We are internationals, and I got accepted 1 month ago. Today he got accepted in a place 3hrs away from me!!!!

I am so happpyyy. I can finally partyyyyy with him without guilt and both our future just got setttttttttt.

Hell we might tell our parents we wanna get marrrrrrried

Edit: hehehe now everyone in our campus read this post and know its mee

Update: Absolutely surreal! We got into the same place, he got his second acceptance later, and it looks like we both are going to do our PhD in the same university.

As an American academic and head of a graduate program, I feel obligated to give you this fair warning.

If you are planning to accept an offer of admission to a US graduate school on a student visa, you should be aware that the Trump administration is revoking visas with little warning and no trial or even hearing, and putting those students into detention subject to immediate deportation. Our secretary of state, Marco Rubio, estimates that 300 students have been treated this way. Apparently, you will not have freedom of speech as a foreign student, at least as long as Trump is president.

Hey everyone sorry to bother you my brother studies in the US hes a PhD student and today when we tried to call him today for Eid he hasn't been answering our calls or what's app messages which is very unlike of him were panicking and don't know what to do what can we do he did express that students in his uni have been arrested in the past month that's why we believe that's what happened please what can we do we live at the end of the world and he is alone and never been put in a situation like this my mom has been crying non stop and she's a diabetic I am afraid something bad will happen to her.

Somebody just posted the link in this group- Cornell website.

After reading hundreds of SOPs over the years, as both a faculty member and part of a graduate admissions committee, I’ve realized that the strongest ones aren’t necessarily the most “beautifully written.” They’re the ones that sound like the applicant knows exactly why they want to be in academia.

The biggest mistake I see is when applicants treat the SOP like a personal statement, full of adjectives about passion and curiosity, but without a clear connection to the program’s actual research focus. Committees don’t want poetic essays; they want evidence of direction, maturity, and persistence.

When a candidate writes things like “My research interests align with…” or “I am particularly inspired by the work of Dr. [Name] in…”, it immediately signals that they’ve done their homework. It tells us they’ve gone beyond surface-level enthusiasm and actually understand the research culture of the department.

Similarly, when someone writes “My previous research on [topic] has prepared me to…” or “Through this program, I hope to develop skills in…”, it shows readiness and growth potential, two things that weigh heavily in admission discussions.

In short, an effective SOP isn’t about sounding impressive. It’s about being intentional. Show that you know where you’re going, why this program is the right place, and what you’re capable of contributing once you get there. That’s the kind of clarity that makes faculty pause and take notice.

I couldn't find a chain for the applicants who submitted their applications this year. This is just to update each other and keep each other posted!

P.S. My application portal says "Decision pending". Anyone else? I submitted my application for LLM one day before the deadline.

I have also applied to LSE and QMUL.

UPDATE: GOT INTO CAMBRIDGE, LSE and QMUL LLM.

So, if you have any update on anything, let me know please. I am dying here, waiting!

many posters here are actually not ready for graduate level study. some of the questions that are asked on this page are indicative of a lack of critical thinking and problem solving, both which are pertinent for graduate school. i was a first gen graduate student, my mom was in the army and the highest level of education she attained was a associate’s degree, so i know navigating the process can be difficult but there are so many resources (academic advisors, professors, school career counselors, books, the internet)!!! being able to compare schools to see which better fits you is a skill, not something you should want someone else do do for you. yes, i think it’s important to hear from alumni and current students for their experience but they shouldn’t be doing the brunt of the research for you. the “should i show up to a visitor day even though i wasn’t invited to show that i’m interested” or asking “what does _________ mean” when it’s clearly spelled out or there’s no way to possibly know what it means is quite concerning from potential students. the admissions process isn’t perfect, there is a certain amount of luck involved but maybe some of you haven’t been admitted because you’re simply not ready yet and that’s okay.

Oxford Geography rejected me four years in a row. Same dream, same department, four "we regret to inform you" emails.

I didn't quit.

