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Hi all, I've been unable to find what the difference is between a Statement of Purpose (SOP) and a Statement of Interest / Statement of Research Interest. I've seen a lot on this forum re: SOPs but does anyone have any advice on writing a standout Statement of Interest? The program I am applying for is requesting a Statement of Interest but does not specify any further than a character limit. Thanks in advance!

I am a recent graduate from Rutgers University - New Brunswick who majored in Cognitive Science (neuroscience track) and double minored in philosophy and Korean studies. I'm looking to apply to Cognitive Psychology/Cognitive Neuroscience/Behavioral Neuroscience Ph.D. programs this upcoming cycle (I've included a list of the schools I'm looking at, as well as their programs). Overall GPA: 3.52 Major GPA: 3.76 (should I include this in my CV?) GRE: 160 V, 158 Q (still haven't taken it yet but hoping to get a 320-325 when I do). Research Experience: Will amount to about 1.5 years by December. I'm looking to volunteer at another lab simultaneously. I unfortunately don’t have any publications; due to COVID-19 the one I was slated to be included in was pushed back. My question(s): How competitive am I for these schools (I guess chance me haha)? What other mid-tier programs are there for cognitive psychology, if most on my list will be too difficult? What advice do you have for someone overwhelmed by the application process? List: Rutgers Newark - Behavioral and Neural Sciences University of Maryland - Cognitive and Neural Systems Uconn - Behavioral Neuroscience OR Perception, Action, Cognition UCI - Cognitive Science UCSD - Cognitive Science Boston University - Brain, Behavior, and Cognition NYU - Cognition and Perception I would say that my top choices as of right now are UCSD, BU, NYU, and UCI Thank you so much for your help, and I hope you're all staying safe!

I'm going to graduate with my BS in Aerospace Engineering next spring. Due to a variety of factors, I have decided to pursue graduate-level education, and I would like the opportunity to do it in CS, as that is where my interests have lied for roughly a little more than the second half of my bachelor's degree. I'm well aware that a transition from AE to CS is unorthodox, and I'm concerned that many good programs (both at prestigious and not so prestigious universities) will think that I'm unqualified. Does anyone who has either made the transition (or a similar one!) themselves or know somebody who has have any tips for being successful in making the switch? Here's a little context about me: Two major industry experiences. The first in the systems/test wing of software engineering (but I did a ton of programming) and the second in a more formal software engineering role Research in ML High GPA Anticipate a good GRE score A bunch of extracurricular experiences In terms of preparation for CS, I will graduate with rigorous (my school is really good for CS) formal coursework in the following areas: Intro CS (Java programming and some light data structures) Data structures Discrete mathematics Data visualization (this was a master's level course) Algorithms Computer architecture or systems programming (I might need to do a little prereq fenagling to get the systems programming course; will definitely have one of the two) My aerospace background gives me some additional unrelated but somewhat relevant preparation in: Control systems Numerical methods Autonomous systems When applying, I intend to portray myself as an aerospace person who wants to develop a stronger CS skill set to make deeper contributions to the industry by advancing how it handles and processes data, secures software and networks, or develops large, integrated systems. Any help or tips would be very appreciated. If you made it this far, thanks so much for reading! I really appreciate it.

Looking for some advice/guidance on my profile for applying Ph.D. in Physics in Fall 2021. I plan to take the Physics GRE in September, but I am worried that it will not be able to be administered due to COVID . . . Has anyone heard about how programs are planning for this contingency? Type of Student: Domestic Male Applying to: Physics PhD (undecided concentration) Undergrad Institution: Big 10, Honors College Undergraduate Major: Dual majoring in Physics and Engineering Science and Mechanics Undergraduate GPA: 4.0 major, 4.0 total (out of 4.0) Academic Honors: Deans list every semester, several school-based academic scholarships and awards, several scholarships in physics and engineering out side of school, PA NASA Space Grant Consortium scholarship, Goldwater nominee (not awarded) Work Experience: Some private math and physics tutoring, seeking a TA position for fall GRE General Test: Q 170 V 166 W 5.0. (taken once) GRE Physics: Not taken (September/October) if available Research Experience: 2 years campus with mentor professor (published twice, one lead author), 2 summers at BNL in NY (published twice), several posters and lectures Recommendation Letters: 1 of them will be from my mentor professor and the other 2 will be from the professors who I took courses with. Would also like to use my BNL mentor?? Planning on Applying to: Penn State Stony Brook Yale Duke MIT Harvard UVA Virginia Tech Brown Willam and Mary Wake Forest Princeton U of Maryland Would love some input on chances, suggestions for additional schools (looking to stay in this general area) and anything else that may help! Thanks!!

