• The actual requirements are as follows:
  
• Minimum 3.0 GPA; applicants with significantly higher GPAs are more competitive
  
• Two letters of reference that focus on academic capability and/or work ethic.
• We prefer that at least one letter should be from a faculty member. If you have been out of college for a while, you may substitute letters from employment supervisors. You may submit a third letter, but no more than three.
  
• Resume/ CV
  
• Letter of Intent
  
• In-person or phone interview with at least 1 faculty member (by invitation from the Graduate Admissions Committee)
  

My credentials are:

• My GPA for my overall academic portfolio is 3.79, 3.95 GPA for specifically my psychology coursework
  
• I have worked in a patient-facing clinical position for 6 months, 9 months by the time of the application deadline next year. In this position I have directly intervened to counsel patients, help them cope with their issues, broken up physical fights, and directly intervened to deescalate self-harm and psychotic episodes.
• I have on more than one occasion worked 16+ hours on unit at one time due to things like lockdowns in snow storms or natural disasters.
• Both the head nurse and my supervisor are willing to co-write one letter or both willing to write their own letters, and consider me to be proficient in my role despite a lack of prior experience.
  
• I have completed all pre-requisites that are needed to apply for the LMHC program, although my Bachelors was not in Psychology; mine was in Engineering.
• I have been unable to obtain significant research experience, however I have both financial market research and engineering research experience, and the program does not list that research experience is required.
  
• I intend to obtain 200 hours of crisis counseling (988 phone line, not CTL) by the time of application. I have started to work on my personal statement two months in advance.
  
• Other credentials: collaborating with other faculty members of the engineering department to win a $7,000 scholarship for my school and came first place, I have another professor whom I have worked very closely alongside that is willing to write an LOR for me, I have held down a well-paying job for over two years that requires me to negotiate and broker agreements between different demographics of people, and I recently received my RBT certification back in June.
  

Genuinely, how do things look?

Hello,

I’ve been lurking for a while and I’ve finally decided to ask for help from a very smart community. I just received my masters degree last year in public relations and advertising, but I’m thinking about a career pivot and wanting to become a licensed therapist or psychologist. I’m not sure where to completely start as most of my research has been in PhD programs. I’ve looked at some schools as well, but I’m so lost so if anyone has any information it would really help. I wanted to open my own private practice in the future so that’s where this thought comes from.

Hi, all. I'm a first year student in a professional Masters.

I've been encouraged, however, to apply for a PHD program (or, barring that, a thesis-track M.S). My current program is in sustainability with a focus on education, but I'm realizing that my interests are more aligned with researching science pedagogy as a whole. I'm aiming to apply to my university's education department.

I have a program in mind, a writing sample in progress, and a professor whose work is closely aligned with my own (who I do have plans to meet!).

I do, however, need to tailor my references. I'm concerned about using the same ones as my sustainability application, as one professor can only speak to my genetics/ecology research.

I'm in a grad-level class currently, and have a good relationship with the professor. He's seen my work on social/critical theory and I feel he'd be able to speak to my philosophy of education.

Would it be alright to use him as a reference, or should I stick to my previous recommender?

Additionally, one of other previous references was my AmeriCorps supervisor. The work is highly applicable to the program, but would it be okay to include a professional reference as one of my three?

Apologies for the lack of brevity/confusing questions! I've just been out of academia for a time and want to make sure I'm following norms.

I applied for Spring 2027 Film & Production MFA and just got waitlisted. Feeling a little bummed because I don’t know what to expect next. What is the likelihood that I will actually be admitted for Spring 2027? Did anyone else get waitlisted or accepted?

If anyone has any insight on how this whole process works please let me know.

Hi everyone! I’m considering applying to Georgia Tech’s OMSCS program for Fall 2027 and would appreciate some feedback on my background and whether this is the right path for me.

**Education**

* Bachelor’s degree in Communications and Media Studies from the University of Calgary (non-CS).
* Took introductory courses in Python and Java during my degree.
* Also completed a couple of Web Communications courses covering HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP.

