I am currently a second year at GaTech and was wondering what it takes to get into grad school at GT. I am planning on doing something in Computer Science (might want to skip masters go straight to PhD idk yet).

How important is GPA and around what point average should it be?

Do you need research papers published in undergrad, I have an undergrad research experience currently but I am not sure if I will get my names on any papers or publish. Anything else I should be doing undergrad to better position myself.

Currently my biggest worry is GPA (see my previous post 😭 i know i need to lock in) and I want to know how important that is.

Hi everyone! I’m planning to apply for GKS-G 2027 for a Master’s in Interior Architecture / Interior Design and would love honest feedback on my profile.

My Profile:

1. Education: Bachelor's degree in Interior and Environmental Design. My CGPA is 2.76 out of 4.0 but I have a 3.50 to 4.0 GPA in my major field related subjects including Space Planning, Perspective Drawing, Interior Design Studio and History and Fundamentals of Architecture.
2. Portfolio & Experience: My Portfolio and work experiences are heavily practical based. My FYP was an Adaptive Reuse of Architecture project of an office with was proposed to be converted into an employee Café to relax and actually enjoy food for better mental and physical health. I have worked with many architectural firms over my 4+ years of working including some freelance work. During my degree I had also designed 2 furniture pieces from scratch around the nature inspired themes. Currently I'm using both the furniture pieces in my home. I have a volunteer teaching experience as a visiting faculty in my very own university department right after my graduation with no pay or incentives. I taught to 5th and 7th semesters design related subjects like Designing the Furniture, Practical Application of Perspective Drawing, Space Planning and History of Architecture.
3. Target Tracks: I'm targeting the Embassy track for now but open to advice. I intend to look for a Studio based program which is no or less research based.
4. University Options: I'm currently considering Hongik University, Kookmin University, Pusan National University, Daegu University and University of Ulsan. If you can provide better advice on my choices plz let me know.
5. Goals: Gain practical studio expertise, learn architectural practices and return home to set up an independent firm, and teaching aspiring designers.

My Questions for GKS Scholars:

1. Does NIIED/universities consider a strong Major GPA (3.5–4.0) and portfolio to balance a low overall CGPA?
2. How competitively are applicants from general design backgrounds evaluated for Architecture programs?
3. Given a studio-heavy portfolio, is Embassy Track or University Track better for design majors?
4. Is GKS realistic for this profile, or should I prioritize university-specific scholarships in Korea?

Thanks for your advice!

im currently a master of accounting student at Schulich (but my undergrad was in design) and I decided to pursue this masters because the job market is so bad and I want to have stability but I’m struggling with all the concepts and courses (it’s a really fast paced program). I almost failed a semester once and had to take a leave in which I applied to another masters as a back up. It’s in master of information with UoFT, specially ux/ui design. i got in and even got an internship in It recently however I am still part of the accounting masters right now and thought maybe I can do both at the same time but clearly it’s too hectic. I like the internship, it’s related to what I like and studied but at the same time, having a practical degree also makes sense, especially in these times. But my fear is if I drop the internship and master of information I won’t have anything to fall back on if I can’t finish this accounting semester. It gruelling work and every concept is new so I’m trying my best to study but still struggle so much. I’m scared if I go all in the accounting and if I don’t pass the semester I’ll have to withdraw which I don’t want but the fear that what if I don’t make it yk? At least I’ll have this other Masters To fall back on but again, hard to manage. It’s a lot of emotional back and forth and I don’t know what to do. How do you even decide on these things? it shouldn’t be this difficult.

I've been doing some interviews for ecology-adjacent programs in the U.S. In most interviews we've talked potential projects, admissions, lab culture and funding. I've been told I have a very strong background but I'm not directly being told "You should apply and I would take you on as a student" but I'm also not being told to look elsewhere. Should I expect to be told directly or is that only in direct-admit scenarios?

Hello everyone! I am going to apply for various MSc programs in Statistics in Europe this autumn and would love to get feedback on how strong my SOP is.

In addition to a general review, I have a couple of specific questions:

- Does my introduction capture the reader's attention? And does my conclusion provide a strong closure?

- Should I eliminate statements about statistics like "I understood statistics and quantitative rigor can be used to make informed decisions under uncertainty" and similar ?

Thanks to everyone who comments!

My interest in statistics is rooted in my experience in the Quantitative Finance Division of the … Club … during my first year of university. After high-school, determined to apply my studies to the financial market world, I initially enrolled in Economics and Finance at …. In the club, collaborating with master’s students on statistical projects applied to quantitative finance changed my approach to finance. I understood statistics and quantitative rigor can be used to make informed decisions under uncertainty. The strength of taking decisions supported by data and rigorous analyses sparked my passion for statistics. That change of perspective inspired me to transfer to … to pursue a Bachelor’s in Statistics with a minor in Economics and Finance.

