qualthian

I got EPFL and UNC admission without funding, which is no different than a rejection.

Got my rejection from UPenn, they didn't even bother to email lol

Just got my first result, which is a rejection from Stanford.

Does the admission page change from submitted to accepted when you are accepted?

I got no word from any university, definitely a bad sign.

Seems like results started to be announced, although I haven't received any e-mail yet. Good luck everyone.

So we are all applying to universities, and as they always say, advisor is very important. How can we make sure that our future advisor is a good guy? How do we know he will have time for us, treat us good, and watch our progress? We apply to universities after checking professors' papers and citation count, but an excellent reserach record does not mean he is a good choice. So if there is no information on websites like ratemyprofessor and google, how can I learn about them? 1) Asking former Ph.D. students? What if they forward my mail to advisor? Can I trust them with confidentiality? 2) Asking professors that published with advisor? That seems even more dangerous What is your suggestion? How can I make sure that my commitment will pay off. How to make sure I will be happy with my advisor?

If a professor asks for a skype interview, is it a good thing or a regular thing? Because a rock-star of the field I am applying asked for a skype interview and I wonder if this is something positive.

Is it enough if I just check my mail to see my application result when it is announced (do they always send email) or should I check my application for each university as well?

Best Case scenario: You are in a top university and working with a very successful advisor. (which is no brainer) Case1: Not good university, good advisor Case2: Good university, average advisor From what I understand, advisor > university ( I am in a similar situation ) When you apply for postdocs, they will read your papers, and read the recommendation from that well networked advisor. Other applicants graduated from top universities, so what? Your coursework during Ph.D. doesn't matter anyways. Your sole responsiblity during Ph.D. is doing significant research. So if you can do better research than others, then it will be you who gets the position. University during undergraduate is important, because only your department judges you of your success. Outsiders doesn't know whether all content during all courses were covered, are whether you really deserved that A. So they trust the good universities. But during Ph.D., your work is public. Anyone can read your work and judge your success. And your research will be main factor they take into consideration. Edit: I heard that if you apply to a university that doesn't have any member doing research in your field, they won't be able to understand the significance of your work very much, so they will look at the name of your university.

@alhus Some schools requre Toefl 100, so you better fix that.

I can't imagine addressing them by their first name. Sounds so rude, guess it is a cultural difference.

I really need some input for my decision. I am applying to Ph.Ds but if I am not admitted, which masters should I choose? University A: Times Rank: Between 200-225 in General, between 90-100 in technology. QS World Rank: Between 400-450 Advisor: ~1200 citations, not very good network outside of his country, not perfect match to my interests University B: Times Rank: None QS Rank: None Advisor: ~1800 citations, amazing network over the world, very good match ------------------ My opinion: Academia is a small world and if you work in a specific field, there are a limited number of people that work in that field and they usually know each other, either in person or by following their work. I feel like I should make my choice depending on the advisor, not ranking on the university. So a LOR from the advisor in university B can be way more helpful than a LOR from the advisor from university A. Because the professors from good universities know him. What do you think?

It is interesting that some universities started to announce acceptions and rejections (not for cs). http://thegradcafe.com/survey/index.php Does any1 know when universities start to announce results for cs phd applicants (experience from previous years)?

I am a CS PHD applicant as well and I can take a look if you wish (not that I am an expert or anything)

What is your long term dream?

Meanwhile you can take another GRE asap and if you are lucky they may still accept your new scores

Since you have a masters degree, I believe you are expected to have publication(s). Do you have any?

I think you should remove all parts related to your childhood and elaborate your practical work at undergraduate level. The genius child is useless and irritating, because what you did when you were 11 is irrelevant. If you are talking about future research, you may want to talk about recent research in field in high level and mention your interest. Only 3 months for GRE? Unless this is GRE subject, you shouldn't need even a month to get Q165+. Find an excuse that doesn't show you weak, this shows that you are not very capable of solving simple math questions. (if your low score is in quantitive section) Also, instead of repating your transcript, you may want to consider telling something more useful in that paragraph, something that doesn't exist in other documents.

It may not be possible to distinguish between an online and on-campus degree from that university, but when you are on campus you are likely to have a better research environment where people are pushing and motivating each other. This will have a reflection on your research and that is what matters when you are appyling to Ph.D. I know people (not personally) who completed their Ph.D. in a university with no rank and doing their postdoc at Stanford and MIT. This clearly shows that you can accomplish anything, even if you complete your education in crap universities. So, what is the key point here? Advisor. You advisor can help you open all the doors, regardless of the ranking university you are graduated from. You need an advisor who cares about your progress, who has reputation in area and who is currently active in terms of research (many publications each year). He/she should be able to guide you and give you useful feedback during your graduate education. If you think you can get this from an online program, go ahead. But I read reviews about Nova's online program and some people were saying that the professors never bothered to reply their e-mails and they simply wasted their money. (This is just an example, not a generalization neither for Nova nor for other universities with online programs) Make sure you have a professor who will keep his interest in you, either by asking his former students or checking online review sites. Hope you will be completely healthy soon and be able to make your dreams come true.

You have no money, so you don't get to choose universities. Apply for Ph.D. programs that can accept you, all places that fits you. Or, you can apply to Masters programs which can accept you as part time student, so that you can work somewhere to cover your costs. But beware that most countries won't give you a work permit, so you would have to do it illegally and might end up in jail = destroy your future career. So, beware. Also, if you work during masters, you won't have much time for research and lower your chances for future Ph.D. In these two years, do your best to publish 1-2 papers in journals and 1 in a conference(This is the best case, come as close to this as possible). This will get you into most places. You should use your time very efficiently. You can choose to do research in whatever topic you want, not necessarily in machine learning. This is just to prove that you can do research and the Ph.D. program won't blow its money by investing in you.

You should read this. http://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/90/university-rank-stature-how-much-does-it-affect-ones-career-post-ph-d/154#154

Thank you fo your suggestion. The problem is, the field I am interested in is only active among these + few other universities (that dont require masters). So, I sadly dont have many choices.

You never know. Better apply than regret not applying.

I don't think he has any interest in your success and future education. This person will not give you the strong letter you expect him to be (my opinion). Give him a call, because deadline is approachind and you need an answer as soon as possible. If you can't, send him daily e-mails because you are in a very critical condition. Be selfish. Good luck