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Applied Graduate Student Chat - April 11, 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.
10:02
Where do you live?
United States (28.6% | 2 votes)
 
China (14.3% | 1 vote)
 
India (42.9% | 3 votes)
 
Europe (0% | 0 votes)
 
Middle East (0% | 0 votes)
 
Another Region (14.3% | 1 vote)
 
Total Votes: 7
Guest
10:02
Hi Will
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:03
Hi Guest
Yusuf
10:02
Does 15 years of education qualifies or UPenn needs compulsorily 16 years of education.
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:03
Hi Yusuf, we don't count years of education, but degrees obtained. You must have a minimum of a bachelor's degree, or the equivalent, by the time you would begin classes to apply.
Yusuf
10:04
Ok.
I havent sent WES evaluation report either
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:04
Yusuf, we don't require a WES evaluation report.
Siping
10:04
Hi Will!  I'm an international student and I have recieved the admission of the Electrical Engineering, MSE Program at Penn Engineering for Fall 2019. I want to know is it possible for me to apply to a dual degree in physics & astronomy? Are there some concrete requirments?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:06
Siping, as those programs are outside of Engineering, I know that you need to apply to them separately. If you get in, you can work with that program and your EE program to see if there are any courses that you can count for both degrees. However, we don't have a dual-degree agreement with those programs, so it's possible that there wouldn't be any courses that would cross count.
cool 1
Yusuf
10:04
I have submitted applications but pending LORs, which should come shortly in a few days.
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:06
Yusuf, have you applied to the MCIT Online program or an on-campus program?
Yusuf
10:05
Does UPenn offer TA roles that provide tuition waiver apart from stipend ?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:06
No, we don't offer TA roles that provide a tuition waiver, at least not in Engineering.
Yusuf
10:07
I have applied for an on-campus MS in CS
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:08
Yusuf, in that case your Letters of Recommendation were due on March 15, the application deadline. If we have not received the minimum two required letters of recommendation, your application would be currently considered incomplete.
Tejus
10:08
Hi!

I applied for MCIT On-Campus for the March 15th deadline, along with unofficial GRE Scores. I had taken the GRE in 2015, and had submitted the official scores to the old university code (2926) at the time. I was advised to resend the official scores to the new code (2888), so I did that on 21st March 2019. I understand ETS takes about a week to submit the scores, and that there may also be a delay in acknowledgement of the scores on my application status page in some cases.

It has been three weeks from when I sent the official scores and I still see the application status as "Materials needed" and GRE Status as "Needed". Would that be a problem for reviewing my application, and is there anything I would need to do further after sending the official scores through ETS?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:10
Tejus, we begin application review based on the unofficial scores that you submit on the application. I'm sorry if someone told you that you needed to resend the codes, as you did not - we'll get them from the 2926 or 2888 numbers. However, the reason they may not have uploaded to your application yet is that there could be a discrepancy between how your name is listed on your application vs the test form. Please send us an email to gradstudies@seas.upenn.edu with your full name and we'll look into the issue. I can promise you that as long as the scores were on the application (and all other requirements were met), we have not been delayed in starting your application review.
Yusuf
10:08
I have admit from another University and my F1 visa is approved. Should I get UPenn offer and join, how does that affect that visa ?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:10
Yusuf, you can apply to have your visa transferred to UPenn, as your visa must be sponsored by the school at which you're studying.
Guest
10:09
I see there are four dates the admissions decisions are sent out. Are those based on how close to the deadline the applications were submitted?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:11
Guest, no, they are based on when the dept makes a decision on the application.
Siping
10:09
OK, thanks for your answer. Have a nice day!
cool 1
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:11
You're welcome, Siping!
Anirudh
10:10
Hi. I applied to Nanotechnology MSE program. What is the usual acceptance rate and the class strength last year?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:12
Anirudh, last year we had 24 applicants and 10 started the program in the fall. We've had quite a few more applications for this fall at this time.
Yusuf
10:11
Incomplete Admission from missing LORs - does that cause rejection or LORs sent shortly can fix it ?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:13
Yusuf, you would be rejected. You can log into your application to double check if they're still missing here: https://www.applyweb.com/upenng/index.ftl.
Guest
10:11
Can I get my decision letter ASAP, like this Friday? Since I have to decide if I have
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:14
Guest, I can make no guarantees as to when you will receive your decision letter, as Penn does not offer financial aid to master's students so we don't have to abide by the April 15 consent agreement, http://cgsnet.org/april-15-resolution.
Yusuf
10:12
Visa transferred to UPenn, is that a university procedure that I can do after coming to USA ?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:15
Yusuf, you would be STRONGLY recommended to do it before coming to the US. You can find out more information on the International Students and Scholars Services website, here: https://global.upenn.edu/isss/new
Guest
10:12
*if I have to apply for the OPT. Thanks!
xiaolong
10:12
where can I check the decision letter for my PhD application of bioengineering?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:15
Xiaolong, you can log into your application account: https://www.applyweb.com/upenng/index.ftl
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:15
Have you received decisions from other schools?
Yes (36.4% | 4 votes)
 
No (27.3% | 3 votes)
 
I've received some decisiosn, but not all (36.4% | 4 votes)
 
I've been waitlisted (0% | 0 votes)
 
Total Votes: 11
Anirudh
10:15
Thank you for your response. Of the 24 applications, can you tell me how many were given an offer?
AvatarWill Fenton, Asst Dir
10:16
Anirudh, 17 were initially admitted.
Jessie
10:16
Is there a waitlist for the MCIT on-campus program if I don't get admitted?
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