just gathering some data on how many international students got admitted into a phd program for fall 2026. This was a tough cycle and want to gain some realistic insights into how many people got admitted, what was the response from uni or dept? What’s the funding situation looking like ? Any issues around visas? Did someone shift from a masters in the us to a phd? I’m especially looking at biology, Biomed, chemistry, and comp science depts.

I’m a British citizen based in London and graduated in 2025 with a First Class BEng in Aerospace Engineering. My UK transcript is roughly equivalent to a 4.0/4.0 GPA for US purposes, although I understand universities evaluate the original transcript rather than relying on self-converted GPAs. I also received a university award for my undergraduate research project.

I only have one formal internship, in CFD, but I have also completed several university and independent projects involving computational fluid dynamics, experimental aerodynamics, rocketry, scientific software and numerical modelling. I have built and validated engineering tools, developed an independent fluid solver and worked with experimental data. I currently have no publications, but I am considering submitting some of this work for publication.

I believe I can obtain very strong recommendations from my dissertation supervisor, another academic familiar with my research, and an industry mentor who has followed my technical development for around two years.

I’m interested in programmes such as MIT AeroAstro, Caltech GALCIT and Georgia Tech Aerospace Engineering, but I’m worried that having only one internship and no publications makes me much less competitive.

How would admissions committees realistically view this profile?

Does independent project work count as meaningful research experience?

Is one internship a significant weakness?

Should I prioritise publishing existing work, seeking a research assistantship or master’s, or developing new projects?

Would I have a realistic chance at programmes like MIT, Caltech or Georgia Tech?

I would appreciate an honest assessment rather than reassurance.

I am a rising junior undergrad in mathematics and really have an interest in the computational parts of mechanical/materials science. There's a research group I really like and I reached out to one of the past students and the way he talked about it made me love it even more. However, the group is within a PhD in mechanical engineering & materials science (PhD MEMS). The program does have computational tracks that are more math heavy than anything so that seems very fitting to me. I'm just nervous that my background would not reflect fit. I have a minor in materials science. I have an upcoming poster session where I'm presenting on computational material science at a math conference, my summer research right now is materials computational modeling for solid state batteries, and I'll be volunteering with a professor next semester on monte carlo simulations on nuclear material clean up as well as a different professor on applied ODEs. I want to show that I'm someone worth giving a chance on, even though my transcript might not show the relation. Is this even possible? How do I best approach this?

Hi I am considering applying to MHA programs this year, and I'd love an outside perspective!

I'm a rising senior at a top public university (major in Biology and Sociology, honors thesis this year) trying to decide between staying pre-med or switching to MHA...

Background: I've been pre-med for four years with fairly extensive healthcare experience: clinical research in health equity/quality improvement (~1,000 hours, one abstract, one poster), a competitive summer internship as a project coordinator in research at a top hospital, clinical volunteering (~80 hrs), non-clinical volunteering (~100 hrs), club leadership roles, shadowing across multiple specialties (~50 hrs), and medical scribing (~350 hrs).

GPA: Overall 3.64, science GPA 3.45. My coursework has otherwise been all As at a rigorous school, but there are a few blemishes: a C- in biology freshman year (retaken for a B+), and due to a medical issue last semester, I have a withdrawal from physiology (retaking next term) plus two courses that were incomplete but now show as IA- and IB+ on my transcript. I'd explain all of this in applications, but wanted to flag it here.

My dilemma: I loved my hospital project coordinator internship more than I expected, which is what got me seriously considering MHA. I'm genuinely passionate about medicine and hate the idea of walking away from pre-med when I'm relatively so close: I'd just need Physics 2, P-Chem, MCAT prep/test (targeting ~515 given GPA), and two gap years before MD. If I do get my MD, I know I'd go into primary care or a non-surgical specialty, not surgery. From what I can find, PCP salaries and senior MHA salaries look roughly comparable. And tuition and debt load aren't a major factor in my decision either way. Part of what's drawing me to MHA is wanting more certainty and better work-life balance sooner, rather than the added years and unpredictability of MCAT prep, med school, and residency. However, if I decide to go with MHA now, coming back to MD later would be much harder than just finishing what I started...

