JotCast | Applied Graduate Student Chat, Dec 11, 2019

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Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:25

Hi Flora, sure thing. We have approximately 410.

Robin

10:23

Nice to see you Fenton. I applied the PhD program and I have a question about the recommendation letters. Whether the three letters have to be all from academia, or could have one from the employer? Because I have worked in the industry for many years...

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:26

Hi Robin. You need to have at least one from an academic source, unless you've been out of school for 5 or more years. Then you don't need to have any be from an academic source.

Devesh

10:23

Also, does TOEFL score have any weightage when it comes to academic considerations like GRE or is it just a basic criteria?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:27

Devesh, TOEFL score is factored into the application. However, I can't give you further information for how it is specifically considered, as different programs may evaluate it differently, especially between Masters and PhD programs.

Cindy

10:25

Good morning, Will. This is Cindy. I have a question on updating my materials here. May I ask if I need to update my grade in Fall quarter after they are available? And for GRE test, if multiple tests are taken, will best score in each section from all tests be evaluated? Thanks!

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:29

Cindy, you don't need to submit updated transcripts once you receive your fall grades, but you can. However, we can't guarantee that the new grades will be taken into consideration if your application is already under review. And for GRE, yes, we do "Super Scoring," looking at the best score for each part, as long as all of the results are valid.

Guest

10:25

How many applications did you receive for Bioengineering PhD program last year and this year?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:30

Hi Guest, last year we received 466 applications. We don't release current numbers, sorry.

Moein Taghvaei

10:27

Thanks again. What if I decide to change my application focus to another program? I mean withdrawing my application and resubmitting it with new program (if I decide so). Since the deadline has not passed yet (Dec 15th)

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:31

Moein, if you'd like to do that, you can email us at gradstudies@seas.upenn.edu and request to transfer the application to a different program. However, this would need to be done no later than Dec 15 at 11:59PM EST.

Siddhant

10:27

Also, approximately how many people have applied to the MS in DS program?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:31

Siddhant, for the early deadline we had 436 submit an application.

Robin

10:27

I see. Thank you Fenton

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:31

You're welcome!

Mehedi

10:27

Hello, I got a question on GRE. I took the exam recently but did not really do well in the quant section. How much emphasis the admissions committee puts on the GRE? I have 16 years of software development experience, and I hold a BS and MS in CS, and SE, respectively. My previous GRE that I took around 2007 was good though.

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:33

Mehedi, unfortunately we can't consider scores for an exam taken 12 years ago. As to how it's factored into the application review, I can tell you it is considered, as are all other aspects of the application. We use a holistic review process, so I can't say how much the specific part of the GRE plays into the review, especially because it can change based on each program.

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:27

Which program did you apply to?

Master's (68.8% | 11 votes)

PhD (31.2% | 5 votes)

Both (0% | 0 votes)

Total Votes: 16

Cindy

10:31

Thanks Will. May I ask if the applicant can send additional GRE score report that is taken after the early decision deadline? Will that score still be considered during the evaluation? Thanks!

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:33

Hi Cindy, you can submit the scores, but there's no guarantee that the new scores would be considered, as we consider all information final at the time of application submission.

Leo

10:32

Hi Will,

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:34

Hi Leo.

Siddhant

10:32

Thank you again

10:33

Please can you tell me the strength of MS in DS?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:34

Siddhant, I'm not sure what you mean by "strength of MS in DS"? We consider this to be an extremely strong program. If you're asking about the rate of admission, it was our most competitive master's program last year, admitting approximately 9% of applicants.

Leo

10:33

Hi Will,
Good Morning! Will you be able to share the student composition of previous classes in the MCIT program? thanks!

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:35

Hi Leo, could you be a bit more specific in your question? Thanks!

Guest

10:35

Hi Will,

Please what was the number of applicants for PhD Computer Science last year? And what was the acceptance rate?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:36

Hi Guest. We had 825 applicants and admitted approximately 10%.

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:37

Where would you plan to live

On campus (20% | 2 votes)

Off campus, but near UPenn (60% | 6 votes)

Off camps in West Philadelphia/University City (0% | 0 votes)

Off campus in Center City/Downtown (0% | 0 votes)

I have no idea, help! (20% | 2 votes)

Total Votes: 10

Moein Taghvaei

10:37

Great. If I decide to transfer my application to a different program, I need to submit another Statement of Purpose, and choose other professors as my preferences. Is that possible? and another question is do I need to pay the application fee again? Thank you very much for your patience

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:39

Moein, if you wanted to submit a new personal statement and new research advisor preferences, you would need to submit a new application. In which case you would need to ask for your current application to be withdrawn. You could ask for the current letters of recommendation to be transferred to the new application, but everything else would have to be submitted. And yes, you'd need to pay a new application fee.

Moein Taghvaei

10:39

I saw everyone is asking about the acceptance rate. I was wondering how many applicants have you received for PhD in Mechanical Engineering and what is the acceptance rate? What are the numbers for PhD in Materials Science and Engineering? Thanks

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:40

Moein, last year we had 296 applicants for the MEAM PhD program and admitted approximately 9%, and the MSE PhD program had 235 applicants and we admitted approximately 15%.

Leo

10:39

Hi Will,
I am referring to the class profile, like how many male/female students, the diversity of student body or how many international students in the class. Will you be able to share such information? thanks!

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:40

Hi Leo, unfortunately we don't have those specific numbers for the program.

Guest

10:39

Hello,

10:40

How many people applied for MS in CIS early deadline?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:41

Hi Guest. We had approximately 410 apply for the early deadline.

Leo

10:43

Oh ok! thanks Will. Last question, add on to the guest's, how about MCIT? approximately how many applicants are considered for the early deadline of 2020 fall?

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