JotCast | Applied Graduate Student Chat, Dec 11, 2019

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Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:44

Leo, we had approx 152 early applicants this year.

Guest

10:44

My recommendation letters and test scores are submitted late, like around dec 1, just curious to know whether these would hurt my chances?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:45

Guest, they're not usually reviewed until after the application deadline, so you're fine.

Guest

10:47

Well in my case,Application deadline is Nov.15., So am I doing fine here?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:48

So that's our early deadline. If you didn't get recommendation letters in until after that, your application will be reviewed in the March 15 group, because your application wasn't complete by the Nov 15 deadline. You have to have your letters of rec in by the deadline as well.

Amanzhol

10:48

Hello there, Will! I applied to Ph.D. in Bioengineering. I was wondering if all students in this program have to go through rotation in the first year? And if not, how does the assignment of advisor professor works? Also, is there any available number on the number of students who applied to Ph.d. in BE?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:49

Hi Amanzhol, I don't believe you do go through a rotation in your first year. I recommend you direct the question to the Program Coordinator, Kathy Venit, at kvenit@seas.upenn.edu. You are assigned an advisor prior to the start of school. And last year there were 466 applicants.

Prashant Krishnan

10:48

Hi Will. I've applied for the MS CIS program as part of the early cycle. Do you by any chance know what the acceptance rates were last year for the early deadline for this program?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:50

Hi Prashant, we are still working on those numbers for last year, but for the year before,we admitted approximately 10%.

Pablo Pineiro

10:50

Hi Will, how are you? About Systems Eng Master, which is the rate of acceptance? And how many applicants do you have this year? Thank you!

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:50

Have you been to UPenn or Philadelphia?

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

Yes, both (25% | 2 votes)

Philadelphia, but not UPenn (0% | 0 votes)

The US, but not Philadelphia (37.5% | 3 votes)

I've never been to the US (37.5% | 3 votes)

Total Votes: 8

Guest

10:50

Hi Will. I had applied for PhD in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and I have two questions...

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:51

Sure thing!

Guest

10:52

1. How to check whether my GRE and TOEFL scores had been received by the institute?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:53

Guest, you can log into your application and check your status after going to the Application Check-list. Then it will tell you if we have received your official scores.

Guest

10:53

2. Decisions on PhD applications are, as per the institute, delivered on rolling basis. Can I know how much time does it typically take for the department to send in a response to the applicant?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:54

Guest, unfortunately this can really vary by department. We try do release decisions 6-8 weeks after the Dec 15 deadline, with all of them being released prior to the April 15 national deadline. Unfortunately, we don't have a specific timeline like we do for our masters decisions.

Amanzhol

10:53

Also, Will, about the rolling basis for admission decision. How early do first successful applicants receive their notifications? Any approximate time on that?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:55

Amanzhol, the most successful applicants could receive a decision the first or second week of January, but this is pretty rare. It's usually within 6-8 weeks after the Dec 15 deadline.

Omar

10:55

Hello! How much is the typical annual stipend for PhD?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:56

Hi Omar, this varies by department and you'd need to ask the specific department for that number.

Martin

10:55

Hi Will! Can I know roughly what percentage of applicants for DS program in the first round will be admitted to the program?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:57

Martin, I don't know. That usually depends on the strength of the applicant pool.

Guest

10:57

Thanks a lot, Will. Final question: what percentage of applicants are generally selected from the PhD applications for the Chemical Engineering program? Any statistic that you can share?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:57

Hi Guest, yes. Last year we had 250 applicants and admitted approximately 26%.

Guest

10:58

Oh, okay! Thanks a ton for the help, Will!

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:58

You're welcome, guest!

Amanzhol

10:58

I am sorry, I have one more question. Do all successful applicants required to pass an interview? Is it conducted by skype for international students? thank you!

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:59

Hi Amanzhol, this varies by department.

Omar

10:59

Thanks, Will. Do MEAM PhD applications get reviewed only after the Dec 15th deadline?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:59

Hi Omar. Yes, unless the department plans on having the person start in January. But that is extraordinarily rare.

Martin

10:59

So is it possible that I will be rejected since the overall strength of applicant pool is too strong?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

11:01

Martin, the majority of applicants to all of our programs are rejected. So in that since, yes. But you may be one of the strongest candidates, I have no way to know from this chat, haha. Good luck!

Moein Taghvaei

11:00

Thank you very much for your patience and have a very great day :)

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

11:01

You too, Moein. Good luck!

Martin

11:01

Thanks Will, have a nice day!

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

11:01

You too, Martin.

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

11:01

Thanks everyone! Have a great day.

Omar

11:01

Thanks. Have a good one.

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

11:01

You too, Omar!

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