfect GRE scores, first-author publications, Master's degrees (lol cause I have none of that). Make your intent clear in your statement of purpose about why you're such a good fit for the school and contact professors about it.

I was interviewed by someone in the department via video call, then immediately after that I was invited to visit campus. There wasn't any mention of admission, just the fact that they were really impressed with my application. I applied for a Master's at UCSB, but was invited to the PhD department. A friend told me that UCSB takes in very few Master's students and usually try to recruit more PhD students. So that explains the above. I have no idea how many have been admitted though. I would wait and hope for the best since they are still recruiting and there are two separate visitation days. Princeton people, prepare your asses for Feb. 16th. I expect that's when we'll hear back regarding some admissions, including my (official) one. Lol I hope there wasn't any mistake with mine. XD

Just heard back from a POI at Princeton! Says I have been admitted by the department, official information to come on Feb. 16th!!! To the post above me, I heard back from UCSB at the beginning of this month, interviewed by someone in the PhD department and invited to visit this 20th.

^ With you right there! I emailed a POI from Princeton about when we'll hear back, hopefully he has some answers. Although from last year's trends, most decisions come out around mid-Feb. Been in touch with a prof. from Yale as well. Submitted a recommendation on my behalf to his department, which he claimed was a 'necessary but not sufficient requirement.' Really scares me to think if I hadn't reached out to him. Got an invite to visit Columbia today! Also planning to visit UCSB by invitation on the 20th. Anyone heard back from similar schools?

To answer your first question - community colleges and university in your local area should allow anyone to take courses that they offer for the right fees. As to your second question - of course! Research experience is always a plus, and in more cases than not, a bigger plus than simply taking classes and getting a good grade in it. As long as the research pertains to the field you want to enter. You should know or learn how to conduct proper and good research, and gain the right recommendations for it.

byakkoshe, Based on a superficial glance of your work with drones, I would say you'd best be fit for a concentration in controls and systems or robotics and spatial kinematics. Two fields which are heavily emphasized in mechanical engineering, so I'd say you're on the right track if you're interested in obtaining an engineering degree to supplement your fieldwork interests. However, it's very hard to imagine the transition from an undergraduate social science major to an graduate engineering major; I'm sure it is possible but not probable unless your application is very engineering focused. It is a lot easier and manageable to go from physical sciences or another engineering field, just because all of the required elementary courses in science and math overlap to an extent. I'm telling you this not to discourage you, but to give you a heads-up on the amount of catch-up you might be required to do. For example, if you haven't done/never done calculus or linear algebra in a few years, you'd better start practicing now. Since you are an Econ major by default, I assume your curriculum is heavily focused on theory of labor, logistics, supply & demand, and business, so you probably haven't touched this stuff in a while except perhaps a little bit of calculus, am I right? Personally to me, that's like going from mechanical engineering to theoretical physics (a whole 'nother level of theory). So unless you really want to do it, start by looking into departments and their admission requirements (I know some will not take social science/humanity undergrads), and take a few relevant courses at your university, a local community college or online courses to help you get started! Design projects (which should be open to take anyone) within a major are very valuable too. Reply back in this thread if you are interested in continuing! Happy New Year!

Playing video games is a surefire way of keeping you busy enough. Especially in single-player campaigns where the estimated completion time is around ~40 hours or so... Or is that too childish for a sophisticated young adult who has aspirations about going to graduate school and changing the way we look at a particular field?

Undergrad Institution: Public university, University of California, Irvine Major(s): Mechanical Engineering Minor(s): GPA in Major: 3.88 Overall GPA: 3.86 Length of Degree: Four years Position in Class: N/A Type of Student: Domestic GRE Scores: Q: 163 V: 157 W: 5.5 Research Experience: Two years of research in a combustion and fluid laboratory (2nd-3rd years), one summer research at Caltech in a physical chemistry group (3rd year), currently doing active research in an atmospheric chemistry group (4th year) Awards/Honors/Recognitions: Dean's Honor List, HHMI fellow, Undergraduate Research Grant Recipient at my university, member of TBP and PTS engineering honor societies, four scholarships (each worth $2500). Pertinent Activities or Jobs: Two years of employment within the Physics department for tutoring (2nd-3rd years). Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help: Uhh... the fact that I'm Eastern Asian looking to head towards a STEM specialization makes it look all the more unremarkable. I am sort of diverse though considering I grew up in Costa Rica for the majority of childhood, so I can speak Spanish (although admittedly it has been getting rusty). Applying for [ MS ] or [ PhD ] at: [MS] UCLA UC San Diego UC Santa Barbara USC [PhD] UC Berkeley Caltech Stanford Harvard Yale Princeton Cornell Columbia Now you're gonna say 'holy hydraulics that's a lot of grad schools = bad money decisions,' but I got fee waivers for 9 out of 12 applications. so it wasn't as bad in that sense. Good luck to everyone else applying!!! Anyone in the same boat as I am?

