r/gradadmissions

Hi all, I've recently contacted a professor on whether he is accepting PhD candidates in his lab, and he told me that he doesn't have any PhD spots this year, so he redirected me to apply via PhD AI Center fellowship for 27/28 academic year. He mentioned that if I didn't get in, its easier for him to collect my information.

My research direction is in AI safety, specifically red-teaming, model safeguards, mechanistic interpretability, and alignment which is directly aligned with his lab's focus.

Here are some of my background info:

Education:

• BSc in Computer Science (First Class Hons) - University of Sheffield
• MSc in Computer Science (GPA 3.70.4,0) - Tsinghua University

Working experience

• 1.5 years as graduate student researcher at TSAIL (ML/AI research lab) in Tsinghua University.
• 3 months of research internship experience in Microsoft Research

Publications

• I have two first-author papers. The first published at ACL 2026, and another (from my work at Microsoft Research) currently on arXiv and under review at NeurIPS 2026

From what I've read on this forum, the process is EXtremely competitive, so I'd love some insight on whether my background hits the bar for the fellowship or PhD admissions generally. A friend of mine applied to general PhD admission with a co-second-author NeurIPS publication and was rejected, so I'm curious what a successful applicant's profile usually looks like.

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Hi everyone,

I'm a student at a Delhi University college and I'm planning to apply for a Master's abroad.

DU provides CGPA on a 10-point scale, but some universities I'm applying to ask for a 4.0 GPA scale.

I know that some private universities in India issue or approve an official GPA conversion for their students (sometimes after paying a fee), but I'm not sure whether Delhi University or its affiliated colleges do this.

I'm specifically looking for responses from students who graduated from a Delhi University college and have applied for Master's programs abroad.

I have a few questions:

- Did your college or Delhi University officially convert your CGPA to a 4.0 GPA or approve a conversion?

- If not, how did you submit your grades?

- Did you use a credential evaluation service like WES or another agency?

- Did the universities accept your application without an official conversion from DU?

- If you got your GPA converted, could you please explain the process?

I'd really appreciate hearing from people who have gone through this themselves. Thanks!

Hi all! I got into a CS PhD program at a small university in my home country. My supervisors are excellent but the university itself is relatively new and small, which means it doesn't rank well(*) despite the quality of the people there. And the stipend is quite low. At the same time, I got into epfl CS master's. My thinking is that doing the master's could open doors to a better PhD down the line (in the sense of better funding or a more reputable program in Europe or North America).

That said, I'm aware epfl master's doesn't guarantee admission into the doctoral program. Given that, I'd like to know how's the placement from the epfl master's in CS/Data Science? Do most students land strong PhD positions? Has anyone from the epfl master's not gotten into a good PhD program afterward? (Roughly top 100 globally or top labs in EU/North America).

Thanks!

(*) I know rankings aren't everything in research, that at the end of the day, what matters most is the work you publish and getting it into good conferences. But I still can't shake the feeling that not being in a top program means missing out on opportunities: better funding, stronger networks, and connections, etc.

Hi all,

Just wanted to share an anecdote, not trying to discourage anyone.

Recently, several of my friends and I applied to PhD programs in a quantitative field. We all have a master's degree in the field, and one friend in particular had noticeably better grades than the rest of us, especially in one of the key theory courses.

After submitting our applications, we all shared our SOPs with each other. Turns out this friend didn't write his himself. He paid a consultant, and what he got back was basically an unedited, first draft quality ChatGPT statement. They didn't even bother making it sound natural. It read exactly like something from a lazy first prompt. Despite that, he ended up with better offers than the rest of us.

To be clear, this friend is genuinely smart and capable, but it was still a bit of a black pill moment for me, realizing how little the SOP might actually matter compared to grades and other factors.

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I'm planning to apply to Biomedical Sciences, Bioengineering, and Immunology PhD programs in the US for the Fall 2027 intake.

