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What does it take to get into Graduate School this year?

What does it take to get into Graduate School this year?

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Author	Message
Martin Arienmughare	Thursday March 11 2010 04:40:52 pm I have a - B.S. in both Mathematics and Physics - GPA: 3.59 (3.91/Math, 3.61/Physics) from the first HBCU, Lincoln University – little known school in South-West Pennsylvania. - GRE: 1390 (770/Quantitative, 620/Verbal, 3.5 Analytical Writing) - High number of REUs (University of Michigan, Elizabeth State City University, Lehigh University), 2 Research Assistantship positions – fields include Number Theory, Computer Science, Astronomy/Cosmology, Biochemistry, Optical Spectroscopy & Imaging (Linear Optics) - Teaching Assistantship experience (3 years) - 10 Presentations at professional conferences - Numerous awards (3 - Presentation, 7 - Academic, 1 – Leadership; 2 - National) and I applied to 12 PhD/MS leading to PhD programs. Today, I received my fourth rejection, and I still have not received notification of any offer of admission :( If there is anyone out there who participated in an admission committee or has knowledge of the process, and would like to share how exemplary students had to be in order to be accepted, or what the process is like...it would be greatly appreciated.
Michael Trick	Tuesday June 08 2010 12:03:23 pm At Carnegie Mellon, it is very competitive to get accepted: we get perhaps 90 applications and have 2-4 slots to fill (we accept perhaps 6 to fill those slots). Different faculty members will evaluate in different ways. For me, given how few we admit, I like to see that the applicant really understands what operations research is about and is enthusiastic about the field. It is best if the application is tailored to CMU (mentioning what you like about the research of one or more of the faculty members is good; saying "I am really interested in simulation" is bad, since no one in the OR group at CMU does simulation). There is arbitrariness in this process, like any selection process. About all I can suggest is to be sure you are applying to programs with different sizes (some programs are large enough to accept a larger fraction of applicants). And rather than relying on any thought of what a good school is, you should be looking for places that have one or more people doing research that you would like to be doing. There are some excellent people doing top quality research at schools that might not be top ten overall. Their students do great work, and place well. These are my views, of course, not necessarily CMU's.
Anne Robinson	Tuesday June 08 2010 12:39:45 pm Hi Martin, In the interest of full disclosure, I am a practitioner with a PhD, I am not involved in any admissions process, this is just my perception based on my experience and that of my colleagues and friends. I agree with Mike. You need to visit the schools and find where your research interests match with the research direction of the school and faculty. Additionally, I think your references are critical - make sure you are putting your best and most appropriate set of supporters forward - faculty, researchers, key leaders that can speak on your behalf. Also, your own written essays and information need to reflect your research potential, your enthusiasm, and your interests. Make sure it isn't generic - you need to show up and stand out. Good luck! Anne Director, Information & Data Strategy, CVCM, Cisco VP Marketing, Communications & Outreach, INFORMS
Matthew Saltzman	Monday June 21 2010 03:21:20 am Martin, I'll echo what Mike and Anne said. It's also worth pointing out that the economy is likely to be having an impact as well. People who are out of work might consider grad school as a way to survive and position themselves for future employment. Meanwhile, school budgets are being squeezed intensely by the drop in state revenues at public schools and the drop in endowment values and gifts at private schools. That makes funding assistantships that much more difficult. I don't have statistics at hand to validate the claim that grad OR applications are up or admissions down this year, but it's a documented pattern in higher ed, broadly speaking, in past recessions. Those factors make grad school applications more competitive and make it that much more important that you do something to stand out from the crowd. (My views aren't necessarily Clemson's, of course.)
Susan Albin	Monday June 21 2010 03:21:29 am Dear Martin, I am President of INFORMS and it also happens that I am the graduate director of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Rutgers. I would be glad to meet with you or talk on the phone. I am confident you would be accepted into our MS program. The students we accept and fund for the PHD program already have the MS degree. My email is salbin@rci.rutgers.edu and I bet you are within an easy drive of Rutgers. Best, Susan Albin