Mechanical PhD Admissions Fall 13'

[blackjohnny]

Has anyone heard anything from MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Yale?

Edited February 28, 2013 by blackjohnny

[TeaGirl]

Check the results section and search. I believe MIT and Stanford have already sent out replies. I haven't seen the others on there though.

[blackjohnny]

Yes, I have seen only a few results for MIT Phd, one from Yale and none from the two others. I was wondering wether any more information is available.

Edited March 1, 2013 by blackjohnny

[tip3r]

With the number of MIT PhD admissions posted on this website I would speculate that they have offered the bulk of their admissions. Stanford (which I have also applied to) has offered many MS admissions but I have not heard of any PhD. However, I have heard from multiple sources that Stanford (ME department) prefers to take MS students and keep them through PhD rather than take a risk and admit a PhD student they do not know from somewhere else. Honestly, the only reason I applied was that it was my dream school...

I do not know about the others you mentioned.

 

What about other schools?

I have applied to: U Washington, Stanford, RPI, UCSB, UCI, UC Davis, U Maryland, U Texas Austin, and UCLA.

 

I have only heard back from RPI (admit with TA funding), although I confess it is not high on my list.

I have not heard a word from any other school.

 

I had my hopes up for UW and I was almost certain I would get an early admission. This made me become lazy in the application process. I'm not happy with my SOP or GRE score and I fear they are hurting my chances of getting funding (I can't afford otherwise).

 

Tea Girl, I see you have also applied to UW. Have you heard anything back?

[blackjohnny]

I contacted the departments of Stanford and MIT. By the end of March they will have made all decisions and sent corresponding notifications. So, hope is alive

 

I have also heard the same about stanford and MS/PhD's.

 

Good Luck to anyone :-)

[TeaGirl]

Tea Girl, I see you have also applied to UW. Have you heard anything back?

 

Nope. Nothing at all since they updated the webpage about my application being complete. Nothing from Maryland yet either.

[tip3r]

I applied to both UW and Maryland when I was applying for MS three years ago.

I know for fact the the ME department at Maryland starts reviewing applications way later than other universities.

UW offered me admission last time I applied, I declined for family reasons although it was one of my top choices. Now I fear that they will be reluctant to offer me admission again since I declined their offer once

 

Good luck on your applications all!

[Lampshades]

I received my MIT rejection for MS on the 5th

 

Still waiting on Harvard Berkeley Stanford and UCSD.

Has anyone heard from these school for their MS program? 

[tip3r]

Stanford has given out a lot of MS admissions (check the results section). Berkeley has handed out some as well.

[tip3r]

Well, today was a pretty bad day.

Got my first rejection from UCI.

And my POI from UW (my second choice but where I really expected to go) told me that I was not offered funding in the first round and that the 2nd round will be after April 15! No waitlist! They will see how many open slots they have after April 15 and choose students.

So I'm pretty depressed at this point. I was so sure I would get into UW that all my other applications were half-hearted and I doubt I'll get into any of them.

RPI is... not high on my list at all...

[TeaGirl]

Well, today was a pretty bad day.

Got my first rejection from UCI.

And my POI from UW (my second choice but where I really expected to go) told me that I was not offered funding in the first round and that the 2nd round will be after April 15! No waitlist! They will see how many open slots they have after April 15 and choose students.

So I'm pretty depressed at this point. I was so sure I would get into UW that all my other applications were half-hearted and I doubt I'll get into any of them.

RPI is... not high on my list at all...

Oh, that sucks. You did better than me though, I got rejected outright. Good luck though with your other applications, I hope you hear some good news soon!

You should keep in mind that a PhD admission is a lot harder to get than an MS one simply because departments are limited by how much funding they have, and UW is extra competitive because of its proximity to Microsoft.

RPI have asked for a decision end of this week, I assume it's the same with you? Maybe you can ask for an extension on the decision, I'm not sure if they'd give a month though.

If you don't mind me asking, is there any reason you don't like RPI, or is it that you're interested in other programs?