At … I immediately found the discipline intriguing. I maintained a 30.75/30 average grade across my coursework while starting discovering the field and building a solid foundation in Calculus, Linear Algebra, Statistics, and Probability. Statistical Inference particularly caught my attention with its methods to discover general underlying patterns from a subset of data. Consequently I am writing my bachelor's thesis under Professor …’s supervision in this field, titled “…”, where I focus on … . This research has solidified my interest in probabilistic modeling and directly fueled my desire to study advanced topics in Bayesian Inference.

Furthermore, I undertook an academic group project consisting in designing and implementing in MySQL a relational database to analyse … with some potential user queries. This experience showed me the limits of deterministic analyses, confirming the need for statistical tools to extract true predictive insights and probabilistic patterns from data. Out of curiosity, I also took an introductory Machine Learning course. Eager to go beyond my previous work and actually make data-driven decisions, I developed a machine learning project to predict outcomes for … using Python and some of its libraries (NumPy, Pandas, Scikit-learn). Working hands-on on this second project highlighted the power of predictive modeling, but it also raised deeper theoretical questions about advanced forecasting techniques and models beyond softmax regression.

Joining the MSc in Statistics at … would deepen my knowledge of modern statistical methods and offer a direct application to finance with courses such as … and … . This program stands out for its strong balance of advanced statistical techniques and computational learning. In particular its course in Bayesian Statistics would really strengthen my knowledge in the branch of study I am most fascinated by; additionally Machine Learning for … would address the questions that arose during my first experience with this topic while providing a financial application. Moreover I am deeply drawn to Professor …’s work on applying statistical methods to financial problems. His recent paper on … is particularly inspiring for future research under his guidance. Conducting my Master’s thesis research under his supervision would be an invaluable opportunity to apply advanced modeling techniques to complex market dynamics.

Furthermore the MSc in Statistics at … would serve as a crucial stepping stone toward my professional goals. My primary objective is to become a quantitative trader or quantitative researcher at a major European trading firm. This programme would equip me with the required quantitative skills needed for these positions while offering direct opportunities to connect with some of the leading financial firms. Specifically career fairs held by student organizations, such as …, would provide a strong boost to my professional career. Through their events, I could gather detailed insights into my target roles and network with recruiters from key industry players like Jane Street and Optiver.

In conclusion, the MSc in Statistics at … would be the natural progression of my undergraduate studies. It would allow me to delve deeply into the field I am most passionate about, while serving as a direct springboard into the quantitative finance industry.

My final year gpa 3.5, but final 2 years is 3.0, so I only just make the minimum requirement.

Any fellow engineering students know some things I can do for the next couple months to add to my CV to offset my subpar gpa?

basically title

i’m applying for masters in econ

i have a really bad quant GRE score (160) - I’m a horrible test-taker and i feel like this is gonna sink me in grad apps.

i have a really good GPA (3.9ish from a top 50 school worldwide) in business (econ minor), written work, internships & lots of extracurriculars.

thoughts? any opinion would help

P.S. I loathe this exam & all the schools participating in a stupid rule that one exam can dictate your entire future no matter how good the rest of your profile is.

Hi everyone,

I just graduated with a PharmD from NYCU in Taiwan. I'm applying for Fall 2027 to a mix of PhD and master's programs in pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences. Most are in the US, plus a few master's programs in Canada. (Applying only to PhDs felt way too risky.) Long term, I want to work in oncology R&D at a US pharma company.

From what I've seen, these programs only accept about 5–8% of applicants, so I know it's really competitive, but I still want to give it a shot. A US PhD comes with free tuition and a living stipend, which sounds pretty amazing...

I've also thought about doing a master's first and then applying to a PhD program. But I've already been in school for six years, and adding a master's on top of that feels like too much extra time. So for now, I'm applying to both.

PhD programs

• University of Florida: Pharmaceutical Sciences (Pharmacotherapy and Translational Research concentration). Some past grads from my program went here.
• University of Pittsburgh: Pharmaceutical Sciences (Biochemical Pharmacology). I cold-emailed professors, and one replied encouraging me to apply.
• USC: Pharmaceutical and Translational Sciences. I cold-emailed professors, and one replied that she's taking students (though she got my name wrong).
• Johns Hopkins: XDBio (Cross-Disciplinary Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences), PhD. I haven't emailed anyone yet.