Looking for some advice/guidance on my profile for applying Ph.D. in Physics in Fall 2021. I plan to take the Physics GRE in September, but I am worried that it will not be able to be administered due to COVID . . . Has anyone heard about how programs are planning for this contingency? Type of Student: Domestic Male Applying to: Physics PhD (undecided concentration) Undergrad Institution: Big 10, Honors College Undergraduate Major: Dual majoring in Physics and Engineering Science and Mechanics Undergraduate GPA: 4.0 major, 4.0 total (out of 4.0) Academic Honors: Deans list every semester, several school-based academic scholarships and awards, several scholarships in physics and engineering out side of school, PA NASA Space Grant Consortium scholarship, Goldwater nominee (not awarded) Work Experience: Some private math and physics tutoring, seeking a TA position for fall GRE General Test: Q 170 V 166 W 5.0. (taken once) GRE Physics: Not taken (September/October) if available Research Experience: 2 years campus with mentor professor (published twice, one lead author), 2 summers at BNL in NY (published twice), several posters and lectures Recommendation Letters: 1 of them will be from my mentor professor and the other 2 will be from the professors who I took courses with. Would also like to use my BNL mentor?? Planning on Applying to: Penn State Stony Brook Yale Duke MIT Harvard UVA Virginia Tech Brown Willam and Mary Wake Forest Princeton U of Maryland Would love some input on chances, suggestions for additional schools (looking to stay in this general area) and anything else that may help! Thanks!!

Hello! I was a Political Science/Theology major for my B.A. I graduated from a liberal arts college with a 3.84. I got decent GRE scores: 163 verbal 153 quant. I have been wanting to make a career transition into art history, and I am well-studied in the subject for someone who has only done independent study. I think I might like to pursue Ph.D. level work in Art History, so I want to do my M.A. somewhere reputable. Does it seem unlikely I'd be admitted to a reputable MA (like Williams) without doing some undergrad or community college art history course work first? Also any thoughts on the Corcoran school at GW? Thanks in advance for any advice : )

Has anyone heard back from the new MSc Psychotherapy program at McMaster? I applied at the end of feb and haven't heard back yet. I emailed them about it and they said they hope to get back to their applicants soon. I imagine their admissions process is being impacted by the pandemic like everyone else, but I guess I'm just having trouble dealing with the uncertainty. Has anyone who applied to MSc psychotherapy heard anything back yet?

Hello! I'm new to this forum but looking for some advice. For context, I am a Canadian graduate of a 4 year combined dual degree-diploma program which left me with an Honours Bachelor of Applied Science in Psychology and a Diploma in General Arts and Science (graduated with distinction). I specialized my studies by almost exclusively doing life sciences electives, like biochemistry and cell biology, neuroscience, human anatomy and physiology, etc. This gave me a few hundred hours of laboratory experience. I did a few Research Assistantships in my undergrad, one of which lead me to a publication. My original intent was to apply to medical school right after undergrad, but I have realized that becoming a Research Coordinator/Research Scientist or Principal Investigator is really what I would rather do as a career. With this in mind, I am hoping to apply to MSc. Medical Sciences at McMaster University in Hamilton, ON, as well as the MSc. Neuroscience program and the MSc. Biomedical and Molecular Science at Queen's University in Kingston, ON. With a degree in Psychology, do I have a chance of even getting my foot in the door with these more traditionally "hard science" Master's degrees? I would be grateful for any advice you may have on Statements of Interest or other components of the application to bolster my chances of getting an offer of admission. Thanks, Hannah

Hey all! I haven’t seen a thread like this that is specific to Canada so thought I’d start one. I’ve applied to York, McMaster and UofT for 2020 admission to an MA in polisci. I hope this is an okay number of apps, I know some do a lot more. I’ve also got a few questions if anybody would be able to answer! How are the programs/depts at these unis, how do they compare to each other? York entices me due to it’s supposed left-wing nature but UofT is obviously much more prestigious. I’m unsure as to the quality of the specific programs, I find it’s hard to find info on this type of thing. Also anyone know about the competitiveness of admissions for the programs? What determines admission (ex is a really good GPA in my final year + distinction enough to raise my chances?)

