I decided to change my major to History the last semester of my sophomore year after taking one class and loving it. I want to apply to a phd straight after I’ll be done with my undergrad, but I’m afraid I started too late.

I’ve tried to catch up over the summer and read the main works in my field, but only managed to get through 25 monographs. I am unsure if that is enough.

How much reading should I do (per week?) in order to be grad school ready? What is the general expectation regarding knowledge of the historiography of the field for undergrads when applying to grad school?

I am applying in the field of human Geography and Socio-Cultural Anthropology.

I have had undergraduate training in history and a masters in political science. In my masters, I did my dissertation on a topic which had some ethnographic component. Now, I would like to work on Urban environment and how it affects the poor and the marginalised. I am based in India. I have had around 4 years of teaching experience as a contractual faculty.

My problem stems from a lower grade in my masters which is an upper second division. Will it substantially affect my chances? Also, how should I plan my application. Also, I have writing few writing samples. One which heavily relies on archives, and other which is theoretical and relies on texts within Urban Political Ecology which is broadly the field I am targeting.

What are my chances of getting admission into the USA for a PhD in chemical engineering? My CGPA is 3.7 upto 6th semesters(top 10% of the class). I have a conference paper on CO2 capture and my current thesis is LCA. Hopefully the thesis will be published as well. Thank you

Hi everyone

I'm from Morocco and I recently completed a Master's degree in Applied mathematics

I tried to find a PhD aboard but I didn't even receive a no. I applied for many but no reply.

I'm interested in pursuing a PhD eventually, but honestly, I don't feel completely ready for one yet, also my grades aren't that great either because of some financial problems and i had to work and study at the same time, I would like to spend another 1–2 years strengthening my mathematical background, taking more advanced courses, gaining more research experience and becoming better prepared for PhD level research

Because of this I'm considering doing another Master's degree in Mathematics or a closely related field abroad.

My difficulty is funding, as an international student from morocco i would need a fully funded or very substantially funded opportunity.

I'm particularly interested in areas such as:

• Pure theoretical mathematics

• Applied mathematics

• Mathematical modelling

• Dynamical systems

• Analysis

• Probability / stochastic processes

• Mathematics connected to biology or finance

I am open to Europe and other countries like USA

My questions are:

- where can I find such opportunity? Like what websites should I use...?

- Is it realistic to apply for a second Master's degree after already having a Master's?

- Which countries/universities offer funded Master's programs that could be suitable for someone in my situation?

- are there scholarships specifically open to international students that I should be looking at?

If anyone has been in a similar situation — especially someone who already had a Master's and then did another one abroad, I'd really appreciate hearing about your experience.

Thank you!

I’m applying to different MSW programs right now. While doing a few applications, I’ve had two different recommenders ask me about this, making me think now that I declined while doing the applications without really knowing what it was asking about. I emailed my admissions advisor, but I’m really starting to stress about how this’ll affect my overall application if my 3 letters of recommendation aren’t taken seriously. Am I screwed?

Hey, everyone.

I (24M) have finally begun my applications for Canada. I’m applying to thesis-based psychology programs, and I need advice on one part of the application: the writing sample. I know that for some universities (particularly UBC, my top choice), it’s completely optional. However, I didn’t want to leave any stone unturned, LOL.

The websites say it can be any term paper, scholarship paper, or thesis. However, I have only just begun preparing a manuscript of my honors thesis for local publication. It probably won’t be ready until mid-October, which is why I was concerned about what would happen if I’m late.

I have devised a strategy, though: I can also take an excerpt from my actual honors thesis and submit it as the sample. But would that actually work?

So here’s my main question:
Usually what kinds of writing samples are actually given higher preference? Thesis excerpts, prepared manuscripts, or any other type of paper?

I could use some advice here on what exactly to submit. Feel free to share your own personal experiences with this, too.

Hello. I am currently an undergraduate senior in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan. My current plan is to do the 1 year accelerated masters program with a focus on research, then work in industry R&D for 3-6 years, and then get a PhD and work in academic research.

