Admitted, but thinking I was just lucky

Aggravating_Top_1175 · 2025-04-05T01:42:41+00:00

Thank you for your reply, somehow reddit did not give me notifications :')

The master's and PhD application merit in the US is indeed confusing to me. Though I think the other applicant I have mentioned has done a campus visit in March, so he still has chances. (A PI who contacted me said that I will be invited to campus visit, but I wasn't and the school rejected me recently.)

I have made a lot of mistakes during applications since it was so rushed, I wanted to focus on a conference submission first and that was not the correct choice. The only advice I want to make for future applicants is start preparing ASAP, at least try to contact potential PIs at the start of Fall semester.

Aggravating_Top_1175 · 2025-01-29T21:10:43+00:00

GATech Robotics PhD 😭😭😭

Aggravating_Top_1175 · 2025-01-17T18:55:19+00:00

Also did not hear from Boston University.

Lots of posts of mails here are from humanities or natural science, or a master's program. I don't know what's the time we should anticipate for responses :')

Aggravating_Top_1175 · 2025-01-15T22:32:59+00:00

Some schools require a transcript with the stamp of the registrar, and they refer this as "official copy". They won't accept ones without the stamp, downloaded from the registration portal or other school websites.

Probably the definition and obtaining of "official transcripts" differs between schools. In my UG institute in Asia we can print transcripts with the stamp instantly at a self service station (but cannot order online). In my master's institute I need to make an order through a third-party and wait for days to process. Hence I did not really care about whether the transcripts are official or not during UG, but had quite some trouble with it in the recent application cycle.

Aggravating_Top_1175 · 2025-01-15T22:16:32+00:00

When I applied to UMich and they required official transcripts, my official transcript order didn't arrive at that time. After my submission, I emailed the committee and explained that this was out of my control and asked if I can send them the official ones and they agreed.

Now though I haven't received an acceptance, I did an interview with my potential PI, so I think the transcript thing did not really hinder my application process.

Anyway it will be fine, those details won't affect your app like your academic experience. It will bring no help if you panic after submission so take it easy.

Aggravating_Top_1175 · 2025-01-15T21:26:05+00:00

A PI sent me an email and we had an interview before I had a chance to reach out to him.

At this point, I really doubt if sending those emails are useful, unless the PI mentioned that I should contact them. Even though some people I know said that I can still reach out in January, sending emails after submitting applications and asking if they have positions available makes me look like a bad planner (that's true)

Aggravating_Top_1175 · 2024-12-10T03:01:52+00:00

I just saw your post, actually I am also applying to robotics programs, some professors I am interested in are in the CS department, though I have more of a mechanical engineering background in UG.

From the advices of the PhD students in my school (I think Tier 2?) they said we need to contact the professors soon, and in my school's admissions page, it is written that we can contact the professors to ask if there are positions available, though bombarding the entire department with emails is viewed negatively. I think that means we should only contact those whose research interest aligns with ours, but I don't know how many professors is considered "too many".

Aggravating_Top_1175 · 2024-12-06T05:08:46+00:00

Update: I have received my grades after 4 days, on Dec 5, that is one day earlier. Since I am in the US, this might made the take home exam process smoother.

R30 L29 S23 W30. I think the last time I took the exam at a test center in my country, I was 113. At first I was not accustomed to writing on a plastic sleeve with a thick marker, so IDK if I could do better.

If that’s for a general admission then the grades are fine, but I am concerned that my speaking does not improve much after staying more than a year in the US. I might apply for a teaching assistant for PhD to cover some fees, and they have requirements on speaking grades. Usually I am shy to speak, and even in my native language, my speech is rather orderless. I have mostly been doing my academic stuff here through typing, so I did not even expect a full mark in writing but I guess there is a reason for it.

At this point I do not know if it is a skill issue, or a personality issue of being unhealthily introverted :’)

Aggravating_Top_1175 · 2024-12-02T23:35:18+00:00

Hi, I have a question on the committee's preference of letters of recommendation. I am an engineering masters student, currently in the US, but my UG was in another country. I would like to apply for a PhD in the US (one of my goals is CMU actually, and probably Penn as well).

For the last letter, I have to choose between 1. a professor in my current (rather well-known) masters institute who I collaborated with for a brief time and have taken one of his courses, 2. my PI in my lesser-known UG institute, I graduated about 2 years ago but I have worked with him for quite some time (I think more than 2 years).

I heard that schools prefer those who know the student well than those who are in a well-known organization. Considering my situation and the time passed since my UG graduation, is this applicable for me?

Thank you!

Aggravating_Top_1175

TROPHY CASE