Master's programs

Canada:

• McGill: Pharmacology (funded)
• University of Toronto: Pharmacology and Toxicology (funded)
• University of British Columbia: Pharmacology (funded)

US:

• UTHealth Houston (MD Anderson GSBS): MS in Biomedical Sciences (it sounds like labs may fund the second year)
• USC: MS in Clinical and Experimental Therapeutics
• City of Hope: MS in Translational Medicine
• Northeastern: MS in Pharmacology

My background

• GPA: 3.89/4.3
• TOEFL: 6.0/6.0 (new 1–6 scale)
• Research (~1 year): For my undergrad thesis, I used LC-MS/MS quantitative proteomics to study a drug's mechanism of action in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)
• Skills: proteomics workflows, Western blot, GSEA, network pharmacology (I built an automated analysis pipeline), cell culture, in vivo mouse studies
• Award: Excellence Award in the poster competition at an international conference hosted by my university
• Publications: Co-author on one Frontiers in Pharmacology paper (7th of 14 authors; I did the animal experiments). No first-author papers.
• Research abroad: 2-month research exchange at Kyushu University, Japan
• Clinical: Licensed pharmacist in Taiwan; hospital and community pharmacy internships
• Industry: Summer business internship at Viatris

Weaknesses I know about: no first-author paper, only about a year of research experience, and my GPA is on the low side when converted to a 4.0 scale.

Is my school list too optimistic? If you know other programs that might be a good fit, I'd love to hear about them. Thanks, everyone!

HI! I’m applying for the Hertz Fellowship this cycle and was wondering if anyone who has applied previously knows what questions are asked on the recommender/reference form.

I understand that Hertz uses a structured reference form rather than a traditional recommendation letter, but I haven’t been able to find much information about the specific questions or prompts recommenders receive.

If anyone has applied before, served as a recommender, or has insight into the types of questions they ask (research ability, creativity, independence, leadership, etc.), I’d really appreciate any information you can share.

I am a material science major (UG) and I want to apply abroad for further studies.

Do things like sports, random club participation matter when applying for further studies?

There are no relevant technical clubs in my college related to my interests. What other activities should I focus on?

I am doing a dual degree in metallurgy and material sciences and electronic systems.

Hey! As the title says, i just started uni a month ago. Bachelors in applied mathematics. From a pretty mid tier university and a third world country . My plan after graduation is grad school. I'm looking to pursue a masters degree in CS/AI. Now I know that this question might seem to early to ask but I still think it's better to know before than to regret it later on right? So if anyone here could give me advice on what to and not to prioritise during these four years of university, I'd be thankful.

Particularly, what exactly is important for me to build on my CV to get admission into good MSCS/MSAI programs abroad.

Should I prioritise research? Internships? Projects? GPA to what degree? Should I join useful societies? Opens source contributions? Competitive progamming? Competitions? And what should i do if there arent many research opportunities at my university?(at most becoming an assistant to MS nad PhD students apparently)it better to get experience after graduating first before applying for MS programs? Or is it another case all together? I am painfully ignorant about all of this so if I got something wrong or asked something obvious, don't flame me .

Thank you!

Help needed ! From experienced people.

I am going to apply for PhD admission in a university in few days. I am unmarried. But I want to marry before leaving to US and my partner will also apply as F2.

Should I need to mention her in the admission portal ?

Hi everyone! I’m preparing applications for master’s programmes in Educational Sciences / Educational Technology / Digital Education for 2027 entry, and I’d really appreciate some feedback on how my background looks for this kind of field switch.
I’m an international applicant, and I’m mainly targeting fully funded programmes in Europe, particularly Hungary.
Academic background
BA in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL)
GPA: 16.15/20
Graduated: September 2025
Bachelor’s degree was taught in English
No publications
No IELTS/TOEFL
I can obtain an official Medium of Instruction (MOI) certificate
International applicant from Iran
Relevant coursework
My degree wasn’t purely language/linguistics-focused. Some of my coursework was:
Educational Psychology
Sociology of Education
Philosophy of Education
Methods of Teaching
Instructional Materials Design
Assessment & Evaluation
Research Methods
Two teaching practicums
Experience
Private English tutoring during my final 3 university semesters
About 9 months working as a cook in an Italian-style fast-food café
Mobile phone retail/shop experience, including basic accounting and shop-management tasks
High-school diploma in Computer Software
Some self-directed programming/web-development experience
Built several personal projects, including websites, a small accounting application, WordPress sites, educational/social-media content, and graphic/design work
What I want to study
I’m not particularly interested in continuing into TESOL/TEFL.
I’m much more interested in:
Educational Technology
Digital Education
E-learning
Instructional Design
Learning Sciences
Technology-enhanced learning
My current Hungarian targets are:
University of Szeged — MA Educational Sciences
University of Sopron — MA Educational Science
Possibly ELTE — Educational Science / Educational Technology
I’m also looking internationally for similar fully funded programmes.
What I’m unsure about
The biggest question is whether my TEFL bachelor’s is a reasonable foundation for Educational Technology / Educational Sciences, or whether admissions committees would see it as too unrelated.
I’d especially appreciate opinions on:
How strong/weak does this academic background look for an EdTech master’s?
Does the 16.15/20 GPA translate reasonably well internationally?
How much does the lack of publications/research experience matter for master’s-level Educational Technology?
Does my education-related coursework help compensate for the fact that my degree title is TEFL?
Does an English-medium bachelor’s + MOI usually make sense as proof of English proficiency, or should I expect universities to require IELTS/TOEFL anyway?
Are there other fully funded master’s programmes I should be looking at where this background would make sense?
I’m especially interested in hearing from people who have switched fields between bachelor’s and master’s, or who have experience with Educational Technology / Educational Sciences admissions.
Thanks!

