anotherflunky

So their email (Feb. 16) says "We are currently in the process of assigning fellowship funds to entering students. We plan to notify you regarding financial assistance as soon as possible, usually by the end of March, and no later than April 22nd." Does anyone know if the "usually by the end of March" part is a flat-out lie? From past gradcafe listings, it seems the people who got funding later on did so close to or even after April 15.

I was just guessing based on timing. I've had no contact with Berkeley or their professors.

I've given up hope already. Screw being MIT's strategic pawn. =) First choice Berkeley has already rejected me. But in one way this was good -- I'm more confident about possibly attending Stanford (I got in there 2 days ago). Since it's less selective than MIT/Berkeley and the bottom 50% gets weeded out, getting in there but not MIT and Berkeley puts you in an bizarre spot where you can't calibrate and decide if you're good enough. Apparently MIT thought I was (almost) good enough so presumably I can make it at Stanford. Sadly I'm part of the vast majority that may have to attend without first-year funding. Hopefully I can get an NSF fellowship or maybe still get funded by the EE department. Graduate admissions is a cruel mistress.

I think the waitlist is activated between April 1 to 15 so it's based on the decisions of people who already notified them. Not everyone waits until the last moment.

I just called. I was waitlisted (no e-mail, they sent a letter but it hasn't reached me yet or got lost). This is almost worse. Now I have to wait and the chances are basically negligible.

What I meant was, am I missing something obvious on the website? Should it show up on https://apply.eecs.mit.edu/ home page or is the rejection elsewhere? I can't find it and I feel dumb about that. lol... I'm pretty certain of my rejection. For one, I'm not very qualified. But also, MIT sends all acceptances around Feb 10 and all rejections (via website, no email) a week later. There's a small waitlist but I think those people have been notified of that. So it seems to be a single wave process.

Where can I see my rejection (lol)? Mine still says "You can log into this web site in early March to see our admissions decision." for some reason.

Just got acceptance. Unfortunately, no funding decision... i.e. we play the waiting game for others to reject their offers and will probably end up with nothing. Meh, probably taking Northwestern MSE anyway.

Without zero research experience, you would have gotten rejected from UCB/Stanford EE PhD even if you had a 4.0 from a top 5 university. The average profile for PhD domestic students at these two is something like 3.8-3.9 GPA, 800/570/4.5 GRE, 1-1.5 years of research experience, 0-1 publications, mostly from top 30 schools. The single most important factor is letters of recommendation (from professors, not managers) that comment on your ability to do research. You need AT LEAST one of those for a top 5 PhD. At schools below the top 5, you may still get in. For terminal MS, though, research is just a minor bonus. Your best bet is to continue at UC Irvine with a thesis-based MS and then apply again for direct PhD admissions later. Unless you manage to get 1st author publications in prestigious journals, I would aim lower too because what you did in undergrad is still evaluated and your academic profile is too weak. Hardships, minority status, and non-research industry work experience (and by extensions, letters from industry managers) mean next to nothing in EE PhD admissions. Remember that it's basically a job application for a 6-year research position. UCB/Stanford are top schools and they're enrolling only 50-100 of the best candidates in the world each year. They don't really compromise on qualifications since there are more than enough highly-qualified applicants to fill every single one of those slots every year. Once you go down the ranking (outside top 10), it becomes MUCH easier to gain admission, so don't get caught up on having to go to a top school.