I was wondering when the ideal time is to reach out to PIs about potential direct-admit positions and rotation opportunities. My main concern is that I don't want my emails to get overlooked or buried among messages from students seeking Fall 2026 rotation positions.

For those of you who have already gone through this process, when did you first contact the PI you ended up working with? I'd love to hear about your timeline and any advice you have.

Thanks!

Alright i got fully admitted in my grad program with NO financial assistance. I’m hesitate to take out loans bc im still unsure about my career as an English Professor in a CA CC.
I recently came across a dual masters + teaching credential program that is more of my calling, at least job market wise, it is hard to get tenure here in CA!!

I haven’t paid / taken loans out for my grad program, classes doing start until AUG, if i withdraw would it be on my record/ what would happen?

Any response is good, i’m a first gen student with no one to talk to about this any help is appreciated!!

Has anyone here successfully transitioned from an IT/Data Science background into environmental, marine, or forensic research? If so, what challenges did you face?

I'm going to be applying to (most likely) 4 different grad schools for a PhD in mathematics for fall 2027. I'm looking at NC State, UNC, UGA, and Georgia Tech. All of these say that a GRE score is optional but can be submitted if the applicant desires. I would also like to be a TA so that I can recieve funding and some programs say the GRE may help securing one.

My question: is taking the GRE worth it?

I'm trying to weigh the time it'll take to study, the cost of the test, the cost of study materials vs the outcome of maybe doing well and adding that to my application.

Note that im going straight from a bachelor's in math to a PhD, i have a 4.0 gpa, i tutor and grade, and ive been a part of 4 different research projects, among other things.

My friend's already getting papers pre-published as an undergrad. i didn't come from a research intense undergrad major, but I did present at a major conference for the field I'm going into (the AAG), and I have various research internships within and outside my dept. My advisor always suggested that breadth reads better than intense focus, and that this was a good thing because it shows that i can handle various responsibilities, from statistics to archival work. I guess, I thought at the time.

Now I realize that this just puts me insanely far behind. It seems all that really matters in the social sciences is how hard your technical skills are, and whether you can adopt AI into what you're doing. My friend is well suited for this switch, having studied CS and knowing far more about coding than I could ever, to the point where I just feel like giving up. I have a honors thesis, they have a honors thesis that's been edited into a manuscript to submit to journals + advisors at target unis who've already read it

When I presented, I was approached by profs who insisted I consider applying to their depts/schools (UWisconsin was a big one for some reason), but later when drinking w/ said profs I vented my frustrations about how I feel about this whole process. They understood, but told me that things like funding uncertainty and the bad economy make this a lot more stressful than it really is at the departmental level. "If they like you, they'll want you" and such. I think they just come from an era that's far removed from ours, and a time where you could have genuine interest in a subject without having to consider what STEM-related aspect you can tie it towards.

Jealousy sucks. I know my friend isn't trying to brag but it honestly comes off like that when I'm at the point where I see no point in applying against everything profs themselves have told me. Maybe I'm spiraling too much about this, or maybe I'm dead right about the state of the field and admissions in general. Who knows.

I'm in geography, looking at PhD programs. I feel like I have no shot if I haven't published prior to entering (even entering preceding MA programs)

I was asked to write a letter of recommendation (in fact, it's for myself — ugh, I know)

Looking at examples online, they all look too...sterile and templatey.

I know that there are resources online (at least for CS, which is my field) where people share their research statements, motivations letters and whatnot, but I couldn't find anything like that for LoRs.

Do you know where I could find examples of real letters of recommendation?

Hi everyone,

I’m planning to apply for MSCS / research-oriented CS master’s programs for Fall 2027 and wanted some honest feedback on how my profile looks, especially for AI/ML, NLP, HCI, and AI-related programs.

My Profile

Undergrad: Virginia Tech, B.S. in Computer Science and Data Science (Double Major)
Minors: Mathematics and Statistics
GPA: 4.0/4.0
GRE: Not taken yet. I’m trying to decide whether it would be worth taking.

Research Experience

I’ve been involved in several undergraduate research projects, mostly around AI agents, human-AI interaction, NLP, and information theory.

