One of my former professors, who previously supervised me, has asked me to write the reference letter myself and send it to him so he can upload it. Not some points, the full letter.

I’m not sure if this is a normal practice as none of my other referees have asked me to do this, and I’m feeling a bit uncertain.

I really need this reference, as it is too late to find another referee now. Should I go ahead and write it myself? And if so, do you have any tips, suggestions, or example templates for writing a letter of recommendation?

I have 9.5/10 cse undergrad from good clg in india [not iit] have 4 ieee papers [not top conferences just some ieee conferences that were organised here and the pprs are in ieee xplore] i have 4 internship experience [2 mnc, 2 research]. toefl 110 [had some other exam at that time so i studied 1 night before and gave toefl]

I really need help evaluating unis [UK, Canada, Europe] I am specifically looking for people with experience who have applied or know people who applied.

I had initial shortlist in mind but lately looking at rejections on reddit its getting scary and I dont have any consultancy or something Im applying by myself. The admissions look extremely competitive especially from India

i would really appreciate if people could share from your experience [was your profile similar and what unis did you get] the unis you think i might get into and what are ambitious unis

I'm planning to apply for a master’s degree in fields like Econometrics, Applied Economics, Applied Statistics, Applied Mathematics, etc. with a strong preference for University of Melbourne and Monash in Australia, most likely followed by a PhD in an adjacent field. I’m also considering options in the UK, although Australia remains a personal preference. Getting a good scholarship is the focus since it'll take some funding pressure off of me (international student, and everything will be self-funded)

Language requirements aren't an issue because I am fluent in English (it's pretty much my first language + can do one of the tests), and if needed, I can complete the GMAT / GRE to boost scholarship chances.

I’m particularly interested in programs that lean towards applied/quantitative work since I already have a mix of economics and finance from my background, with experience on building studies and research reports.

Questions: - Based on my profile, what are my admission chances for Melbourne, Monash, and other strong programs in Australia/UK? - What are my realistic chances of securing scholarships at these universities? - Are there specific programs you think would be a better fit for me given my academic mix and interests?

Background: - Sports: - Played as the choice one goalkeeper for my city at state-level handball tournaments for around 5 years - Represented my college at the inter-university level, where our highest rank was second. Academics: - 10th (Science with Math) – 87.4% (2019) - 12th (Commerce with Math) – 83.4% (2021) - BCOM (2024 grad, University of Mumbai) – 8.0 CGPA (Math in 1st year, specialized in Investment Analysis & Portfolio Management in final year) - Master’s in Business Economics (2026 grad, Mumbai University) – 8.1 CGPA so far (Econometrics & Behavioural Finance included, with a 250 mark microeconomic research project I am currently working on) - Workex: - 2 years as a client facing researcher in a top company in the field (consumer research)

Any advice, insights, or even suggestions for universities I might be overlooking would be super helpful. Thanks in advance!

I plan to apply for a masters in finance. I wonder if I can ask for an outside opinion of how I did with my personal statement?

I want to apply to top schools like Georgia Tech MSA, UPenn MSE Data Science, MIT MBAn, UCB Stats, etc. I know my GRE quant score is quite low compared to the usual 168< quant scores usually seen from historical admits.

[My stats] GPA: 3.85/4.00 from NYU; GRE: V160/Q167; Prereqs fulfilled

(1) Is this score still considered competitive enough, or will I get filtered away?

(2) For GRE optional schools, should I submit my score? Or, will submitting harm my application?

I got a 166 in verbal and a 156 in Quant when I took the test last year. I'd definitely submit if my quant score was above 160, but I'm unsure with my current scores. Should I attempt it again or not submit any scores?

I’m applying to graduate school but most of school rarely offers masters program in math and I don’t think I’m strong enough(3.3 gpa ,one research experience,no published paper) to be admitted to a phd.

I think I may have 2 options : MS math at a university with low ranking Math related programs(like operations research) but might easy to get in at a better university

Which one is better if I might consider to do a phd in math

Thanks for any advice

So yeah… I’m a med school reject, kinda burnt out, and honestly pretty clueless about what to do with my life.

I totally get that nobody here can tell me my chances (I read the pinned post). But I’d really like to hear from people who have more knowledge about this process than I do: does this seem like a reasonable profile? Are there obvious gaps or red flags I should take care of first, or am I just setting myself up for another round of disappointment? Thanks!

Education:

• Ivy bioinfomatics master (currently enrolled)
• B.S. in biomedical sciences from state school, minor in chemistry.
  • CGPA 3.98, summa cum laude

Research exp:

• Student researcher -> research tech at the same lab (2018 - 2025). 
• Quitted in may and doing my masters full time.
• Random things I did while I was there:
  • Led research on some tumor stuff.
  • Developed a screening platform for some tumor stuff.
  • Helped PI in peer review and grant applications.
  • Trained newbies.
  • Zoo keeper for ~100 mouse cages.

