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Applied Graduate Student Chat, January 22, 2020
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Yug
10:39
Hey, I have applied for PhD in Chemical Engineering. Could you briefly explain what is the decision process like? Is there an admissions committee or faculty specified by the applicant in their application make the decision or is it a combination of both? Thank you!
AvatarWill Fenton, Enrollment Specialist
10:43
Yug, there are both individual faculty and a review committee that will review applications. That's all I can really say.
Prasheel
10:39
Hii Will, can you give me dates of last year acceptance decisions of MEAM PhD
AvatarWill Fenton, Enrollment Specialist
10:44
Prasheel, they were rolling, just like this year. All applicants will receive a decision, and we hope to have them all out by the April 15 deadline.
Katy Felkner
10:39
Hello Will, I applied to the PhD in CIS. Does CIS invite admitted students for any sort of visit weekend? If so, do you know the date of that weekend?
cool 2
AvatarWill Fenton, Enrollment Specialist
10:45
Katy, yes, they do invite admitted students for a visit weekend. I believe it is in February, but I don't have those dates at this time.
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Noah Del Coro
10:42
Good morning Will!
I applied to the Robotics Masters. I'm wondering how common it is for Master's students to get TA positions. I'm looking at alternative sources of funding in addition to scholarships/fellowships. Thanks in advance!
AvatarWill Fenton, Enrollment Specialist
10:45
Noah, you would need to complete at least one semester in good academic standing before you can apply for a TA position. And the amount of available positions vary per year.
Prasheel
10:42
Continued from last question... Basically When was first and last decision was made last year. So that we know till what time we can expect...
AvatarWill Fenton, Enrollment Specialist
10:46
Prasheel, as I said, everyone will receive a decision, and you know know that we've already started to send out decisions. That's all I can tell you.
AvatarWill Fenton, Enrollment Specialist
10:42
Where would you plan to live?
On campus (15.4% | 2 votes)
 
Off campus, but near UPenn (38.5% | 5 votes)
 
Off campus in West Philadelphia/University City (0% | 0 votes)
 
Off campus in Center City/Downtown (7.7% | 1 vote)
 
I have no idea - help! (38.5% | 5 votes)
 
Total Votes: 13
Kaus
10:43
Thanks for your response Will. Does the Material Science PhD program hold interviews for applicants?
AvatarWill Fenton, Enrollment Specialist
10:46
Kaus, they don't have a formal interview program.
Polly
10:44
Hi Will!
AvatarWill Fenton, Enrollment Specialist
10:46
Hi Polly!
Katy Felkner
10:44
Another question: what percent of grad students live on vs. off campus? Is it common for people to live on campus the first year and then move off campus for the rest of their program?
AvatarWill Fenton, Enrollment Specialist
10:47
Katy, the vast majority live off campus, because Penn only has dedicated graduate student housing for about 1000 or so students.
Polly
10:45
Thank you very much for taking the time to do this. I was wondering whether you have any updates on the Computer Science PhD program admissions process. Thanks in advance!
AvatarWill Fenton, Enrollment Specialist
10:47
Polly, I can tell you some decisions have gone out, but the vast majority have not. That's it.
zeyuan
10:46
Hi will, I am applying CBE phd in Upeen, could you tell me how many applicants applied to the CBE Phd Program this year? and how many applicatns last year and how many admitted ?
AvatarWill Fenton, Enrollment Specialist
10:48
Zeyuan, we had 238 apply this year. Last year we had 250 and we admitted 66. I was told they are planning on admitting less students this year.
Kaus
10:46
Also, could you share roughly when decisions for the Mat Sci PhD go out? And have any decisions been sent out yet? More broadly, have any PhD decisions for any of the engineering programs at Penn been sent out yet?
AvatarWill Fenton, Enrollment Specialist
10:48
Kaus, they usually start going out 6-8  weeks after the deadline, so probably next week or the week after. I can't tell you how many decisions have already been released.
Ninaad
10:47
Hi Will.A follow up question. For the MSE in MEAM program, are there a limited number of students admitted to each concentration (say mechatronics), and if so, are there stats available for the same for the previous year?
AvatarWill Fenton, Enrollment Specialist
10:49
Ninaad, we don't have stats for the specific concentrations. This is at least in part because students may change the concentration prior to actually starting classes, or after their first semester, so it wouldn't necessarily reflect anything actually going on in the program.
Chin
10:51
Thank you Will! Have a good day! :-)
AvatarWill Fenton, Enrollment Specialist
10:51
You're welcome, Chin.
zeyuan
10:51
thanks will ! a follow up question. For CBE Phd program, whats the portion of admitted students ? I am an international student with us undergrad degree and grad degree, so really curious about that
AvatarWill Fenton, Enrollment Specialist
10:52
Zeyuan, I'm not quite sure what you're asking - we admitted about 26% of the applicants. This year I've been told that number will probably be smaller.
AvatarWill Fenton, Enrollment Specialist
10:51
Have you been to UPenn or Philadelphia
Yes, I live here (6.2% | 1 vote)
 
Yes, both (18.8% | 3 votes)
 
Philadelphia, but not UPenn (18.8% | 3 votes)
 
The US, but not Philadelphia (25% | 4 votes)
 
I've never been to the US (31.2% | 5 votes)
 
Total Votes: 16
Ninaad
10:53
The website says 1 course unit is $7310. So are the total tuition cost for MSE MEAM program $73100, or are there additional costs ? Also, could you please tell us about the average monthly living costs off campus near Penn?
AvatarWill Fenton, Enrollment Specialist
10:55
Ninaad, no. If you see the breakdown on the page - the cost of 4 courses is approx $29240: https://gradadm.seas.upenn.edu/paying-for-your-education/. As for costs living off campus, this can vary wildly based on a huge variety of items, but you can use this website as a decent estimation: https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/philadelphia
zeyuan
10:55
thanks will! its like among the 66 admitted students last year, how many are americans and how many are international, how many are international but with US degree?
AvatarWill Fenton, Enrollment Specialist
10:55
Zeyuan, we don't release the breakdown of US vs International. Sorry.
Kaus
10:55
Thanks again Will, really appreciate it. Could you share anything about the funding for the Mat Sci PhD program, in other words, are they planning on accepting more or less candidates?
AvatarWill Fenton, Enrollment Specialist
10:56
Kaus, I haven't received any information that the number for the 20-21 year will change more or less. Sorry.
zeyuan
10:58
Thanks again! really appreciate your help! you have a wonderful day!
cool 1
AvatarWill Fenton, Enrollment Specialist
10:58
You're welcome, Zeyuan. You have a great day as well.
Thiago
10:58
Hi, Will. I read on the Graduate Admissions webpage that some programs at UPenn recommend a minimum of 100 on the TOEFL iBT, but I scored a little less. Is it a huge problem for the CBE program (Ph.D.)? Thank you in advance!
AvatarWill Fenton, Enrollment Specialist
10:59
Thiago, we do not require a 100, but it is recommended. Ultimately, this is one part of the overall application, so if the rest of your application offsets the slightly lower score, then that would be ok.
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