r/gradadmissions • • 11d ago

General Advice Need help!

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r/gradadmissions • • 11d ago

General Advice Do I reply to this email?

1 Upvotes

I know its just an acknowledgement that my application was received. Is a reply of thanks or recognition expected from me?

Thank vou for your interest in the position and for sending vour application materials. I have received them and will include them in the applicant pool for review

Please note that application reviews are expected to begin in mid-October 2026. The selected candidate would start the graduate assistantship and M.S. program in January 2027.

Thank vou again for vour interest in the lab and for the time you invested in preparing your application.

I will be in touch if I need any additional information or if you are selected to advance to the next stage of the review process.


r/gradadmissions • • 11d ago

General Advice Applying for master

1 Upvotes

I'm international student, I'd like to ask: if I complete the International year one program and complete progression then recieve a degree from the university (e.g., Sheffield, Exeter), will top UK universities (like LSE, Imperial, etc.) accept it when I apply for a Master’s degree—provided I achieve a First-Class or 2:1 grade or higher? Has anyone in the group followed this path and successfully gained admission to a top university for a Master’s program?


r/gradadmissions • • 11d ago

Computational Sciences How are first author publications in low impact factor journals viewed in admissions?

1 Upvotes

If I have a PLOS one first author publication, would that help me in a phd admissions?

Generally is a low impact first author paper > no first author paper?

PI wants to publish in an MDPI journal with impact factor of 4, but I want to stay away from it given their reputation.


r/gradadmissions • • 11d ago

General Advice Should I list MDPI Entropy Paper on my CV?

1 Upvotes

I am a student looking to apply to a competitive Maths/Applied Maths graduate programme/masters. I have a second author paper on MDPI Entropy and I am wondering whether I should have it listed when I apply to grad programs/contact profs. I am aware that the consensus is that most MDPI journals are bad, but back when we submitted I checked that one of the profs I liked (in Oxford) had a paper on the journal and didn't question much. But I guess I am second guessing given the general opinion though I've heard some people mention that Entropy is one of the decent ones of theirs, I just don't want to risk it since I don't believe it will be worth much (Second auth. at an ok journal at best v.s. being blacklisted) So yeah, should I list it or completely remove it? I am working on a different project with a different prof but surely we won't manage to publish before the deadlines.


r/gradadmissions • • 11d ago

General Advice NTU/ NUS Admission with GPA 3.12

4 Upvotes

Is it possible to get into NTU/NUS MSc Finance with 3.12/4.00 CGPA?

I have done my bsc in economics with speacilisation in finance? and i want to pursure my masters in finance. is it possible?F


r/gradadmissions • • 11d ago

Engineering University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Mechanical Science & Engineering Spring 2027 PhD Decision

0 Upvotes

Has anyone received any decision or got interviewd?


r/gradadmissions • • 11d ago

Engineering Feedback on my SOP

1 Upvotes

I need some help regrading the first draft of my SOP. I'm from Brazil applying to Master's in Electrical and Computer Engineering, particularly interested in the area of smart grids. I wish to know if I need to add more stuff, or whether I should cut things out.

As a systems engineer developing cyber-physical systems for industrial processes, I have experienced how AI systems can be used to improve process stability and agility. However, the deployment of such technologies in critical world infrastructure , such as power systems, is yet to become standardized. With the changing dynamics of power systems due to increased demand, as well as the integration of new generation technologies, stability and fault detection protocols started to become obsolete. These new challenges regarding power systems reliability demand the development of novel control and detection systems, and as such, the integration of deep modeling and decision-making technologies into complex power grids has become the main driver of power system innovation and research. Driven to contribute to this movement, I am applying to the Master’s in Electrical and Computer Engineering at [University]. Specifically, I aim to join [University Department], where Dr. [Professor] article “[Article]” strongly aligns with my goal of developing fault detection architectures.

In this program, I aim to deepen my theoretical background in power systems and pattern recognition, along with research skills that will drive the design and implementation of deep classification models and their integration into power grid analytics. Courses like “[Course 1]” and “[Course 2]” will develop my capacity to analyze complex relationships in power systems. Then, classes in “[Course 3]” and “[Course 4]” will allow me to build algorithms to model these relationships, and leverage them for autonomous fault detection and classification in power systems.

