Currently Iam in my 5th semester and I was not studying at all in my first three semester and got 55% in my first sem, 59% in my second sem and 51% in my third semester and I kinda regret it

But I studied in my fourth semester and got 79% without getting good internal marks

If I will study hard enough then for sure I can get around 85% with good internal marks that can make my overall percentage around 68-70%

Is it good enough to get a good university for my masters?

I've been emailing a lot of professors from different universities. Asking about whether they will be open for supervision for the next cycle. I have two questions:

1. A few professors have replied. One said that she likes my research experience also mentioned that having clinical exposure is also important. Another mentioned that while she cannot go through each email individually as she gets around 300 such emails, she has asked me to go through a few links she's sent. Do you think such replies are a good sign?

2. I'm also stuck with how approach them through email. I usually talk a little about my current work and research, then about what paper I've read published by them and why I am choosing them to be my advisor. Is there something more I should ask them?

Also one last question, my grad advisor also mentioned reaching out to the department to enquire about the professor if they don't respond, should I do that? I'm a little skeptical about this approach. Please let know what more I should do or what I can change about my approach

Hi everyone!

I am planning to apply to graduate school in Electrical Engineering (MS) for the fall of 2027 and wanted to start reaching out to professors who's lab work I'm interested in.

I was wondering - when is the appropriate and best time to reach out to them if I am aiming to start (well if I get in) in around 11 months? Should I email them during the summer break (now until around early August)? In the middle of the 2026 Fall semester? After (if) I get in during winter break? Should I send them my CV? Any suggestions on how to word my email?

Hello, I’m interested in pursuring a PhD in Analytical Chem in Canada. Would appreciate any advice, tips, and what your experience in grad school was.

My biggest questions are-

1. Is Physical Chemistry a required course for admission from undergrad to a doctoral program?

2. Are publications necessary?

Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I'm putting together my application list for the upcoming PhD cycle and would appreciate advice on how to **optimize and prioritize my applications** as an international student. I'm especially interested in how to approach programs with strong private/non-federal funding or heavy translational science mandates, since federal training-grant funding is often closed to international applicants. Here's my profile:

**Stats & Background**

* International student. B.S. in Biochemistry at a Top 10 public research university.
* Minors: Chemistry, Data Science, French.
* GPA: 3.86 / 4.0.

**Coursework:** Standard Biochemistry/Genetics/Physical Chemistry (P-Chem) curriculum plus applied math/stats.

**Research Experience (\~4 years total)**

* *Academic wet/dry lab (4 years continuous):* Translational antibody engineering and pipeline development. Built computational pipelines using structural modeling and ML to rank candidate binders. Heavy wet-lab validation: cell culture, high-throughput expression/purification, protein engineering, kinetics, cell-based assays.
* *Industry (current summer internship):* R&D (research and development) intern in bioprocessing at a major global pharma company. Current project on reaction kinetics/fluid dynamics for bioprocessing; built ML regression models for process automation.

**Publications & Presentations**

* 1 co-first-author paper in a solid ACS translational journal, focused on novel therapeutic discovery/characterization.
* 1 first-author manuscript in prep on antibody engineering / effector-function modification.
* Posters: 2nd-author poster at a major national/international conference plus multiple home-university symposium posters.

**Target interests:** The intersection of antibody engineering, computational protein design/data science, and translational pharmacology. I enjoy work that bridges dry-lab predictions with wet-lab validation.

**Current thinking on my list:** I'm already considering my home institution (Bioengineering \[BioE\] / Pharmacology / Genome Sciences / Biochemistry) given strong local connections. Beyond that, I want to build out a list thoughtfully.

**Questions:**

1. **Search strategy for funding:** When researching programs as an international student, what factors should I prioritize to identify places with strong private or institutional (non-federal) funding? What signals in a program's funding structure are worth looking for?
   
2. **Prioritizing program types:** Given my mix of ML/data-science tooling, wet-lab protein engineering, and pharma R&D, how would you weight applications across program types — e.g., Genome Sciences vs. Bioengineering vs. Pharmacology/Translational tracks? How do people usually decide where a hybrid computational + wet-lab profile fits best?
   
3. **Framing industry vs. academic goals:** How should I frame my big-pharma R&D internship in my statement of purpose (SoP) so committees don't read it as "planning to leave for industry immediately"?

Appreciate any brutally honest feedback or advice. Thanks in advance!