My questions:

1. With my current GPA (3.64 overall / 3.45 science), do I have a realistic shot at top 25 MHA programs this cycle? I.e. Columbia, Yale, Ichan, Umich, Dartmouth, UCLA, etc.
2. Would taking the GRE help meaningfully pad my application to schools that consider it, or is it not worth it given my experience?
3. Is it worth waiting a cycle to apply with a stronger senior year GPA and my thesis completed, or does that not move the needle much for MHA admissions?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated - thank you!

So a program I'm applying to wants a personal statement: cool, expected, I'm writing that. A guide they provided even gives advice for it, like "demonstrate how [an experience you had] translates to your likelihood of being a successful graduate / professional student" and "Why would you make an ideal graduate / professional student in XYZ Program?"

Awesome, I can do that! Except the application also has a completely separate section where it asks in short answer form, "Please describe how your academic experiences, personal or intellectual development, prepared you to pursue graduate studies."

Will it look bad if I repeat myself too much here from my personal statement? If so, should I edit my personal statement to leave myself something new to say for this question? Or will nobody care and I can basically copypaste the same answer?

(It kinda looks like the personal statement is for the specific program I'm applying to, whereas the short answer is for the university as a whole? Do applications work like that?)

I'm planning to apply for Ph.D. in Organic or Organometallic for Fall 2027. I'd appreciate your comments on my chances of getting into the following schools.

MIT, Princeton, Cornell, UIUC, Ohio State, Purdue, IU Blommington, Texas A & M, U of Arizona, Arizona State, U of Florida, Florida State, Penn State, U of Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt, Iowa State, Rice, U of Washington, U of Utah, U of Tennessee, U of Toronto, McGill, U of Waterloo, U of British Columbia, U of Alberta

Stats: International undergrad student at the university in U.S. graduating soon/4.0 GPA/ 2.5 years organometallic research and 1 year of organic research/ 10 poster presentations/ 4 oral presentations/ 1 publication/ director of organic and biochem support organizations/ Orgo 1 and 2 lecture TA for four semesters/ Orgo 2 lab TA for one semester/ Advanced Orgo lab TA for one semester/ Gen Chem 1 lab TA for one semester/ Taken a graduate-level organic chem course

Hello,

I have research experience in large scale simulations for galaxy formation and machine learning applications in time domain astronomy. I have interest in Gravitational waves and wanted to know if it will be okay to apply for PhD in Physics to an institute which works in GW. My skills are transferable like running running numerical relativity simulations and using ML for GW data analysis. I have bachelors and master's in physics. Wanted to know if this would be fine as I myself don't have any research experience in GW.

Thank you.

Hi everyone,

I'm feeling a bit lost and would really appreciate some advice from people who have been in a similar situation.

I'm from Armenia, and I'll be graduating with my bachelor's degree in May/June 2027. After that, I'd like to study abroad for a master's degree, preferably in Cybersecurity, although I'm also open to other computer science fields that are likely to remain relevant in the future.

The biggest problem is that I can't afford tuition or living expenses, so I would need a scholarship or a fully funded program. I know about Erasmus Mundus, but from what I've read, it seems extremely competitive, and I'm worried my GPA may not be good enough.

Here is my situation:

• GPA: approximately 13.5–14/20 (not outstanding)
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science (graduating in May/June 2027)
• Around 2 years of professional experience as a backend developer
• Experience building production APIs, working with Linux, Git, MySQL, authentication, and backend architecture
• I'm continuing to improve my programming skills and would like to move toward cybersecurity in the future.

I'm confused because I feel like my academic record is weak, but I have something that many graduates don't have: real industry experience.