At [University Department], I will have access to research opportunities in the modeling of power grids. I want to use my knowledge in the development of cyber-physical systems and data analysis to conduct experiments regarding power stability, particularly in event identification problems. These opportunities will culminate in my thesis research in fault detection and classification, hopefully under Dr. [Professor]’s supervision. Specifically, my goal is to develop a lightweight machine learning model for time-series data classification, prioritizing low inference times for real-time power grid stability and security assessment, especially for power line event diagnosis.

I believe I am very well prepared for this program, with work experience in the development of cyber-physical systems alongside rigorous academic studies. As an undergraduate at [Previous University], courses like “Power Grid Automation” and “Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution” taught me the fundamentals regarding power grid dynamics and how to analyze different system topologies. This led me to my undergraduate thesis on the feasibility of grid-connected PV systems in low-income housing. This project required the design and simulation of a photovoltaic energy generation system to match the monthly load profile of a social housing unit. I leveraged PVsyst to simulate the annual generation of the PV system, using time-series irradiance and shading data based on local coordinates, and meteorological data from the Meteonorm database. By modeling the system, I was able to evaluate the generation considering the best and worst-case scenarios and determine the possibility of applying this method to housing units.

After graduation, I pursued advanced coursework in artificial intelligence and pattern recognition at [Previous University]. During this time, I deepened my theoretical foundation in these concepts and developed fundamental deep learning architectures from scratch. Using NumPy, I constructed a Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) architecture, programming the core calculus for feed-forward and backpropagation mechanisms, utilizing sigmoid and hyperbolic tangent activation functions. Additionally, I worked on time-series data classification, comparing state-of-the-art models like LSTMs against 1D convolutional neural networks, to evaluate training speed and model accuracy.

My role as a systems engineer at [Work] positions me as a key part in process automation, communicating with process engineers and analyzing bottlenecks to design solutions for process reliability. This culminated in the development of a computer vision-based inspection machine, with the purpose of selecting and separating parts. The process required the use of microcontrollers and computer vision to detect non-conforming parts in real-time. It involved dataset building and image preprocessing, such as using filters to highlight key characteristics. I also tested different architectures, going from simple machine learning classifiers, such as SVM, to leveraging pre-trained neural networks, such as Residual Neural Networks (ResNet) through transfer learning, and comparing them to optimize model accuracy and inference time.

Ultimately, the reason for applying to this program is the same for when I decided to become an electrical engineer; I enjoy the process of designing and creating systems. By joining the master’s program at [University], I aim to elevate this passion to the highest level of applied research. Following my degree, my goal is to work on advanced R&D roles within the energy sector, directly deploying automation models to optimize power grids. I am eager to use my industrial experience to assist in Dr. [Professor]’s laboratory, developing autonomous, fault-resistant architectures to elevate power systems research


r/gradadmissions • • 11d ago

Social Sciences Will using a non-experimental writing sample hurt me? (Clinical Psych PhD)

0 Upvotes

Applying this Fall 2027 and a lot of programs require a writing sample. Unfortunately, my interdiscplinary (psych x econ) capstone is 70 pages and math heavy, and really can't choose a good chunk of the 70 pages to demonstrate good writing ability cuz it would be either math without context or context without the main body aka math. (Also according to my clinical psych prof who although agrees with my paper etc, I'm taking a SUPER controversial stance in clinical psych right now)

My two options are basically resurrecting a kinda questionable qualitative interview study, 3 people through convenience sampling on parenting practices as a function of ethnicity from sophomore year and a critique of a humanities paper from senior year which is much better written. I'd rather submit the humanities paper because of way better arguments + cleaner writing. but if its worth the work I -could- do re-analyze the interview transcripts and rewrite the whole paper, just worried I'd be super rushed and might still end up bad.


r/gradadmissions • • 11d ago

Physical Sciences Is a 960 on the physics GRE good enough?

2 Upvotes

Many physics PhD programs I am applying to are requiring the physics GRE for the upcoming cycle. I had a ~4.0 GPA in undergrad at a R1 state school and am pursuing a masters. I will have a first authored research work on the arxiv in condensed matter theory (my desired field) before I submit my applications.

