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Hi guys. I'm currently getting a research mscs in a top10 university in US (top10 cs undergrad in the states as well, both rankings are major rankings), and about to apply for CS PhD this fall. Here's some info:- GRE: 161 verbal, 170 quant, 4.0 writing- intern: 3 summer interns in the bay area- research & publication: 1 first author at ISIT, 1 second author at ACL, 1 second author at EMNLP, 1 third author at EMNLP.- GPA: undergrad 3.84, grad~3.9- recommendation letters: my advisors are pretty good, although they may not write super strong recommendationsI would like to do research in learning theory, also tcs or mixed integer programming. Here's my list:- reach: UCB, Stanford, MIT, CMU, Princeton, TTIC- match: UT-Austin, UWashington, UPenn, GeorgiaTech (ACO program), UWaterloo (ACO), UCSD? Cornell?My concern is that, although I have 4 papers, only 1 is about learning theory, the other 3 are about NLP, which I'm not sure whether would help with applications for learning theory direction. ML is getting very very popular nowadays and I know ML applicants who have a lot of papers get rejected by all the universities they apply... On the other hand, is learning theory a little easier to get in compared to ML? Since the former is theoretical. Also does anyone know how hard it gets to change research topics? I have no research experiences except for some courses (and reading on my own) in TCS or MIP, but they really appeal to me.So am I being too optimistic about these choices? Thanks a lot for any suggestions!

I would like to provide some information regarding the reality of getting admitted to top 5 ranked Canadian graduate schools in the Computer Science Program. I work in the field and it appears to me that many applicants are not aware of some of the basic requirements to be admitted that are not overtly stated but definitely required. Unfortunately, I am unable to reveal my university or position as I wish to remain anonymous. Most of the time, you MUST have previous degree from a top school of your country, especially for students with a degree outside of Canada/USA/UK. This is extremely crucial for international students and unless you meet this requirement, it is extremely difficult to be admitted. For most countries, you will need to be in the top 5-10 universities in your country (excluding Canada/US/UK/India). For India, UK, and Canada you will generally need to be in the top 20 universities and for the US, top 50 may be considered, however, top 20 has a greater chance of being admitted. One of the first considerations of the reviewer is the school in which you graduated and how that school ranks in your country. To elaborate, having a degree from a top university is important because this is the only sure way to prove that you are performing well academically because the teaching standard and research caliber of top schools are widely recognized and can easily be compared top Canadian universities. It is impossible for each top Canadian university to understand the teaching, grading and research standard of hundreds of thousands of universities in the world, including many in a foreign language with public and private systems and most reviewers will not dig around for information regarding unknown institutions. For example, there are some universities that give a grade of 75% or above to only one in a few thousand students, whereas another university can have a graduating average of 3.7 GPA. With variations like these, unless you graduated from a top university in your country where the general grading trend and teaching quality is recognized by the Canadian school, your chances of admission are slim to none. Furthermore, the other reason a top university is important is that reviewers want to see reference letters from colleagues or faculty they know and value the opinions of. Since most top researchers in Computer Science meet in major conferences, presentations and events around the world, they are aware of each other’s work, reputation and standards when writing and reading reference letters. Most of these outstanding members of the academic community are also positioned in top schools coinciding with the reviewer’s search applications from top schools. The top Canadian graduate programs in Computer Science receive over 1000 and sometimes even over 2000 applications per year, with three reference letters per application this is an astronomical number of letters to read. Taking this number into account, while the content of reference letters matter, the respectability of the reference writer is arguably even more important. For example, a reviewer reading 100 applications a day would have to read 300 reference letters, 100 of them may indicate that the student is in the top 10% of their program. In the end, being top 10% may not mean anything because there are too many top 10%s and it does not indicate the quality of the student or education. Moreover, there have been examples where the same reference writer indicated that three different students from the same year and class were the number one student in their class. In cases like these, reviewers go back to looking at the top universities, since the caliber of education is known, and they may know the reference writers, therefore, ensuring the letter is reliable. If you believe that there are many exceptions to the rule, consider that the admission data from the previous year from one of the top Canadians schools: only TWO offers out of more than 100 offers made were outside of the guidelines above. Of course, an excellent statement, GPA, reference letters, GRE, and English proficiency are also required even from a top university. Moreover, other factors such as publications, conference experience, research projects and work experience, other achievements are also considered, however, if you do not meet the top university requirement, you will likely need astounding achievements in the other factors to even be considered for admission. The information provided refers to research Master’s and PhD programs in top Canadian universities and does not necessarily reflect industry targeted master’s programs in Computer Science. I am happy to answer any questions or clarify any points, feel free to contact me or respond to this post.