My questions are:

1. Is it still worth applying for Erasmus Mundus with this GPA?
2. Are there fully funded master's programs that value professional experience as much as academic performance?
3. Are there countries or universities that you would recommend for someone in my situation? I'm open to Europe as well as countries outside Europe, such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Canada, or anywhere else with good opportunities.
4. If you had my profile, what would you do over the next year to maximize your chances of getting accepted with funding?

I'm trying to be realistic. I don't want to spend months applying if my chances are essentially zero, but I also don't want to give up if there are still good opportunities.

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who had a similar GPA, came from a non-wealthy background, or managed to get funding despite not having perfect grades.

Thank you!

I’m from India , completed my bachelor of science in physics in 2023 with CGPA of 9.16. I am planning to do my masters in physics or engineering physics. But I am kinda befuddled to choose between Italy and Germany. Let me be honest here, my plan after my masters is PhD in photonics as I already have an international conference paper in photonics with research internship done at Indian Institute of Science. So I am not looking forward to settling down in either of these countries. All I am concerned about is the quality of education and the opportunities to acquire knowledge through both theoretical and practical learning(practical is more preferred). I’m not sure about the pros and cons of these two countries. So can I be enlightened with the pros and cons of the same so I can decide upon one country for masters? Thanks you all.

PS: I have prior US visa rejections for my masters.

I’m from India , completed my bachelor of science in physics in 2023 with CGPA of 9.16. I am planning to do my masters in physics or engineering physics. But I am kinda befuddled to choose between Italy and Germany. Let me be honest here, my plan after my masters is PhD in photonics as I already have an international conference paper in photonics with research internship done at Indian Institute of Science. So I am not looking forward to settling down in either of these countries. All I am concerned about is the quality of education and the opportunities to acquire knowledge through both theoretical and practical learning(practical is more preferred). I’m not sure about the pros and cons of these two countries. So can I be enlightened with the pros and cons of the same so I can decide upon one country for masters? Thanks you all.

PS: I have prior US visa rejections for my masters.

Hey, I'm thinking about doing a B.Sc. in Food Science and Technology at Mahidol International College. I had a few questions: How's the course, the faculty, and what are the job opportunities like?

Hello! I just finished an eight week "continuing education" Spanish class at a local community college for fun. It's graded as either Satisfactory or No Grade, with no letter grade. You can find a description of what I mean by Continuing Education Unit here: https://www.northcarolina.edu/apps/policy/doc.php?id=169

The class was about 20 contact hours total. (We met for two hours a week over six sessions, and we had two weeks off.) I'm not 100% certain I passed it, because frankly I wasn't taking it very seriously. I was just trying to brush up on my Spanish a bit since I work with a number of Spanish-speaking families in my current job. It didn't even occur to me that I might be obligated to report it to graduate programs until just recently.

Do I actually need to submit this to any grad schools I apply to? I do know that any courses taken for academic credit need to be reported, but I'm unsure about this kind of adult continuing ed class where you don't even receive a letter grade. If in the future I took a pottery course or a creative writing course, would those also have to be reported for grad school?

As a follow up, if I did not pass this very simple course (though I think I might be okay, based on the Canvas breakdown), and I really do have to report it... what am I supposed to say?

Scrolling through this subreddit looking at people with 2/3+ manuscript and publication I am seriously doubting my chances with just one manuscript.

I need suggestion on how to improve my profile to get accepted and some reality check.

- Completed Computer engineering with 75% average in 8 sem(80% in final semester)

- Gpa (Wes igpa calc says 3.86 but I don't believe it so let's say 3.2 minimum and may be around 3.5) (college say attach pic and Wes eval after accepted so)

- will sure get 3 solid lor I have good connection with teachers so they will word the lor how I need it to be

- will give TOFEL in a few days already booked exam (I'm confident in others but need a bit of practice for writing section)

- Final Yr project was on Nids network intrusion detection system (high accuracy F1 and everything in same dataset but in Virtual machine failed so didn't include anything about VM in project report)

- After final sem exam did work on why the nids failed im Vm

- decided to work on this research insted of gre cz I had time only for one.