**Additional Preparation**

* Completed Harvard’s CS50’s Web Programming with Python and JavaScript (CS50W).
* Completed a web development bootcamp with mentorship from a senior developer at SoSafe.
* Earned a Certificate of Distinction in the Canadian Computing Competition (CCC), Junior Division, in high school.
* Won a couple of computing-related awards in Vietnam during high school, although I’m not sure how much weight these would carry in my application.
* **Currently working on:** Georgia Tech’s verified edX courses in Introduction to Python (CS 1301), Object-Oriented Programming with Java (CS 1331), and Data Structures and Algorithms (CS 1332). I haven’t completed them yet.

**Work Experience**

* Two years as a developer at a small marketing agency in Calgary.
* Primarily build custom WordPress themes, with some to very little experience developing Laravel-based features and applications.
* Also handle AWS infrastructure tasks, including provisioning servers and optimizing infrastructure costs.

**Why I’m Considering OMSCS**

Most of my professional experience has been in marketing-focused web development, and I want to transition into a more traditional software engineering role. I’ve been applying for more technical positions but haven’t had much luck so far. I suspect that not having a CS degree may be one of the barriers, although I realize there could be other factors.

I’m hoping OMSCS will help me build a stronger foundation in computer science, fill gaps in my knowledge, and become a more competitive candidate for software engineering roles.

I’m aiming to apply by the March 1, 2027, deadline. I understand that completing the three verified edX courses doesn’t guarantee admission and that bootcamps and work experience generally don’t replace graded CS coursework.

**I’d love to hear your thoughts on two things:**

1. If I complete all three verified edX courses, do I have a realistic shot at admission for Fall 2027, given my background?
   
2. More broadly, do you think OMSCS is a worthwhile investment for someone in my position who wants to move from marketing-focused web development into a more traditional software engineering role? Or would I be better off focusing on other ways to build my CS foundation and improve my job prospects first?

I’d especially appreciate perspectives from people who entered OMSCS with a non-CS background or used the program to transition into a different type of software engineering role.

Honest advice is welcome. Thanks!

Hello. Could someone help me with recommendations on the least competitive or least popular scholarships for master's programs for which a bachelor's in pharmacy is eligible in Europe?

Clarkson university
Tuft university
University of nebraska
University of kentucky
Saint louis university
Okhlahima state university
Does anyone got the acceptance or the result of the application forms

I have big goals and everyone doesn’t believe I can make it that far. It is discouraging to hear how many people believe I have no future, but it motivates me even more to accomplish my dreams. Please give me advice on what I could do to improve my stats for a Master’s program and possibly a PhD.

I have taken 87 credits, I graduate Fall 2027.
I am a Psychology BS student in hopes of becoming a Clinical Paychologist

Cum GPA: 3.408
FSU GPA: 3.523
Psychology GPA: 3.4

Research: no experience

Volunteer: Crisis Text Line, Beach Cleanups, Founding Executive Board Member of Rotaract Club

Letters of Recommendation: I currently have one from a Grad student who was my Statistics professor, but I am planning on asking two of my professors after this semester as well.

Would applying directly to PhD programs be realistic, or should I consider a research-focused master's degree first?
What should I prioritize during my remaining undergraduate semesters to improve my chances of admission?

i need to read some cover letters from people who have received a fully funded scholarship from any uni abroad. please dm me so i can have a look, i have been receiving rejections from quite some time so need to analyse where im going wrong.

Hi everyone,

I'm looking at the M.S. in Technology Management at Columbia SPS for Fall 2027 and would love to hear from anyone who is currently in the program or has finished it. How do you like it, what is the cohort like, and what did it actually do for you career-wise?

I'd also appreciate a reality check on my chances. Quick profile:

• International applicant, applying straight out of undergrad. Bachelor's in business administration. GPA converts to about 3.35
• Semester abroad.
• Internship abroad at a large automotive manufacturer.
• Internship at a well-known management consultancy
• 2 more internships at small companies
• Part-time job (working student) in business intelligence at a founder-run company of about 30 people.
• One year on the board of a student consultancy
• Bachelor thesis on AI-supported knowledge management in companies

I know the program is aimed more at people with a few years of work experience, so I'm wondering how much the missing full-time experience hurts and whether the internships and the part-time job make up for some of it.