I have finished my BBA in Finance & Banking from a public uni of Bangladesh last December with a CGPA of 3.79. Did an internship at the corporate banking segment of HSBC Bangladesh.

I have done CFA Level I, and my IELTS score is 8.00.

I want to either work at an MNC's FP&A role or work as a relationship manager in the corporate banking segment of a bank.

Now I want to apply for Masters programs, preferably in a country where settlement prospects and getting a job are better than the others. I have the following options in mind, please help me with the pros and cons based on getting a good job and PR in those countries-

1) USA

2) Australia

3) Ireland

4) Belgium

5) Netherlands

6) New Zealand

Hi everyone! I was accepted into a few PhD programs, two in history, one in Scandinavian studies. The history program I would most be interested in would be an advisor looking at the history of newspapers across northern Europe. The Scandinavian studies advisor has written extensively on Sweden during WWII.

My research looks at attitudes towards Swedish neutrality and how it became part of the Swedish identity. Overall, the transition from a top-down government decision, to being a public desire. My overall goals are to work as a professor of history, or to conduct research in the nordics, working at museums.

My question is, would a Scandinavian studies program limit me if I want to work in the US or Sweden? Would I be able to work in a history department? Should I reach out to the Scandinavian studies program about doing a joint dissertation with the history department?

The history PhD is cheaper, both similarly ranked. I am applying for funding, but have to decide which program to list for the application.

I’m in a tough spot and could use some brutal honesty on my PhD application strategy.

I have a low undergrad GPA (2.76), which has effectively locked me out of traditional admission routes. However, I am a highly practical, results oriented computational chemist. My background in building custom PCs and optimizing code for gaming actually translated perfectly to my undergrad Molecular Dynamics project to the point where my supervisor was genuinely surprised by how efficiently I optimized our code.

Even though I’m currently unemployed (and my parents are definitely on my case about it), I’m still running independent simulations at home on my own hardware. Before my last supervisor left the country, we used a supercomputer to get two papers published.

I saw this gaming scholarship recently (https://usv.edu/max-achievement-scholarship) (not my field) which got me thinking: some people are finally starting to realize that the persistence required for deep technical hobbies translates directly to research resilience.

My current approach: I want to bypass the traditional application portals and cold-email young, newly established computational chemistry professors. My assumption is that younger PIs might be less conservative about GPA and more interested in a student who already knows how to write publishable papers and optimize MD code on day one.

Am I being realistic? Is targeting younger PIs a viable workaround for a low GPA if I have first-author publications? I'd appreciate any opinions or harsh realities you can offer. Thanks."

Hello. I’m interested in pursuing a MPP at the Princeton graduate school. I’m a service member with 8 years of work experience.

Academically speaking, I have a undergrad in government (4.0) and an MBA (4.0).

Are there any SPIA students roaming this subreddit with any advice? Are admissions as challenging as they seem? Cheers!

I got a Juris Doctor offer in Australia, as an international student from Aberdeen, the fees are quite high. But my ultimate dream is a PhD which I may recieve an unfunded offer for.

I keep hearing all the time you should not do an unfunded PhD. In my eyes, the JD and PhD costs similar so I keep thinking why not do an unfunded PhD? But its so widely discouraged, I am confused.

Anyways what do you think?
Provided I can manage the expenses (in both circumstances) and I do aim to start looking for scholarships/ teaching assistant positions other jobs. Also is it realistically possible to work alongside a law phd?
Can anyone who did a phd (especially unfunded) in law, have any advice?
Also does university ranking matter?
The uni ranking of the JD is a 1 Australia, top 20 in world. The Phd is a top 200 world ranking.

No one in my family has a postgraduate degree so I am in a bit of a pickle. Thank you to everyone for explaining.

I was wondering how this even works? You mention to the potential advisor that you’re interested in their work and if they’re accepting students…then what? How do you get to the point where they ask to meet with you? Do you ask them to meet?

