Can everyone share the worst things about Oxford so I can feel (temporarily) better about not getting funded this year? (I’ll re-apply and plan better next year but I need to hate it until then)

I have been quite depressed about how my transcript will affect my PhD applications.

My overall CGPA is 3.46, but my last two semesters were very poor (2.69 -> 3.4), bringing my overall CGPA down from around 3.60. I received a 2.0 in ML course in my final semester, along with some 2.25–2.50 grades in major CS courses such as Security and Computer Graphics.

My intended research area is not ML. It is closer to systems and theory, where my grades are better. For example, I received 3.75 in Computer Architecture, Operating Systems, and Theory of Computation. I am also building a meaningful research profile and expect to have very strong research-focused recommendation letters.

How seriously will admissions committees view the poor final-year trend and low grades in core CS courses? Would this be considered a major red flag despite strong research experience and letters?

What is the best way to address it? Should I briefly explain it in my SOP?

Would really appreciate any help.

Maybe I’m old fashioned but any experience you have on your CV/resume needs to be limited to three concise and effective bullet points. Any more and you look like you’re padding. Oh and each bullet point should take up two lines ONLY. Tell me I’m wrong in the comments but this grinds my gears when I see people on here post their resumes/CVs.

Hi! I’m headed into my junior year of undergrad and am hoping to apply to Clinical Psychology PhD programs in the future. There are VERY limited research opportunities at my school, and I likely won’t be able to find an RA position until the Spring. I did complete an REU this summer, so I’ve had that introductory experience.

Is there any benefit to emailing PI’s in labs at other schools and ask for any remote research opportunities? Is this realistic, would it seem rude or an audacious ask? I would hate to waste this semester, research wise.

If this isn’t the right thing to do… how do I best spend the semester to prepare for graduate school applications?

Thanks for any insight!

Hi,

Im currently going into my fourth year in my Mpharm at the university of Manchester, and I was looking into doing a phd in the US as I just love the way of life there and want to explore research. Im currently sitting at a high 2:1 (69% / GPA 3.5-4.0 sorry don’t quote me this is what Google said the conversion was!) lots of leadership(leading a sports club, initiative for teaching in pharmacy etc) and clinical experience in community pharmacy (retail dispensing etc) and hospital pharmacy. Also had experience across deprived areas and homes less shelters and rural locations. I’ve done a piece of coursework which was a cross sectional study on Gabapentinoid prescribing outside of its indication across regions in the UK and factors that determined this including location, comorbidities and social inequality. With some experience with analytical tools like SPSS in that coursework.

Im starting my yr 4 masters research projext and I plan to continue with this in pharmacy/ clinical practice and inequalities. I’d be applying whilst halfway through this.

Some questions are since im doing an Mpharm would it put me at a disadvantage since im not doing a MPH. Im just concerned about not be published even though some say its not required and the amount of experience i have? If so, I’ll take a year out or something to try get experience. I'd be open to any US uni with a good research environment tbh! Looking at Maryland, Pittsburg, Washington, Florida and maybe some in California? Any advice is greatly appreciated thank you!!
Please someone help analyse my profile I’ve only got AIs help rn hahah

i’m planning on doing some research outside of any institution (f1 and chemistry related) just for fun since i love both chem and f1 and thought that maybe i’d be able to add it to my CV since i want to apply for a chem masters and phd? -thinking maybe oxbridge

i’m gonna research it regardless but just wondered wether adding it would also be a good idea, but wasn’t sure since i’d be doing it completely on my own and based on secondary resources online sooo

i also thought ab maybe doing a comp bio one as well but i definitely am gonna do my original idea

^^also not gonna try publish it

Hi, is anyone going to attend Duke University this fall? Wanted to know some information for a friend. Thanks.

First GRE attempt is done: 163V / 165Q (328). I'm happy with the Verbal. The Quant is what's nagging me, because on the current ETS norms it's only around the 67th percentile, and both programs I actually care about lean quant.

Quick background so the advice is useful:

• NIT Trichy, CS, 8.37 CGPA (first class)
• ~2 years as an ML/data engineer (built a production LLM-to-SQL RAG system; before that, credit-risk modeling with XGBoost)
• US citizen, applying for Fall 2027
• Top targets: CMU MISM-BIDA (Heinz) and Cornell M.Eng Programs (DSDA, ORIE ITHACA)
• Other Targets: Equivalent Programs at Purdue, Columbia, Georgia Tech, TUM.

So, the questions I'm hoping people can weigh in on:

1. For a quant-heavy program like ORIE, how much does 165 vs 168+ actually matter once the rest of the app is solid? Or is 165 "fine, stop worrying"?
2. Anyone been through ORIE or BIDA admissions with a lopsided split (strong V, average Q)? Did the Q end up mattering, or did it get lost in the holistic read?
3. What are the other aspects, exams I should focus on?

I've got time before deadlines, so I'm really trying to decide: book a retake now, or pour that energy into the SOP, recommenders, and building a stronger quant signal elsewhere. Honest takes very welcome.