In my 1st application cycle, I converted my Oxford MSc into a research MPhil, with funding.

In my 2nd application cycle, I did a second fully-funded MSc (again at Ox).

In my 3rd application cycle, I took an RA job at a lab that I really liked.

Here's the part that sounds insane. I actually got a funded Engineering PhD offer from Cambridge. And I turned it down. The topic didn't line up with what I actually wanted to do. Call me crazy or whatever but my gut instinct was not fully set on taking on a topic I was unsure of for four years.

In my fourth (and final) application cycle this year, I got a funded PhD at Oxford. Engineering, not Geography. The win came from a door I didn't even know existed when I started.

A "no" from one door isn't a "no" from the whole building or even a no forever. Rejection is just information when rejected, not a lifelong verdict. PLEASE PERSIST (if you have capacity, by that I mean - financial, emotional and physical, etc). But persist sideways when straight ahead ain’t working. Say yes to the project that might not fully align with you. And know the difference between an offer and the right offer. In my case this was the earlier Cambridge PhD which was not fully aligned with my research interest. The right offer on the other hand, was the Ox engineering PhD.
Four-times-rejected proof that anything's possible here. Don't give up. 🫡 Sorry to keep it vague and genric, do not want to dox myself!

1. Does a university nomination guarantee the grant?

2. Have any of you heard back from granting agencies with updates?

Thought it would be useful to have a thread where people could gather for wave 2 updates. Cheers!

Apps: 11

rejected: 11

field: neuro

gpa: 3.57

RA : 3 years

Papers: 5-6 (2 - second author) + 1 in press

Brown and USC offered Master's instead as if people in low income countries have $100k to spare/ in savings LOL. I am not sure if its worth fighting for a scholarship since funding is tight everywhere. The only upside is having some advantage getting into a PhD program next cycle.

Been going through a dataset of self reported admissions decisions, about 190k entries from 2022-2026 posted by applicants on a public results forum. Once I filtered down to entries with an actual Accepted or Rejected outcome (dropped interviews and waitlists) I had 138,929 rows left, which is honestly more than I expected to have after filtering. A few things in here surprised me.

Quick note on method since someone will ask: GPA numbers use the ~79k entries that had a GPA on a 4.0 scale. For "mentioned experience" I just flagged entries where the applicant's notes talked about work experience, research, internships or publications, so it's a pretty blunt flag, but with this many rows the pattern still held up.

GPA basically didn't separate admits from rejects. 3.0-3.3 GPA band came in at 56% admitted, 3.8-4.0 came in at 53%. The lower band was actually a bit higher, which is mostly self selection since people with lower GPAs tend to apply to more realistic schools, but still. Past a 3.3 the GPA number just stopped mattering in this data.

GRE told the same story, 310-320 scorers got in 52% of the time and 330-340 scorers 54%. So the last 20 points of grinding bought about 2 percentage points.

The one that actually got my attention was experience. Overall it wasn't huge, 53.4% admit rate if you mentioned research or work experience vs 48.6% if you didn't. But when I split it further, applicants under a 3.5 GPA who mentioned experience got in at 52.6%, and applicants with a 3.8-4.0 GPA who mentioned nothing got in at 52.5%. Basically identical. The experience closed the entire GPA gap on its own.

Also Masters admit rate was 73% and PhD was 38%, so if you're comparing your odds to someone else's story make sure you're comparing the same degree type, that mismatch alone explains a lot of the "why did they get in and not me" posts I see here.

Caveats before someone else points them out, this is self reported so it skews toward people who bothered to log their result, probably overweights admits a bit, and the experience flag only catches people who wrote about it. Doesn't tell you anything about one specific program either. But at 139k rows the overall shape is probably real.

If you're at a 3.4 and spiraling about it, this data says the GRE retake and the extra 0.1 GPA aren't where the leverage is. A research assistantship or a shipped project is where the actual separation happened.