Hi, I only recently started looking into Biostats PhD programs and was hoping to get a little more clarity on the strength of my profile. Undergrad Institution: Northwestern Major: Mathematics (with departmental honors) and Statistics Type of Student: Domestic white male GPA: 3.65 GRE: Still studying but just assume V: 165+ and Q: 165+ since that's how I'm scoring on practice tests. Related Math Courses: Calculus 1/2 (B+, B), Linear Algebra (B+), Optimization (B), Probability and Stochastic Processes Sequence (A-, A, A-), Combinatorics and Discrete Math (A), Graph Theory (A-), Qualitative Differential Equations (A), Real Analysis Sequence (B+, B+, B), Abstract Algebra Sequence (B+, A-, B-), and Independent Study (A, A, A). Related Stats Courses: Statistical Methods Sequence (A, A-), Regression Analysis (A), Survey Sampling (A), Statistical Computing (A), Human Rights Stats (A), Binary Response Data (A), and Analysis of Sports Data (A-). Plus some physics, business/finance, and a lot of humanities classes. From this you can see my major GPA for math is ~3.54 and major GPA for stats is ~3.93. Also, this might be confusing, but don't pay too much attention to the calc and linear algebra grades. It was in a really specific rigorous program specific to NU. I have A's in calc and linear algebra when I took in high school at the local university I could also probably submit a transcript for. Experience/Other: Not much formal research experience but I did write a senior thesis in math, so I can have my advisor at least write a "research potential" recommendation. I've been working as an analyst in the private sector for the past couple years, but realized recently I want to be doing more rigorous policy-oriented and prosocial work with data and statistics, hence why I'm looking at PhD Biostats programs. I know my grades aren't amazing and I'm lacking some research experience. However, I'm hoping that the rigor of the classes I've taken and test scores can make up for some of that. Plus my grades do show steady improvement throughout undergrad. Also, I feel like a masters might not be as worth it since I'd mostly be retaking classes (but maybe I'm wrong). Overall, I'm just looking for some clarity on the strength of my profile and which programs I should be targeting. Are Johns Hopkins, UChicago, and University of Washington pipe dreams? What about UCLA and Emory? Should I bother taking the math subject test? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks!

Hi all, I'm graduating from a MFA program in Architectural History next year (spring 2021) and have been seriously considering applying to PhD history programs, most likely for admission in fall 2021. I'm an older student (late 30s) and my career has been focused in architectural history up to this point. I love research and writing, and have done a significant amount of it in my career, but I've lost my interest in the built environment. I've always been an amateur social and cultural historian and want to focus on that in a professional capacity. It seems that going on for my PhD is a means of achieving that. I do have a strong desire to educate; I'm very into public history (researched and developed my own historic walking tour, started a history podcast, etc.) as I feel it is integral to making a traditionally stuffy topic more accessible to the general public. To that end, I'm flexible about how my future career takes shape. I understand that history teaching positions are drying up, so I would be equally happy in a museum setting. I'd like my primary field to be women's history (late 19th and early 20th century America and Britain), with secondary fields in social and cultural history (American, British, European). Primarily, I've been looking at schools with women's history faculty. I have a running list of programs and the professors that I would want to work with, and general idea of the requirements. But am I wrong to assume that getting into a top 25 program is an absolute necessity for obtaining a teaching job (if I were to pursue that route)? I've been using US News' list of top history PhD programs to do my research--is that list valid? Right now, my top choices are Johns Hopkins (my professor "spirit animal" is there) and UNC-Chapel Hill (all around strong women's history program). I know University of Wisconsin is known for its women's history program, but I have been a little reticent about that due to the location. I'm on the east coast would prefer to stay there or at least be able to fly back and forth regularly. Are there other programs I should be considering? Now that I've read some threads on here, I'm definitely more nervous about applying. The only way for me to do this is to be fully funded (tuition waiver and stipend). My undergrad GPA was 3.45 (3.8 major), which I thought was good, until I read on here that it might not be? So far, my GPA in my masters program is 4.0. I should note that the school that I'm doing my MFA at is an arts school that is well regarded...but it's an arts school. I haven't taken the GRE yet (it wasn't required for admission for my MFA) and I'm terrified. Honestly, I'm a terrible test taker and know that my math scores will stink because there is a giant black hole in my brain where anything beyond basic math skills should be. My verbal should be good. I hope to take and pass the reading exam for French before applying. I've presented a paper at one conference and am applying for others--will that help my application? Any other suggestions for ways to improve my chances at acceptance? Do I need to start reaching out to the professors that I would like to work with? It seems that gaining their favor also improves acceptance chances? I feel like I'm very prepared for all this but then some days, I feel like I've got a blindfold on. Any advice and/or suggestions are appreciated.