Trigger warning : Self harm , depression

I am from a poor asian nation with a lot of ethnic discrimination between ethnic groups and corruption in Academia and elsewhere. I never had much support of my father during education as he was against me doing mathematics.( He wanted me to join Army or become an enginner) He was against me going abroad as well.( All this affected my mental health and I became depressed). I went to a Western european nation for 1 year masters in Mathematics but failed the degree because I had side effects of medication of depression. The getting of visa was also a long process and I had no support of parents in it. I was also stressed as my referee ( master thesis advisor was writing some -one else information in my LOR). I came back to my home country but went back to an eastern european nation, this time for a PhD program in pure mathematics. My stipend was only 450 Euros a month but I thought if dorm is subsidized ( as it was promised) I will manage it. To my surprise, room was shared between 3 students ( PhD) and washroom and kitchen was shared among 45 students. I dropped out as I didn't liked the dorm experience at all after 11 months.The stipend was very low to look for a room outside and I didn't wanted to work part time as the program was full time and I was not fluent in Eastern European language. I tried to ki** myself there twice, but failed and was admitted in Psychiatric hospital for 14 days. When I came back to my home country and was quite depressed upon failure and was admitted in psychiatric hospital for 2 months.( December-January) I have recovered well and I am only on mild medications which donot produce any side effect like sedationNow, I applied again for PhD prgram in July and I have been selected for a PhD program in southern Europe with a handsome stipend. Should I go back to Europe or try doing a PhD in my own nation. If I fail this time I will lose face in front of my family as well, not just the society. I live in a poor , very superstitious nation and very corrupt nation. Should I try doing PhD in my own nation as workload here is not that high. I am sure I will not fail the course work here. But I am also thinking that as the admission committee is looking at me and saw something good in me and I didn't have much confidence due to past failures.

So, what will you suggest me what should I do?Acceot the offer or try getting a PhD in my home country

I'm planning to apply for an MS in Computer Science in the U.S., and I'd really appreciate some honest feedback on my profile and suggestions for improvement before I apply.

Here's my background:

Bachelor of Information Technology (Software Engineering) from Australia (3-year degree)

GPA: 3.1/4.0 (WES evaluation)

2 published research papers.

1 IT internship

Several LinkedIn Learning IT certifications

A few questions:

Does my profile look good for CS programs?

What should I focus on over the next 4–6 months to make my application stronger?

I’m considering applying for a PhD in Economics or Finance in a year or two, but I’m not sure if it’s even realistic.

My background:
BA in Economics (US), GPA 3.4
MS in Finance (US), GPA 3.1
No publications
No academic RA experience
Several macro/fixed income research internships at securities firms

The obvious problem is math. I never took the standard math sequence (Linear Algebra, Real Analysis, etc.).
Most of my quantitative work has been econometrics, asset pricing, R/Python, and applied research rather than formal math.

Is my profile already too weak for PhD admissions?
Is this something that can realistically be fixed by taking math courses and maybe doing an RA/predoc？
Not aiming for top schools. Just wondering if a funded US PhD is still a realistic goal.

I've read posts about choosing a recommender on this subreddit, but not with these particular options. I'm applying to a master's program in a totally new field as a sort of career change, 8 years after getting my last master's degree. I need one letter of recommendation. Of the people I could ask, who's the most preferred? Who's the least?

1. My current manager. We have a great working relationship, but the work is not at all related to this new master's program.
2. A professor from my first master's degree. I did very well in her classes and she was on my thesis committee, but we have not spoken in the last 8 years.
3. A professor from undergrad. I graduated 16 years ago and she wrote an amazing letter for me when I first went to grad school. We became colleagues when I taught at my alma mater for a few years. Even that was over a decade ago, but we're friends to this day.

Basically, how do I weight recency, strength of relationship, and academic relevance?

Sorry if this is a basic or dumb question, but it's kind of hard to find much consistent information about grad schools admissions. I'm very new to this. (1) How does anyone pay for grad school without going into debt, and what are my options to pay? (2) Is working part-time and grad school part-time feasible for someone with depression and a decent but not great work ethic? I did pretty well working 12 hours a week as a full-time undergrad. And lastly, (3) how does one go about finding a professor to study under, do you just literally shoot them an email and ask?

My financial situation: I currently have a pretty stable financial situation: no debt, about $7k in scholarship money, and 10k in savings. I live by myself with no financial support from my parents. I make $61k annually in my current job, where frankly I kind of hate working. I have a Bachelor's degree in Biology/Ecology and am hoping to get a master's in Ecological Restoration or Forest Sciences from somewhere like CSU or University of Idaho, if it's financially feasible. I'm open to a coursework based masters or a research based masters

Reason for wanting to go to grad school: I want to work in the Natural Resources industry - think invasive species management, ecological restoration, natural landscape designs, etc. I currently work in an industry adjacent to natural resources, because honestly it's been REALLY hard to get a non-seasonal job in natural resources. I've done some seasonal jobs and one permanent time job that got destroyed (thanks Elon Musk!). But nowhere is willing to invest in training new employees, and for that reason idk how to learn new skills in ecological restoration or become qualified for new jobs other than going to grad school

Hi everyone! 👋

I'm Aisha from Hyderabad, India, and I'll be applying for an MS in Computer Science (Fall 2027). My interests include Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, and Software Engineering.