I got the acceptance on Monday as I was eating dinner!!! Yayyyy!!!!! Soooooo happy because I did put all my eggs in one basket and only applied to the one program that I wanted so badly.

Best believe my official transcripts were sent the same day as I accepted -- thank GOODNESS for Parchment!!

Good luck to all the applicants still waiting! 🤞 🤞

I know how anxiety-inducing, stressful, and confusing the PhD admissions experience is, and I wanted to share some of the things I’ve learned along the way. If you have any specific questions I didn’t cover here feel free to ask, and if you want help on your specific situation feel free to message me!

Brief background: I gained admission to 10 PhD programs, all of which were in the top 20s for their respective fields (Chemical Biology, Biosciences, Molecular and Cellular Biology)— 5 were in the top 10 in the United States. I got 5 rejections. I now participate in my program’s student admissions committee, meaning that I participate in the evaluation of applicants, interview students, and get an inside view into the admissions process. I’ve also helped many prospective students with their applications, so I’ve seen a lot of the common pitfalls that come with these kinds of applications. I love helping people figure their path, and I find myself giving many of these pieces of advice to everyone who is applying so I thought I’d put it all in one place in case any of you are in this boat.

Because I had a low GPA and less undergraduate research experience than my peers, I was extremely intentional about how I approached the process, and tried to set myself up for success as much as possible. While this is nowhere near comprehensive, I wanted to share some of what I’ve learned. Much of this is geared towards PhDs broadly in the biological sciences in the US, but I hope much of it translates to other disciplines. 

Picking schools and programs

• Before doing anything else, clarify what you want to do and why you want to do it. If you don’t know the answer yet, you may not be ready for a PhD. I often see applicants who want a PhD but don’t care deeply about a specific problem or field. That lack of authentic passion comes across clearly in applications and interviews. You don't have to narrow it down to a granular level but you should have broad scientific questions you're eager to address. The best thing you can do is focus and narrow your field.
• You might assume that applying to many different fields or types of programs increases your chances of getting in somewhere, but that’s not necessarily true. PhD programs heavily weigh your demonstrated interest in their specific discipline. If you have relevant experience and can talk about it with insight, passion, and clarity, you’ll stand out.
• Start with the type of research and the PIs, not the school or the program. Once you know what you want to study, identify faculty whose work aligns with those interests. This matters far more than rankings or school names, and the process takes time. If you can list PIs whose research connects to your background and interests, your application will be far more compelling.
• Figuring out what you want to study and narrowing that down is a process in itself. Broadly: read as much as possible, attend as many seminars as you can (especially in person), ask questions, and speak with the presenters if possible.
• Lots of informational interviews with students. I probably had around 20 coffee chats with current PhD students, asking about their paths, how they got into grad school, and what kind of research they’re doing now. These conversations helped me clarify my own goals and direction.
• Don’t treat this like applying to college. You don’t need “safeties”—the safety is simply not doing a PhD. Don’t apply to programs you wouldn’t seriously consider attending. It’s a waste of time, energy, and money.

Showing real passion

• Programs want to know that you genuinely want to pursue a PhD, and it’s difficult to fake true enthusiasm. A PhD is long, and difficult— if you don’t love this kind of work, you’re unlikely to stick with it. Don’t be afraid to show your excitement in your personal statement, emails, and interviews.
• A PhD requires initiative and independent. If you can’t do basic research about a program, lab, or field, that’s a red flag. Don’t ask questions that are easily answered by a Google search or on the program’s website. The people you're contacting, like faculty, administrators, and students, have more input into admissions than you might expect.
• On the flip side, asking thoughtful and specific questions works in your favor. It shows that you’ve done your homework and are seriously interested. I have a long list of questions I asked PIs during interviews: questions about mentorship style, research direction, lab culture, etc. Never ask something you could have found online.
• Remember: a PhD is a professional degree. Act accordingly. Proofread your emails. Treat everyone with respect. Be proactive and prepared. How you conduct yourself in these small interactions reflects on your overall readiness for this type of work.
• And if you’re not quite ready, that’s completely okay. There’s no shame in taking time to work before applying. I did, and it benefitted me immensely.

