JotCast | Applied Graduate Student Chat

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Amy S

10:31

Hi Will. I'd like to know the probability to get the quota for living on campus?
Also, is it convenient to go to the grocery from campus? Do I need a car to get daily supplies?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:33

Amy, there is a limited supply of graduate student housing available - only about 10% or so of graduate students live on campus. That said, there is usually housing available until at least early June. And yes, there is one grocery directly at one end of campus, and they are going to be opening another, smaller one, three blocks from the Engineering quad this spring/summer.

Jahnavi

10:33

Hi Mr. Fenton. I applied for Electrical Engineering, MSE. When are the final decisions are made?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:33

Jahnavi, you'll receive a decision on April 5.

Patrick

10:33

Hello again, can you tell me the enroll rate for CS phd students last year?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:33

Patrick, the CIS rate was 36%

Jacob Pickett

10:33

Hello, Since I submitted my undergraduate transcript with my application, some of classes have changed and my grades updated. Am I allowed to replace it with the more updated version?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:33

Jacob, you can send an email to gradstudies@seas.upenn.edu.

Xie

10:33

Dear officer, I am a Chinese student. I have applied for mechanical engineering MSE. If I have a low Toefl Score, Could my application material be reviewed. My score is about 80

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:34

Xie, we review all applications and it is very rare that we would make a decision based on one criteria. Please note that your score is 20 points lower than our recommended score.

Julio

10:34

Hi, I applied to the BME phd program. My back educational background was in biology but my research experience for the last six years has been BME. How could that be balanced in my application?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:35

Julio, I think you just stated it yourself as to how it's balanced. Of course, it would depend on how you did during your program, as well as your personal statement and the type of research as well as results of the research that you produced. All of these elements, among others, are reviewed.

Guest

10:35

Have they started giving out decisions for PhD in bioengineering?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:36

Guest, we have not started releasing decisions for the BE PhD program yet.

Steve

10:36

Hi Dr.Fenton. When will the decisions for CGGT program go out?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:36

Steve, they'll be released on April 5

Jiazheng

10:36

Hi Will, for PhD in CIS, are decisions made based on labs individually or department as a whole?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:36

Jiazheng, both factors are part of the decision process.

10:36

Hi Will, I was wondering if all interviews for Bioengineering PhD have been sent out. Thanks!

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:36

Al, I don't believe they've gone out yet.

iambishwa

10:36

Will, another question. Have you started rolling decisions for Ph.D. applicants of CIS dept?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:37

Iambishwa, yes, we have started releasing decisions at this point.

Share Hobitt

10:37

Morning Will, I would like to know the number and rate of international students of MSE EE and SE program last year. Thanks you.

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:37

Share, we don't release those numbers. I can tell you that around 75% of all applicants last year were international.

Ranjani

10:37

Can I apply for an MSE in ESE if I want to pursue robotics?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:38

Yes, you can. You can look at their various concentrations. However, if you are truly interested in Robotics, I'd strongly recommend you apply to the Robotics program.

Federico Sertic

10:38

Hi Will, I applied for the BE PhD program. I have some questions about the application process. When will I know if my application has been accepted? When do I need to upload the official transcript from my university? How many courses will I be able to transfer?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:39

All applications are reviewed if they are completed by the application deadline. If you are admitted, you'll have the chance to apply to transfer courses, and as a PhD student you can transfer up to 9 courses, but this is at the discretion of the dept.

nastaran

10:39

Dear Mr Fenton, Does Upenn offer any financial aid to international students?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:39

Nastaran, we do not offer financial aid to master's students, regardless if they are international or domestic.

Orianna

10:39

Hi Will, I'm applying for CS PhD. If decisions are rolling, could I say applicants who applied later would have less opportunities than ones who applied earlier?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:40

Orianna, I don't know specifically how that is weighed by the dept, but I do know that decisions aren't made until after the application deadline.

Jiazheng

10:40

And not to rush since I know yall are busy, I'm just wondering how far is the review process for phd in cs at right now?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:40

Jiazheng, the process has been ongoing since at least Dec 15, the deadline.

Alch

10:40

Hi Will, quick question on CIS PhD application: 1) I have just got a paper submitted to a conference(it was"under review"when I submitted the application) is it possible for me to update my CV/SOP/etc. ? 2) Has the school started reviewing our materials/would they see the material change). Thanks!

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:41

Alch, all applications are currently under review. You can submit an updated CV/resume to admissions2@seas.upenn.edu, but there's not guarantee that additional info will be used in the review.

Abhirup Basu

10:41

How many international students are admitted to the PhD CBE Program?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:41

Abhirup, there is no specific number.

Amirbabak Sabetpour

10:41

Hi Will, hope you're fine. I have applied for Chemical engineering PhD program. Will we receive a letter whether we have been accepted or denied a position? Also, when would be the latest time that we should expect a decision ? Thanks so much for this great platform !

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:42

Amirbabak, all applications will receive a decision. There is no last release date, but we try to have them all out prior to April 15.

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