I had a hard semester which resulted in my being in the hospital for three months. This resulted in 2 Ws and an F in a one-credit history course. I am still graduating with three degrees and a minor, general studies honors, and in the ballpark of 3.5 or higher GPAs in all three degrees. I am active in my community and know I can get good letters of recommendation. Is there still a chance of my getting into a good MDiv program? Should I re-do the course I got an F in? I would still have to explain the semester it was in, so is it worth it?

I am applying to the MSW program at U of Toronto this year or the September 2021 intake. In particular the 2 year program as I do not have a BSW. The admission requirements state that you need a minimum B+ in your final year, however transcripts are to be sent in by November. I contacted the department and it seems that the admissions will be based last year's grades. Last year I had a health crisis in my fourth year and had to drop some courses. I got to A's, but also a C and a D+. I did well before that year. Anyways, I am doing a fifth year with full course load. I am worried about my possibility for acceptance. I think I can do very well this year in terms of grades, but they will not get to see those grades. If you have any experience with poor grades in your previous year, but stellar grades in final year let me know. Iff you have experience with the admissions committee basing your admission off of your final year grades let me know. I would also like to know in general what stats people had if they were admitted or rejected to the U of Toronto MSW program from grades to experience.

I am applying to the MSW program next year at U of Toronto. In particular the 2 year program as I do not have a BSW. The admission requirements state that you need a minimum B+ in your final year, however transcripts are to be sent in by November. I contacted the department and it seems that the admissions will be based last year's grades. Last year I had a health crisis in my fourth year and had to drop some courses. I got to A's, but also a C and a D+. I did well before that year. Anyways, I am doing a fifth year with full course load. I am worried about my possibility for acceptance. I think I can do very well this year in terms of grades, but they will not get to see those grades. Anyone have any experience with this?

I received word on Tuesday from the University of Wisconsin at Madison that my application to their Communication Arts - Media and Cultural Studies PhD was rejected. This was disappointing (I ate a pizza and watched The Flash in my darkened room after work, which I'd have done anyway, but that's not the point) but wasn't a huge surprise to me for a few reasons. The first reason was that their MCS division had been shrunk significantly in the previous years and only had about half of the spots available of the next smallest program. This is a trend in Wisconsin (and elsewhere) as higher education is being gutted (as it is nationwide). This is particular to the humanities and, to a lesser extent, the social sciences. Now I can prattle on about neoliberalism and the commodification of education in the United States, but I'd rather talk about myself. So, additionally, I suppose I may not have been the best fit for my prospective POI, despite the interest I perceived through our email correspondence. It could have been my abysmal undergraduate GPA (3.06. Never enter college thinking you'll be a doctor when all you made were Bs and Cs in science and math in high school. As I've mentioned, I'm not much of a planner.) or the fact that my two MAs had nothing to do with communications. Whatever the reason, they didn't want me. So, now I wait for the remaining six to render their judgment. I continue to have Rambo-esque flashbacks of last year when I got completely shut out. To paraphrase Frank Reynolds: "Wisconsin drew first blood!"

Hello, I went through the DrPH 2019 thread and I found it quite informative. I will be applying for DrPH in Fall 2020 and thought to open this forum so others who will also be applying can join in. Looking forward to connecting to the others interested in this program.