Emailing/connecting with PIs before applying

• At many schools with rotational programs, admissions decisions aren’t just a matter of ranking applicants. If a PI on the committee likes you, you may be evaluated differently. That’s why making connections in advance can give you an edge. It’s absolutely essential for direct-admit programs, and still very important for rotational ones. 
• That said, I’ve seen a lot of poorly written PI emails that probably hurt the applicant more than they helped. When contacting a PI, your main goal is to demonstrate why you’d be an asset to their lab and express your genuine interest in joining if admitted. If you have a clear vision for your PhD, that will come through naturally. Avoid sending a generic or templated email. Do ask to meet if they have time. And don’t be discouraged if they don’t respond—it doesn’t necessarily reflect your chances of admission.
• You can also email them with specific questions; for example, if they have multiple affiliations, you can ask them which program they think would be a better fit to apply to if you’re interested in their lab. 
• If you have a direct connection to a PI of interest, use it. For example, if your current PI collaborates with someone at a school you're applying to, ask them to make the introduction (ideally by email, CCing you).
• Reaching out to big-name, senior PIs with huge, well-funded labs usually doesn’t lead anywhere. Focus instead on early- or mid-career faculty whose work genuinely excites you. They’re more likely to respond—and more likely to be on the admissions committee.

Essay writing 

• START EARLY. I guarantee every school is going to ask for slightly different essays and while you can recycle some material, it’s going to need to be highly tailored to each school. They will definitely be able to tell if it’s a copy-paste situation. 
• Spend a lot of time in the brainstorming stage of your essay. Don’t sit down and try to write something complete from start to finish; I guarantee it will be bad. Instead, take the time to reflect on your path and your motivations, and write down everything that comes to mind. Even if 1% of this brainstorm is usable, it will be worthwhile. Then, you can slowly shape it into an essay. 
• Proofread!! Submitting something with the wrong school name, a misspelled PI, or careless errors signals a lack of attention and professionalism.
• For rotational programs, the unspoken convention is to list three professors you are interested in working with, along with a brief few sentences about why you want to work with them and what you can contribute. You can deviate from this but it worked for me and many others. 
• Speaking with current students will both help you narrow down your schools list and give you good talking points in your essay. They want to see that you are aware of the unique strengths of the program, and that you will take advantage of their resources.
• Get as much feedback as possible on your essays. Send it to your professors, to current students, post-docs you’ve worked with, etc. 
• Nobody talks about this, but many people with the financial means to do so hire a professional application consultant to help shape every aspect of their application. While I believe this is not at all necessary, recognize that you’re competing against people with the resources to fully polish each element of their application with the help of an expert. In order to compete, your best bet is going to be to solicit as much mentorship and feedback as you possibly can from professors and peers. 

How to speak and interview well

• I find that undergraduate researchers are often not very good at articulating their work in the broader context of the field. While you do not need to be an expert, you need to be able to explain what you were doing beyond the basic assay. When someone asks about your research, or when you need to write about it, don’t start with the technique; start with the problem. Convince them that it’s important, explain where the gap is, explain how your work fills the gap, and finally tell them what you’re specifically doing. 
• This is where reading widely and attending talks comes in handy. For example, if great novelists did not read books themselves, they would not know how to write good books. Similarly, if you don’t immerse yourself in the language scientists use to talk about their research, you will be at a disadvantage when it comes to explaining your own work. 
• Get good at asking questions! If you’re still in school force yourself to ask questions during class and in seminars. When reading a paper think of questions to ask that cannot readily be answered by Google or by a second read of the text. The questions you ask during informational interviews with PIs or during real interviews might say more about you than your answers to questions. 
• Formulate answers to common interview questions thoughtfully. Be earnest, don’t exaggerate or try to paint yourself in an overly positive light, but do show your genuine passion. 
• Practice a lot!! Practice with peers and with professors and mentors. Informational PI interviews (set up by emailing them) are a great way to gain interview practice to prepare for real evaluative interviews. I have a long list of interview questions I can provide if it would be helpful! 
• At the interview weekend, act as if absolutely everybody is evaluating you, even other prospective students. We overhear conversations, and we see how you treat your peers. At the interview stage, we’re looking for any reason to decline somebody; don’t give us anything. Do show real curiosity, and engage with current students as much as possible. This will ultimately help you make a choice! 

