u/sparrow_234

Hi all, hoping someone currently in or familiar with RCI can clear this up.

Quick background: final year Mechanical Engineering student at a top engineering university in India, graduating May 2027. GPA converts to roughly 3.0/4.0 on the US scale, or about 2.5 on the German scale. Research background includes a recently completed internship at a European research lab working on vision language models, plus earlier work in medical image segmentation and EEG/BCI, one published paper.

I'm very interested in RCI, the content (computer vision, machine learning, robot motion planning, cognitive modeling) is close to exactly what I want to study. But I'm getting genuinely conflicting information about the language of instruction. Some sources say German B2 is a hard requirement, others say English proficiency demonstrated through an English-taught bachelor's degree is accepted as sufficient, and one source describes the program as taught in both English and German.

A few questions:

1. Is RCI actually feasible for someone with zero German, or is German genuinely required for a meaningful chunk of the coursework in practice, even if not officially mandatory?
2. For those currently in the program, are most core and elective modules in English, or is that only true for certain specializations?
3. Is the German requirement more about surviving day to day life in Munich versus actually needed for the degree itself?
4. Does mechanical engineering as an admission background actually work well here, or does the program lean more CS-native in practice regardless of what the official eligibility page says?

Not looking for anyone to guess my odds, just want a clear, honest answer on the language situation before I decide whether to apply. Thanks in advance.

Hi all, hoping to get input from anyone who has applied to or is currently in Bonn's Mobile Robotics program.

Quick background: final year Mechanical Engineering student at a top engineering university in India, graduating May 2027. GPA converts to roughly 3.0/4.0 on the US scale, or about 2.5 on the German scale. There was a documented health interruption in the middle years that affected a couple of semesters, recovered strongly the semester after.

Research background: recently completed a research internship at a European research lab (May to July 2026) working on vision language models, before that a few other internships in medical image segmentation and EEG/BCI, one resulting paper.

From what I've found, Bonn's Mobile Robotics program content is a strong fit for my background, but the GPA conversion is genuinely borderline against what looks like around a 2.2 cutoff on the German scale, and I have not found a clear pre-check or way to confirm eligibility before applying.

A few questions for anyone with real experience:

1. Is the GPA cutoff for this program actually strict, or is there any flexibility in practice, especially with a documented reason for a dip in a couple of semesters?
2. Has anyone gotten in with a converted GPA close to or slightly above the stated cutoff? Curious how the conversion is actually calculated on their end versus the standard modified Bavarian formula.
3. Does research experience or a relevant paper meaningfully help push a borderline application through, or is Bonn mostly GPA-gated with little room for the rest of the dossier to matter?
4. Is there a way to get a real pre-application eligibility check from the department, or is it genuinely a submit-and-see situation?

Not asking anyone to guess my exact odds, just want a grounded sense of how strict this program actually is in practice versus what the stated cutoff suggests. Thanks in advance.

Hi all, posted before about a couple of specific Paris-Saclay programs, consolidating here since I'm applying to several in parallel and would rather get grounded input across all of them at once than keep posting separately.

Quick background: final year Mechanical Engineering student at a top engineering university in India, graduating May 2027. GPA converts to roughly 3.0/4.0 US scale, about 2.5 German scale. Documented health interruption in the middle years affecting a couple of semesters, strong recovery afterward (documented in transcript).

Research background: a research internship at a European lab (May–July 2026) on vision-language models, plus earlier internships in medical image segmentation and EEG/BCI, one resulting publication.

Applying for direct M2 entry across these Paris-Saclay/CentraleSupélec programs (5-year integrated degree covers the usual 4-year M1 threshold):

• M2 Mechatronics, Machine Vision and Artificial Intelligence (CentraleSupélec) — top pick, ME explicitly listed as accepted background
• M2 Mobile Autonomous Systems (SAM) — robotics/perception fit
• M2 Smart Aerospace and Autonomous Systems — mechanical engineering explicitly accepted
• M2 Artificial Intelligence (LISN) — broader AI track
• MVA (ENS Paris-Saclay) — aware this is a reach, applying anyway

A few questions for anyone with real experience across any of these:

1. For programs where mechanical engineering is explicitly listed as accepted, does the jury actually weigh GPA heavily in practice, or is it genuinely more holistic once the background matches?
2. Is applying to 5-6 Paris-Saclay programs simultaneously through INCEPTION actually reviewed independently by each department, or does a weaker-looking application to one hurt the others?
3. Has anyone here applied with a GPA on the lower side coming from mechanical engineering rather than EE/CS/math? How did it go?
4. For the ones with no publicly listed GPA minimum (Mechatronics/Machine Vision, SAM) — does anyone know if there's an unofficial bar in practice?
5. Any general sense of how much a strong, specific motivation letter and real research background (internships, a publication) can offset a GPA on the lower side?

Not asking for exact odds, just want realistic signal from people who've actually been through the process. Thanks in advance.

Hi all, following up on a similar post I made about Paris-Saclay M2s — hoping to get some grounded input specifically on Sorbonne this time, from people who've actually been through their process or are currently in the program.

Quick background: final year Mechanical Engineering student at a top engineering university in India, graduating May 2027. GPA converts to roughly 3.0/4.0 US scale, about 2.5 German scale. There was a documented health interruption in the middle years affecting a couple of semesters, with a strong recovery afterward.

Research background: a research internship at a European lab (May–July 2026) on vision-language models, plus earlier internships in medical image segmentation and EEG/BCI, with one resulting publication.