Hi there! I am a recent UCLA grad with a psychology B.A. In the fall I will be applying to PsyD programs. The trouble is, I am having a hard time identifying which schools have the best reputation within the psychology community and what will make my application strongest. If anyone else out there has a PsyD I would love some advice on the subject. Thanks!

Hello Everyone, I'll be applying for the Fall 2019 admission cycle for a Masters in US for the streams of Public Policy/Public Administration/International Development/Migration Policy. Can any kind soul assess my chances of getting admission and FUNDING. Here are my details: GPA: 3.2, Honours in Economics, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh Work Experience : - 1 year in Innovations for Poverty Actions (a US based research organization) working in a project to assess the rate of financial inclusion of garments workers in the suburbs of Bangladesh. - 2 years in a up and coming internationally ranked think tank as a Senior Research Associate. - Wrote a journal article with a professor from Duke University on SDG 13. -Co-authored two G20 Policy Briefs on Forced Migration. -Currently co-authoring a paper on SDG-Fourth Industrial Revolution to be presented at SDG Conference by Columbia University. - Have organized numerous expert and academic panel discussions and written reports. Supervised interns and juniors. - Have written funding proposals with UNDP which was submitted to UAE government. GRE - not given. Core Strengths - excellent writing skills and capability Core Weakness - not a math person Whoever assesses this, thanks in advance.

Profile School: UT Austin Major: Government (Political Science) GRE: Just started prep but first diagnostic test put me at 165 V, 160 Q GPA: 3.4 (cumulative) 3.7 (Government) (This is my main concern) Letters of rec: All 3from tenure track professors, one from a 'star' professor who I've been working in close approximation with since 2016 and who recommended doing a PhD to me. Research experience: I have plenty of research experience including a research assistant internship with an organization affiliated with the school on which I worked on several projects, both quantitative and qualitative. This included tracking banking fraud, geopolitical consequences of mines and natural resources (used STATA extensively on this) and corruption in Honduras. I have also conducted quantitative research with two professors and two of my quant own research projects. I have also presented this research at three conferences and one those was the MPSA. This is all quantitative research over a course of 2 years. Teaching experience: None, undergrads can't TA at my school Foreign language: Hindi and Urdu along with basic Spanish and French. I also have internships with various gender violence NGOs (I want to concentrate on conflict in gender for my PhD research and my current Thesis focuses on that) Do you guys think I have realistic chances of getting into a good PhD programs?

So I've never posted on such a forum before so I'm sorry if some of the language is wrong. I am an undergraduate at UT Austin, graduating in December and stuck between opting for a masters or a PhD. Ideally I would love to do a PhD but those are tougher to get into so I was hoping to lay out my stats and get some honest opinions. I have plenty of research experience including a research assistant internship, research with two professors and two of my own research projects. I have also presented this research at three conferences and one those was the MPSA. I also have alot of experience working with sexual assault ngos (I want to focus my research on this in conflict zones) and I have training that allows me to directly work with survivors. I also have grant writing certification. Im hoping to have one publication done by the time I start applying. But the caveat is that my GPA is just a 3.4. This is because of science and other core requirements. My Government / Political science gpa is actually a 3.7 with mostly all As Do you guys think I have realistic chances of getting into a good PhD programs and if so, which ones? I haven't yet given my GRE but the diagnostic showed a 164 verbal and a 154 Quant which I'm sure I can raise significantly after prep. I also have very good professors that I'm asking for recommendations and am planning on working on my sop quite a bit. Sorry if this is a bit wordy and jumbled.