Hi, first of all pardon me for anypresumptuous remarks. I am trying to understand the process for graduate school admission. Will an undergraduate student be in disadvantage with above-average/good (not extraordinary) credentials to get into Caltech, MIT, or Stanford for Grad school, if he/she completes Bachelor's from a school that's Top<10 in aerospace-ranking(usnews) for Undergraduate and Graduate, but a Top<=30 in overall-engineering graduate school ranking, and 110 in National College ranking by UsNews? I know that a high GPA, an internship/research experience here and there may look good, but the competition to get into these top graduate programs are so cutthroat on a global scale that I here students always say you need a bit of luck as well. How much does quality of peers where the student completed the bachelor's degree matter to the Aerospace department/academics that evaluate applications for their respective graduate schools in Caltech, Stanford, MIT? I see a lot of incoming grad students are from the Undergraduate student body of their (MIT, Stanford, Caltech) own. I assume a valedictorian with an national fellowship like Goldwater, Fullbright, or NSF from a unbeknownst engibeering program will have better shots at those programs at CMS(Caltech, MIT, and Stanford), but I want to know the average of that bell curve, not the exceptions. It would really hurt to see a mere chance of competing being mitigated from the get-go because of the ranking as it shows the quality of students academic credentials. Thank you for any advice and insights.

Hi everyone! I noticed that threads like this don't include information about whether or not people were accepted, waitlisted, and/or rejected. If you applied during any year before 2020 and have results, please post below. 😀 I noticed math/physics have similar threads which DO include acceptance and rejection results from people. Wanted to start something similar for biology! Undergrad Institution: (School or type of school, such as big state, lib arts, ivy, technical, foreign (what country?)... Overall Reputation in Biology?)Major(s):Minor(s):GPA in Major:Overall GPA:Type of Student: (Domestic/International, male/female, minority?)GRE Scores (revised/old version):Q:V:W:B:TOEFL Total: (if applicable, otherwise delete this)Research Experience: (At your school or elsewhere? What field? How much time? Any publications (Mth author out of N?) or conference talks etc...)Awards/Honors/Recognitions: (Within your school or outside?)Pertinent Activities or Jobs: (Such as tutor, TA, club officer, etc...)Any Miscellaneous Accomplishments that Might Help:Special Bonus Points: (Such as connections to advisors, grad classes, famous recommenders etc...)Any Other Info That Shows Up On Your App and Might Matter: Year Applied: 20XXApplied to Where and Results: School - Department - Research Interest - ACCEPTED (MM/DD/YY), Funding: ____________________ School - Department - Research Interest - WAITLISTED (MM/DD/YY), ACCEPTED (MM/DD/YY), Funding: ____________________ School - Department- Research Interest - WAITLISTED (MM/DD/YY), REJECTED (MM/DD/YY) School - Department - Research Interest - REJECTED (MM/DD/YY)

Hey everyone! I have to select from UT Dallas and CU Boulder for an MS in Electrical Engineering program for Fall 2020. I'm interested in Analog/RFIC design research. I plan on doing a thesis during my MS, but not sure if I'll continue with a Ph.D. right after. I also have other admits from UFL and Virginia Tech(M.Engg in Comp Engg) and I'm expecting to get into ASU as well. CU Boulder An established good-ranking program with well-known faculty members like Zoya Popovic, Dejan Filipovic and Dragan Maksimovic. Potential thesis advisors: Taylor Barton, Zoya Popovic for RF Power amplifiers. Many students get TA opportunities or grader work, so there will be some form of financial assistance; haven't received any scholarship yet (low chance). Costs about $60k for a year. Has a small class size; I've seen a few alumni at companies like Qorvo and Skyworks, but that's about it. I think many people go into defense jobs from here (which as an international student, I obviously can't get). Some students move out of Colorado for internships. Boulder is one of the best places to live, definitely better than Dallas. But it isn't surrounded by major industrial hubs apart from a few companies in Denver and Longmont. UT Dallas Comparatively, a newer institution. (Overshadowed by UT Austin and TAMU ?). The program isn't ranked among the best in general but is pretty good from what I can see. One of the major attractions for me is TxACE. Potential thesis advisors: Kenneth K. O (not sure if he advises for MS), Yun Chiu. I have no idea about funding opportunities or assistantships here, but a brief look at LinkedIn profiles show that students do get it. It does have large class size though so again chances will depend accordingly. No scholarship as of now but I think they do offer some amount to students before joining. Costs about $50k for a year. Texas has a ton of companies in this field. Many of the alumni are in Apple, Qualcomm, Intel, Qorvo, Skyworks e.t.c. Also, Texas Instruments hires and invests a lot in UTD. On the whole, job prospects look better here. I'd like if y'all could compare these with respect to job scenarios as they are important for me being an international student. TLDR CU= better rankings, great place to live, well-known profs and program. Not much industry around, costly. UTD= Lower rankings, decent program and courses, TxACE and great industrial presence, cheaper than CU. Thanks.