Well, first of all what do you think? To me, it would show that you have not given your SOP a thorough proofreading, which says something about how much you really wish to pursue that program at that particular school. It's sloppy and careless and strongly implies that you were basically recycling another SOP and tailoring it simply to this program. Yeah, we all do it to a degree, but we don't try to make it obvious.

Well, you can post your SOP in this thread so that people may be able to read it. It depends on how you tailored this one essay to each program. If you just replaced university names and professor's names while keeping everything else the same, then I would say that will hurt your chances more than do you good, especially if it doesn't seem at all like you're specifically writing to the program and addressing it in your statement. Make sure you include explain why these individual programs you're applying for are a good fit for you beyond general statements like 'interdisciplinary research' or 'world-class faculty' for example. Also try to match up your experiences and interests with those of the individual program, as not all may offer the same package you're looking for.

Your strong interest in research of solar renewable energy doesn't seem to identify with the experience that you've described. You chose to talk about one thing in your field of coursework, but then talk about something else entirely different in your given opportunities without tying it back to what led to your interest in materials science in the first place. You're a materials science major, so talk more about materials relations that you would like to further study or pursue. Try to convey a concrete research goal and build the reasoning of your college experiences from that. Also I hope you don't seriously consider to use your University XXXX paragraph as it stands. For each school you're applying for, it is way too general and says nothing about your suitability and genuine interest in the program. Talk about why the department suits you including research and faculty, campus life, and relevant facilities.

Ankghost0912, Since you've posted the link in this thread for everyone to access and view, we can all definitely offer some feedback. First off, grad_wannabe's post notes an important mark. You're starting off by placing your field of interest on a pedestal. Although engineering does embody all those traits, it isn't necessarily the only field that is entailed to them. Don't give your audience a distinctive bias from the very beginning. If you've read some SOP reviews around here as well as read the advice and what to avoid, do not start by quoting your childhood which got you into your field of study. The readers will assume you are already passionate about the field, and it is very cliche and unoriginal. Next do not discuss your coursework, examination marks, and anything that can be referred to in a transcript. Moreover for that matter, they will only look at your college transcripts. The SOP is the writing sample in which you should discuss what you are interested in, and what you've done to show it, how you are good at it, and what you can contribute to the ongoing research. The audience will certainly not be interested in how you were choosing schools in the US. Elaborate more on some of the department's specifics, such as its recent research, publication, and faculty. Explain why that department's overall package suits you instead of generalizing the details. No one in the audience will care whether you are an avid reader of Emerson, Ramanujam, Newton , Einstein, etc. Do not start philosophizing about accomplishments which do not concern you in the bit. Be straightforward on your beliefs about research and success if you choose to discuss those for the ending paragraph. For your projects, did you work independently or under the mentorship of a professor or faculty staff? Did you work with anyone else? Which labs and/or facilities did you work in? What insight into the nature of research did you gain from these experiences, and how do they tie in to your field of interest? Seems to me like you left out a lot of relevant details in your resume script of a body paragraph. Then there's the grammar and syntax errors made, but those are trivial compared to the structure, organization, and overall content of your SOP. I'm sorry to say, but it's like you're deliberately doing everything you shouldn't do when writing an SOP. I suggest you read thoroughly the OP's of the pinned threads on this forum section and start from scratch.

^ That is your revised draft I assume? Maybe this is just an idiosyncrasy of mine, but I feel like there are too many I's in your SOP that detail your experiences and what you make of them. Not that it's bad, but it would help make your SOP less like a narrative of your CV/resume. Focus more on some of the important work that you've done and highlight the details; for example, that Department of Energy grant you helped write seems promising in your capacity to take on the MPP. You should also talk about the MPP program you're applying for, why you chose it, and what makes it stand out from the rest. You can generalize the details, but it's not something in which the name of the program should just be copied and pasted. Mentioning the strengths of the program would show that you've done the background research and that you're genuinely interested in it (and not only as part of a list you made for admissions as we all so often do; make every program you apply to feel like it's 'special'). Off-topic, but I strongly support your course of action for your career. For one, my research aspiration is to develop sustainable energies, improve current energy systems, and analyze the atmospheric and environmental effects tied to energy production. In short, your policy implementations will fund my career (or I so hope lol).

This is a great thread. It's a shame that not many people post more on here as opposed to making the same threads over and over. I am in need of advice for writing SOP's when mentioning why I am interested in the department/why is it a good fit for me: should I include specifics about some of the research (by faculty, ofc) in the department I'm applying to? And how specific should I be? Would it be considerate to mention facilities which you would like to work in and have been quite knowledgeable about for some time? Maybe mention a paper that really garnered my interest by one particular faculty member?

I would certainly add any teaching and tutoring stints you may have had throughout college. (If you're like me) more often that not you'll wind up TA'ing for some class to support yourself and it would be a plus if you had this previous experience to go along with it, managing time and work much better than the first-timers.

