JotCast | Applied Graduate Student Chat

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John Votta

10:42

Thank you Will. Do you also happen to have statistics on the waitlist? Size and last year's enrollment percentage? Understand if these are confidential and you can only give me high level info.

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:42

John, we do not utilize a waitlist. I'm sorry, but which program are you asking about?

Jiazheng

10:42

Hi Will, for phd in cis, if the faculty members I mentiones in sop doesn't recruit ppl this year, will I will be considered by other faculties or am I out directlt?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:42

Jiazheng, all applications are reviewed, so yes, you will still be reviewed.

Kaiba

10:43

Hello, I'm an applicant of System Engineering. I want to ask whether I will be rejected immediately because of a low GRE score (315-320) ?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:43

Kaiba, no, that is only one aspect of the application - we review the entire application as a whole.

Ranjani

10:43

Do students get waitlisted after the decision dates?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:43

No, we do not do waitlists for PhD applicants.

Melika

10:43

When the results will come out for chemical engineering PHD program?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:43

Melika, we don't have a specific release date.

Saiti

10:43

Hi Officer Fenton! I have one question, on the website for BE PhD program it says that fellowship awards are announced after the interview weekend. Are these fellowships in addition to the funding that is promised to all accepted students? Is it possible for an applicant to be accepted without any funding?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:44

Saiti, these "fellowships," are usually tied to an admission decision. It is possible that an applicant can be admitted without funding, but only if they've shown they can provide their own funding.

Guest

10:44

Did any ESE PhD applicant recieve a email about completing determine your qualification for the fellowships?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:44

Guest, this isn't something that we would do.

Leo

10:44

Hi Will, I am an applicant to the CS Ph.D. program. One of my letter writers was late in submitting his recommendation. I wanted to know if this has any affect on my application?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:45

Leo, unless you received an email from us stating that you are rejected based on an incomplete application, your application will be reviewed.

Guest

10:45

Have they started giving out decisions for PhD in bioengineering yet?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:45

Guest, no they have not.

Nay

10:46

Good Morning Will ! For EE PhD, are some of the decisions sent out ? Thanks for your help !

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:46

Nay, at this point we have not.

Abdulla

10:46

Thanks Will,At the bottom of this page (http://www.cis.upenn.edu/about-people/alumni-mcit.php), it mentions that there is more information on the career services site about the career paths alumni took, however I am having a tough time finding the right page, would you be so kind as to provide some help/assistance?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:46

Abdulla, yes, you can go here: https://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/surveys.php#GradStudent and search the results for CIS programs.

Rachel

10:46

Do some people hear if there has been a decision made on their application to a PhD program before 6-8 weeks have passed? Or is that when first offers are sent?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:47

Rachel, yes, some have already received decisions. But this is a very small number, limited to a few programs.

Jacob (MS Robotics)

10:47

How does research, specific research groups, etc. interface with a student's curriculum? A lot of schools are very stringent about intertwining research with academics. Also can you confirm for me that RA positions are not offered? A lot of the links on the MS funding page you mentioned are dead or empty, can you touch on some of the more common/popular funding sources Masters students pursue?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:49

Jacob, I'm sorry if a lot of those links are dead - the page is maintained by the CIS department, so I'll let them know about that. As for the research, etc play in - for the master's students this is primarily up to them - if you can get your work done, you can usually do as little or as much as you want, as we are very big on cross-discipline work/play. As for RA positions for master's students, not all programs offer them, but you have to have completed at least one semester in good standing to be able to apply. They are also hourly-paid positions, you do not receive a tuition discount for them.

Have you been to UPenn and/or Philadelphia

Yes, I live here (0% | 0 votes)

Yes, both (17.6% | 3 votes)

Philadelphia, but not UPenn (11.8% | 2 votes)

I've been to the US, but not Philadelphia (23.5% | 4 votes)

I've never been to the US (47.1% | 8 votes)

Total Votes: 17

Emmanuel A

10:49

Are the reviews of all the applications for admission to the CIS PhD program complete at this time?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:49

Emmanuel, no, they are on-going.

Sakura

10:49

hello Will, I want to know how my GRE score will be considered? If I have multiple GRE test attempts, will the highest score of each section of each test will be considered?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:50

Sakura, we take the highest score from each section as long as the scores are valid at the time you submitted your application. We do not consider scores taken after the application deadline.

David

10:50

Hi Mr. Fenton, have a large percentage of CIS PhD offers gone out already? I have noticed some forum posts about acceptances.

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:50

David, no, the vast majority of offers have not yet been made.

Bobby

10:50

Hi Will, Regarding ChemE PhD positions, will we receive a letter/email in case of rejection as well? When is the latest date that we might expect a decision?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:51

Bobby, all applicants will receive a decision. Unfortunately, I don't have a specific, final release date.

Aria

10:51

Hello Mr. Fenton. I’ve submitted my application and relavent materials for the BME MS program from my end. However, one of my professors is lagging in sending his letter of rec. Would you still consider my application valid if his letter is late?

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:51

Aria, if it is not submitted by Feb 1, it would be very rare that your application would be considered complete and reviewed. Ultimately, this would be up to the department.

Andy

10:51

Dear officer, Who is responsible for reviewing the material in mechanical engineering, Graduate Admission at Engineering or Mechanical Engineering Admission Committee? Do you know who is the leader of it? I want to send a emai to ask some professional questions.

Will Fenton, Asst Dir

10:52

Andy, there is a committee for the department that reviews applicants, as well as individual faculty that will also review the applicants. I'm sorry, but if you have specific questions, you'll need to send them to the Program Coordinator, Maryeileen Griffith, at mebg@seas.upenn.edu.

Guest

10:53

Hi Fenton, I have applied to the PhD program in Chemical Engineering for Fall 2019. Is it advisable to contact professors whose labs I would like to join and have indicated the same in my application too? Is the decision in ChemEng made by a committee and individual professors willing to sponsor my studies or just the admissions committee?

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