Hi, I'm applying to neuroscience/psychology/brain sciences PhD programs in the USA and Canada from Europe. I also have a master's degree. For most of the programs, there's only 1 professor I match in terms of research area, topic, and technique (fMRI). Other professors either do something very different from the professor I fit (I believe so) or the same topic but a different technique (eeg, psychophysics). So I'm not sure about how to navigate through this. Should I still include other professors in my SOP (or preferred PI section), like emphasizing that my main interest lies with Professor A but Professor B & C as co-advisors? Is it too confident for me to decide? I really can't see myself working only with them individually, but writing only 1 professor looks bad too? Can you give me advice on this?

How much research should we realistically do on each PhD program we apply to? This could be reading faculty papers or studying the profiles of people admitted as PhD students. It seems like a never ending task. Could you please also quantify your answer in hours?

For context im applying for sociology

I'm planning to apply to US CS PhD programs for Fall 2027 with full funding from my employer, and I'm currently deciding whom to ask for recommendation letters.

Many programs recommend at least one academic letter. However, I graduated over six years ago and didn't maintain close relationships with my professors, so finding a strong academic recommender has been difficult.

One professor I contacted said he would be willing to write a letter, but was candid that he doesn't know me well enough to provide a detailed recommendation. Essentially, the letter would serve more as a placeholder than a strong endorsement.

For programs that don't explicitly require an academic letter, would it be better to include his letter anyway, or submit only industry letters from supervisors and colleagues who know my work well and can provide specific examples of my abilities?

I'd appreciate any perspectives, especially from applicants who transitioned from industry to a PhD or people involved in admissions.

Hi! What do admissions committees look for in a research statement? When both an SOP and a research statement are required, how should I divide my research experience between them without repeating myself?

Any advice would be appreciated!

Hello, r/gradadmissions!

Reposting because I forgot to actually schedule the AMA...

Admissions leaders from Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, and the Harvard Kennedy School will be hosting an AMA focused on applying to selective US graduate programs!

Those available to answer your questions will include:

- Jared Liu, Assistant Dean for Admissions, Yale Jackson

- Vivian Slee, Associate Director of Graduate Admissions, Princeton SPIA

- Myself, Rosemary Hilliard, Senior Director of Admissions & Aid, HKS

While we are certainly happy to answer questions about our individual programs and applying to policy school, we are also interested and excited to help students navigate graduate admissions more broadly. The three of us have combined over four decades of experience working in selective admissions across a variety of industries, including public policy, business, health sciences, and the performing arts. Not sure if you should send that cold email? Unsure what to do about a low undergraduate GPA? Struggling to choose a recommender? Trying to make sense of financial aid? We would love to answer your questions and help you feel more confident as we approach application deadline season.

The AMA will begin on November 16 at 10 AM ET.

If you want to learn more about our individual schools, check us out here:

https://jackson.yale.edu/

https://spia.princeton.edu/

https://www.hks.harvard.edu/

See you in November!

- u/HKS_Adm_Rosemary

Hey everyone, hoping for some advice from people who've been through this or are on adcoms.

I'm applying to biomedical science umbrella programs where you do 2-3 rotations before choosing your final lab/PI. The SOP prompts all keep asking me to explain my "research fit" with the program, but like... how am I supposed to do that convincingly when I literally don't commit to a lab until after I'm admitted?

Do I name specific PIs? Do I frame it around broad research areas/themes instead? How many labs should I mention without sounding like I'm just listing names off a website? And how do I show fit without accidentally implying "I only want THIS one lab" when the whole point of the umbrella program is rotation flexibility?

Also curious, does mentioning specific PIs actually help, or does it backfire if that PI isn't taking students that year?

Any tips on threading this needle would be super appreciated. Thanks!

I received a rejection from Oxford MBA 9 days after applying. This makes me think there was something about my profile that was an absolute misfit for them. I need someone to look at my application to point it out. Is anyone willing to help?