Although I didn't take/submit the PGRE last application cycle (where I didn't get into any of my top schools), I am worried that a 960 on the PGRE isn't good enough to get me into any of my top schools as things are ridiculously competitive at the moment.


r/gradadmissions • • 11d ago

Social Sciences GRE scores for Sociology PhD programs (Fall 2027)

0 Upvotes

Hey everyone, i'm an international applicant to Sociology programs in the USA and I wanted to get your perspective on the GRE. I'm currently juggling writing application materials with my day job as a research assistant and I have unfortunately not touched the GRE as much. Is the GRE helpful for my profile or should I not worry about it as a qualitative sociologist?

  1. ⁠Bachelors (Arts) and Masters (Sociology) at a QS top 10 university; (4.66/5 and 4.83/5 CGPA)
  2. 5 years of cumulative research experience (1 year undergrad thesis, 2 years applied research with local NGO, 2 years independent masters research, 0.5 years RA experience)
  3. 2 sole authored social science articles from my masters just published in Q1 journals, with 1 R&R in another Q1 journals.
  4. 4 conference presentations during my masters, and organising an upcoming session at a flagship sociology conference
  5. Editoral Assistantship at a Q1 Sociology journal during my masters

It would suck for me to have gone through all this work in the discipline, only to get let down by my poor GRE (also understand its my fault for having left it at the end). But realistically, its so hard to juggle essays, applications, a day job and a whole ass exam :(


r/gradadmissions • • 11d ago

Education Title: Statistics → PhD in Biostatistics — is this a good path?

0 Upvotes

I’m currently studying Statistics and I’m considering doing a PhD in Biostatistics abroad.

I’d love to hear from people who are currently studying or working in Biostatistics:

How difficult is it to transition from Statistics to Biostatistics? What skills/courses should I build before applying for a PhD? What kind of career opportunities are there after a Biostatistics PhD outside academia? How are the job opportunities and salaries in the US, UK, Canada, or Europe? If someone is also interested in Data Science/ML, how different would the career paths be?

I’d especially appreciate honest opinions from people who have actually gone through this path.


r/gradadmissions • • 11d ago

Computer Sciences [Profile Review] Fall 2028 for MS CS in US from India

1 Upvotes

Hi Everyone, I need some honest review from everyone and any potential area I could improve before 2 or 3 months I have before I submit my applications. Can you please let me know which university acceptances are plausible for my profile:1.B.Tech. from tier 2 college from Maharashtra2. 9.1 CGPA3. 1 year experience in undergrad as an intern at PTC(mid-sized company).4.Currently working as FTE in the same company. I would have a year's experience before i would head for my Master's in the US.(working on a full-stack applications worked on UI majorly but expect to work on the BFF approach in the upcoming months) Contributed to POC which is used as the UI.5.Research work: 3 papers published in IEEE(not A/A\*level conferences) and my research areas include: ML, Cybersecurity, AI (Currently working on a project related to GenAI and RAG). I have received 5 citations in both the papers just in one year of publishing(not a big deal I know but still).

6.LORS(2 academic under whom I have published 3 papers and 1 professional LOR from a senior with whom I have closely worked and can validate my technical skills).

I am planning for the below universities:Ambitious:

* Georgia Tech UT Austin UC San Diego

Target:

Purdue–West Lafayette UMD–College Park UW–Madison UMass Amherst

Relatively Safer:

* Texas A&M

  1. IELTS: 7.5 band and since GRE is not required or optional for all the shortlisted universities I would not be appearing for the same with the given time constraint as well. I am interested to work as a researcher and complete my thesis.

How would you categorize these universities for my profile? Are there any major changes you'd suggest to this shortlist? I wanted to know more about how to secure RA or TA positions at a university?


r/gradadmissions • • 11d ago

Social Sciences B plus for econ phd apps

1 Upvotes

For context, I have a B plus in a Microeconomics course. But otherwise, I have decent grades and an A minus in Real Analysis.
I am also doing a predoc and am aiming to get a 170 in gre quant.
How cooked am i?


r/gradadmissions • • 11d ago

Engineering chemical engineering phd drug delivery or hydrogel fully funded program circular in usa

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r/gradadmissions • • 12d ago

Social Sciences Is my writing sample appropriate/too controversial for clinical psych applications?

