Graduate School Application Results and Strategies - Fall 2008

[leright]

Have you looked into the details of the masters program? Perhaps you can transfer into the Ph.D. program before completing your masters if you meet various requirements, are doing well, etc. I'm not sure if it would be like that in the US since they do admit directly into the PhD program, but in Canada you can transfer into the Ph.D. program before completing your masters (but Canadian universities only admit directly for masters if you don't have a masters yet, so that might make things different).

I will look into that.

BTW, I got another acceptance! Got into Penn State for EE (PhD). So far I have been admitted to Arizona State (PhD), Penn State (PhD), and Michigan (Master's). Still waiting on Cornell, MIT, and Texas.

 

[Pyrrhus]

Congrats Leright!

 

[leright]

Congrats Leright!

thanks man! still crossing my fingers about the funding situation though.

 

[Oerg]

bump! Would relaly like to know the outcome of your applications

 

[leright]

bump! Would relaly like to know the outcome of your applications

I got rejected from MIT. Other than that, I have no further news to provide.

 

[kuahji]

Reading all these threads makes me almost scared enough to change my major...

 

[Mystic998]

This thread is interesting. I remember my rejection letter from MIT. I should have framed it. Incidentally, for the people that applied to Texas' math program, don't worry too much. I got in, and compared to most of the people in the program I'm an idiot.

 

[Ben Niehoff]

I haven't yet received any official rejections, so I hope that means I'm on some internal waiting lists. Still, my only official acceptance so far is USC.

 

[Oerg]

This thread is interesting. I remember my rejection letter from MIT. I should have framed it. Incidentally, for the people that applied to Texas' math program, don't worry too much. I got in, and compared to most of the people in the program I'm an idiot.

what was your rejection letter about ?

 

[JasonJo]

This thread is interesting. I remember my rejection letter from MIT. I should have framed it. Incidentally, for the people that applied to Texas' math program, don't worry too much. I got in, and compared to most of the people in the program I'm an idiot.

I really hope I get into Austin. I am getting a bunch of rejection letters. Even more alarming is that I am hearing that a lot of the schools I'm still waiting for have already made a bunch of admissions decisions.

Rejections:
MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, Duke

Waiting to hear from but have already started making admissions:
UCSD, Berkeley, Rutgers, NYU (off thegradcafe.com)

Waiting to hear from:
Yale, Stanford, Texas, UPENN

 

[Mystic998]

Oh, it wasn't anything special. Just "we don't think MIT would suit you" or something along those lines. I just love how the rejection letters are so patronizing. As though I pinned all my hopes as a rather unremarkable math student on getting into a university that probably wouldn't even accept the top 5 mathematicians at the school I went to.

 

[eastside00_99]

I haven't heard anything new since acceptance to UIUC, but to be fair about four of the schools I applied start the admission process a little latter, USC never got my transcript, and I am probably not going to get into Duke and Rice. So, I don't really think it means all that much. I really want to hear about support for UIUC though, and it is taking a long time for them to let me know whether or not they are giving it to me.

 

[JasonJo]

This thread is interesting. I remember my rejection letter from MIT. I should have framed it. Incidentally, for the people that applied to Texas' math program, don't worry too much. I got in, and compared to most of the people in the program I'm an idiot.

Is this for undergrad or grad?

 

[wbclark]

Duke (really really impressed me with the emphasis they place on geometry and physics)

I know one of the professors at the Duke center for geometry and theoretical physics, Ronen Plesser, and he is a very intelligent man with a wonderful gift for explanation.

 

[JasonJo]

I know one of the professors at the Duke center for geometry and theoretical physics, Ronen Plesser, and he is a very intelligent man with a wonderful gift for explanation.

Too bad they rejected me.

 

[JasonJo]

It seems like every school is accepting a small class this year. I've heard it from Berkeley, UCSD, Penn, Cornell, etc.

 

[eastside00_99]

I have been rejected by Duke. That wasn't all that big of a surprise though. I am now on a waiting list for a TA at UIUC. They say they won't know if they will give me support for a few more weeks. So, probably they want to see how many of the people they accepted with definite support decide to go there. Anyway, it would have been nice to go to duke because it is close to home, but I never really expected to be admitted anyway.

 

[wbclark]

I have been rejected by Duke. That wasn't all that big of a surprise though. I am now on a waiting list for a TA at UIUC. They say they won't know if they will give me support for a few more weeks. So, probably they want to see how many of the people they accepted with definite support decide to go there. Anyway, it would have been nice to go to duke because it is close to home, but I never really expected to be admitted anyway.

Where are you from? I lived in Durham and now I'm an undergrad at Chapel Hill.

 

[eastside00_99]

I grew up in sanford and I am an undergrad at NC State.

 

[Mystic998]

Is this for undergrad or grad?

Grad. Don't ask me how I managed it. I personally vote for black magic.