I am also having a difficult time tailoring my SOP to each of the grad schools I'm applying for. The majority of my SOP is spent describing my research aspirations and experience. Then I dedicate a single paragraph for the school, why it interests me, how I can make a good fit, what professors I want to work with, etc. I try to connect it with my previous paragraphs too. Followed by a conclusion of what I intend to do with a graduate degree (career aspirations). Is this template design still too generic? I am hoping to spend a little bit more time customizing each after I write an SOP for all of them first, at least.

Definitely take out the introduction to your field in your case. Experiences from childhood are for the most part redundant because if you're applying to that program, it's automatically presumed that you have already developed an interest for it. I think adding experiences that contribute to the interest of your intended field of study can only work to your advantage, and I like how you've done a narrative of your school/career leading up to your decision and reason to apply to the program. However, you could expand on the impact of your work done during your time in Business School, since I could hardly call that a stand-alone paragraph. There are also a few sentence structural errors that make the passages read awkwardly or demonstrate sloppy writing IMO. Example: "Although my official declaration to pursue a career in HR occurred during my third semester at Hough; my on the job experiences further convinced me to pursue a lifelong career in HR by returning to graduate school so that I may become an HR Business Partner for a multi-national organization preferably in the tech industry" Semi-colon should be used on two independent clauses (sentences that can stand on their own) whose ideas or points really relate to one another, and putting them together can strengthen the idea behind the statements. Also the second clause can be dramatically shortened for clarity. Finally, don't make requests to the program in your statement ('allow me to....') or make cajolery ('I will savor...'). Those make you sound a bit presumptuous and a little desperate. Talk about why it's a good fit for you and what you can contribute to it, whether in discussion, diversity, mindset, idea-sharing, etc. My comments may be a little stingy, but I hope they do you well!

In the graduate applications I'm currently working on, supplemental materials is usually listed as if applicable/optional much like diversity statements, CV's, or joint program options. My intended field of study, mechanical engineering, usually doesn't require anything beyond a personal statement, letters of rec, prior experience, and transcripts. Sorry, I suppose I just feel like those things aren't enough to show for what one actually does.

Agree with the above, and your major GPA usually matters more if your cumulative includes many classes not related to your intended program of study. As long as you explain with good reason why your undergrad GPA was so 'low,' and make a compelling argument for match at the program you're applying to, then you should still have a competitive chance at admissions. You have a strong grad GPA so you could weave into your reason as sort of a redemption for you. And if you're still feeling angsty, I've heard from several deans of admissions at different universities (ranked high by US News & World Report) that the top two main factors are personal statement and letters of recommendation.

I'm applying to about 12, and even that's pushing it for me. I think ten is a good number, with at least three back-up schools (or schools which you are positively confident you can get in). If the main concern over applying are the fees, then I would suggest contacting each department for a fee waiver if you qualify (if you come from a low-income background, receive federal pell grants from FAFSA, did an REU over at that university, or participated in selected graduate school preparatory programs).

Ahh... really? I never knew that. How else would the administrators be able to judge the content of your prior experience?

Hello everyone! I couldn't find a thread for this topic, I have a question regarding the content additional supplemental material, in particular for the sciences and engineering. Would it be good to include reports of projects, articles, and theses over the course of your undergraduate year that contribute to your grad school profile? For example, maybe a summer research project that you did in an REU. I think it would demonstrate the content of your project and research experience that might've been listed in your personal statement or CV. Or are reports too much to include (ofc they're not like writing samples, but they can be quite lengthy and tedious to cover completely)? Maybe a list of abstracts of your projects? I'm thinking these are like the 'writing samples' for us science and engineering majors, and it would do good to prove you've done work and shown it in preparation for grad school success. Anyone else having questions/concerns about supplemental material can voice them out here! Thank you!

@awells27 That is a good suggestion to follow. Yes, quantitative reasoning is usually more important for engineering and the sciences, but verbal reasoning counts just as much, so I'm fairly disappointed in my results. The standards for top graduate programs are usually 90 percentile for both verbal and quantitative regardless of academic field, though I don't know about analytic writing. Perhaps, is there anyone whose strong analytic writing score made up for their verbal reasoning, and vice versa? I will probably be retaking the test once more, but I'm also curious.

I did hear that some graduate programs discount the analytical writing simply because it's not as great of an indication as the other sections in assessing critical reasoning ability. I understand seeing as how a rushed timed essay under 30 minutes lowers the standards in the first place. But even so I'm still not completely sure how to gauge analytical writing and verbal reasoning together, as imo the two are interrelated.

Hey guys, I was wondering how well can the analytical writing score offset a mediocre verbal reasoning score - specifically 5.5 and 157, respectively. Those correspond to 97 percentile vs. 73 percentile ranges. How does the analytical writing score come into play for Ph.D. graduate programs in the first place? Is it subjective to the applications committee or is it usually considered equally along with VR and QR? Main reason I wanted to ask is because I'm still deciding on whether I should retake the GRE. I want to get admitted into top Ph.D. programs for mechanical engineering. I do know that GRE isn't the deciding factor but it's always nice to show that at least you've got a strong competitive aspect to your application. Thank you in advance for the discussions!