The reason I'm asking is that I got in there too and I think come Friday, I will be choosing it over my other options, even VTech. I'm having a little decision making anxiety about whether I'm making the "right" decision (whatever that means) so I'd appreciate any input!

My reasons for picking it are because I'm excited about my potential advisor and also it seems stronger in my field of interest with great placement. Also according to NRC's R-ranking it's better ranked than both VT and UW, and within ten spots on USN so there didn't seem to be much difference ranking/reputation-wise.

Maryland would make me reconsider, but a decision doesn't seem forthcoming soon.. or at least soon enough. I think I saw one acceptance a while ago on the results section but nothing else. Anyone heard from them yet?

Edited March 12, 2013 by TeaGirl

[tip3r]

Oh, that sucks. You did better than me though, I got rejected outright. Good luck though with your other applications, I hope you hear some good news soon!

You should keep in mind that a PhD admission is a lot harder to get than an MS one simply because departments are limited by how much funding they have, and UW is extra competitive because of its proximity to Microsoft.

RPI have asked for a decision end of this week, I assume it's the same with you? Maybe you can ask for an extension on the decision, I'm not sure if they'd give a month though.

If you don't mind me asking, is there any reason you don't like RPI, or is it that you're interested in other programs?

The reason I'm asking is that I got in there too and I think come Friday, I will be choosing it over my other options, even VTech. I'm having a little decision making anxiety about whether I'm making the "right" decision (whatever that means) so I'd appreciate any input!

My reasons for picking it are because I'm excited about my potential advisor and also it seems stronger in my field of interest with great placement. Also according to NRC's R-ranking it's better ranked than both VT and UW, and within ten spots on USN so there didn't seem to be much difference ranking/reputation-wise.

Maryland would make me reconsider, but a decision doesn't seem forthcoming soon.. or at least soon enough. I think I saw one acceptance a while ago on the results section but nothing else. Anyone heard from them yet?

 

That is interesting. My RPI offer has an April 15th deadline (I panicked after reading your post and checked it).

My main objection with RPI is it's location. I'm married and I'll have to live far away from my wife for a while. The faculty research does not seem to be the best match for me either, however, their website is poorly organized and their research is not well presented. It may be better than I think.

 

I was accepted to the UW master's program with full funding last time. They rarely offer that to MS students. That is why I think me not accepting it last time may have affected their decision. UW is in a perfect location for me and the POI is a great fit...

 

I got my next rejection from UT Austin today...

 

I called Maryland today and they told me that they have just started the review process!!!

 

The rankings drive me nuts. Each ranking is totally different. It seems like the top 5 are only consistently the same.

In case you are interested in US NEWS Mechanical Engineering graduate school rankings, Maryland and VT are both ranked 18th, UW is 24, RPI is 27, CU is 32, NCSU is 38 and ASU is 44.

Edited March 13, 2013 by tip3r

[TeaGirl]

Oh, yeah, actually they released new rankings just yesterday. Maryland is now 20, VT 17,  UW & RPI 24. So yeah, I can understand about rankings flipping around driving one nuts I think one should take a range and assume all programs within that range are equal in ranking.

 

I wonder why the difference in deadlines... that kind of bothers me. I emailed asking for an extension I don't know if they'll agree. Sometimes I think I should just go with it, but then again, I'd like to get all my offers in so I could make a decision without leaving room for regrets in the future.

[blackjohnny]

Any news from Stanford? I have seen some results during the last days..Why are they getting so late?

 

The same for Upenn..The time for a final decision is approaching and there are several responses pending.

[tip3r]

Some schools are just so slow...

 

Maryland and Santa Barbara are killing me.

I've given up on Stanford and UCLA ever saying anything.

 

Today I got an admission from UC Davis which just made everything much more complicated

I would gladly chose them over RPI, except that their tuition waivers won't cover the non-resident part of the tuition which would add up to more than $150000 a year!

Things just can't be simple.

