r/gradadmissions

Hey,

This is a bit random but I had applied to a few PhDs at the HZI in Germany and it was going well until one of the PIs emailed me asking where I was from and when I mentioned I was from an Middle Eastern background ,she said oh it’s okay and then the emailing stopped. Later I find the same PhD post from her saying “this program is in participation with Israel and the Hebrew university” . Bit odd? I’m European and only my grandparents are from the Middle East . Why was the question necessary ?

After looking a bit it seems that institute and DFKZ in Germany prefer people who are of Jewish descent or have worked in Israel, so does this mean anyone who doesn’t fit their profile isn’t admitted ?

I am from a poor Asian country and I don't work at the moment due to some problems I faced. A professor from a good Japanese university encouraged me to apply to his PhD program. Since the application money is about 180 USD, I had to ask my parents.

But my parents refused saying that Japan is not a good country (they are themselves govt school teachers, no experience in research or foreign travel at all and we live in a poor country with very less tourism): English is not the main language and the work culture is not good. They plainly refused to pay the application fees and will refuse the visa fees and all that.

Their refusal has been deeply painful for me and I think I am missing a very good opportunity.

Which facts about Japan Education system can I use to try to convince them that I am not taking a bad decision by applying there?

Also, my parents are insisting that I apply only to English Speaking Countries like UK, USA, Canada,Australia,New Zealand because my nation was colonized by one of these nations and I can speak English, They donot know that UK and all other countries have very high fees for international students as compared to domestic ones

How can I tell my parents in detail about this issue as well that fees in UK and other anglophone nations is very high as compared for domestic students and some other issues which donot exist in many Non-English speaking countries for International PhD students.

Can you please guide me!! I shall be very grateful and show them your answer.

I have an admit from umich and waitlist from UCLA and upenn. Given the high tuition fees (32k Per semester) at Umich as an international student I am really doubting it even if the university is good. What advice on the university, it's job prospects etc. I am a fresh undergrad going directly for masters.

I know a balanced perspective is important, but it seems like every time I see something positive about a PhD, it's immediately followed by a "but" and a list of ten negatives - making the perspective overwhelmingly negative.

Today I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed and discouraged with the application preparation, so I’d really appreciate hearing the good (and only the good) about a PhD. I'm looking for a positive thread to bookmark for when things feel tough.

If you’re currently doing a PhD or have already finished one - especially in STEM/biology - can you share ONLY the good parts?

*What made the process meaningful, exciting, fulfilling, or worth it?*

and

*What changed in your life after graduating?* Thank you

Hi folks

I have been working in tech as a ML engineer for the past 5 years.
I have some research experience from my masters days in college(2019) and have a few good publications with reasonable citations.

Lately i have come in touch with doing some research for a project at work.

And have been thinking of going back to college for a PhD in ML or related fields preferably in the US.

I want to understand hard would it be for a 30 year old in getting a Phd admission in the current market?

So, I was never in a hostel till now. I am now going to join a B-school.

Please give me some advice, suggestions and tips for hostel life and how to get to accustomed to hostel life in less time.

I was just wondering this thing is my mind,

right now my_qualifications is that i am in class 12 currently

I want major in one subject and minor in another. But, I heard from some people you are unable to go to grad or law school without an Honours Bachelor’s Degree.

Is this true? I assumed that since it’s all the same 4 year degree it wouldn’t be a problem. But apparently not!

Please let me know!

I’m an honors maths and cs major at nyu and I ended up with a 3.5 cumulative gpa for my first year. It’s so hard to get an A here. I know it’s my fault bc sometimes I got too lazy and forgot to do the homework so even if I get all As in my exams I still end up with a B+…

I want to do AI phd in the future, I just want to know does this gpa means I am saying goodbye to those top cs phd programs or is it still possible, I still dream about Stanford…

Also a quick question for those stem majors with 4.0 or 3.9, how hard do yall study? I feel like I need to lock myself in the library all day if I genuinely want to bump it up.

My apologies, this is a long post. I feel absolutely defeated.

I currently attend a university that is typically known as safe school/last resort. It has a reputation that the students don't work hard, and any employer that has to pick between me and a candidate who attended a university with higher status would automatically pick the higher status one regardless of the works I pump out or what my CV says. Not only does my university have a rough reputation but it also lacks in resources needed for what I study (social sciences, sociology focused). For those reasons alone, my advisor and a plethora of other professors here have heavily encouraged me to apply to a "better" university.

Heading my advisor and professors words, I decided to apply to universities that were "better". Everything was going really well! I did a ton of research on programs, reached out to prospective advisors well in advance, spent months building my research proposal, etc. I passed the document screenings just fine and had interviews too! I applied with the hope of at least getting into 1 of the schools and it seemed like everything was going to be fine. But I walked away with 0. I received the last rejection today.