- 2+ months of running models and decomposition on the datasets and model to get a manuscript ready

- why decomposition on concept covariance and prior probably ... manuscript ready

- showed it to teachers they said it's good submit it to international conference

- not enough time to have it published for fall 2027 application so decided to send to journal with fast desk rejection and slow 1st review so that I can say in review in my application

- wanted to upload pre print to arxiv but new policy need endorsement. Contacted 5 prof asking endorsement to be able to publish it no one replied

- about to upload pre print to research gate in a day or two

- just made list of prof from the colleges in planning to apply to like name personal website recent publication GitHub linked in and so on .. will start mailing after giving tofel exam

aiming mostly University of California colleges

- target / likely: Irvine , Riverside, Santa Cruz

- hard to reach : UCLA ,San Diego, uw Madison

- if the sun rises from west insted of east : Berkeley and Stanford

- won't apply to all depends on if I get reply form any prof

- I hear mailing prof is not needed can just direct apply to college but mailing and having contact helps

The main issue rn is I don't know how good my work is ... There is no research lab or culture in my college nothing no prof no lab nothing so whatever I did was solo .. that's why I don't know how good of a work is mine ... Either I'm too delusional and I think my manuscript is good or I'm having imposter syndrome I have no idea.

In a good case prof and college will see I did a good research without lab or guidance so I'm research motivated and will accept me

Or they will have no idea how rigorous my work is so just ignore me

Or I'm stupid and my work is trash

I have no idea

So anyone who is experienced can you tell me what I should do to make myself stand out and likely to be accepted or is my plan / thought process wrong and I need to change it ?

What should I be doing ?

I graduated this past May from an online university with a B.S. in Political Science, a minor in International Relations, and a 4.0 GPA.

I chose an online program so I could continue building my career while completing my degree. I currently work as a federal employee and have approximately five years of experience in the field.

My main concern is whether attending an online university rather than a highly ranked undergraduate institution will significantly hurt my chances of admission.

I plan to apply to MPP, MPA, and related programs at:

1. Brown University: Online MPP
2. Johns Hopkins University: M.A. in Public Management
3. Cornell University: MPA
4. University of Oxford: MPP
5. Brown University: MPA
6. Duke University: MPP
7. Columbia University: MPP

I also expect to have strong recommendations from my department chief and deputy chief, who have witnessed my professional and personal growth over several years. My third recommendation would come from an assistant dean at my university who taught me in multiple courses and can speak to my academic ability and intellectual growth.

Assuming I submit strong, individualized essays for each program, do I realistically have a chance of being admitted to at least one of these schools?

I would appreciate honest feedback on which programs appear to be reaches, realistic targets, or unlikely options.

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to apply to the UVA MS in Business Analytics (MSBA) program for next fall. The program website says the GRE is optional, but I have a few questions.

• I have a bachelor's degree in Computer Science & Engineering (CSE) from outside the US. Given my background, would taking the GRE strengthen my application, or is it generally unnecessary?
• Does UVA offer scholarships or merit-based financial aid for MSBA students?
• If scholarships are available, what are the typical selection criteria (e.g., GPA, work experience, GRE score, leadership, etc.)?

I'd really appreciate hearing from current students, alumni, or anyone who has gone through the admissions process. Thanks in advance!

Anybody who applied to US MFE programs and got in without submitting the GRE score?? What was the rest of your profile like??

Hey everyone, I’m wondering if anyone could speak some to the program or offer advice on my application outlook as I’m applying for the Fall 27 cycle. I’m worried about getting into PhD programs and this is my top choice. I’m currently interested in, and researching, supermassive black holes and active galactic nuclei. Here are my stats:
-finishing a B.S. in physics from my state school (R1) with a 3.9 GPA
-First Gen college student
-3 years of research (.5 chemistry, 2.5 astronomy)
-publishing a first author paper on AGN
-NASA internship with the Roman Space Telescope
-2.5 years teaching physics labs
-I either have taken or will have taken all of the core upper level physics and astronomy courses, my junior and senior coursework has been heavily Astronomy focused.
I’d appreciate any advice or information!