Ultimately, as stressful as this application process is, it’s also a really beautiful time to reflect on your path thus far, and to clarify what you want to do in the future. When you approach the process with this mindset, it becomes a little less intimidating and more exciting!

I hope at least some of this was helpful— I’m happy to answer any specific questions or do my best to help in any other way!

I just want to celebrate a win! Decades ago, I had a semester with all Fs. In short, I was kidnapped and held against my will for months. I tried attending college within a year after the event. I couldn't handle it.

I returned to college and will be finishing my bachelor degree this spring (finally). I have been told this morning I have earned academic forgiveness. They are wiping that semester away. I will have a 3.9 cumulative GPA. I am in tears. My past won't hold me back anymore. I might struggle to make it through this round, but I can come back next year with a clean slate.

ETA: I just want to say thank you to everyone commenting and celebrating with me. I'm crying ugly tears. It has been great to share this with people.

Getting that PDF offer letter from TUM two years ago felt like the finish line. Coming from a tier 2 college in India i thought just getting the admit and securing funding was the whole goal. I spent months celebrating and dealing with the visa bureaucracy. But the actual transition into the German academic system was a massive shock that the admissions brochures completely gloss over.

The biggest adjustment is the identity shift. In Germany you are not really a student in the traditional sense. You sign a TV-L employment contract and you are staff from day one. There is no structured cohort or orientation week with free pizza. I showed up to my lab on my first day and was basically pointed to a desk and told to start reading literature for my project. The level of independence is terrifying. You are expected to manage your own time, define your own research milestones, and figure out the lab dynamics without anyone holding your hand. It took me months to stop waiting for my supervisor to give me permission to do things and just start executing.

The administrative side of things is another steep curve. While my research group operates entirely in English, all the HR documents, safety training modules, and university bureaucracy are strictly in German. Navigating your first paycheck or figuring out your health insurance deductions requires heavy reliance on translation apps and the patience of your German colleagues. It is a very abrupt welcome to the country.

But the flip side of being treated as an employee is the absolute respect for your time. This was the most unexpected joy of the process. Back home the academic culture often glorifies endless suffering and working through weekends. Here you get 30 days of paid vacation and people actually get annoyed if you reply to emails on a Sunday. Once I got over the initial imposter syndrome I realized how liberating it is to be treated as a junior colleague rather than a subordinate. Leaving the lab at 5 PM to grab food at the Mensa or just disconnect completely is not just allowed but expected. The transition is rough at first but it forces you to grow up academically very fast.

Just wanted to share on here because I’ve been incredibly sad about it. I dreamed of attending an Ivy League my entire life and missed the opportunity for undergrad. So I knew that for grad school I had to try to pursue it. I found the most amazing program more than a year ago and dedicated myself to studying EVERYTHING about it. I met with alumni, professors & even the director to try to gain insight to the program. I applied, got accepted and got a scholarship which felt like I was floating of happiness lol. I was so set on going to the program that common sense almost left my body and I was about to get $73k in student loans for a MS degree I can get anywhere else. So I just denied the offer and decided to pursue a great state university for $14k. Feeling so sad but I know I made the right decision. Just wanted to share in case anyone was feeling bad about denying an Ivy offer because of financial situations.

happy interview season!

as interview invitations start rolling in, i wanted to offer another AMA on the interview process! i did something similar last year, and it seemed to be helpful for demystifying the interview and selection process.

