JotCast | Admitted Graduate Student Chat - April 17, 2019

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Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:28

Penn is great in that you can really determine your own course of action. When I was a grad student here in the School of Education, I was a Grad Assistant in one of the dorms, wrote for the student paper, participated in the Penn Band, was asst. manager for one of the information desks in another dorm, played intramural sports and did a decent amount of research. Granted, I wanted to be as busy as possible :)

Guest

10:26

Hi Will,

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:26

Hi Guest

James Baker

10:28

Thank you, Will and Miranda!

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:28

You're welcome, James!

Chen

10:28

Hi Will! I have been admitted to the Electrial Engineering program. Do you know what critria should be met if I want to have a dual MCIT degree

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:30

Chen, you need to wait until you've completed at least one semester of your degree in good academic standing. Once you've done that, you can apply for a dual degree. More information is here: https://grad.seas.upenn.edu/student-handbook/academic-options/#2degree and here: http://www.cis.upenn.edu/current-students/graduate/mcit/index.php

Seed

10:28

Is it ok to share how many people get accepted into CIS program this year?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:31

Hi Seed, we won't know until after May 15, the last decision release date. However, last year we accepted 139 of 1333.

Vraj

10:32

When do we pick who our graduate advisor will be?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:33

Vraj, your program will reach out to you later this spring or summer about your faculty academic advisor.

You can also contact your program directly with questions you may have about your advisor.

Guest

10:34

Hi Will and Miranda, while checking the on campus housing I came across the dining plans but couldn't understand how the system works. Could you explain the general system (like whats the difference between dining dolars and swipes) and whether its only for students with on campus housing? Also, would you suggest enrolling to one of those plans?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:34

Hi Guest, I can tell you that it is for anyone that wants one, including staff. I'll let Miranda answer in more detail, if she can.

David

10:34

Thanks for answering, Will! One more question: if someone decides they'd like a dual degree in a different school, say the MBA at Wharton, would the process be similar? You'd apply after the first semester and work with your advisor to make it work?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:36

David, no, it's not the same. You have to apply separately for the program and be accepted. If you're accepted you'll work with the two programs to see what courses can be double-counted. However Penn Engineering only has dual degree agreements with a few schools, Wharton is one of those. But for example, you can't do this with the Grad School of Ed and Penn Engineering.

Zhang

10:36

Hello, I want to know how many student in Electrial Engineering program dual to MCIT successfully last year(or in recent year). As I know, it is more and more difficult to dual MCIT in that program.

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:37

Zhang, the Admissions office doesn't track those dual degree numbers, as this process is outside of the admissions process. I do know that the majority of people that apply for the dual degree option do qualify.

Guest1

10:37

Hi Will,
In the application to the MSE program, there was a question asking whether I am the first generation in my family to attend college. I had answered yes to that question in my application since one of my parents has "attended" college but dropped out in the second year of the B.Com degree.
But I later learnt that I am still considered as a first-generation college student if my parents haven't completed their degree i.e. dropped out from college.

I know it might be too late but can you please tell me whether I need to make a change by informing my graduate program or is it not necessary to make the change?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:38

Guest1, this question is only relevant for our program for statistical reporting purposes, so it's not a change that would affect you at this time. It can affect a FAFSA application and applications for external aid, but that's not related to our application.

Ranjani

10:38

Hi Will! Please check if you have received my request on facebook for joining the official group of Penn! I'd like to be a part of the community there and get in touch with the folks.

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:39

Hi Ranjani, I just went through those requests this morning - did you submit your decision form?

Miranda Stewart

10:38

Hi Guest! Like Will said, you are welcome to enroll in a dining plan if you would like to, even if you are living off-campus. Most dining plans are made up of some amount of swipes and some amount of Dining Dollar$. Each swipe is one entry into an All-You-Care-To-Eat facility. Dining Dollar$ are a declining balance loaded onto your PennCard and are used to purchase items on an item-by-item basis in our retail facilities.

Guest, even if you plan to mostly cook for yourself, dining plans are great for those times when you don't want to cook (or do the dishes), or to grab a quick meal between classes

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:39

Have you received decisions from other schools?

Yes (57.1% | 4 votes)

No (14.3% | 1 vote)

I've received some decisions, but not all (28.6% | 2 votes)

I've been waitlisted (0% | 0 votes)

Total Votes: 7

Anirban Banerjee

10:39

Hi Will! I wanted to know which documents other than the financial ones would be needed for the I-20?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:40

HI Anirban, once you've submitted your decision form you'll receive an email, usually within 24-48 hours, detailing the additional documents we need from you.

Deepen

10:40

Hello. I have been admitted to the MSE Electrical Engineering Program. Is there any way I can be considered for MSE Embedded Systems ? I know it's an unusual request, but can the Embedded Systems Department review my application and somehow I can be considered for that instead of MSE Electrical ?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:41

Deepen, I'm sorry, but no. You would have needed to either apply to that program or request this prior to the application deadline. Considering the deadline was February 1, it's too late. However, you can apply to transfer to the Embedded Systems program after you complete one semester in the EE program in good academic standing.

Ranjani

10:41

I just submitted my decision form.

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:42

Ok, well, we have to make sure we have that before we add you to the group, as it's only for students that have accepted the offer of admission. You'll probably be added later today

Deepen

10:42

Thank you for the clarification

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:42

You're welcome, Deepen.

Ranjani

10:42

Thank you!

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:43

You're welcome, Ranjani

Guest1

10:44

Thank you :)

Anirban Banerjee

10:44

Thank you for the answer. Also, how do we find out about the different ongoing assistantships and funding options available on campus?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:46

Anirban, you have to have completed at least one semester in your academic program before you can apply for a RA/TA position in your program, if they're available. You can also find some funding opportunities here:
http://www.cis.upenn.edu/prospective-students/graduate/aid.php
https://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/gradstudfunding.php

Guest1

10:46

Can you please give me an insight into the on-campus jobs which graduate students can take up during their time at Penn?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:46

Hi Guest, on-campus jobs are open to everyone, so you can literally apply to all of them. There aren't any that are only open to non-grad students to my knowledge.

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