I'm looking at direct M2 entry into Sorbonne's Master's in Automation and Robotics (my 5-year integrated degree covers the usual 4-year M1 threshold). A few questions for anyone with real experience:

1. Sorbonne's own page says admission goes through a "commission pédagogique" reviewing the file, with an interview in some cases. Has anyone been through this specific commission for Automation and Robotics? How much does it actually come down to GPA vs. the rest of the file (research experience, references, motivation letter)?
2. For non-EU applicants applying directly to M2 (not coming up through Sorbonne's own M1), does anyone know if this goes through monmaster.gouv.fr or a separate international/direct-entry portal? Conflicting info online.
3. Has anyone gotten in with a GPA on the lower side, especially coming from a non-CS/EE background (mechanical engineering) rather than a more "traditional" robotics feeder degree?
4. Any sense of how competitive this specific program is compared to somewhere like Paris-Saclay's SAM or MARS? It seems to get less visibility/discussion online than the Paris-Saclay programs.

Not asking for exact odds, just want a realistic sense of what actually matters from people who've lived through it. Thanks in advance.

Hi all, hoping to get some real input from people who've actually been through French M2 admissions or are currently in one.

Quick background: final year Mechanical Engineering student at a top engineering university in India, graduating May 2027. GPA converts to roughly 3.0/4.0 on the US scale, or about 2.5 on the German scale. There was a documented health interruption in the middle years that affected a couple of semesters, recovered strongly the semester after.

Research background: recently completed a research internship at a European research lab (May to July 2026) working on vision language models, before that a few other internships in medical image segmentation and EEG/BCI, one resulting paper.

I'm applying M2 direct entry (my 5 year integrated degree covers the 4 year threshold, so no VAP file needed as far as I understand). Main targets are a few Paris-Saclay M2 programs (Mechatronics/Machine Vision/AI, Mobile Autonomous Systems, Smart Aerospace, M2 AI) and Sorbonne's Automation and Robotics, plus MVA as a reach.

A few questions for anyone with real experience:

1. For programs where mechanical engineering is explicitly listed as an accepted background, does the jury actually weigh GPA heavily, or is it genuinely more holistic in practice?
2. Has anyone gotten into MVA or a similarly research heavy M2 coming from an engineering degree rather than a math or CS M1? Curious how real the "case by case for 3rd year engineering students" language actually is.
3. Is applying to 5 to 6 Paris-Saclay programs simultaneously through INCEPTION actually looked at independently by each department, or does having one weak-looking application hurt the others?
4. Any general sense of how much a strong, specific motivation letter and professor references can offset a GPA on the lower side, in your experience or from people you know?

Not asking anyone to predict my odds exactly, just want a grounded, realistic sense of what actually matters from people who've lived through the process. Thanks in advance.

Hi all, background: final year Mechanical Engineering student at a top engineering university in India, graduating May 2027. GPA converts to roughly 3.0/4.0 on the US scale, or about 2.5 on the German scale. Research background includes a recently completed internship at a European research lab (vision language models), plus earlier work in medical image segmentation and EEG/BCI research, one published paper.

I'm applying for an MS at KAIST, computer vision and robotics-focused labs. I understand admission is largely professor driven rather than a centralized committee process, so I've been emailing professors directly with my CV and transcripts, tailored to each lab's research.

A few things I'd love input on from anyone who's been through the KAIST international admissions process:

1. How seriously should I weigh the informal 3.5/4.0 GPA benchmark that gets mentioned a lot online? I've read it's a soft guideline, not a hard cutoff, particularly with real research experience. Would appreciate hearing from people who've actually gone through it.
2. For labs that ask prospective MS students to start with an internship first before formal application, how normal is this, and roughly how competitive are those internship spots?
3. Any tips on what actually makes a professor respond to a cold email versus ignore it?
4. Is the KAIST Scholarship genuinely close to automatic for admitted international students, or is that overstated online?

Not looking for anyone to guess specific professors' decisions, just want a grounded sense of the process from people who've lived it. Thanks.

Hi all, hoping to get some real input from current or former EPFL students.

Quick background: I'm a final year Mechanical Engineering student at a top engineering university in India, graduating May 2027. My GPA converts to roughly 3.0/4.0 on the US scale, or about 2.5 on the German scale. There was a documented health interruption in the middle years that affected a couple of semesters, recovered strongly the semester after.

Research background: recently completed a research internship at a European research lab (May to July 2026) working on vision language models, before that a few other internships in medical image segmentation and EEG/BCI, one resulting paper.

I'm looking at the Master's in Robotics, specifically interested in the Medical Robotics orientation. I saw the admission page mentions skills in at least two of CS, EE, or ME are required, which I think I clear given my coursework (Computer Vision, Computational Mechanics) and CV research background.

A few questions for anyone who's been through this:

1. How much does the GPA number actually matter in the review, versus the overall dossier (research, references, motivation letter)?
2. Does having research directly relevant to a specific orientation (Medical Robotics in my case) help meaningfully?
3. Any general sense of how competitive the December 15 (R1) round is compared to later rounds?
4. Anyone here got in with a similar academic profile, non-EPFL bachelor's, some grade inconsistency, but strong research background?

Not asking anyone to guess my odds precisely, just want a realistic sense of what actually matters in the review from people who've seen it from the inside. Thanks in advance.

Can anyone please tell me if it is possible to get into a master's program at top German universities in robotics, automation, and AI with a GPA of 3.01 (4 is best) and a German equivalent of around 2.48?

I have a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and strong research experience, including a paper in a reputable conference.

I am targeting TU Darmstadt Mechatronics, Uni of Bonn Mobile Robotics, RWTH Aachen Automation Engineering, TU Dortmund Automation and Robotics, Leibniz Uni Hannover AI-Driven Mechatronics and Robotics, KIT CDS, and University of Stuttgart Autonomous Systems.

Can anyone please guide me in preparing the application forward?