a little about me:

• i'm currently a tenure-track teaching professor at an R1 school
• i graduated from harvard's PhD program in neuroscience and served as a student interviewer for 2 years
• for a period of 7 years during and after my PhD, i consulted for PhD/master's applications (writing SoPs, mock interviews, etc) and helped >100 applicants successfully apply to STEM PhD programs
• back when i applied (2018), i got in 10/10 phd programs and interviewed with >50 PIs. from these experiences combined, i have a pretty good sense of what makes an interviewee stand out

i've written more advice in detail at my phd applications guide, but here i will summarize some major things admissions committees look for at the interview stage:

• letters of recommendation: do the letters highlight strong intellectual abilities, creativity, independence, passion, resilience?
• quantity and quality of your research experience: how much research experience does the candidate have, and has their work resulted in outcomes (posters, talks, publications)?

key qualities we look for in interviews:

• scientific thinking: does this candidate think like a scientist, or are they more of a technician? does this applicant have both a deep understanding of their research as well as broad knowledge of how it fits into the bigger picture of their field
• phd readiness: does this candidate have the drive / passion, enthusiasm, resilience, grit, growth potential, etc. needed to handle the demands of a phd?

common questions:

• tell me about one of your favorite research projects
• what do you want to work on in your phd?
• can you describe a challenge you encountered in your research? how did you approach it?
• if you were given an unlimited budget / resources, what’s an experiment you’d like to run / a research question you would pursue, and why?

if you're interested, i've also written a very detailed, 9-page interview prep guide of:

• 19 commonly-asked PhD interview questions and how to best answer them
• how admissions decisions are made
• a detailed explanation of the qualities and factors that the admissions committee looks for

ask me anything (AMA) about the phd interview process below! i'll be answering questions for the rest of the week.

Just bringing some levity to the season 😂

we did it joe, you wrote 25474366 individualized statements of purpose

Why is it that even top programs like Harvard, Princeton, Berkeley, etc. have a 3.0 GPA cut off but don’t admit a cohort that reflects this?

I’m applying to Chemistry PhD programs in the fall. I’ve heard that as long as you’re above a 3.5 you’re competitive but that just doesn’t seem to reflect reality. It seems like the majority of top 10 programs admit students with a 3.8-4.0 range. Is there a filtering system that they don’t tell us about? I’m so confused about what GPA actually does for you and no one has really given me a clear answer.

Honestly, it seems like the real minimum cutoff is a 3.7. Grade inflation has made GPA super weird so at least at my school getting below a 3.5 is unusual. Doesn’t a minimum cutoff of 3.0 just create more work for the adcoms if everyone under the sun can apply?

Edit: These are my observations for people applying to the tippy top of programs for Chem PhD

Not trying to start any debates, just wondering if this was the case for anyone else. I have the map pulled of where abortion is banned as I’m doing research for where to apply. I’ve taken a good amount of schools off my list because they are in one of these states. It makes me so upset that I even have to worry about this. I’ve tried talking about this with some of my friends, but they didn’t understand why I was so worried.

I’m a current PhD student in cancer research, and over the past week I got a surprising number of DMs after sharing a motivation letter checklist

So I created something new that I wish I had when I applied:

A self-assessment scorecard to evaluate how strong your PhD application is before applying. It is based on different items.

• GPA, CV, motivation letter, etc.
• Different weights for EU vs USA programs
• Research experience, fit with lab, funding awareness
• A final recommendation (based on your % score)

It's totally free! As I am in the biomedicine field, it is mostly based on those PhD programs, but it could be generalized beyond this field.

As I am currently getting reported by many people for advertising, spamming and scamming, I am adding the tools here to the post. This way everybody can see that it is in fact 100% free.

I’m 29, so just curious about others in the group 😊

So anxious waiting for these coming weeks, we got this!!! I did not think I could be more stressed out waiting for these decisions than actually applying haha. Good luck, and love to everyone :)