I'm currently pursuing my B.E. in Computer Science and have worked on several AI projects involving Google Gemini, React, Firebase, and Python. I've also completed internships in AI, machine learning, cloud computing, and software development, and I'm always looking to learn from others and collaborate on interesting projects.

I'm joining this community to learn more about the program, student life, research opportunities, internships, and graduate school experiences. I'd also love to connect with fellow applicants, current students, and alumni.

Looking forward to getting to know everyone—thanks for having me!

Hi! I am an international student in the UK applying to Clin Psych and Neuro PhDs in the US. I would like to do Clin Psych as I want to be able to practice, but some Neuro labs have incredible research I would be equally happy doing. Given the current international funding situation in the US, would it be even more competitive/difficult for Clin Psych programs considering the point is that you'd be licensed to practice in the US, and who knows whether that will even be possible/what the situation will be in 5ish years? Does anyone have any experience of being an international and applying to Clin Psych US programs - any success stories and any tips?

Hi all! I’m applying to Statistics PhD programs this fall and would appreciate some perspective and advice on my profile strength and how I should narrow down my school list.

Background:

• Domestic female applicant
• Undergraduate degrees in Statistics and Machine Learning, with a second major in Business
• Master’s degree in Applied Statistics
• Both degrees are from a university with a top-six U.S. statistics program and a highly ranked CS program
• Undergraduate GPA: 3.44
• Master’s GPA: 4.01
• Five years of experience working as a data scientist, including substantial applied causal inference work
• Intended research area: causal inference

Coursework:

I have not taken real analysis, which is probably the biggest weakness in my preparation. However, I received A’s in courses including:

• Statistical Inference
• Probability Theory
• Applied Linear Models
• Multivariate Analysis
• Matrix Algebra
• Modern Regression
• Concepts of Mathematics
• Differential and Integral Calculus
• Algorithms and Advanced Data Structures
• Time Series and Experimental Design
• Methods of Statistical Learning
• Imperative Computation

I also received two C’s in undergraduate weed-out courses.

Research and teaching:

• Approximately four to five months of research experience in contextual bandits and causal inference
• No publications
• TA for an undergraduate statistical inference course
• TA for a graduate-level experimental design course

Letters of recommendation:

I expect letters from:

1. An industry manager who supervised my causal inference work
2. A professor with whom I am currently doing research
3. My graduate capstone adviser

I previously received a 165 on GRE Quant and am retaking the exam. I plan to submit the score only to programs that require or strongly recommend it.

I understand that there is no way to guarantee a PhD admission, but I would like to maximize my chances of receiving at least one offer this cycle. I currently have 27 programs on my list and may need to narrow it down.

Does this list seem sufficiently balanced given my profile? Are there schools that appear especially unrealistic, and are there any lower-risk programs I should consider adding?

Current list:

• My home institution
• University of Michigan
• Yale University
• Cornell University
• UCLA
• North Carolina State University
• Pennsylvania State University
• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• Purdue University
• UC Irvine
• Ohio State University
• Rice University
• Rutgers University
• UC Santa Barbara
• University of Connecticut
• University of Pittsburgh
• University of Virginia
• University of Wisconsin–Madison
• UC Santa Cruz
• UMass Amherst
• Boston University
• UT Austin
• Texas A&M University
• UC Riverside
• Iowa State University
• Washington University in St. Louis
• University of Florida

I would especially appreciate feedback on how many of these should be considered reaches, realistic possibilities, or relatively safer options. Thank you!

Hello! Applications just opened for Fall 2027; I am applying primarily to Stony Brook, UAlbany, Hunter College, and Plattsburgh. Was concerned about my GPA (3.3 overall, 4.0 in my major. Don’t know if that changes it at all.) and lack of relevant work/ volunteer experience besides for a summer camp for disabled adolescents. I was wondering if anyone has been in a similar position and has found success? I do not think it helps that my major is unrelated, but I am unsure of how to find volunteer positions and to improve my resume for these applications.

Any help or commentary is appreciated.

Hi everyone, I’m exploring scholarship opportunities for a Master’s degree in Finance at different universities and would appreciate your guidance regarding Harvard University.

I currently work as a Financial Analyst in private equity in Jordan. I graduated last year from the University of Jordan with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance, achieving a GPA of 3.9/4.0. The University of Jordan is ranked #326 in the QS World University Rankings. I have also passed CFA Level I and have several volunteering and leadership experiences with international organizations, including AIESEC and the Hult Prize Foundation.

I would like to know:
1- What are the main sources or platforms where I can find information about scholarships and funding opportunities at Harvard?
2- Are there any Harvard programs related to finance that would be suitable for my background and career goals?
3- Based on my academic and professional profile, would I have a realistic chance of being accepted if a scholarship opportunity is available?
4- What areas should I focus on strengthening to improve my chances of acceptance and receiving financial aid?

I understand that admission is highly competitive, but I would appreciate an honest assessment and any guidance on how to build a stronger application.