Hi. I would like to pursue a master's degree in structural engineering abroad. I'm currently doing an undergraduate course in civil engineering. So, I would like to know if each of my subject grades i.e, subjects related to structural engineering will be considered for admission or if it's just my overall cgpa. Thank you

Dear community, I am an international applicant for Fall 2019 Admission to various Cell Biology programs in the northeast of the US. I've recently (April) taken the GRE Biology subject test and got 91th percentile. Now, I think it is a quite good result but would you suggest to send it also to universities where it is only suggested or is it still to low to matter in the final decision? GPA is 3.9-4.0 depending on the conversion system I use. Thank you very much for your help. Chiara

Hey guys, it's my first time here and I have a lot of questions in my head. So pardon me if this is going to be exhaustive, but I could do with any guidance/support I can get on here. EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ME: I'm a 26 year old, Australian National (well, third culture kid) that has grown up across three countries. As a disciple of Psychology this upbringing has allowed me to interact/develop a diverse clientele. I have the following qualifications/ GPA as accredited by the World Education Service ( United States equivalence): - Bachelors in Psychology ( Honours), India : 3.21 - Masters of Science in Psychology ( with Clinical Specialisation), India : 3.50 - Masters of Professional Psychology, Australia : 3.80 ( Provisionally licensed therapist as per the Australian guidelines). I have two unpublished academic dissertations : (1) The Phenomenon of Suicidal Ideation in Individuals Who Have Attempted Suicide Before (2) A Study on the Risk Factors Among Individuals Exposed to Childhood Bullying and Suicidal Ideation. I am currently in the process of formatting and publishing my second dissertation. My GRE score is 302 ( Verbal - 153 , Quant - 149, AWA - 3.5) on second attempt. I attempted the GRE a second time with a month's difference, after I had a horrible anxiety attack because I had interviews that suddenly rocked up on the same day as my GRE. On my first attempt I scored horribly but got a 5 on AWA. I have over a year's worth of clinical work experience and multiple short term internship experiences. Given my performance academically and my diverse experience, I am really hoping to apply for APA accredited PsyD ( predominantly) programs offered by first tier universities in USA. I am thinking: Berkley, Rutger's, Baylor's, Stanford consortium program, etc. I will also be applying to regional and second tier universities with good rankings to maximise intake & minimise disappointments balance the process out. I am taking the year off to apply I am absolutely desperate to make it into a program by 2019. I have 4 questions (one very big confusing question broken into 4 confusing parts ). 1) I understand that, GRE is not everything and it depends on the holistic picture one presents through their applications. But having seen the outcome and admissions data across the fancy-schmancy universities, the GRE scores normally average to about 318 ( minimum). Should I retake the GRE a third time after putting in 3-4 months of diligent effort? 2) Orrr should I just focus on smashing my SoP's , LOR's and getting published ? 3) What are my chances of being able to make it into a well ranked university ? 4) I can do a decent job with writing, sometimes I get carried away or mess up my tenses. Can I get enough help here with editting my SoP or should I sign up for alternative services ? 5) What else should I be focussing on ? Thank you for taking the time out to go through this. I'd love to hear what you guys think

MFA application opened up this month!!! Who's ready for 2018 freak-out forum?

Hi, Has anyone heard back yet? Is it true that they email you their decision if you were accepted and then send an official letter after? Thanks!

Hello everyone, I thought I would start a forum for people to ask and answer questions regarding the MIRHR graduate program at The University of Toronto for 2018. Good luck to everyone who is applying!

