ARJS

Congrats seismoguy... All the best in future...

Hichem, try posting your question here: This topic is rather old while the above one quite hot. Please make sure that you mentioned correct date of application (I mean is it really 02/2014). If yes then which season you applied for? your profile says Fall 2014, which all of us know is slightly misplaced in time. Hope this helps...

annona, yes this is my second rejection. Thank you for your comments and best wishes. I am not a big shot actually there must have been many great students. I am not sure what exactly they were looking for in a candidate but I considered my application quite competitive. If you see the result search page what I noticed is that all the EE candidates were rejected. I did not see any acceptance from EE. Does anyone know anyone who got accepted in EE? Besides, remember the "sanity" of preferring diversity over meritocracy... Wish you guys all the best...

You are welcome...

POI speaking about such matters really reflects that he is very interested in you and wants you to work with him. Good sign. They will be interested in your educational background, your relevant experience and how your acquired skills may help you in your graduate studies. You should remember that your discourse should be understandable to non specialists as many of the interviewers would be from that group. Questions like why you chose KAUST? And why should KAUST choose you? Why this particular program? Your hobbies? How you see the world? etc can be expected. You should prepare at least 3-5 questions to be asked when you'd be asked to ask any questions (too many asks, nevermind I made my point ). This is a must that you ask some relevant questions about the program or anything you are not clear about. By 3-5 questions I don't mean that you ask all of them. Just one and maximum two would suffice. This reflects your motivation and preparation for the program. You should have some questions pool on the back of your mind in case few of them are already responded to. Hope this helps. Good luck...

And yes, don't forget to write a thank you email to the professor who interviewed you today. Sooner is better!

Well, not to discourage you, this is exactly what my professor told me. What I believe is there is a lot of difference between recommending and advocating an applicant? The later is more active and the candidate gets more chances of getting a second interview call. My POI even said that he was really impressed by my CV specially the kind of work I have been doing. But here we go, KAUST decided not to send me an invitation. What do you mean by: "what terms will the second interview be based on?" Could you be more explicit?

Both... Actually, if the professor refuses a candidate after interview, the university will not invite him/her for its second interview at all. On the other hand, if a professor pushes for some candidate and he/she is invited on a university level interview where the candidate does not make an appealing case ... a rejection may be served... Its obvious but hope this helps.

You are welcome Hazzy, The quote you shared is really good...

Yes and guess what'd that be... a big REJECTION...

That's the spirit friends . KAUST and for that matter no university defines who we are and what we are capable of.

Wish you guys all the best...

Told you guys that merit has little to do with KAUST admissions. They crave for diversity beyond perceivable sanity.

No dear no chance of knowing about marine bio... Have got no "source" there...

No it is not mentioned on their website. These facts are not mentioned on the websites because they want to make some exception in case someone has EXTRA ORDINARY research experience. Making this online will make it a policy for which institutions like these may become answerable, hence avoid mention. Try linear interpolation on your GPA. I am not sure how will they convert. Hope this helps.

I am afraid not. I am not referring to the KAUST website which mentions average GPA of all the students admitted (irrespective of program they were admitted in). I am mentioning THE BASELINE that EE program has set for its incoming students and that's not an average... I am not trying to be insensitive here but this might help you decide if you have any other options at hand. Hope this clears my point.

Congrats Rudychin and Fa91

The baseline for EE program is 3.70/4.00 (undergraduate). If yours is below that then yes you might be in trouble...

Hey fellows c'mon... don't be so overwhelmed... This planet supported life for 4.5 billion years and it would continue to do so even if none of us gets selected in KAUST. This is not end of the world. Why waiting is killing and c'mon you have started dreaming about it. We have to convince ourselves that our life matter more than getting admission somewhere and that KAUST and for that matter any other university's decision would not affect our ability to strive for the best. While it will give me immense pleasure if I am selected but at the same time it is totally OK for me if I do not get selected because I know it is not KAUST or Stanford or MIT or Harvard who defines what I am and what I am capable of. They just facilitate my transformation.

Will turn 32 this fall...

Dear mountain, when did you have your personal interview and please share the mode of interview? I mean is it through Skype or did you fly somewhere for interview. I am sure this topic viewers would really appreciate if you share your profile with others too. Thanks

Hi AbdulKader90, February 14th is the deadline for applicants to submit their applications and all the supporting documents for their application to be considered for Fall 2015 intake. KAUST may not accept any application after that (not at least for the major round of admissions - rolling admissions may be possible but again I am not sure whether the applicants will be considered for financial assistance or not) What I really meant was that after passing the application deadline (14 feb), there will be some deadline for admission committee (known to KAUST administration only) by which the admissions office must finalize their decisions and communicate them to relevant offices / people. And for KAUST, one may expect a decision as late as mid of May. I believe KAUST will make sure that all the decisions be communicated by mid of April. After that, again, on rolling basis, only those would be contacted (by mid of May) who were initially waitlisted - in case someone rejects KAUST's admission offer. Hope this helps...

You are welcome... There is one more thing ... Your luck matters a lot as far as the KAUST admissions are concerned. You heard me ... Luck. KAUST is notorious about diversity. So, it does not matter how wonderful one's application is, if there is someone else from the country of citizenship applying to the same program and has a (KAUST) faculty recommendation which weighs more than the former's, it is highly likely that the former would be rejected. And rejection is certain if there are two such candidates. Bottom line: KAUST would never admit more than two students per semester from same country of citizenship in one program. Exceptions are US and European citizens because, apparently, these regions produce more graduates than other. So, I would not rely on KAUST much as diversity weighs more than merit there.

Dear Hazzy don't be nervous. It usually takes at least two months from the first application deadline for universities to make a decision. At KAUST, there is no specific deadline for admission decision however, at a particular date (which actually is a deadline for KAUST admission committee) the admissions office will stop reviewing application for upcoming semester and would send rejection emails to all others. Meanwhile, they will send interview invites, conduct interviews, make final decisions and communicate those decisions to relevant department / people and the students, all on rolling basis. So, if you hear that someone is interviewed or has been invited for one or have been offered an admission, you should not be nervous about that. KAUST will keep interviewing during Feb and March and decisions can be communicated as late as middle of May. Hope this alleviates...