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Admitted Graduate Student Chat - March 13, 2019
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AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:00
Good day, all. My name is Will Fenton and I'm the Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions at Penn Engineering. I'm here to answer questions you may have about our Graduate Programs, life as a graduate student at Penn and living in Philadelphia.
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Where do you live?
United States (60% | 3 votes)
 
China (0% | 0 votes)
 
India (0% | 0 votes)
 
Europe (0% | 0 votes)
 
Middle East (0% | 0 votes)
 
Another Region (40% | 2 votes)
 
Total Votes: 5
Here are some links that you may find useful:
What questions do you have for me today?
10:02
Where do you live?
United States (58.3% | 7 votes)
 
China (8.3% | 1 vote)
 
India (16.7% | 2 votes)
 
Europe (0% | 0 votes)
 
Middle East (0% | 0 votes)
 
Another Option (16.7% | 2 votes)
 
Total Votes: 12
Guest
10:02
Hi Will, I had a couple of questions regarding switching programs during graduate studies. If I am interested in the CIS program, are there certain pre-requisites that are required to apply?
Dajr
10:04
Would it be possible to give some details on the Career Services provided by UPenn
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:04
Hi Guest! You are able to apply to switch programs, although you have to complete at least one semester in your initial program and be in good academic standing. You can read more about the process here: https://grad.seas.upenn.edu/student-handbook/academic-options/
10:05
Hi Dajr, Well, I'm not entirely sure what type of details you'd like - they function as most career services offices due, providing resume reviews, interview prep, career fairs, career and alumni contacts, etc. You can find out more on their website: https://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/
Miranda Stewart
10:05
Hi all! My name is Miranda Stewart, and I'm the Graduate Assignments Coordinator in the Housing Assignments Office. I'm happy to answer any questions you have about on-campus housing!
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:05
Howdy, Miranda! Good to see you (virtually) today!
Cindy
10:05
Hi Will, thanks for hosting this, I have a question regarding the UPenn Bioengineering MSE program. How often do students choose the thesis option? How difficult is it for students to find a faculty advisor for the thesis option?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:06
Cindy, that's a great question. Unfortunately, I don't know the specific answer, although I do know it's a relatively small number. Students usually work initially with the academic advisor to research and identify a faculty member that would serve as their thesis advisor. You can receive more information from Kathy Venit, the Program Coordinator, who's email is kvenit@seas.upenn.edu.
Corey
10:06
Hi Will, Just wanted to inquire about visiting the campus as an admitted Masters student. Is the "Engineering Master's Advisory Board (EMAB)" the best option? or is there another option?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:07
Corey, the best option is filling out this form: http://pennemab.weebly.com/emabambassadors.html
Guest
10:07
Hey Will and Miranda,
Daniel
10:07
Hi Will,
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:07
Hi Guest, Hi Daniel
Guest
10:07
I wanted to know about housing options both on/off campus. I looked into it a bit and only really found Sansom Place
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:07
Guest, that's the main graduate housing offering for on-campus living. You can find out more about off-campus living here: http://cms.business-services.upenn.edu/residential-services/applicatio...
HH
10:08
Hi Will,I received a master offer of material science and engineering,I wish to know the admission rate and number of this program last year.And I wish you could tell me how many semesters most students take to finish this program.
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:08
HH, sure thing. We admitted approximately 46% of applicants for the materials science mse degree last year. 34 people started the program in the fall.
Alex
10:08
@Will, is it generally common for UPenn students to get internships or experience of that sort during their master's program.
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:09
Alex, it varies quite a bit - a lot of our students are international, so they are limited in their ability to get internships due to student visa rules. But we do have a decent amount that will do internships, especially over the summer.
Guest
10:09
Hi Will, if I have bachelors degrees in Math and Economics, as well as multiple higher level courses in computer science, would that allow me to apply to the CIS program? I see that it says you are required to have a BS in CS, but I was wondering whether or not there were exceptions for students who took programming classes for leisure?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:10
Guest, if you haven't applied yet, we would recommend applying for the MCIT program and, if they believe you're over-qualified, they'll contact you about changing this to the CIS program. In addition, you can also apply to transfer to the CIS MSE program after one semester in the MCIT program.
Cindy
10:10
ok, thank you!
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Miranda Stewart
10:10
Hi Guest! Sansom Place is the only graduate student housing on campus. If you have any questions about Sansom, please let me know!
Sayaka
10:10
Good morning Will, would you be able to inform me what the admission rate and number of students in the masters of Biotechnology program last year?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:11
Sayaka, sure thing. We admitted 55% of applicants for Biotech last year and we had 48 students start the program.
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Miranda Stewart
10:11
Guest, there is also a live-in Graduate Associate job working for College Houses & Academic Services. In that case, you would live in the undergraduate College House where you work. If you are interested in that, you can find more information at https://www.collegehouses.upenn.edu/join/ga
Alex
10:11
@Miranda, do you happen to know the average budget used for off-campus housing, and how easy it is to find off-campus housing?
Brad MacDonald
10:11
Hey Will, quick question! When do admitted grad students get to select classes for the Fall 2019 semester? Also, when do next semester's courses go online for viewing?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:13
Brad, you can find the catalog here: https://catalog.upenn.edu/
Registration is handled by each program - some will register you and others will let you do the registering. Your best bet is to contact your program directly.
Dajr
10:13
About the housing, how many roommates are there?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:13
Dajr, it depends, but in the on-campus housing it's usually just one.
Liad
10:13
Hi All, What can Masters Students do to pay for the degree? Is FAFSA applicable? Where do we get access to student loans?
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