Hey Guys, I was planning on the April 2020 intake. I had applied to 5 - 7 colleges for the same. Half of the colleges are either closed or not taking admissions because of the current pandemic situation. As a my entire process got postponed. Now i have a lot of time on my hands, so i decided to make use of it in some productive way. With that in mind, i started to rework on my Statement of Purpose. I had found it hard to make one earlier too and with no good samples for reference it was quiet a lengthy process. But this time around, after going through many many sample SOP's i found a pretty need little guide to a perfect SOP and SOP Samples segregated with respect to both Branch-wise and Country-wise. I found these articles quite insightful and thought to share them. Anyone out there looking for help on their SOP, should definitely go through them. They helped me create a great Statement of Purpose. Hope they help you in some way too!🤞 Cheers!😃

Hey! I'm currently a 4th year undergrad majoring in statistics at UC Berkeley. Right now, my plan is to apply for a master's in statistics or data science within the next 2-4 years, as I'm planning on doing data science work for at least a year before applying. My question, though, has to do with my grades this semester--in particular, due to the coronavirus, my school has given us the option to either take our classes pass/fail or we can request a letter grade. They are pushing hard for us to do pass/fail, but I'm not sure this is the best option for someone like me who hopes to go to grad school in the future. My main concern is that I was hoping to improve my major GPA this semester, as I'm finishing my last 2 stats requirements. My major GPA is a 3.5 right now, and my overall GPA is 3.7 if that's important. So, I'm conflicted as to what to do... I feel like I should be able to take my school's advice and stick with pass/fail, but at the same time, I'm not sure how this would affect my grad school applications. I also do believe that as time goes on, my grades will matter less and less, but I could be wrong on this. Anyway, since I'm not applying right now and should be working for at least a year before applying, perhaps I just shouldn't stress about trying to get good letter grades and should just chill and do pass/fail? Still, it's an annoying decision to have to make, as I feel like I could probably do well in these classes despite the craziness going on in the world right now. Lastly, I understand grad school admissions committees will obviously understand that we are amidst a global pandemic and that therefore tons of other students will also have pass/fail grades this semester. But still, I'd hate to take my classes pass/fail if it seems good letter grades could really help me in my grad school pursuits. That's it... I'm just very conflicted. Thank you for any clarity you all can provide!

Has anyone heard from UAlbany about Clinical Psychology PhD admissions? I interviewed Feb 22nd at interview weekend and I REALLY want to attend. I recently emailed my potential PI to ask for an update (amid COVID-19 and such) and learned that I am on the waitlist with a couple people ahead of me, so they cant offer me admission yet. Does anyone know how the admissions process works at this school: It sounds like I'm not on a waitlist specific to my PI, but instead a program-wide waitlist...? I've been told they usually admit 6-7 people, any idea how my chances look?

Hey guys! I wanted to start this forum for anyone who has applied for the KAUST Spring 2020 admissions. Here we can discuss any updates and questions we all have. I have applied for a PhD in Chemical Engineering, and I had one technical interview so far. How is your application going? And can anyone provide us with information on how long the admissions office takes to get back to you after the first interview? Thanks! And good luck to everyone!

What are people's thoughts on contacting admissions to check on your status or to ask if all acceptance decisions have been extended post interview? If you know some people have already recieved acceptances, is it okay to ask or could that possibly "red flag" you?

Hello world! Has anyone done the video response as part of SIPA's admissions package? I know it's being implemented as of 2017 application cycle, so I am wondering if there are any Spring 2017 candidates that have already done it. Helpful tips, feedback, etc. would be much appreciated!