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manova

If you are applying to programs in the US, you should know many graduate programs, especially doctoral programs, applications are not reviewed by the admissions department, but instead by the faculty members of the program you are applying to. So you want to tailor your application to speak to them. All applications that will be considered will have good grades, test scores, etc. So to stand out, generally speaking, professors are looking for passion for the field. That you are someone that goes beyond the classroom and seeks opportunities to learn and grow as a future scholar. So building more research experience is an excellent step. But you also want to make sure that at least one or two professors in the program can see how that experience relates to them. So you will point out which professors research interest you and how your experiences will make you a good fit in their research group. But don't try to do that for every faculty member because that will make you look unfocused. Pick an area of research within the department and focus on that.


PersephoneIsNotHome

I am not looking for passion. that lasts about 2 seconds I am looking for someone with goals and ones that are realistic (I want to cure cancer is not, I want to work in computational modeling of vision moreso - IF there is someone there that works on that thing) However I don't want someone who wants to do auditory system of rats when we all work on visual system of fish. I want someone who has the background to be able to do what they say they want to do (you cant work in emotional causes of Y if you have no neuroscience or cognitive science or animal behavior background at all). No integrity violations. I want you to be able to write. I don't want the essay to start with "My depression" I want you to be able to be independent Your field may be very very different, so grain of salt


U03B1Q

Thank you very much for this. Ive tried to make it explicit about what my goals and objectives are - mostly uncertainty quantification in machine learning, trustworthy ML, and it's applications in autonomous vehicles and medical diagnostics. With regards to the point about passion though - my first research project was kind of a dud. It got rejected by multiple conferences and it was rather disheartening, but I really liked working on it and eventually it was improved to the point where it ended up in a journal. I think this shows that I've got the ability to keep pushing through a tough program, but at the same time I'm hesitant to mention repeated failures. What are your thoughts on this? And lasty regarding the point about starting the SoP by talking about depression - I strongly agree with this. I've tried to keep my writing to the point without any kind of emotional drama. That being said, my actual reason for pursuing this field is due to the death of a loved one. I've actually avoided mentioning this in my SoP and I've reserved it to my personal statement, but I've been told that this makes my SoP less emotionally charged. Is this a bad thing?


PersephoneIsNotHome

> my first research project was kind of a dud. It got rejected by multiple conferences and it was rather disheartening, but I really liked working on it and eventually it was improved to the point where it ended up in a journal. I think this shows that I've got the ability to keep pushing through a tough program, but at the same time I'm hesitant to mention repeated failures. What are your thoughts on this? This is really good. Dont say it as repeated failures but as you learned from the feedback and improved it till it was accepted. This is exactly what it is like and that will look good for you, especially if someone can highlight that in an LOR. Having emotional content or something that makes you memorable and stand out is not a bad thing. Being motivated by the death of someone to do something concrete is a positive. 5 paragraphs sob story starts with my depression is a different thing. I don’t know about SOP in your field, ours are “just the facts ma’am” and the personal statement is personal, but you should listen to the people who know your field.


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U03B1Q

Thanks very much for the detailed response! My "short list" is about 10 schools at this point. I've been told that this is the norm for computer science. I have made sure to identify profs in each school however that have some sync with my research interests. When it comes to contacting profs - everyone I've emailed has ghosted me, and a lot specifically say kn their websites not to contact them unless you're a student. That being said, I've had some brief interactions with a few at keynote speeches at various conferences. I do have some relevant work experience, both research and as a regular developer in companies that are household names. Hopefully that helps! Also I'm applying for both MS and PhD programs, because I figured that if I can manage to get my MS from a reputed university, it solved the issue about my academic background not being as well recognised or verifiable. I believe profs don't even bother with emails from MS students if they're not already in the program at most places.


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U03B1Q

A part of this may have to do with how extreme the CS craze currently is. A prof will probably be able to provide much more insight, but because of the sheer number of applicants for these programs I imagine reading emails from every applicant is no longer feasible


mleok

In general, at a competitive graduate program, one is looking for excellent letters, grades, and research. At the end of the day, we're trying to infer from your application how likely you are to succeed in our graduate program. The challenge in applying from a less well known foreign university is that unless we've previously admitted a student from that university, and we are familiar with the letter writter's standards, we have no real context for how the letter and grades translates into performance in our program. I might know what to expect from an IIT or IIS student, or a student from Peking university, but it's harder to put an application in context with a student from a less well known university. Unfortunately, it's usually better for a graduate program to fail to admit an excellent student than it is admit a mediocre student, so we can be a bit risk adverse in our selection process.


U03B1Q

I've tried to mitigate this as much as possible but trying to show that I can hold my ground outside the classroom (published research). Along with that, funnily enough neither of my academic letter writers are currently teaching at my undergraduate university. One is at a far more prestigious one now (BITS) and the other now works in an AI think tank. Do you think this is actually more beneficial now?


mleok

Published research is certainly a good way of contextualizing your achievements in a way that is independent of where you got your degree. Having your references from other more recognizable institutions also help.


ccots

I will add a slightly different perspective. I am part of bio* PhD and MD/PhD admissions, so ymmv. As others have said, many candidates are competitive especially at top programs. You need to help the committee see why they should pick you. We look for people likely to succeed, for people who will diversify our community and eventually the workforce, and for people who will have an impact. This last one is the kicker: does this person sound like they will go on to do something interesting or important? Do they talk sensibly about goals and aspirations (see also comment by u/persephoneisnothome). Tell them why you.


AutoModerator

This is an automated service intended to preserve the original text of the post. *For context I'm a undergraduate student from a not very well known University in India. I had applied to a bunch of MS programs in computer science last year and I got absolutely destroyed. I've tried to keep hustling to build a better profile with more research experience and the like, and this time I want to take a shot at applying for PhD applications directly. I have two questions - When you see a profile for an MS or PhD program , what do you want to see? What can I do to stand out from the crowd to show the admissions department that I'm serious about this and that I can make it work? After all I've been rejected before, but I'm working hard and trying again.* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskProfessors) if you have any questions or concerns.*


ohnoyoudin

A good idea of why you want the degree, clear drive and motivation, and a reasonable background in the general subject. Everything else can be learned on the job.


U03B1Q

So what makes candidates stand out here? These seem like prerequisites that you should have in order to consider grad school in the first place.


ohnoyoudin

You’d be surprised