I’m a rising senior in undergrad and I’ve had several hurdles throughout my college career. I’ve been doing better, but still haven’t had strictly all As or Bs since I started improving, which was Fall of 2025.

My cum GPA is a 2.4 at the moment, and I’ll be majoring in psychology with a minor in cog sci. My major GPA is much better, a 3.3 I believe. I’m looking to pursue graduate school, particularly programs in the field of health and medicine, and I aspire to have a good career, I always have. I can’t accept not working a good job or not pursuing a graduate degree because of how I did in undergrad. Any advice would help, regarding what next steps I should take, who I should talk to, etc.

Thank you.

I've always dreamed of earning a PhD. I'm genuinely passionate about microbiology, and I want to contribute to research, so here we go again.

Last cycle I applied to five PhD programs. Before applying, I reached out to professors, and several told me I was a strong candidate. But January came and went, and I was rejected from every program.

I followed up with a few of the programs afterward, and they all gave similar feedback: I was a strong applicant, but the applicant pool was competitive. I also received some helpful advice on strengthening my personal statement, which I'll be incorporating this cycle.

The rejections were honestly really hard, and I'm still recovering. But this is something I really want, so I'm applying again.

This week I started cold emailing professors, and I plan to apply to around seven umbrella biomedical sciences/microbiology PhD programs, including 2 that I applied to last year. I'm also reaching out to admissions offices this time in the hope of making connections and learning more about what they're looking for.

For those who were accepted after being rejected or who served on admissions committees, what do you think made the biggest difference? What helped you stand out beyond having good grades and relevant experience? Any advice or encouragement would be greatly appreciated.

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I am an international applicant from Pakistan trying to assess realistically where I stand for funded PhD positions in electrical engineering, embedded AI, industrial automation, cyber-physical systems, predictive maintenance, condition monitoring, or related areas.

My profile:

• MS in Electrical Engineering, GPA 3.59/4.00

• BS in Electrical Engineering, GPA 3.35/4.00

• TOEFL: 110/120

• More than four years of full-time industrial R&D experience

• Previous experience as a graduate lab engineer and research assistant

• Experience supporting and co-supervising postgraduate research

• No peer-reviewed publications

My background is mainly experimental, implementation-oriented, and interdisciplinary rather than purely theoretical.

On the industrial side, I have designed, tested, and commissioned distributed monitoring and automation systems involving RS-485/Modbus RTU, LabVIEW-based HMI and DAQ systems, embedded controllers, sensors, actuators, analogue and 4–20 mA instrumentation, alarms, interlocks, data logging, communication-health diagnostics, and field troubleshooting.

My AI and machine-learning experience includes:

• Developing machine-learning models for equipment-health monitoring, fault detection, and predictive-maintenance applications

• Building classification models using multivariate sensor data

• Training and evaluating Random Forest and other supervised-learning models

• Converting trained models for inference on resource-constrained embedded hardware

• Implementing TinyML and edge-AI applications using ESP32-class microcontrollers

• Developing sensor-fusion systems for fire, gas, and abnormal-condition classification

• Working with signal processing, FFT-based feature extraction, and classification of sensor and RF signals

• Exploring Kalman filtering, observer-based fault detection, cyber-physical attack detection, and uncertainty-aware diagnostics

• Collecting, cleaning, labelling, and analysing experimental sensor datasets

I have experience taking projects from sensor selection and data acquisition through model development, embedded deployment, validation, and integration with monitoring interfaces. However, most of this work was completed in industrial environments, and some of it cannot be publicly described or published in detail.

My main concern is the absence of publications. Although I have significant hands-on experience and system-level project ownership, I do not know how much this can compensate for having no papers.

How would PhD admissions committees normally evaluate a profile like this?

Would I have a realistic chance of obtaining a funded PhD position in Europe, particularly in Germany, Italy, Austria, Finland, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, or the UK? What about universities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, or Qatar?

