JotCast | ALL DAY EARLY DEADLINE - Prospective Graduate Student Chat, Nov 15, 2019

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Will Fenton, Asst Dir

2:22

Alice, are you a US Citizen? if not, this is standard for the application. However, if you did graduate from programs in the US, then this would be waived after your application is reviewed by our staff.

Max

2:20

Hello Will,
For the "Test Scores" section on the application, if our GRE scores are unofficial at this time (i.e. pending the official score report from ETS), may we leave the percentiles for all categories and the Analytical Writing score blank? Or should we put something such as "Pending" as a placeholder for these fields? Additionally, should we indicate that the Verbal and Quant scores provided are unofficial, or is that not needed?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

2:22

Max, you can leave that blank.

Max

2:28

Thanks, Will! Also, as a follow-up question, for our resume/CV, is there a particular preferred length range as to how long it should be?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

2:28

Max, we recommend it shouldn't be more than two pages, unless you have a lot of publications to list.

Anny

2:29

Thank you Will

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

2:29

You're welcome, Anny.

Max

2:29

Got it. Thank you so much, Will!

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

2:30

You're welcome, Max.

Guest

2:52

Hi Will, I have submitted my application however on my checklist it shows Date Recvd of Recommendations as blank. Both of them have submitted it and it is showing completed on the form. SO why is it blank on the checklist?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

2:52

Guest, it usually takes some time for the checklist to be updated once you've submitted your application. What is the full name you used on your application?

Guest

2:54

It is Abhinav Atrishi

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

2:54

Thank you. Give me a moment or two to check, please.

2:56

Abhinav, we have received two letters of recommendation for you.

Abhinav

2:56

Thank you so much Will

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

2:57

You are welcome. Good luck to you!

Guest

3:02

Hi Will, does the committee review applications in the order in which they are received? For example, will the committee review the application submitted a week ago prior to reviewing the application submitted today? And if that's the case, does the submission time impact the acceptance rate in any way? Thank you!

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

3:03

Guest, they are reviewed after the application deadline. I am not familiar with any specific order, nor do I believe it would directly affect the application evaluation.

Xuezhou Wen

3:11

Hi Will, I want to ask if I can submit my application before my recommender submit their rec letter? thank you very much!

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

3:11

Yes, you can.

Guest

3:26

Hi Will, I'm curious why there are two dates (Jan 15 and Feb 15) for the result of early decisions. Is the second date like a "waitlist date"? Or just because the committee doesn't have enough time to review all the application by the first date and they need to push some applications to review between Jan 15 and Feb 15? Thanks!

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

3:27

Guest, thanks for the question. The 2nd date was put in at the request of the faculty and I do believe it will depend on the number of applications we receive for the programs. If they get a great deal, it may be that they just don't feel like they have enough time to fully review all of the applications by the Jan 15 date.

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

3:36

Ok folks, the chat today is going until 4PM EST and the deadline to submit the application and all required materials, including the letters of recommendation, is 11:59PM EST today, Nov 15. Get those questions in!

Max

3:39

Hello Will,
For the "Employers" section of the application, it only allows us to enter up to 4 employers. Should we enter our 4 most recent employers, or select 4 of our employment experiences that we feel is most relevant to our application?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

3:39

Max, we recommend your 4 most relevant employers. For most applicants, that is their 4 most recent. But you can also include other employers on your resume/cv that you upload.

Max

3:41

Got it--thank you!

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

3:41

You're welcome.

Guest

3:41

Hi! Can I ask a question which might be tangential to the application process?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

3:42

Sure. We're here to answer as many questions as we can.

Alice

3:42

Hi will, will we only receive a decision exactly on the two days -- Jan. 15 and Feb.15? I know people who received decisions in Dec. in the previous years. Thanks!

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

3:42

Alice, that is for the early decision release period. Yes, we started doing specific release days last year for these master's programs.

Guest

3:47

Thanks, as an international student applying for MS in BIOE, I believe I have to be in full-time status (may be except last semester?). Does that mean I cannot take a semester off, for instance during summer to head back to home country to update my passport or have an internship outside PA or even US, until the program is completed?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

3:47

Guest, no, that is incorrect. You must be a full-time student during the primary semesters, fall and spring. Summer is not considered a full semester, so that is yours to use as you see fit.

Guest

3:49

Ah, thank you for clarifying it!

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

3:49

You're welcome.

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

4:09

Thanks for chatting today, everyone. Have a terrific day and weekend!

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