I know that it's because I didn't meet the criteria but god I feel so freaking crushed. I really, really thought I had a shot. My confidence has taken a major blow and I'm just so frustrated. Like I feel like I'm always being passed over. For scholarships, for jobs, for programs, literally for everything since I was a kid. And I know that these people worked hard to get in to their programs or get these nice scholarships, but I wish I could be good enough to deserve it too. I don't know what's wrong with me.

I know I don't have the credentials a lot of people have, but I feel as if my circumstances are super skewed because I am my own support. Couldn't afford tutoring as a kid (I'm dyslexic) because my family was low-income and I didn't have the time to anyways since I worked in high school to help out, worked two jobs in college to make ends meet (even with taking out student loans) so not a lot of time to network and my undergrad advisor was awful anyways (he basically refused to help me and literally told me I'd never succeed, laughed when I said I wanted to go to grad school), my MA advisor is nice but very hands off despite me asking for help, not to mention he has like 10 other students; I'm learning how to do everything on my own. My current university doesn't provide funding for MA students so I couldn't attend conferences and I've been passed over for scholarships here too... All the networking and learning how to properly do research and paying for tuition and just literally everything I have been doing on my own.

I don't know what's wrong with me. It could be that I haven't presented at a conference but that costs money I don't have because my school won't cover anything, or maybe I don't have enough publications but those take time and I'm on a visa. Or maybe it's the schools that I've attended but I can't afford the nicer ones without scholarships. I'm on a student visa (outside US) so I'm limited with the hours I can work, and I may or may not be working under the table already to afford living. I am meticulously strict with money, I'm 100% financially responsible for myself (not in contact with family for a laundry list of reasons) and I spent the equivalent of almost $600 on application fees...

I'm desperately trying to get out of this cycle of being passed over and into something with better opportunities. So badly. I can't tell you how much time I've spent watching lectures on YouTube or coaching for graduate interviews or searching for networking events around me or free seminars to attend. I volunteer at my university often, usually for networking or beefing up my CV, but also because I like helping students. I also work as a research assistant. I'm on campus more than I'm at home. The bags under my eyes are permanent at this point and my meals are limited to once a day. My advisor tries to help me but like I said, he has 10 other students to juggle (and who tend to be a higher priority). I'm constantly trying to improve. I just don't understand what else I'm supposed to be doing or what's wrong with me...

I do have a PhD program. I'll be staying at this university and starting in the fall (no funding). I know having a PhD program at a last resort uni is better than not having a PhD program at all. I know it's a privilege to be here. I'm not trying to sound ungrateful, I just... I just feel like I'll never be anything other average. Like I'm not good enough. I want to be a professor, I want to teach and inspire others and contribute to research and give students equal opportunities to be the best versions of themselves; to make sure students never feel the way I do... But this constant rejection has me thinking that everyone was right: I'm nothing special. That it doesn't matter how hard I try, I'm too stupid to ever make it into academia or make a difference. I'm just not good enough. And I'm so tired.

If you made it this far, thank you. I hope no one can relate to this. I welcome advice for improvement or strategy or honestly just kind words at this point. And I apologize if this comes off whiny or ungrateful, that's not my intention. I'm just deeply upset by this last rejection. I really thought I had it. Like I thought this was my chance to get into something better and I don't know where it went wrong or what I did.

(Also, it's not that don't like this school, in fact it's the opposite; I love this university. And I hope to come back and teach here to help with said lack of aforementioned resources. I believe it can be a good school for students, especially non-stem ones (the STEM schools have way more funding and better resources than humanities), especially for those students who didn't meet the criteria to get into the "better" universities.)

It makes me so frustrated that I am full-funded phd admitted student and also I got rejected from an visa interview.

Did I look so suspicious? What the...

I have a bit of time left so I will do the interview again, but the time(I have to take a day off, and it takes nearly 3 hours to get to the interview location) and the cost($185 +@) is so irritating.

Hi community, I was wondering how one can be accepted for a PhD in a European university. Is it possible to do a phd in a prestigious university without having studied there in the past? I have done over 30 applications and although I seem to have the right skills, I have zero callbacks. I have internship experience in a big company, relevant thesis in most cases and good recommendation letters but nothing seems to work. My grades are average though, and my university is not very prestigious, which I’m not sure if those are to fault.

Hello everyone,

I am from India.

I am in dilemma. I will be pursuing PhD in my field of interest that is more interdisciplinary and needs some coursework/study that my current major lacks. Though I have relevant research experience in that field, still I doubt that lack of grades in relevant coursework my PhD demands will lead me to a disadvantage. Will certificates be of any value to showcase that I know & have done some study & got grades in courses that I couldn't learn due to nature of my major? Pls help.

For those who don't know what NPTEL is, its basically like Coursera or MIT Open CourseWare but regulated by Indian govt. and proctored exams are conducted at the end of each 4/8/12/15 week courses and has transferable credits. (for ref: https://nptel.ac.in/)

Every now and then I’d take a peak and think to myself. Wow, we’ve really crossed that hurdle.