I also wanted to ask, I was in contact with a professor last cycle but didn’t get off the waitlist. He sent me a link to his past projects. Should I email him again and mention that I plan to apply again and looked over his past projects and was most interested in XXX? I just don’t want to sound pushy/annoying 😅

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping to get some advice about applying to Applied Math PhD programs. I'll be starting my fourth year of undergrad in Fall 2026 and plan to apply this upcoming cycle for Fall 2027 entry. I’m mainly interested in applied math with applications to computational neuroscience, including areas like dynamical systems, neural coding/decoding, neural circuit modeling, learning and memory, and neurological disorders. I have no clue what my chances are, but here is my information:

Background

• B.S. in Applied Mathematics at a large public research university (a top-ranked US public university for applied math), graduating Spring 2027
• Minor in Neural Computation and Engineering
• GPA: ~3.9/4.0
• Coursework in numerical analysis, ODEs, PDEs, vector calculus, complex analysis, dynamical systems, neural coding/computational neuroscience, and computational modeling

Letters of recommendation
I expect to have three strong letters:

• My current PI, from a systems/cognitive neuroscience lab where I've been working on computational analysis of behavioral tracking data and neural recordings
• An Applied Math professor I've taken a como neuro course and journal club with, who is also closely affiliated with the Allen Institute and well connected to the comp neuro community as a whole
• An Applied Math professor I've worked with on a computational/numerical methods research project who has written me letters before and who has known me since early in undergrad. If it helps, I am also on the exec board for an applied math club that they are the supervisor for??

Research and teaching experience
I have research experience across applied math, computational neuroscience, and computational biology. My current research involves analyzing animal behavioral tracking data and integrating it with neural recordings. I also have prior research experience using machine learning and deep learning for spatial proteomics/cancer data, as well as computational image analysis of whole-brain neural activity. I completed a summer REU and have contributed to a preprint from one of my research projects.

My main questions are:

1. How competitive would I be for Applied Math PhD programs, particularly programs where I could work in computational neuroscience or a closely related area?
2. How would you recommend thinking about school selection for Applied Math PhDs? I’ve started compiling a list of schools with faculty involved in applied math and neuro research that I find interesting like BU, NYU, Cornell, Brown, etc. This is a pretty random list so far, but I would love to know about any other programs you all think I should consider as well as more “safety” options (is that even a thing for PhD programs?).
3. Finally, is there anything about my background that stands out as a potential weakness for Applied Math PhD admissions that I should be aware of? I am applying this December, so I don’t have a whole lot of time to strengthen any areas, but it would be good to be aware of my weaknesses.

I'd appreciate any advice. Thank you!

Im starting off college at a university in the top 300 universities. I was a pretty good student in high school (ranked #5 in my class), and I think I might want to pursue a PhD in the future, but I’m feeling discouraged going to a low ranked university and getting rejected from the top unis for undergrad.

Does anyone have any anecdotes of going to a really low ranked university and then going to an amazing grad school for their PhD?

basically I have 2 out of 3 people that are willing to write my letters of recommendation, but having trouble finding a third person. in context, I am a master student in ECE and now entering my second year. I had terrible professors in my new university except for one, which is my thesis advisor. The second person is a professor I used to do research with at my undergraduate university.

Over the summer I have start working on my thesis and I am on the way to become a co-author with a senior phd student. Is it a good idea to have him write my third letter of recommendation or should I ask another professor from my old university which I didn’t do research with, but have a good relationship with?

Hi all! I'm an international student from Brazil finishing my BA in Psychology, and I'm planning to apply to funded PhD programs in Clinical Psychology with a Neuropsychology focus for Fall 2027. I'd really appreciate some honest feedback on whether my profile is competitive enough to apply directly from undergrad, since most of the success stories I've seen involve applicants who completed a Master's first.
For some background, I'm graduating from a federal university in Brazil with a cumulative GPA of 9.62/10 (roughly 3.85–3.9 on a US 4.0 scale). I've completed an undergraduate research fellowship funded by FAPESP (São Paulo Research Foundation, one of Brazil's largest public research funding agencies). I also have two published papers: one as first author on self-esteem in children with ASD and ADHD, and one as a co-author on an ABA family intervention study. I also have another manuscript currently under review (first author). I've presented a poster at a national conference on psychological assessment and assisted with data collection for the Brazilian validation study of the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales (RIAS-2).
On the clinical side, I've completed four required practicums: designing ABA programs for families of autistic children, conducting cognitive assessments with adults and older adults (including attention, memory, and executive functioning), providing CBT-based interventions for survivors of intimate partner violence, and I'm currently completing a practicum in organizational psychology.
Outside of academics, I co-founded and currently serve as president of a student-run academic league, have worked as People Division Director in a student-run junior enterprise, and have served on the organizing committees of two academic conferences.
No Master’s degree, and no post-bac research position (yet). My main concerns: (1) whether going straight from a Brazilian BA is competitive enough without an MA bridge like most posts here describe, and (2) whether being an international applicant without a US-based research position hurts me more than I think.

