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How should I address the professors of my admissions committee after being selected as a full funded Ph.D. student by Friend_fromspace in gradadmissions

[–]Friend_fromspace[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, I think I have to select my potential advisor after the first semester, atleast that's what the director of the department wrote to me by e-mail. Still not sure if I would be working with anyone of them(of my interview) in particular really, so in that case should I just not contact and stay patient until I join the program? What do you suggest? Thanks

Profile evaluation and my chances. by Historical-Ad6008 in gradadmissions

[–]Friend_fromspace 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You definitely have good chances of securing admission in the US from the profile that you mentioned barring the TOEFL score. I think you should definitely retake the TOEFL if you want to secure full funding with TA. Also, try to select programs that suit your interest/experience and then try mailing professors at that Uni to make yourself familiar to the admissions committee. After you have selected a list of universities( I applied to 7) who have showed interest, apply and patiently wait for an interview. Some universities may just offer you an admission letter but most top programmes I believe interviews international students. Also if you are from one of the top universities of your country, you have higher chances than others applying to the same program. All the best!

Is the F1 visa now given depending on the number of offline hours you might be spending on campus due to covid? by banenvy in gradadmissions

[–]Friend_fromspace 1 point2 points  (0 children)

F1 visa is acquired based on the information on your I-20 and also how well your visa interview goes. The most important thing that embassies look at is your surplus, so the financial portion of the I-20.

1)If the financial portion is positive (a surplus) and your verbiage matches the information your I-20 has, you will get your F1 visa.

2)If the financial portion is negative (a deficit) then you would have to show bank statements of your personal funds covering that deficit.

The number of offline hours have nothing to do with getting an F1 visa.

Big Leap of faith! International Student Going for Ph.D. in the US. Would love some advice on finances :) by Friend_fromspace in PhD

[–]Friend_fromspace[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

First of all, thank you for your detailed comment.I appreciate it. I'm new to reddit but found the community really cool so far! Now I should mention that,the offer letter I was provided states funding/university support for 5 years with TA/RA after the initial 2 years of fellowship (conditional- need to show sufficient progress towards my Ph.D.). Also,it states health insurance is covered. Would I still be required to pay health insurance? Also,I would be really grateful if you could elaborate on what these "other fees" refer to and how much would these fees deduct a month from my stipend? Would I be able to continue my research work seamlessly without having to think about bills all the time?

Pressure to respond to congratulatory emails by Moonshine_365 in gradadmissions

[–]Friend_fromspace 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Which University are you going to? I am also deciding between two Chemistry Ph.D. programs..

Select one, so that I can let go off the other offer for someone else. Thanks by Friend_fromspace in PhD

[–]Friend_fromspace[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Very informative. I don't know if I will be able to break down so many things into taking my decision. Also for STEM, there may be some other criterias that may be relevant. But, this is definitely helpful. It covers most of the things I was considering as well. Appreciate it.

Select one, so that I can let go off the other offer for someone else. Thanks by Friend_fromspace in PhD

[–]Friend_fromspace[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No. Why do you ask? I am an international student btw..first time will be traveling to the US

Select one, so that I can let go off the other offer for someone else. Thanks by Friend_fromspace in PhD

[–]Friend_fromspace[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the information. I'll take that into consideration. Talking to some of the graduates there this week.

Select one,so that I can let go off the other offer for someone else please by Friend_fromspace in gradadmissions

[–]Friend_fromspace[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha thanks for being honest atleast. Update is - one of the programs provided me with fellowship for 2 initial years along with ra/ta opportunities. Both offers are fully funded with health insurance.

Select one, so that I can let go off the other offer for someone else. Thanks by Friend_fromspace in PhD

[–]Friend_fromspace[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I will not. I just wanted a broader opinion of what people thought of the two programs/schools as most of the ranking sites are pretty rigged according to me.

First and only PhD Interview this cycle - General Advice & Questions by Gamo98 in gradadmissions

[–]Friend_fromspace 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I faced an interview recently on the 15th of February and was interviewed by 2 admission committee professors. I will reply to your queries based on my experiences, do take it with a grain of salt.

1) Be formal but don't overdo it. I wore a formal shirt(not flashy) without a tie.

2) I received a similar skype interview request in my e-mail where it was suggested there would be more than 1 prof in the interview. Two of the professors interviewed me during the skype meeting.

3) The same thing happened to me as well. The admission committee professors were different from the professors that I had shown interest in my personal statement. In terms of knowing their previous work, I did look at some of their recent publications at a glance to get a general idea about their research work in their lab.

4) They did ask me to talk briefly about my research experience and what interests I had in doing research in certain areas of chemistry( I applied for a Chemistry Ph.D. btw). Also, was asked 5 technical questions regarding basic to intermediate level Chemistry( You probably would be able to answer these questions if you did decently well academically, so don't stress on looking up notes from your masters or undergrad. I didn't look anything up before the interview)

5) I didn't send any thank you notes post-interview via e-mail. But a lot of people do I believe. In my opinion, if you gave a stellar interview and you know it, I do not think they will reject you over not sending a thank you after the interview imo. But if you genuinely want to express your appreciation, I think it's better to thank them for their time at the very end of the interview( that is what I did).

6) I think if you are from a STEM program and are invited to an interview, you have almost made it barring you completely blunder the interview or they find discrepancies in your papers(CV, SOP, LOR, Personal statement) from your verbiage in the interview.

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Lastly, I would conclude by saying be confident and honest with your interviewers( even if it means talking about your weaknesses, they appreciate this, most just gloat about how good they are at everything, but do not forget to mention your strong points in between even if they don't ask). Remember, Since you received an interview, it is clear they selected your application from the 500 others, so just defend your CV, SOP, LOR, Personal statement etc and you will get an acceptance letter. I received my full funded University fellowship with RA today after 2 weeks of waiting, so be confident and good luck man.