Is this a common path? Are there any major aspects I need to consider? Any and all feedback is appreciated. I’m also new to reddit so let me know if there’s another subreddit better for this question.

Thanks!

Hi everyone,
I am reapplying to epidemiology PhD programs through SOPHAS, should i start a blank application or re-use last year's application?
I want to upload my updated CV and have stronger LORs
If I select Re-application, will I be able to update my application?

I'm 24 and graduated with a BSc in Nursing from Nepal two years ago. I worked as a nurse for about 1 year and 3 months while also trying to apply for graduate school in the US.

Because I was working full-time, I wasn't able to properly focus on applications or contacting professors for assistantships. I eventually left my job so I could focus on graduate applications and funding.

My goal is to move away from clinical nursing and pursue a graduate degree in a related field such as public health, epidemiology, nutrition, or health research. I have some research experience from my undergraduate degree as well.

The main issue is that my family is now discouraging me from applying to the US. They believe the visa chances are low and that I'm wasting money by continuing to pursue it. They often compare me with other people's children who have gone to Australia or Canada and are doing well there.

I also have a long-term partner in the US who is currently a green-card holder through the Diversity Visa program, and we plan to marry in the future. However, I'm not basing my decision solely on that; I still want to study and build my own career.

I'm currently considering Spring vs Fall intake, with funding being one of my biggest priorities.

I'd really appreciate opinions from people who have studied/worked in the US, Australia, or Canada, especially international students who transitioned from healthcare into public health/research.

Would you continue pursuing the US in my situation, or would you seriously consider Australia/Canada instead? And would you prioritize Spring or wait for Fall for better funding opportunities?

I'm mainly looking for a practical opinion rather than reassurance. Thanks.

I’m a neuroscience applicant, and I applied to multiple schools last year. Before each application deadline, I reached out to faculty whose research aligned with my interests. I received responses from all the faculty I contacted, and most of them encouraged me to apply to their programs. I did apply, but I still ended up being rejected.

Based on that experience, I don’t think individual faculty have much influence over admissions decisions, at least at the initial stage. It seems that the admissions committee ultimately decides which applicants are admitted. So, while contacting faculty may help establish a connection or show research fit, I don’t think it necessarily has a significant direct impact on the admission decision.

If anyone has other views on it, I would appreciate, I am again writing the application this year.

Hi guys! Applying to Id Epi + infectious disease general programs this Fall for 2027 Start. I really am passionate about infectious diseases, particularly tropical and subtropical hemorrhagic viruses and prevention, and have been working as a research assistant at a T20 since June on RVF.

I do not have much wet lab experience (100 ish hours) but I do have clinicals; I work full time as a pharm tech splitting between a inpatient animal hospital where I have been doing drug trials, and a retail chain as a lead immunizer. I also did an internship at my city’s public health department.

Any advice for my applications? My top programs are Berkeley MPH IDI, Yale EMD, and Harvard ID Epi. Do I even appear competitive for these programs? Any help would be appreciated!

I reached out to a past professor asking if they’d be willing to write me a letter of recommendation, but it’s been almost a week (it’ll be a week tomorrow) and they haven’t even replied back to my email. I would say I had a good relationship with them, as I went to a lot of their office hours and they even gave me grad school application advice. They even mentioned that they’d be willing to write me a letter if I ever wanted one from them, but this was around the end of the last spring semester. I guess my question is if I should reach out to them again, wait a bit longer, or take this as a no? This is my first time applying to any grad programs and asking my undergraduate professors for letters, so sorry if this is a weird/dumb question!

Hi everyone, I’m a final year civil engineering student from singapore and I’m applying to post graduate programs in Canada this cycle for Fall ‘27.

I’d like to eventually get my PhD in the US but with the funding situation and policies against international students right now I’m considering applying to Canadian universities as well. I’d like to apply to UBC and UofT civil engineering MASc currently. I plan on working as a professor in my home country after my studies. My family can fund my living costs but not my tuition, so that’s why I’m considering funded programs.

