JotCast | Applied Graduate Student Chat, January 8, 2020

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Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:53

You should send an email to admissions1@seas.upenn.edu

10:36

I have applied foe chemical engineering Ph.D. program.

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:54

AG, you should send an email to admissions1@seas.upenn.edu

Robin

10:36

Hi Will. Nice to see you again here. I applied for CS PhD and I also want to know usually when would the decision be made if the application was submitted two weeks before the deadline? Thank you.

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:55

Hi Robin, thanks for joining again. Decisions usually start to be released 6-8 weeks after the Dec 15 deadline, so they should start going out in the next 2-3 weeks.

Jizhou

10:37

Hello Will. I applied for a MSE in MEAM and submitted the application on Dec. 18.

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:56

Jizhou, you can email admisssions1@seas.upenn.edu

John

10:39

Hi Will, as for the two release dates of the first round, can I know if the school will release all decisions on either one date or they will release a part of decisions separately on both dates?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:57

John, we'll release all of the decisions we've received to that point. Any we haven't sent out on Jan 15 will next be sent out on Feb 15.

Yug

10:39

Thank you Will. I will send them an inquiry email again. I did enter my scores while filling out the application and the status for rest of the materials is complete.

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:57

Yug, ok. Then we should have at least been able to begin the review.

David Trakhtenberg

10:39

Hi Will, If we find out that we are admitted on January 15, hypothetically, how much time will we have to decide to enroll? Is there a cutoff date for early decision that's different than regular admission? (This is for MSE in DS, if it matters). Thanks!

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:58

David, that's a great question! We ask you to submit a decision by Feb 15. If you don't, then we have a pause, and you can again submit you decision from March 15 - June 1.

Sunny

10:39

Hi, Will Sorry for posting multiple questions separately, this is the list of all the questions I have for this session :

1) I am an international applicant for the ESE Ph.D. program. I have submitted my application on December 10. When may I expect an interview? Whether the interviews will be conducted onsite or through Skype?

2) my second question is, what is the minimum GRE Quant and verbal score required for the admissions committee to at least look into my application? The Upenn webpage shares the average scores but not the cutoff or minimum scores required?

3) Whether the ESE Ph.D. program application review committee review these applications holistically or they have set a cut off GRE and GPA to filter applications in the first phase?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

11:01

Sunny, not a problem. Here are your answers:
1) ESE PhD does not hold official interviews, so I can't say if you'll be interviewed or not. If you are, they are usually conducted online.
2) We don't have minimum required scores.
3) We do not have required GPA or GRE scores for our applications, and we use a holistic review, so all factors are taken into consideration.

Jordan

10:40

Re: Johnny's question about submitting fall term grades. If I'm applying for the MSE Ph.D. program, can I submit my fall grades too? Or an updated transcript with fall grades attached?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

11:01

Yes, you can submit updated grades. Please email admissions1@seas.upenn.edu

Chengyang

10:41

For the PhD application in materials engineering, how can I update the Fall 2019 transcript please?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

11:02

Chengyang, you can send an updated transcript/grades to admissions1@seas.upenn.edu.

Matt

10:42

Hi Will,

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:44

All, here is the updated link to be able to see the career survey results for graduates: https://careerservices.upenn.edu/post-graduate-outcomes/.

Matt

10:44

Do you know what process we would need to go through to be considered for a Master's, if we are rejected from the PhD program? Do you recommend that I indicate that now (through an application etc), or would be equivalent if I underwent this process in a couple of weeks after I receive my decisions?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

11:03

Matt, the easiest way to make sure you're considered is to submit a master's application. If you don't do that, you can wait until you receive a decision and, if it is unfavorable, then request that the dept consider you for a master's. However, the vast majority of applicants that have gone this latter route in the past are not considered for a master's. Ultimately, it's up to you.

Eric N

10:44

Do CS PhD students get wait-listed, if they are not admitted in the first round of selection? Can you tell us the number of CS PhD applicants this year?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

11:03

Eric, we do not use a wait-list, but admissions are rolling. We had 924 applicants this year.

Guest

10:45

Hi, Will. I applied for the MSE in Data Science early decision and just recently got my fall semester grades. Do I need to update that on my application checklist?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

11:03

Guest, you can send those to admissions2@seas.upenn.edu and your application can be updated.

Raj Kothari

10:48

Hello, I have applied for MSE in CSE program and completed everything according to early decision deadline. However, there's a small correction in resume? Can I do anything?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

11:05

Raj, you can submit it to admissions2@seas.upenn.edu. However, we can't guarantee that the new info will be taken into account.

Elizabeth

10:48

Should you be able to see if your application is under review in the online applications?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

11:05

Elizabeth, yes. Your status should be "ready for review."

Gerardo

10:50

Hi Will, for the BE PhD program, what are the total number of applicants? And what % are expected to be offered admission?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

11:06

Gerardo, we had 513. I don't know what % will be offered admission this year, but last year we admitted approximately 14%.

Palas Tiwade

10:50

Myself Palas Balakdas Tiwade, I have applied at University of Pennsylvania for a doctoral program in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. I have a query regarding my application checklist. Please note my applicant ID number : 83415331. In the checklist, I can see my official GRE & TOEFL score is yet to be received by the college but in fact I have already sent my scores two weeks back Please check and revert me back if the site is not updated or scores are yet to be received by you.

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

11:07

Palas, thank you. You can send an email to admissions1@seas.upenn.edu with your query, but I will also look into it. If we already have your unofficial scores on your application, then we will have been able to at least start the review.

Harry

10:50

Hello! If I do a master's application despite having done one for PhD, would my recommenders have to go through the same process again?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

11:10

Harry, you could opt to have them not send new letters, although we don't recommend it, especially if it is a very different master's program. You can do so by filling in the Letter writer’s full name and other information and then selecting “No,” to the question, “Will this provider be submitting the letter of recommendation online?” Once you submit the application, you’ll need to send an email to gradstudies@seas.upenn.edu with the name of the program to which you’ve applied, so that we can then upload your letters of recommendation to the new application.

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

10:52

Where would you live?

On campus (19.2% | 5 votes)

Off campus, but near UPenn (42.3% | 11 votes)

Off campus in West Philadelphia/University City (3.8% | 1 vote)

Off campus in Center City/Downtown (3.8% | 1 vote)

I have no idea, help! (30.8% | 8 votes)

Total Votes: 26

Patricia

10:54

How many CS PhD students does Penn expect to admit this year in AI/ML area?

Will Fenton, Enrollment Specialist

11:11

Patricia, I don't know for the specific concentration, but I can tell you we admitted approx 10% last year.

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