My main current research is in human interaction with AI agents and LLMs. I worked on a project studying OpenClaw & AI agent interactions. This paper has been accepted to IEEE VL/HCC 2026.

I’m also working on research related to benchmarking/evaluating AI agents, and another project applying NLP and information theory concepts, such as surprisal, to engineering education. I've had research experiences throughout my undergrad, but not a lot are end-to-end besides the Agent Interactions one I mentioned.

Publications

1 accepted conference paper: IEEE VL/HCC 2026
Topic: AI agents, human-AI interaction, trust, autonomy, and oversight

Work Experience

• Software Engineering Intern, Fannie Mae
• AI Engineering Co-op, IBM
• Data Engineering Intern, A smaller consulting company

Teaching / Academic Roles

Teaching Assistant for Machine Learning
Teaching Assistant for Intro to Python
Course Development Assistant for Virginia Tech’s MS in Data Science program
Grader for Data Analytics & Visualization Course

Leadership

• President of Data Science Club
• Founder/President of a coding/AI-focused student organization
• Resident Advisor / Student Leader
• Organized technical workshops, industry events, recruiting events, and student programming around data science, AI, and software engineering.

Projects / Awards

• Several AI/data/software projects, including RAG systems, AI agents, transcript Q&A tools, PyTorch/CV projects, and synthetic data projects.
• Merit Awards from both CS Department and Data Science Department
• Hackathon wins

Research Interests

AI agents
Human-AI interaction
NLP
Machine learning
LLMs / applied AI systems
HCI

Tentative University List

I’m still refining this, but this is my rough list so far. I’m especially looking for feedback on whether the tiers make sense.

Very Ambitious and Research-Heavy Programs

Princeton CS MSE
Stanford MSCS
UC Berkeley EECS MS / MEng
CMU MSCS / MSML / MSAII
Cornell MSCS
UT Austin MSCS
UC San Diego MSCS
University of Michigan CSE MS

Other Ambitious Programs

Georgia Tech MSCS
UIUC MCS
UMass Amherst MSCS
Columbia MSCS
NYU Courant MSCS
Purdue MSCS
UW-Madison MSCS / Professional MS
University of Washington PMP

I know some of these programs are very different from each other. Some are research-oriented MS programs, while others are more coursework/professional master’s programs. I’m trying to figure out what mix makes the most sense for someone who is interested in both research and industry AI/ML engineering.

I’d appreciate feedback on:

1. What tier of schools would be realistic for my profile?
2. Does this list look too ambitious, or is it reasonable given my profile?
3. Should I be aiming for top research-heavy MSCS programs, professional/coursework programs, or a mix?
4. Would not taking the GRE hurt me?
5. How much does having one accepted conference paper help for MSCS admissions?
6. Are there any schools I should add/remove for AI agents, HCI, NLP, or applied ML?

Thank you!

Hi. I have been been exchanging msgs with my potential PI for 2 months and he has helped me a lot in terms of PhD application and what to work on to get published. Eversince, I have always been feeling reluctant with this opportunity due to low stipend. (Dorm and tuition are covered).

Yesterday I got a much better offer in terms of funding, institution’s credibility, facility, and PI’s global contributions. It’s a big dream come true for me and it will leverage my potential + network much more.

But how do I turn down my first potential PI? I feel bad about disappointing him especially since he’s been really assistive eversince.

No contract or any sort has been formalized/ presented yet in both opportunities, which are btw within the same southeast asian country.

To organize my questions:

1. Does it make me a bad egg to leave my 1st potential PI hanging? Since September intake is coming.
2. Is it normal to be honest in turning down a PhD offer?
3. Should I just think of another alibi so things will feel lighter?
4. Should I help or offer help in finding a replacement instead?

Pls help :( Thank you :)

I am applying to a 1-year program at a semi-prestigious university in my country. One of the requirements is an academic/work reference letter, and then two other references for a scholarship which I would need to study. I have heard from people that they accept everyone in the program, and that the scholarship is easy to get because the program is always on the brink of closing due to lack of applicants.