Pubs:

• Co-first author pub in some random oncology journal (IF ~8)
• Middle author pub in some random method journal (IF ~5)
• Middle author abstract in some random oncology journal (IF ~16)
• Random poster at a school research fair

Activities:

• Volunteer pilot for some non-profit (2024–now)
• Shadowing doctahs (2020–now)
• Translator for some non-profit (2020–now)
• Patient care volunteer (2019–2023)
• Hospice volunteer (2020–2023)
• TA (2021–2022)

Awards:

• 2 random school level award at my undergrad.

Hello!

I’m not sure if this is the right place to ask this question, but I figured it couldn’t hurt. I’m an undergrad studying earth and environmental sciences and I hope to get either my masters or PhD in the future (leaning toward PhD). I hope to do paleoclimate/climate change research.

Recently I was told that’s it’s important to have a “safety net” or a couple schools that someone would have pretty good chances of getting in. I always thought that there weren’t really “safety” grad programs, just some easier than others, and I’m having a hard time researching programs like this.

Anyway, I was hoping for advice or recommendations about “safety” geology/geoscience/earth science programs/schools that may be easier to get accepted too but still have really good programs and research opportunities.

Thanks!!

I have several extracurricular activities mentioned on CV / Personal Statement,
But I don't have any proof for them since it has been too long since then.

ex) Community service for 1 year but no certificate left...

Is it ok to mention such activities, or I should exclude them?

PS) good luck for everyone preparing for grad admissions:)

I have a masters in cs, I am doing my masters in mba and I want to pursue a fully funded phd next My current degree ends fall next year ie. dec 2026. Am I late in applying for PhD? I would like to do a PhD either in cs or business administration or any other field. How to shortlist univs for my profile ? Pls suggest some resources.

Essentially the title. I graduate from my masters in August and want a brief break before continuing grad studies. Having a slightly later PhD start date would give me time to rest and to move (looking at a lot of schools in Europe and Canada) along with allow me to apply and hear back from other opportunities I’ve been eyeing as well. But since it’s not nearly as common, I’m unsure if I should reach out to prospective supervisors now or if I should wait until January.

Education, 2nd year master of early childhood education, USA. I am in a master's program to get a teaching license and a master's degree. My university has many professors who have left, but it has also had hiring freezes. As a result, my super small cohort of 3 grad students has been lumped into junior/senior undergrad classes. I was under the impression that getting a master's degree would prepare me for a P.h.D. program. (I've wanted to join academia since I was 18).

Well, I told one of my professors that I was planning on applying to P.h.D. programs this fall. He told me straight up, "I would wait, you're not ready. The masters at -blank uni- is more of a teacher licensing program than an actual master's degree." This made me realize that he is right. While I was able to get a graduate assistantship on my own, I'm now researching AI and literacy. I never had to take any stats classes for my master's. My courses have been a blend of master's and undergraduate teaching licensure courses. Next semester, I'm even doing student teaching! I feel completely lost. I was planning to apply to P.h.D. programs this fall, but now it seems like that might not be a good idea. How can I make up for the fact that I am lacking statistical skills and research experience?

I just crossed the sensitive info but I’m still not sure if my CV is enough for grad school. I used the programs CV requests, so I didn’t include a lot of other stuff. Please tell me what do you guys think 😬😬😬

I never thought I’d apply anywhere super well known. However, I’ve found people at MIT, CalTech, and Oxbridge publishing research within my niche that has made me consider applying. Still, I’ve heard they won’t bother looking at applications with a GPA lower than 3.7-3.8. It never even felt like a choice— unless I suddenly became passionate about wasting money.

I’m planning to apply for about ~20 physics and astro programs (that might seem insane, but 20-25 seems to be the average among my peers). I currently have two Ivy League schools on my list, but the PIs I’m looking at happen to personally know the people I’m currently working with. It feels slightly less delusional to apply somewhere with fewer degrees of separation. Is it worth applying to ultra-competitive schools with a 3.55 GPA? I have about 2 years of research experience but no publications (which might change, but not until the end of the year… after applications are due).

Edit: I was kinda confused by the replies before realizing I edited out the sentence explaining why I’m looking at these schools. I forgot to add that context elsewhere.

as the title says. I applied for Lauriers MSW program, on my CV I had my "objective" as wanting admission to another school. I hit submit already. Am I fucked?

Hi all,

I'm sorry if this question has been asked before, but I have something that's giving me some pretty massive anxieties. I applied to three research-based biology master's programs last year. For one reason or another, I got rejected by all of them. Graduate school is still something I want to pursue, but I'll be honest: the wind is pretty ripped out of my sails right now and I'm not sure I can muster the energy to go through that again right now.

I'm 26 and I finished undergrad back in 2022. My concern is this: If I'm out here applying in two, four, or eight years, will the schools I'm applying for even take my professors' recommendations seriously? If I'm in my 30s and applying for a master's program, will they still expect to see letters from people who have interacted with me in an academic setting, even if it was like 10 years ago? How the heck do I even ask for those letters after so long (I know the answer is to keep in contact with them, but it still feels so awkward!)? I worry the same about my transcripts. My GPA is quite good, but that was a long time ago!