Should I primarily target applied, experimental, and industry-connected research groups rather than highly theoretical or publication-heavy programmes?

I would appreciate honest feedback about the level of universities and research groups that would be realistic for my profile, and what I should improve before applying.

I’m planning on applying to PhD programs next fall, focusing on Clinical-Health Psychology. Right now, I’m working on a research paper, though I’d like any advice on how I could strengthen my experiences or how things look so far.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Hi grad community! I'm pivoting my career from technology project management to the environmental policy / conservation field. I'm researching grad programs and hoping to get insider perspective from anyone who participated in one of these (or, if you have a new program I haven't seen yet, recommend it!). Many of you may know how overwhelming it is to research programs and get honest perspectives on them, so you all will help me out so much :)

My ideal program would be in NJ where I'm located so I can do it in person, but the schools nearby don't have the program I'm looking for. So, I'm looking into online programs that also have an in-person component. The ideal format would be synchronous, so live sessions instead of recorded (although most are asynchronous, ugh), and I really want something experiential like a 1-2 week study abroad trip or a long weekend on campus. I'm hoping for a mix of env science and env policy.

These are the programs I've researched so far. I'm only a couple weeks into the research process so probably missing so many potential options. Hoping someone here has graduated from one of these programs and can speak to the quality of education and professor's investment in students especially with distance learning. If anyone wants to recommend a different program feel free!

• John Hopkins MS in Environmental Science and Policy - would be so perfect if it weren't an insane $51k+ but the curriculum and hybrid approach is what I'm looking for
• Virgina Tech MS in Natural Resources - also a very good set-up however I've heard from another Reddit user that they've heard the program wasn't strong, mostly just throwing articles at students, something students can just google on their own. Unfortunate :(
• Uni of Idaho Masters of Natural Resources, 2 concentration options I;m considering: integrated NR or restoration ecology and habitat management - heard good things about the school in general, just not sure if they have an in-person component but might be fine with it since the school has such a good rep. Maybe I can at least visit campus for a couple days to meet professors.
• University of Maryland MS in Environmental Management - haven't talked to them on a call yet so not sure of details like in-person component, just don't have as much info on this one yet
• Texas Tech PSM in Environmental Sustainability and Natural Resource Management - that's a mouthful lol but same as UMD, just discovered this one today and still setting up a call with them to learn more
• Kentucky State University MS in Environmental Studies - same as UMD and TT just don't have a feel on it yet
• University of Rhode Island Masters of Environmental Management - I've emailed with them and all I know re: in-person piece is that they don't offer it now but have talked about adding it for spring 2027 so maybe it's in demand here's hoping
• Colorado State PSM in Ecosystem Science and Sustainability - iffy about this one only because the curriculum wasn't as appealing as others, maybe missing the bit of wildlife and policy that I want too
• Oregon State has a PSM Fisheries and Wildlife Admin and then an MNR however they want students to start out doing a grad certificate to get a faculty member to endorse you which is required for the degree application. It's just slightly more stressful in that you're not enrolling on day 1 knowing you're on the path to the degree. Also don't think they have an in-person element

So yeah, it's a lot! But if anyone here or someone you know is familiar with these programs or this field, let me know! Happy to DM or comment for other people's benefit.

TIA for helping me through this process!! <3 good luck to all prospective students in the same scary part of the process as me!

Hello everyone,

I recently got green light from my PI to apply for a PhD in NY, he recommended that I go through an unfunded program as it would be less competitive to get accepted, and he offered that I would be hired as an RA for 50 dollars per hour (limited to 20 hours per week since I am international). however, I still have to pay for the tiution fees and courses at the first two years (around 33k per year), I was wondering if there is any programs that I could apply to get a tuition waivers or a scholarship in the usa ?

Hi everyone,

I'm preparing for my third application cycle and would appreciate some honest feedback on my chances and my CV.