I was not close with any professor during university, I reached out to one and he ghosted me. I have two people from work I could reach out to but I want those references for the scholarship.

I was telling my friend about it yesterday and he offered himself to be a reference. I met him a year ago, he went to my same university but in another program, he is pretty off the grid and does not have LinkedIn. Would it be a bad idea for him to write me a reference? We did not interact in university at all and met after graduation

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to understand how recommendation letters are typically handled in PhD/graduate admissions in the US, because I’ve seen something unusual and I’m not sure what to make of it.

Two people I know applied to graduate programs (top universities) and were admitted. They told me their recommendation letters were fully legitimate, written by professors, printed on university letterhead, and signed.

However, instead of being submitted from the professors’ institutional email addresses, the letters were submitted using Gmail accounts that were created in the professors’ names (e.g., professorname@gmail.com) BY the student!.

They also said since the professors were busy and trusted them with the documents, and since the LORs are legitimate, they just created the email to make it easier for themselves to submit the letters on their own, and to not overwhelm the professors!

What I don’t understand is:

• Is this kind of thing normal or acceptable in academia?
• Don’t admissions committees usually require submission from official institutional emails or secure recommendation systems?
• How would this pass verification at top universities if the email identity doesn’t match the professor’s institution?
• Is it common for admissions committees to accept letters without verifying the email source closely?

I’m especially confused because the letters themselves are clearly real (signed, official letterhead, etc.), but the submission method seems unconventional.

Would appreciate insights from anyone familiar with how graduate admissions actually verify recommendations.

I know it is none of my business, but it just seems unfair to me that some of us go the extra mile to help a professor submit letters and sometimes overwhelm out professors, and some others just use sneaky methods and get away with it!

Not technical knowledge, but a mental skill.

Hello, I am in a quite unique situation so I wanna ask opinions from other ppl to see what my chance is and not wasting my application fee. I plan to start applying to grad school this september in US. I'm currently in Canada so I will be international students.

During Covid, I graduated and got a 3 year BSc in General Science degree with an abyssmal low grade (like 1.5-2.0 gpa). I did not fair well with Covid.

After graduation, I went on and worked in the biotech industry for the last 4 years (mainly lab work).

In the last 2 years, I went back to a local uni (different school, lower tier) and about to get a BSc in Biology Honour with gpa around 3.5 (4.0 scale conversion). I was studying and working full time as well.

In my previous university, I was also working for an academic lab part-time as well. One of my work (bioinformatic, co-first author) is coming out, and it was submitted to a Q1 peer-reviewed journal a few days ago (currently in preprint). I am also currently working on my honor thesis project (bioinformatic). It will likely be published as well, but it might not be until 2028.

I am planning to apply to about 6-10 different programs in US in cell bio or biochem. What are my chances for top-tier programs in like Ivy Leagues? Just want to hear some opinions so I dont waste thousands of dollars of my application fee

I recently received my admission offer for the umass mscs spring 27.
Is there any WhatsApp, Discord, Telegram, or Slack group for admitted UMass MSCS Spring 2027 students?

Hey everyone,

I’m planning my applications for the upcoming cycles and wanted to get a realistic reality check from the community on my chances for the specific list of programs.

My Profile:

• UG Education: Bachelor's in Computer Science from a Tier 1 / Tier 1.5 college in India.
• GPA: 8.4/10
• Work Experience: 5 Years of full-time experience at a major American MNC.
• Research/Publications: None
• IELTS: 8.5
• GRE: Not taken

List of colleges:

• Virginia Tech (Alexandria) - MEng
• UIUC (Urbana-Champaign) - MCS
• Northeastern University (Boston)- MSCS
• Purdue University (West Lafayette) - MSCS
• UMass Amherst - MSCS
• Texas A&M University (College Station) - MCS
• Arizona State University (Tempe) - MSCS

Am I missing any obvious programs? Which colleges are reach and target?