Hello everyone! I am new in this Forum so I don't exactly know how it works... But anyway, I am going to explain my situation and see if I can get any help (which I would really appreciate). I am planning to apply to my PhD this fall as an international student. I am from Europe and I did my bachelor there. It is my first time ever applying to an American university, so any advice would be helpful. - Bachelor/Masters in Pharmacy (I put Masters because it takes 5 years, it is considered Bachelor+Master in Europe, and I have a paper that gives it the academic equivalence to Doctor of Pharmacy in the US, if that works). My GPA is 7.1/10. I know. Everyone is going to think that is really low, but in Europe and in pharmacy school, nobody has a GPA of 9/10, for example. So mine is pretty good at my university. I also have honors in my final thesis (cancer-related) and it is considered the best thesis of my promotion. - Research experience: one semester as an undergrad (around 25 h per week), 6 month as an exchange student in America (no classes, just research), currently doing research in one of the Top20 Universities in the U.S. (not an Ivy, but ranked better than most of them). By the time I apply my experience in this last university will be of 1 year but by the time I start my PhD it would be of 2 years. - Other experience: 1 year as a retail pharmacist, 6 month internship as a clinical pharmacist in a Hospital in Europe. - Publications: 3 posters (2 Top European conferences and 1 at the university that I am working in right now) but no PubMed publications... - Speaker at one conference. - Lots of volunteering in Heathcare. I also just got a 6-month fellowship (cancer-related) from a really prestigious foundation, only 27 people in the U.S got it and it was one per institution. TOEFL: I took it a while ago and I got a 104, the minimum required is 100 in most Ivys, maybe I will retake it if I have time. GRE: Haven't taken it yet but I am currently studying for it, I am planning to take it in one month. GRE Biology: is it worth taking it? I wanted to apply to Ivy leagues and high-ranked universities for my PhD in Cancer Biology, but I also want to be realistic and know honest opinions as if I stand any chance to get in. Thank you!

Hi all, I've seen threads for interviews and I thought I would start one for all of us that aren't applying to clinical programs! Feel free to share, ask questions, and vent! School: Track and/or specialization within psychology program: Interview type: Date: Good luck everyone!

For agricultural econ/ applied econ.

What are the chances of a conditional admission turning to an official offer ? I got my conditional offer a week back, I was told that I will be contacted by faculty in the next 2 weeks. I still have not heard anything. I am freaking out. Did they pull my offer ?

I applied to USC to do an MSW online last week and the waiting has been killing me! I completed my undergraduate in 2015 as a Child and Family Studies major. I didn't really have a ton of work experience, just a work-study job, so my CV is kind of dull. I'm really concerned about my GPA as maybe it was a 2.7 when I graduated. I did write an addendum to further explain the reasoning behind my low GPA (sexual trauma). I have had a time of healing and know that I am fully ready to be a fantastic student again. A few months after I graduated, I moved to Tanzania to work for a non-profit for 15 months. Which is why I am wanting to pursue a masters in social work. I'm really passionate about working with refugees and hope to live and work in the East African region working with those refugees. My professor wrote a strong recommendation letter for me and the founder of the organization I worked for wrote my letter as well. I'm also nervous about my personal statement. I'm not the best writer and I answered each question, I'm just scared I didn't answer up to their standards. Do I have a shot or should I kiss my dream school goodbye?

Hi, This is more of a question than discussion. on 28th Feb, 2018 i had a skype interview with Faculties of University of New Hampshire's economics department. After that I have not heard anything from them. Have anyone got any call? How was the interview? I mean, what was their approach? Can anyone give me any first hand Idea about thier program? So, far my knowledge is restricted within the info obtained from web page. Thanks in advance!

Hello, So I have been admitted into a top PhD program in anthropology at one of these northeastern ivy league schools that I never thought I would actually get in to. The program seems great, the funding is amazing but there are no professors really related to my topic (in the broad sense). They are some professors related to my secondary field of interest (environmental anthropology) and to the region I want to work, which is what my potential advisor's research is on but my main field of research is not represented. The other schools I got into have professors more linked to my topic but are not top programs (and sometimes with less good funding), so I don't know if the main criteria should be to have professors in the department linked to one's field of study.

I am an international student from Canada studying in the USA. I completed a BA in psychology about 4 years ago in Canada and had a terribly low GPA (2.0). Following that I did a social service worker diploma ( equivalent to an AA level degree) in Canada and graduated with a 3.6. I am now living in the United States and will be completing a BSW with a predicted overall GPA of 3.8 and a concentration GPA of 4.0. I was only required to complete 48 credit hours to complete this degree of which 36 are letter grades and 12 are pass fail (for my internship). My cumulative GPA would likely not meet the entrance requirements, because I do not believe my AA degree will be counted toward my overall cumulative GPA. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this type of situation before, and whether or not they were successful in obtaining admittance. I am 100% a different student then I was when I was younger. I was in a much different place in my life and my grades from then are not indicative of my ability. I require an on campus program which I know due to limited space can be more difficult to gain admittance so I really am just searching for some information as to how to be successful in being admitted.

