MS to PhD (getting accepted into top schools from an average MS)

[HassE]

Hello,

So as everyone most likely have heard back from the large majority of their schools, i'm just curious if people can chime into this forum to give me advice.

For anyone out there, just curious whats the best way to get into a top PhD program coming from a top-100(tier 3 school) Master's program.

Did you do a thesis while getting your MS and then applied to PhD?

Did you write a lot of publications? Less than 3? More than 3 publications?

How was your GPA? Above 3.5 good? Or did you need higher than that?

What about GRE, were they near perfect?

Does domestic students carry much more weight than international? Or do top schools not really care about this.

Any advice will help out as well.

I read back in this forum back a few months ago about a discussion going on and the user said that most of his friends completed a MS at an average school, gained 2-3 publications and was accepted into many top schools. Just curious if there's a formula to follow as others seem like they've had good success at it.

[blankslate]

There's no formula. Getting into a top PhD program from a masters is very hard. Keep a high GPA, as close to a 4.0 as you can (a 3.5 is not good if you're looking at top programs). Show great research potential by impressing your recs and/or publishing. Be passionate about your research and what you're doing.

[ghanada]

I completely agree with the last post that there is no formula. Getting into a top PhD program is so competitive and it is hard to say exactly what will work. Also, don't discount you undergrad stats. In fact, I would arguably say that your undergrad GPA will weigh more heavily than your Masters GPA. If you want to get into a top 10 program, to be safe I would say your GPA should be above 3.8, your GRE scores should be perfect for quant. (since you are in ECE) and above 75% in the verbal sections. I also think most people would have a few years of research experience and a couple publications. I am also pretty sure for most schools domestic applicants do have an advantage over international.