[HappyEngineer]

tip3r, did you apply UC Davis' PhD program? I am waiting for them to make a decision. However, I applied to their MS program.

I got rejected from MIT and Texas A&M. Still waiting on BU and UC Davis. Not sure what's going to happen next.

[tip3r]

Yes I applied to the PhD program. As far as I know they have handed out the first round of admissions and are waiting for people to make decisions.

I heard back a bit late because my application was incomplete (my transcripts hadn't arrived).

BTW, I meant to say $15000 a year in my last post not $150K

Edited March 23, 2013 by tip3r

[HappyEngineer]

Yes I applied to the PhD program. As far as I know they have handed out the first round of admissions and are waiting for people to make decisions.

I heard back a bit late because my application was incomplete (my transcripts hadn't arrived).

BTW, I meant to say $15000 a year in my last post not $150K

I assume I will get a decision around mid April. UC Davis is not cheap. I did some math, it will cost somewhere around $43K a year including tuition, housing, food and everything else. Does that $15,000 including everything you have to pay? I figured it's not $150K, if that's the case, you can almost instead buy a ocean front house in L.A. area after five years. 

Edited March 23, 2013 by HappyEngineer

[tip3r]

I assume I will get a decision around mid April. UC Davis is not cheap. I did some math, it will cost somewhere around $43K a year including tuition, housing, food and everything else. Does that $15,000 including everything you have to pay? I figured it's not $150K, if that's the case, you can almost instead buy a ocean front house in L.A. area after five years. 

Well, they will provide a stipend which can (barely) cover the living expenses. The non-resident part of the tuition is pretty bad though.

I'm a bit disappointed since I applied to four UC's! If I knew this was the case I wouldn't waste my money. I applied to 8 schools and half of them were UC's!

I'm still waiting on UCLA and UCSB but if this is the way of it I don't have much hope of getting anything good out of it...

[HappyEngineer]

Well, they will provide a stipend which can (barely) cover the living expenses. The non-resident part of the tuition is pretty bad though.

I'm a bit disappointed since I applied to four UC's! If I knew this was the case I wouldn't waste my money. I applied to 8 schools and half of them were UC's!

I'm still waiting on UCLA and UCSB but if this is the way of it I don't have much hope of getting anything good out of it...

It's always nice to stay in California.I hope things will work out for you. What's your research focus?

[tip3r]

It's always nice to stay in California.I hope things will work out for you. What's your research focus?

I'm actually in Oregon right now. Used to be a Cal. resident for a short while (now I'm kicking myself).

I want to get into MEMS, BioMEMS, microfluidics etc. This has always been my number one interset but I have never been able to get much done in these areas. My research experience is mostly in heat transfer and fluid mechanics with a little bit on microreators.

 

What about you?

[HappyEngineer]

I'm actually in Oregon right now. Used to be a Cal. resident for a short while (now I'm kicking myself).

I want to get into MEMS, BioMEMS, microfluidics etc. This has always been my number one interset but I have never been able to get much done in these areas. My research experience is mostly in heat transfer and fluid mechanics with a little bit on microreators.

 

What about you?

I am interested in fuel cell system, and stress of composite materials. My research experience wasn't that much relevant, either. I researched on manufacturing nano-composite materials to be used on aircraft.

 

What do you think UC Davis look for in our application? GPA? GRE? research experience?   

[alui88]

Sorry to chime in.  I don't think Davis looks too heavily on GPA.  I have a 3.1 for my UG and got accepted into the masters program.  Good luck.

[HappyEngineer]

Sorry to chime in.  I don't think Davis looks too heavily on GPA.  I have a 3.1 for my UG and got accepted into the masters program.  Good luck.

Thanks for sharing that with me. I am curious if Davis gives financial aid to master students?

[alui88]

I don't know about funding, haven't heard anything yet.  But I'm planning a visit for the beginning of April so I'll probably ask them the chances of any type of aid, even work study.  Also I think if you're thesis track, once you get under a professor you'll get at least some funding; or I'm just being hopeful?

Edited March 25, 2013 by alui88