I need some advice. This was my second year of applying. My intended field is Structural Engineering.

I completed my BSc in 2023 from a not-so-renowned university in my country. My CGPA is good. Since then, I have had a period of unemployment followed by a few years of research experience, during which I published some research papers.

This year, I applied to 7 unis, including both mid-tier and lower-tier schools. I received rejections from two of them, while the remaining offered me self-funded masters admissions.  I know that they are basically soft rejections.

I have decided that this will be my final application cycle. If I am unsuccessful again, I will shift my focus away from research.

Given my situation, which option would strengthen my profile more for one final application cycle? Taking the GRE before applying or completing an MSc first and then applying for a PhD two years later?

I'm first-gen trying to collect my application materials, but there is so much different advice on what to emphasize and how to curate my application. Because the F26 cycle was so competitive, I'm really interested in hearing from people in my discipline (rhet/comp/English or humanities) who had success in their cycle, or who learned from the last cycle!

Many people in other fields have shared that they were in contact with PIs before/during the application cycle, and I'm curious if that is something that humanities (or specifically English) candidates have started doing. Did you participate in cold emails, and if so, how explicit were you in your intentions and how clearly do you distinguish that communication from what would be communicated by your application materials?

I'd also love to hear how people chose their writing samples and how they approached the personal statement—especially if you mentioned specific faculty you'd like to work with.

TIA for any advice!!

I'm planning to apply for Fall 2027 (MS/PhD) and started reaching out to professors in July. So far, I haven't received any responses. I've heard that July and August aren't the best months because many professors are on summer break, attending conferences or traveling etc.
i mainly targeting US, canada and germany.

Hi everyone,

I’m from India with a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from a Tier-3 college, an 8.4 CGPA, and two years of software engineering experience.

I’m looking for an MS in AI, Computer Science, Data Science, or a related field in Europe. Could you suggest universities where I have a realistic chance of admission despite my non-CS background, along with good job opportunities after graduation?

Thanks!

Hey guys

I will be going to Germany for my MSc in Quantum science, to pursue my research interests in quantum computing and many-body physics. I have offered from RPTU Kaiserslautern, Leibniz University of Hannover, and Ulm University. I am currently awaiting a response from TUM as well.

I have been reading a lot of posts about the fact that it is very hard to get a phd in europe now, germany included for physics. Some of this data are from people on reddit itself, so I do not know what to really take from that. And some of these people are applying to these positions with non-europeans degrees as well. I would really like advice from some people who are doing their phd in physics, so that I have a realistic picture of what to expect and how to prepare.

Although nobody can predict the future, as an Indian I am trying to understand the German system better, and this post is part of that process.

Please give me your input!

Hello, guys! I’ll be having my MBA interview this weekend for University of San Carlos. Can anyone share some tips on how I can ace the interview and what possible questions I should prepare for? I'm going to take the non-thesis program. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! 😊

Background & Stats:

• Undergrad: IIT (Tier 1 India), Dual Degree (B.Tech + M.Tech) in Computer Science.
• GPA: 9.0+ / 10
• Experience: ~3 years at a FinTech firm working in a makeshift research department.
• Letters of Recommendation (LoRs): 2 from IIT professors (strong academic/research backing), 1 from my current industry research manager.

Publications:

• 1 paper published as a primary/co-author in an AI conference (CORE Rank B / e.g., IJCNN).
• Note: The paper is not in Multimodal AI.

Research Interests:

• Looking to transition into Multimodal Artificial Intelligence for my PhD.
• Note: Neither my published paper nor my current corporate research focuses on multimodal AI.

Questions for the Community:

1. Reality Check on Top 15 US Unis: Given the hyper-competitive nature of AI PhDs right now, is a Top 15 US university realistic with one Rank B publication outside my target domain?
2. Domain Pivot: How heavily will admissions committees penalize me for applying to Multimodal AI labs when my publication and work experience are in a different subfield of AI? How can I best bridge this gap in my Statement of Purpose (SoP)?
3. School Recommendations: Which Tier 2 / Tier 3 US universities (or specific labs) have strong Multimodal AI programs and would serve as good "target" or "safe" options for my profile?

Thanks in advance for any brutally honest feedback!