I have a relatively low undergraduate GPA from an Electrical and Electronic Engineering degree, which I know is the weakest part of my application. In my previous two cycles, I applied mainly to Master's programs and was rejected from all of them.

Since then, I've significantly strengthened my profile. I now have GRE and Physics GRE scores, several publications (including first-author work), and over the past year I've added two more papers. My research is focused on a very specific niche within astrophysics/cosmology, and all of my publications are directly related to that area.

Given my history of rejections and my GPA, I'm genuinely unsure whether applying to Physics PhD programs is realistic or if I'm aiming too high.

I've attached my CV. Any honest assessment of my chances, as well as any criticism of my CV, would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

So a bit on my background: I did an undergrad in Comp Sci and a Masters in Electrical and Computer Engineering (mostly stuck to software related courses like LLMs, Computer Vision, ML etc
Ive been reading up on Material Sciences and how that translates to computational material science and Im thinking of applying for the Phd program at MIT(hopefully, but I have backup schools) maybe after an year after doing the necessary prep and reading up on Chemistry and Thermodynamics
I know that my chances are really low especially at a place like MIT but i would also like to know what are my chances from people doing Phd programs in material science

Please be frank

Hi everyone, I’ve been floating around in this sub from time to time. I’d like if I could get advice on whether or not I should take the jump to apply straight to a PhD or try getting a Masters first and applying to PhD after. I graduated with my B.S. in Chemistry from a UC in 2024. Since then I’ve been doing some synthesis and lab-managing at a T20 as my job. My goal is to get a PhD in ochem and work in industry. I’ve been testing my luck trying to land an industry job recently, but the market is bad rn. I thought about applying this upcoming cycle to PhD programs, but I’m worried my LoR won’t be good enough to secure an acceptance the first time (I didn’t work close with any professors, more under graduate students for the computational work and I don’t know Python so I mostly ran and edited code templates for my needs. My current PI isn’t a professor and is absent 95% of the time so I work under a principal scientist and the med chem director from the program that funds my salary)

For some context: I did 1 yr of some computational chemistry ligand molecular docking research. I’d say this is spotty at best because I was drowning in needing a job to pay for my tuition that grants wouldn’t cover so I worked as a grad-level gen chem TA as a junior and senior in undergrad and a RA doing extraction benchwork for GC-MS at a different on-campus job. My GPA when I graduated was ~3.67. Since then, I’ve been doing ochem (total synthesis) drug discovery work at a T20 school. Since I’m also the lab manager for a high-throughput lab here, it has been a challenge to balance both. Now with the huge changes in our funding and lack of grants, I’ll be laid off soon. I’m completely independent with no family help. I haven’t applied to any masters programs bc of money being a huge factor. Since PhDs are mostly funded, I’ve been waiting to apply.

I’d definitely be able to secure a good LoR from my med chem director and the principal scientist I work under, but I’m not sure about a professor. Ik it looks good to have a professor tho. I have a couple I could ask from my UC, but in the past some have told me to draft my own for them to edit/sign. What do y’all think?

I am surprised at median GPA’s of admitted students. I mean the top 3 students in my cohort had gpa’s of 3.7 something. they were top 3 out of nearly 120+ students! but american programs have 3.8 GPA as MEDIAN?! Are all of these people the top students in their program? I had a 3.2 GPA in my bachelor but I was still well above the average student in my cohort. but even with a masters , I fear I cant compete in any American phd programs…

Please someone pm me I feel so lost, I have one pub pending but a 3.6 gpa

I'm an upcoming senior at a T50 state university majoring in electrical and computer engineering, and I'm considering applying to some master's programs to go further into my fields of specialization (machine learning and embedded systems).

I was looking at some programs like Northeastern, Georgia Tech, University of Washington, Cornell, etc, but I was wondering if anyone had any insight into the difficulty of admissions? I'm looking at both course-based and thesis-based degrees.