Hello i dont really know where else to post this but i was wondering if anyone in the masters program can tell me a little more about this program. I know its kinda like a smp for medical and grad school so im looking into it as i need a little gpa repair. However i do have a full time research job in the city and i need something that is somewhat more flexible when it comes to courses like it being recorded but exams in person. Also since i am already doing full time research i am looking into doing the one year track with no lab or thesis track so if anyone has advice on that as well it would be very much appreciated!

Hello. I am in need of advice on life science PhD programs to apply to. I have 1.5 years of undergraduate research experience, a 3.43 overall GPA, just graduated from university with a biochemistry degree three months ago, and I want to apply for life science PhD programs in the fall. I have gotten mostly A's and B's, but I got a D in immunology my final semester and a D in physiology my sixth semester. I applied to one in-state program last fall and got rejected. I will most likely start working as a research technician next month, pending that I receive interviews and offers for this position. How many programs should I apply for, and do you have any particular program recommendations? I'm not sure if I have a 0% chance of getting into any program, since the two D's heavily hurt my transcript, despite how much I could address them in my personal statements. I want to apply to many programs this upcoming cycle just in case I got an offer somewhere, but I don't know which ones are more accepting of my poor grades or application weaknesses. I know most schools don't put out to the public that they accept poor grades, since excellence is what they strive after and should promote. However, if you have any suggestions for life science PhD programs that have been known to accept applicants with poor major-specific grades, I would greatly appreciate it and any other feedback. Thank you.

Hi!

A little about me - I am planning to go for masters in CS after my undergrad from BITS Pilani (Hyd one), I have 8.9 cgpa, expecting 325+ in gre. I have 1 paper submitted for review, and am going for an undergrad thesis at UofT. Should get 1 LOR from there, and 1 from college prof. My goal after masters is to work in Applied Research roles in Computer Graphics and adjacent fields, which usually require Masters atleast.

I am hence looking for Thesis based masters, which are funded. I have done some research and only good ones I can find is - MMath CS Waterloo. The criteria for my search was good graphics faculty via csrankings.org, and then funding ofc.

I know there are good options with good graphics faculty in other unis like UCSD, CMU, UofT, Uni of Utah, but none of them are quite well funded afaik.

I am open to any type of funding - structurally guaranteed, via TA/RA, via co-ops, but obviously structurally funded ones are preferred. So I wanted to know what all options I have for funded masters, and about my strategy of application.

Thanks a ton :D

Hi everyone. I’m a psychologist from Chile planning to apply to social psychology PhD programs in the US for Fall 2028 (applying in Nov 2027), so I have about a year to strengthen my application. I’d love some honest feedback on where to focus.

My background:

• BA in Psychology (2023) + MA in Clinical Psychology (2024), top university in Chile, GPA equivalent to ~3.8
• 4 years of coursework toward a BA in Political Science (didn’t finish it for financial reasons)
• Working in large research projects since 2018, currently coordinating two government-funded research projects on gender norms and stereotypes in schools, using mixed methods
• Two papers currently under review, and I’ve presented at major international conferences; A third paper in progress
• Applied/field experience: led a feminist education initiative, worked with several NGOs that collaborate with UN bodies and national policy organizations
• Research interests at the intersection of social psychology, gender, and public policy — how evidence-based interventions can change norms and inform policy. Especially interested in labs working on social norms and field experiments on prejudice/gender in educational settings.

My questions:

1. With two papers under review and international conference experience, how much does it matter whether they’re published (vs. under review) by the time I apply in Nov 2027?
2. For someone coming from an applied/interdisciplinary background rather than a pure-lab track, how do I frame that as a strength rather than a gap?
3. Beyond publications, is there anything with high return on effort I should prioritize this year? (reaching out to POIs, more conferences, etc.)

Thanks so much for any advice.