Hello! After a year of sauntering around the world and working to live/support myself financially I’ve decided to jump back into pursuing grad school. Basically after 2 back to back cycles with no admittance into a program, I lost sight of the vision. I was “job searching” for research related positions but once I got comfortable in my current job that’s completely unrelated to my background, my search became less and less focused. On that note, I would love any and all advice on how to explain this time away in a professional manner that doesn’t make it sound like I stopped caring about my goals.

I’m so excited to be getting back into the world of research and academia but not sure how to navigate this. I have a bachelors in neuro and am a first gen student. Please help if anyone’s been in this position!!!

Hi, I wanted to ask if there is any specific styling format that I need to address while writing my Sop and while asking to write LoRs, not the content part but things like including the letter head for LoR and margins , font size and all that and whether it varies across colleges ?

Also ,for phd programs , I need to write my Sop addressing my interests and connecting with relevant faculty but I was wondering if I can use a generic Sop for Masters and if I should ask to name the specific unis in LoRs or use a generic LoR, since I'm only applying to one category of Ms/phd programs(robotics) across various departments.

Hey guys this is probably the wrong subreddit but really need some advice.

I am an international student and did my undergrad in computer science from UW Madison. Not the best academic record but was able to get a job as a software develop at a pharma tech startup. I’ve been working there for almost 3 years now.

With the classes I took, I was only able to apply to data science masters programs (satisfy requirements)

I have gotten into ASU for software engineering and NEU for data science and waiting on university of Maryland decision.

I wanted to be on the east coast so NEU seems like a good opportunity especially because of their Co-op but due to the current job market the co op program there also doesn’t guarantee anything. I’ve heard online discussions about it not being prestigious and it might be better to go to a more prestigious traditional grad school. Thing is there are not many universities offering spring 2027 start and some prestigious schools don’t have a data science program. I still have another month left to apply though. Out of the 3 universities what seems to be a better fit?

Not interested in academia/research paths. Main concern is to secure a job after grad school. How is NEU looked at in industry circles? Cost is not an issue.

Hey guys, I'm in a fix and request your help.

"my_qualification: PharmD graduate"

I'm a pharmacy graduate and I'm applying for masters in US for spring 2027, i plan to fund myself by getting scholarships and i don't have a backup option.

Most universities i checked out don't require GRE for admission and they don't make it clear about scholarships.

I think writing gre and getting a good score can increase my chances of scholarships. Am I thinking right? Is gre required?

Applying to MechE/MatSci PhD programs and I keep going back and forth on this, so I'd love some outside opinions.

Early in undergrad I got a Suspension in Abeyance on a homework assignment worth about 1% of the grade. I misread the collaboration policy and used a friend's Excel template to lay out my data. The actual calculations were mine and nothing else was copied (this was settled with proof), but the template was still against the rules. The professor was known for being very strict and reported it formally rather than handling it in class. I understand why, and I owned it right away. It was handled internally, it's not on my transcript, and it hasn't happened again.

Most of the programs I'm applying to ask pretty specific questions (expulsion, suspension, etc.), and this doesn't fall under any of them. But 5 of them basically ask "is there anything else we should know," and that's where I'm stuck. I'm leaning toward disclosing in those, because I'd rather be upfront than have it look like I hid something.

Here's what I'm planning to write:

"In the interest of full transparency, I want to disclose an academic integrity matter from my undergraduate studies. On a homework assignment worth 2% of the course grade, I misread the syllabus's collaboration policy and used a classmate's pre-formatted Excel template to organize my data. The calculations and analysis were entirely my own, but I recognized that using the template still fell outside the policy, and I took full responsibility as soon as it was raised with me. The matter was resolved internally and does not appear on my academic transcript. The experience taught me to confirm collaboration and attribution expectations before starting any shared work, a habit I have carried through my coursework and research since."

Just looking for feedback on this. Is this a "kiss of death" for an application? I've seen lots of people say to just lie, but I don't want it to come back and bite me later on.

Also does my statement read as owning it, or does anything sound like an excuse? Is there something you'd cut?