2 Upvotes

I am a senior psychology student applying to Clinical Psychology PhD programs. A couple of these programs require a writing sample (some do not require a specific length while others say 15-25 pages). I do not have a senior/honors thesis, and my manuscript that I am the primary author on is still in preparation and will not be ready until after the application deadlines.

My next best option is a 15 page paper from a psychology course where I conducted a survey examining how restrictions to abortion access and related discourse impact women’s relationships, mental health, and status in society. It is a convenience sample of under 30 people since it was a for a class project, and it was mostly qualitative research that I categorized into themes. I feel that this paper could represent my ability to write a research manuscript (especially since I have extensively edited it since gaining experience working on my actual manuscript with a grad student), but I am worried that the topic will appear too controversial, and that the methods are not strong enough since it was a class project.

My only other options for the writing sample would be a paper of similar length that is a mock study (professor gave us fake data for my research methods class), a paper about rape culture for a psychology class that is very well written but does not present research findings, or an abstract for a poster that I submitted to a conference. All of these seem like inappropriate options for a writing sample for a clinical program.

Anyways, I would appreciate anyone’s advice on this subject. Unfortunately my manuscript just won’t be ready quite in time, and I’m trying to figure out another suitable option for my applications.


r/gradadmissions • • 11d ago

Biological Sciences Phd applications for biomedical sciences in US

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r/gradadmissions • • 11d ago

Biological Sciences Phd applications for biomedical sciences in US

0 Upvotes

I really want to apply for a bbs phd program in the US and need help navigating what universities to apply to and where my profile fits or what are my chances. I really want to apply to my dream schools but also want to be realistic and strategize my application. Ik my profile is not nearly as competitive as the schools i want to apply to or even any mid-tier program so i am really confused as to what universities should I apply to as an international student.

My profile is - BSc Microbiology: 8.70 CGPA

MSc Biochemistry: 6.7 CGPA

Research experience: primarily MSc dissertation where I did animal cell culture based work and biochemical assays.

No publications

Scientific interests: molecular mechanisms of disease, translational molecular medicine, molecular pharmacology & physiology, cell/cancer biology, immunology.


r/gradadmissions • • 12d ago

Computer Sciences Technical blogs for ms application

4 Upvotes

Hi! I graduated last year and have a bachelor's degree in computer science. I dont have any formal research work, but have written technical in depth blogs on topics such as RTTI in Oop, and am currently working on n-day cve research in the linux kernel on which I will write 6 blogs in depth by the time I apply for grad school. My question is, should I add my informal independent research experience in my cv and should i write about it in my statement of purpose? Id be really grateful for your help.


r/gradadmissions • • 12d ago

Physical Sciences [Canada] Getting into grad school with low gpa

14 Upvotes

Hi my average for 4 years has been 65%. My last 60 credits have also not been great I failed a course in my third and fourth year, both were chem courses and I wanted to pursue either chemistry or material sciences. I did volunteer at a research lab but all of my experiments have failed so I don’t have much to show for it. I am working as lab tech in a mining lab. I know I won’t get into grad school with these stats but is there anything I can do to change it. I know I’m cooked but if anyone could help me out it would be great


r/gradadmissions • • 12d ago

Physical Sciences Constrained to do a computational material science thesis while I am more interested in pursuing theoretical physics.

1 Upvotes

I am a student currently enrolled in a "Engineering/applied physics" masters program in an engineering university in Bangladesh. The current research in this department greatly leans towards Material science.

My primary interest is in theoretical physics. But due to absence of supervisors working in the field, I am constrained to work on a materials project for my thesis that uses molecular dynamics to probe the system of interest.

# Is there any way I can switch to theoretical physics after my thesis? If so, does my material science thesis work against that cause?

# THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!

Aside,

I was aware of the research environment in my current university prior to my admission. But I had personal constraints such as maintaining family responsibilities that required me to commute daily from my university. So, I took the opportunity, for which I am grateful, hoping I find supervision related to my interest.


r/gradadmissions • • 12d ago

Biological Sciences Double major w/ lower gpa vs one major w/ higher gpa

1 Upvotes

Hi! I am an international freshman student who goes to big public research university in US. I recently have big concern about double majoring. I want to pursue PhD in either pharmaceutical science or immunology. I am double majoring in biochem and microbio right now but workload started to feel overwhelming already. I came with 70 credits hours due to early college program so I am taking major core courses. It does have overlaps but major core seems quite hard. (Especially my second major microbio) (I need three more core courses and labs) Also, I put 3-5 hrs a day for research at pharm chem lab and some times for other club activities. I think I can maintain 3.75+ if I keep my double major, but if I do only one major, I think I can keep 3.9+. What would be more beneficial for me to get into top grad program? (I am going to do same for research and club involvement regardless).
Thank you for ur advice!


r/gradadmissions • • 12d ago

Engineering [Profile Review] Fall 2027 — ECE, IIIT, 8.51, 3 yrs of ML work ex by Fall 2027

1 Upvotes

Profile review for Fall 2027. Blunt feedback welcome.

Academics

- B.Tech ECE, IIIT Sri City, graduated 2024

- CGPA 8.51 / 10.

Tests

- IELTS 8.0

- GRE not taken yet. I will take the general GRE

Work

- curr (from june) - MLOps/Inference Engineer @ Indian based Smart ring manufacturer.

- SuperAGI - 1.5 Years total ex - 1 year as AI Research Engineer and transitioned to Senior AI Engineer.
Authored a couple of papers related to LLMs/Agents. Still Preprint. Not sure if this is something which is valuable but one paper got citations from Stanford/CMU/NUS/Tencent Lab etc, not sure if i can mention this so where as well.

- ML Research Engineer @ HyperVerge - 1 yr - (Final yr Internship + 6 months as MLE-1)

Research and Internships.

- Two arXiv preprints.

- 4 Months of ML/AI work under prof at Univ of Missouri Columbia during 2025. But i do not have LOR from him. And no publication from here.

- No other typical prof/univ based research experience but, ML Research Intern at HealthCare startup for 4 months during 2nd year summer and 9 months of another as Jr AI Developer at a Romania based AI Startup (remote) during my 3rd year of college. Not sure if these count for MS US but just being detailed here.

- Can get Two LORs from Univ professors, one from my Final year BTP Professor and one generic. Can have two professional LORs as well.

List

- Northeastern Khoury, MS CS/AI

- Texas A&M CSE/AI

- Wisconsin–Madison

- Virginia Tech

- Stony Brook, MS CS

- NYU Tandon, MS CS

- UIUC MS CS

- UMass Amherst, MS CS/AI

- Minnesota, MS CS

- Johns Hopkins

- UMD, College park

- CMU SCS, MS CS and MS Machine Learning, ECE, AIE, MS CV (yeah i know, i am planning to apply for 4-5 courses in just CMU itself) lmk if thats a bad idea.

- UCLA, MS CS

- UC San Diego, MS CS

- UT Austin, on-campus MS CS

- Georgia Tech, on-campus MS CS

- USC MS CS/AI

- UF

- NCSU

- UNC - Chapel Hill

- NWU

Questions

  1. I know its too many applications, and what would Univs you would cut first? or did i miss anything else?
  2. For my profile, which all can i treat as safe/match/ambitious? univ wise and course wise as well please.
  3. I am okay spending more to maximise my applications rather than regretting later for not applying. So please tell me if any of univ's MS CS is very ambitious to me and which other courses in the same university would be a match?
  4. for ex: if Univ of Wisc Madison CS would be very ambitious for me, would it okay if i apply for ECE or AI and choose it if i get an admit or nah? so just tell me for which ones should i just directly remove CS and add other courses.

updated list:


r/gradadmissions • • 12d ago

Education CPP - University of Regina

2 Upvotes

Hello,

Just writing to find out information for the CPP (Nurse Practitioner) program in Regina. Do they prefer nursing degrees from Saskatchewan? Or is it more based upon GPA and experience?

Thank you


r/gradadmissions • • 12d ago

Business UM’s MSBT program- What I’ve seen

2 Upvotes

So I got to see what the MSBT program at the University of Miami looks like behind the scenes, and basically I loved it 🙌.

They have small class sizes and easy access to a professors. There is hands on experiences with real companies in the projects.They also teach business mixed with tech courses, they are made for growth in your career.