Hello everybody, The time is approaching when the admission results for Fall 2018 are starting to roll out. As far as I know Ohio State University is the first one in announcing admission results. One of my friends has already received academic from OSU Economics. Let's use this thread and share our admission results for Fall 2018 Economics PhD.

Hi, I'm a student applying for a masters degree in United States. I've been accepted to 2 masters in statistics(Columbia, Uchicago) so far where I have 8 more schools pending for ms in stat/data science/machine learning. I haven't decided if I will directly head to the industry or pursue a phD after graduation. But definitely I would prefer taking challenging courses during my semester since I've already took a few grad school stat/math courses. Which school would be a better choice between Uchicago and Columbia? It seems that Columbia is well known to general people, although Uchicago seems to be a top tier in Statistics. Even if I get a phD, I will work in the industry. And considering that I'm a international student and many in my country thinks Columbia is a better school, I would like to here your opinions if there is anyone currently attending one of these schools or know well about the alumni placement & reputation in the industry.

Hello, I am an international student but currently staying in the USA. I pursued my Masters Program here in USA. I am in the process of applying for a PhD program in Statistics or BioStatistics. Undergrad Institution: International University (Outside USA) Major(s): Economics and Mathematics GPA: 3.57 Grad Institution: US University Major(s): Mathematics GPA: 3.8 GRE General Test: Q: 157 V: 139 W: 3.5 Program Applying: PhD in Biostatistics or Statistics Research Experience: None Awards/Honors/Recognitions: TA Assistantship for Master's Program Courses at Grad Level: Partial Differential Equations (A), Abstract Algebra (A), Advanced Differential Equations (A), Combinatorics and Graph Theory (B), Theory of Statistics (A), Introduction to Numerical Analysis (A), Analysis I&II (A-), Applied Statistics (A), Statistical Computing (B+), Discrete Modeling and Optimization (A), Actuarial Science (A), Complex Analysis (A-), Experimental Design (A), Assistant : Teaching Assistant for two years Letters of Recommendation: -Assistant Professor in Statistics (Strong) -Professor in Applied Mathematics (Strong) -Associate Professor in Mathematics (Strong) I am aware that my GRE score isn't the best and I have no research experience (but let's overlook that). I am interested in universities based in Atlanta Georgia. Based on my profile, what are my chances of getting admission into the following universities? I need your suggestions and advice. Thank you. Schools: University of Georgia (PhD in Statistics) Georgia State University (PhD in Biostatistics) Augusta University (PhD in Biostatistics)

I wanted to crowd-source some reasons for how people are making their final decisions. I realize this is a convenient spot for a lot of us to be in, but it is also a very difficult one. I know my pre-submission impressions were that I would not be in this predicament; I wholeheartedly expected to be accepted at just one place. But, here we are. Any advice helps! All the best,

I am a Canadian Undergrad that received offers from Paris School of Economics M2 program, London School of Economics MSc Econ program, and University of Toronto Msc Econ program. I kind of regret not applying to Harvard or MIT because I received offers from every school I applied. I will probably pursue PhD at one of Harvard, MIT, Chicago, and UC Berkeley. At the end of the day, I want to land a position of Economics Professor at any of top 10 institutions. I specialize in Microeconomic theory and in particular the mathematics and game theory. I am really flexible in terms of research area since I have undergrad degree in math and by this, I mean learning a new topic in economics isn't a big concern for me. Offers: PSE - second year masters, almost free tuition (basically skipping a year of comprehensives. I super hate tests) LSE- admissions UofT- admissions on full financial support $18000 UBC- admissions on moderate support $14000 I am leaning towards PSE or UofT. PSE is highly ranked. UofT prof there seems to really want me there. Which school would you choose if these schools offered admissions to you?