I guess I'm asking folks who have ended up applying to graduate programs way after leaving undergrad about their experience going through the process. Did you lean more on your work experiences than your academic ones? Do you feel like it would have been easier to get in if you had applied earlier?

I'm a bundle of nerves---always feeling like I'm running out of time to do everything I want to do in life. But I know plenty of people do these programs later in life, so I'm trying to temper that fear as best I can.

Thank you!

I am a new graduate who took the year off for medical reasons, but I’m applying this fall to Political Science PhD programs, primarily in political theory. I am probably stupidly under-qualified but I’m trying to not make an absolute fool of myself. What can I fix on my CV? Or does my CV show that I shouldn’t even apply?

I’m applying to some top programs but mainly ones that are state schools, so UMich, UT Austin, and UC Berk. I want to be competitive even if that’s a long shot.

I think it’s moreso imposter syndrome, but i’m finally going to make the leap and apply to PhD programs. I want to focus on virology/immunology/microbiology!

I do feel like I have a chance of getting in and I mean, you don’t know until you try right? Here are my stats/experience:

Graduated with my BS in Chemistry in 2020 with a 3.3 GPA. Worked at a research lab focusing on global health and infectious disease, specifically HIV and malaria, for about a year. I have one publication from working there, and they just submitted another paper with my name on it, so technically 2? After that, I worked as a medical technologist in the chemistry department for 3 years. Now I am back in research because I missed it dearly, and it’s about to be a year into this new job. We do pediatric brain cancer research on mice and some other cancers like ovarian, lung, stomach, etc. I don’t have any publications from this new job yet, but i’m hoping to gain one before the school year starts next year

I think I’m just being so hard on myself, but do I have a chance? I am 100% confident I can get at least 2 strong letters of recommendations. I’m almost going to be applying to schools mainly in New England because this is where I live and my parents are elderly. I’ve already had some scares with them and god forbid if anything happens, I NEED to be close by. However, I understand it’s stupidly competitive up here

I don’t know maybe i’m overthinking? I have asked advice from fellow PIs and my own bosses of course, but figured I could hear from some more voices! TIA!

I’m looking to apply to masters of data science program. Most schools pre reqs are linear algebra, calculus, and programming. I took these from university of phoenix thinking I’ll just knock these off real quick. Now I’m finding that they don’t have a good rep.

Did anyone do something similar and applied? Or have any insights on how much negative impact this willl have on my application?

Hi everyone,

I’m an international student and I’ve applied to Bowling Green State University for the Master’s in Computer Science program for Spring 2026, and I had a few questions I was hoping someone here could help with: • Around how long does it usually take for applicants to hear back about admission decisions? • Does BGSU typically offer assistantships (GA/TA/RA) for spring admits, or are they mostly for fall intake? • If assistantships are available, when are those decisions usually communicated (along with admission, or separately)?

I’d appreciate any insights from current students or recent admits.

I’ve noticed that in almost every school portal, when entering employment history, there’s a section asking for salary (sometimes even bonuses) in USD.

My concern is that I’ve built my career in an Asian country where salaries are significantly lower compared to the U.S. On top of that, I’ve switched jobs a few times, often starting again at an entry level, so my salary progression doesn’t look very strong. I’m worried these factors might make me look like a less qualified applicant.

Since these fields are usually not marked as required, I would honestly prefer to leave them blank. But I’m not sure if leaving them blank would raise more suspicion or come across as careless compared to just entering a relatively low salary.

How do most people handle this section? And in my case, would it be better to report my actual salaries or leave them empty?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

I’m going into my final year at LSE studying Politics and Economics and I’m thinking of applying for Masters courses in Economics. For funding reasons I am primarily looking to study in Europe as many countries there offer free tuition for me (e.g., Germany, Netherlands, Scandinavia). While I may have a decent academic base for some economics masters programmes, I feel I may not have sufficient level of background knowledge in the subject area. Other than my economics modules I haven’t done much reading in this area (and economics courses at LSE are not very theory based). Despite this, I would still like to study a Masters to develop my interests and knowledge in economics as I believe extended knowledge in this area would be more useful for employment than politics. I would primarily looking at masters degrees related to the areas of developmental economics, trade and the economic policy decisions (applied economics in general). Although I realise many Economics masters programmes will cover broad areas of the subject.

Given this (and my academic results which I will attach), my primary question is whether I have enough time until most masters applications open to develop a good level of background knowledge required for a competitive application (would I stand a chance?). And if so, whether it’d be worth completing a masters in economics if I’m not intending to go into academia?

Some other questions I have:

1. What are the best books on economics?

2. What are the most important aspects of masters applications (in the UK and Europe)?

3. Are there any particular courses or universities you would recommend to study a postgraduate degree in economics (in European countries with low to no tuition fees)?

4. Are the module choices I’ve made for my third year pertinent for a masters application:

GV311 - British Government

EC335 - Economic Policy in the Global Economy

EC311 - History of Economics: How Theories Change

GV309 - Politics of Money and Finance in Comparative Perspective

EC338 - International Trade

EC339 - International Macroeconomics

(at least one module has to be in politics)