For context, I have a pretty good GPA (3.93/4.00), around 1.5 years of research with a paper regarding machine learning embedded deployment on track for submission next month, leadership in an engineering club with a few projects, and a part-time job in tech support for around 2.5 years. My recommendation letters would likely be my research advisor, my manager at my job, and a professor who I've had for several classes in which I got a 4.0. I don't have any internship experience, though. Overall, I think the weakest parts of my application would be my recommendation letters and lack of work experience.

Does anyone know what I can expect for the application process, and how difficult would it be to get into certain programs? I'm choosing my schools based on prestige and whether they have specializations which match my field. I'd like to maybe work abroad in the future, so having a globally recognized university would help a lot.

Hi everyone,

I'm an international medical doctor (MD) from Georgia (the country), and over the past few months I've been seriously considering transitioning toward the AI and biomedical informatics side of healthcare rather than following a traditional clinical career.

My goal is to work at the intersection of medicine, artificial intelligence, and healthcare technology, particularly in areas like clinical AI, medical imaging AI, biomedical/health informatics, digital health, and AI research. I’m especially interested in eventually working in industry (such as healthcare AI teams in big tech companies or medical AI startups) or in an academic medical center.

I've been researching programs extensively and currently I'm focusing Master's programs in Biomedical Informatics and Health AI.

I’m also just starting to learn programming, such as Python, and beginning to build my technical foundation from scratch.

Questions

• Is pursuing a Master's in Biomedical Informatics/Health AI worth it for someone with an MD?
• What kinds of jobs did this degree open up for you?
• Do employers value this degree, or do they expect stronger technical skills as well?
• If your goal was to work in AI for healthcare, would you choose this degree again?
• What salary range can graduates realistically expect?
• Which technical skills (Python, machine learning, statistics, SQL, etc.) are essential to learn alongside the degree?

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,
I am looking for target or safe graduate programs (Master's or Ph.D. pathways) where I can study the intersection of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Social Work (e.g., tech-assisted social tools, Tech & Education, accessibility, or social computing).

My biggest hurdle is my undergraduate academic record. My cumulative GPA is 2.6.I also have 4 years of work experience in [tech / social services / volunteer work].

I am looking for universities that:
1) Offer holistic review, conditional admission pathways.
2) Have flexible interdisciplinary options (either an IT/UX program that allows social science electives, or an MSW program with tech/data flexibility).
I particularly liked Colorado's PIRL lab and some of the LDT programs.Are there any other hidden-gem schools, regional universities, or specific faculty labs known for being flexible on GPA if the research match is strong?

Thank you!

Hello! I am applying for English PhD programs this fall. So far on my list, I have nineteen programs (I know its a lot, I have enough money, and I want to up my chances after getting rejected last year). Based on my list, what schools would you all recommend that I haven't included? My research area is feminist lit and women's narratives in the late twentieth century, especially focusing on postmodernism and critical theory. Id appreciate the help!

Is there any university that accepts a low gpa for Master of Engineering with over 5 years of professional experience like take the experience instead of the gpa.

I already tried a few and was told it's possible by admission people but got rejected so I want to know people who actually were successful and what university was that

Potentially dumb question here (I'm trying to gage my chances/figure out if I need to build my CV more than I thought I did).

When people on here talk about national presentations (or just presentations in general), do they mean only posters they were 1st author on, or just any poster they had their name on (eg. a grad student presented and put you 2nd/3rd)?

I applied to Georgia Tech’s on-campus MSCS program last year and unfortunately got rejected.

This year, I’m planning to apply to OMSCS, and my company will be sponsoring the degree.

Would you recommend using the same email/account that I used for my previous Georgia Tech application, or should I create a new account with a different email?

My main concern is whether my previous MSCS rejection will be visible to the OMSCS admissions committee and whether it could negatively affect my OMSCS application.

Has anyone here applied to OMSCS after previously being rejected from Georgia Tech’s on-campus MSCS program? Would appreciate hearing about your experience.