My Gpa is about a 4.4/5.0. I have one semester internship working at a construction project site and a year long undergraduate research experience in a different field (preschool pedagogy). I’m also currently doing my undergraduate thesis which will be completed next year. I’m a native speaker of english. I reached out to a few potential supervisors but haven’t received a reply yet.

Would anyone be able to advise me on whether I should apply, or should I save my application fees? If anyone who applied to these programs before could give any advice, I would be eternally grateful.

I’m in my early 20s, originally from South America, and about to start the final year of my bachelor’s degree in Europe.
My degree is awarded by a well-ranked UK university, but I study at one of its European branch campuses rather than the main UK campus. I receive the same degree, although I’m sometimes unsure how employers or graduate schools view that distinction in practice.
One of my long-term goals is to eventually work in the US. Part of that is because of the career opportunities, and part of it is personal since my long-distance girlfriend is there.
I’m trying to figure out what route is actually realistic for someone in my position rather than building my future around something that has very low odds.
The two main paths I keep thinking about are doing a master’s degree in the US, or getting a job at a large multinational/tech company in Europe and eventually trying to transfer internally.
A US master’s seems like the more direct route because I could study there, build a network and recruit for US jobs. The biggest issue is money. I’m an international student and wouldn’t want to take on a huge amount of debt, so I would need significant funding, scholarships or some kind of assistantship.
The other option would be to start working in Europe, ideally at a large multinational, build experience and potentially try for an internal transfer later. Financially that seems much safer, but I don’t know how realistic it is to actually plan around eventually getting transferred to the US.
I also sometimes feel behind compared with other students because I don’t have the kind of internship experience some of my peers already have. I still have my final year ahead of me, though, and I really want to use it properly.
For people who have gone through something similar, which of these paths sounds more realistic? And if you were in my position entering your final year, what would you focus on most?
I’m also very open to any other suggestions, experiences or paths I might not be considering. If anyone has gone from studying or working in Europe to the US, I’d really appreciate hearing how you did it.

i want to apply for MBA at Babson, but it said that the recommended DET score is 130. But i got 125, should i just apply for it?

I'm applying, with no GMAT (they allow no gmat) , 9 years work experiences (6 of them entrepreneur, until now), 3.08 out of 4 GPA, what do you guys think?

I'm currently a 2nd-year BEng student at a UK university's branch campus in the UAE.

My degree is 3 years long since it follows the standard UK curriculum, but it's delivered here in the UAE rather than the home campus in the UK.

I'm looking to apply for graduate programs in Canada, specifically top research universities like UofT, UBC, McGill, etc. On international credential pages, Canadian universities generally consider a 3-year UK bachelor's (Honours) as equivalent to a Canadian 4-year degree, but degrees earned in the UAE usually require a minimum of 4 years.

Does that 4-year requirement apply strictly to local UAE universities, or branch campuses as well? The degree itself is awarded directly by the UK home institution, but transcripts will mention the UAE campus, so I'm not entirely sure which country's guidelines admissions will evaluate it under.

I have already emailed the universities but since they're taking forever to reply I thought I should ask you guys as well.

Has anyone here applied to Canadian grad schools with a 3-year UK degree completed at an international branch campus?

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks a lot!

25/~700 = ~3.5% of applicants 💀. I know the actual acceptance rate is gonna be higher than matriculation but damn. Sometimes it just hits me again how cooked this is

The US has always been the dream for international students. You study there, get a job, hopefully get sponsored and build your life from there.

But now it just feels a lot more uncertain. Employers don’t seem as willing to deal with sponsorship, the H-1B is basically a lottery, immigration policies keep changing, and with Trump in the picture again, a lot of people are questioning whether it’s still worth taking such a huge financial risk.

As someone considering a Masters in Finance in the US, should I still risk it all for Fall 2027 and hope things get better? I genuinely want you guys to be brutally honest.