 

[JasonRox]

Oh, it wasn't anything special. Just "we don't think MIT would suit you" or something along those lines. I just love how the rejection letters are so patronizing. As though I pinned all my hopes as a rather unremarkable math student on getting into a university that probably wouldn't even accept the top 5 mathematicians at the school I went to.

Probably wouldn't accept any students from your school. Think about it.

They are hundreds of universities across the country and hundreds overseas where students are applying to MIT. They can only take so many of them. Taking 3 from each school is not reasonable.

 

[Ben Niehoff]

So, I got my official rejection from Stanford today. They were polite and not patronizing. They didn't make any comments about whether Stanford is "for me"; they just said that they could not admit me.

 

[eep]

Same here for Stanford. I'm wondering who they did let in, as I have a couple friends who got into either MIT or CalTech but were denied by Stanford as well!

 

[JasonJo]

Quick update

Rejects: Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, Stanford, Princeton, Chicago, Yale, NYU, Columbia, Cornell, UPENN, Duke

Waiting on: Texas, Rutgers, UCSD

I called UCSD and they said my application is on hold, but it doesn't seem like I am that high on their waiting list to begin with. I know Rutgers is a far shot and my only realistic chance is Texas-Austin.

I am already considering staying a 5th year to bolster my application and apply for not 2009, but 2010 admissions. I know it's a long way away, but I want to get into graduate school.

 

[Brad Barker]

today i heard from berkeley and stanford. got into berkeley. got rejected by stanford. :/

my status (physics student, here):

accepted with fellowship:

uiuc
u chicago

accepted with teaching assistantship:

cornell
ucsb
berkeley

rejected:

stanford

waiting on:

MIT
harvard


don't think i got into MIT, since they haven't contacted me yet. :/

 

[Oerg]

today i heard from berkeley and stanford. got into berkeley. got rejected by stanford. :/

my status (physics student, here):

accepted with fellowship:

uiuc
u chicago

accepted with teaching assistantship:

cornell
ucsb
berkeley

rejected:

stanford

waiting on:

MIT
harvard


don't think i got into MIT, since they haven't contacted me yet. :/

wow, you got pretty good admissions there! What do they look for? Hows your GPa and everything like, if you don't mind me asking...! Did you publish any papers in journals? I hope to be able to get a TA with a good graduate school when i graduate from my under-grad course!

 

[octahedron]

Brad Barker, congratulations! That's some fantastic record you've got there.

Everyone else, good luck with your applications!

 

[CaptainQuaser]

It seems that American students apply to a lot more schools than people I know in Canada. Most people I know applied to 1-3 grad schools. I personally applied to 4, three and a backup. These lists I see here are upwards of 10. Why apply to so many schools?

 

[cristo]

Why apply to so many schools?

I found this surprising as well. This could also be one of the reasons for rejection from the schools-- if the application letters and statements were copied for each school, then they will not be specific to the actual school you're applying to. I applied to four or five grad schools, and wrote a different statement for each one, focusing on the strengths of the department, and aimed at the specific people who are researching specific areas in the departments. (This point may be less important in the US, since I know that you tend to apply for a grad course, but do not straight away start on a PhD and so do not specify a research area until the end of your first year)

 

[masnevets]

It seems that American students apply to a lot more schools than people I know in Canada. Most people I know applied to 1-3 grad schools. I personally applied to 4, three and a backup. These lists I see here are upwards of 10. Why apply to so many schools?

It's because American universities can be very fickle. There are no sure things. For example, I've been admitted to Princeton and MIT but got rejected from Harvard, whereas a friend of mine received the opposite treatment (accepted to Harvard but rejected from the other two).

 

[CaptainQuaser]

I understand, but again, you listed 3 schools, I understand applying to more than 1, but 10 seems excessive. Especially with the cost of applying.

 

[masnevets]

Right, sorry I applied to seven schools. I really had no idea that any of those three schools would accept me. I was told by my advisor that I had a good shot, but that when it comes down to the final decisions, it's all a crapshoot. So I was basically told to apply to the "big 5" (Berkeley, Chicago, MIT, Princeton, Harvard) since I could probably get into at least one (but not so clear _which_ one), and then pick some backup schools. So I picked two more.

 

[CaptainQuaser]

I see. Out of curiosity does anyone know how often do people do PhD's in the US after doing a Masters in Canada. I know here you do a Masters first, then PhD (with the exception of transferring from Masters to PhD). When as in the US it is my impression most people apply for a PhD program out of Undergrad. So how do US schools look at students who have completed a Canadian Masters for PhD studies?

 

[masnevets]

I see. Out of curiosity does anyone know how often do people do PhD's in the US after doing a Masters in Canada. I know here you do a Masters first, then PhD (with the exception of transferring from Masters to PhD). When as in the US it is my impression most people apply for a PhD program out of Undergrad. So how do US schools look at students who have completed a Canadian Masters for PhD studies?

I don't think it matters that you've completed a masters first.

 

[hanson]

hello...
sorry to digress a little bit..
how would you guys rate UIUC and UCSD in terms of mechanical engineering?
Reserarch, fame etc?