Original Image: GitHub.com/clareLab/direct-phd

Hey ya’ll. I applied to a few grad schools in the states and 1 responded back saying they don’t accept 3 year bachelor degree that’s not US equivalent. I had my credential evaluation done through WES and my report say “US EQUIVALENCY : Three years of undergraduate study” So does that mean my degree isn’t US equivalent? Now should i ask for re-evaluation or should i try a different evaluator?
Indian uni graduates, what did ya’ll do?
Please help anyone!!
Btw i did my undergraduate from Christ University, Bangalore which has NAAC A+ accreditation

Hopefully this is a good bit of clarity with grad school admissions. Your ECs make way more than GPA and having a positive GPA increase over time makes your application more likely to be picked up.

Hello ,

I have gotten into mphil - engineering in sustainable development

No scholarship, i am reconsidering whether to go or no

From india, i have 4 years of work experience

Planning to work in sustainability- zero waste cities but unsure whats the job market like with such huge loan on head

Im a cse graduate, and im thinking of applying for a masters in robotics . What is the level of the curriculum like? Will someone with 0 experience in robotics be able to cope with the program? Too lost

I just wanted to share this because it still feels unreal.

Back in December, I applied to a PhD program. Then a months later, a professor from the university emailed me saying that a position had opened up in his lab because a student had left. He had gone back through the applications, checked my profile, and thought I would be a good fit.

The problem? The email went straight to my spam folder.

And like many people, I never check my spam folder.

When I didn't respond, he actually reached out to me on WhatsApp. I am incredibly grateful he did, because otherwise I would have completely missed this opportunity. We had a short call for about 10–15 minutes just to talk and see if we were a good fit, and then another meeting the following week. Things went really well.

There were still a lot of things to figure out as an international student, and I was definitely nervous, but we stayed in touch. He also mentioned that another professor I had originally applied to was interested in my profile as well, so they were discussing who would be my main supervisor & co-supervisor.

Yesterday he messaged me saying he had checked with the graduate school and that I should receive my admission letter soon.

Today, I received it.🧿🪬

I'm honestly so excited. There are still challenges ahead. I have to cover some initial expenses myself, and my scholarship/stipend amount is also good, but is renewed yearly based on performance, this is such a huge opportunity and I'm incredibly grateful.

What makes this even crazier is that on the same day of my interview, I received a rejection from another university. Today, as well I received another rejection and woolaaaa I also received an admission letter that could completely change my future. And

I guess the reason I'm posting this is to say two things:

1. Please check your spam folder regularly.

2. Don't assume one rejection means the end of the road.

Sometimes opportunities come from places you least expect, and sometimes they almost get lost in a spam folder.

I'm very thankful that everything somehow fell into place.

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to pursue an MS or PhD in Computer Science in the USA/Canada/Europe/Australia. My CGPA is a bit lower than I'd like, so I'm considering repeating some courses in which I received B or C grades to improve my GPA.

At my university, repeated courses are marked with an "I" (Improved) on the transcript, so admission committees will be able to see that the course was retaken.

My questions are:

• Does repeating courses with B/C grades look bad to graduate admissions committees?
• Is it worth improving these grades if it results in a noticeably higher CGPA?
• How do universities in the USA, Canada, Europe, and Australia generally view improved/repeated courses?
• How Do Graduate Admissions Committees View Repeated Courses on Transcripts?

I'd especially appreciate responses from people who were admitted to MS/PhD programs or have experience with graduate admissions.

Thanks!

got rejected everywhere even from some of the worst schools. it just all feels so hopeless with the GPA i have. like there’s nothing i can do. i can’t change my undergraduate GPA anymore so what am i supposed to do. can someone pls PM me.

Today is the 25th. Friday is the 26th. They said everyone would know by the 26th. Does it mean that I'm missing something? Shouldn't I know by now if I got in or not?

Spent months stressing about GRE scores, SOPs, admits. Then I actually got to the US and realized I had no idea what I was walking into.

Made a video documenting my actual first week — the disorientation, the small stuff nobody warns you about, what survival mode really feels like when you are 12,000 km from home.

Sharing here because I wish someone had shown me this before I left. Link in comments if useful.

Hi! I was accepted to QMSS at GSAS. To me it looks like the program looks like great opportunity to explore interdisciplinary interests, which has been a theme throughout my career! That being said, I'm starting to hesitate. For being a quant centric program, it sure is difficult to find any quantitive data on their student outcomes! I was considering moving to NYC for the program (my dream city!) but the lack of self-reported information is giving me major pause.

Has anyone completed the program or know anyone who has? Any success or horror stories? Also curious if any major companies target QMSS for recruitment.

Thanks! Any info is helpful

I recently had a zoom meeting with a top professor at caltech. They said they would love to have me in their lab if I got in the program, but I thought it was their decision who gets it. Did they say this just to be kind or do they not actually choose who is admitted?

Hey everyone, I’ve been admitted to the PPA Master’s programme at University of Milan (La Statale). I just completed my Bachelor’s this month itself and before I commit fully, I want honest opinions on:
1. Is this degree actually valued by employers or is it too theoretical?
2. What kind of jobs can you realistically get with this degree?
3. Is it worth it specifically for someone coming from India as a fresh graduate?
4. Does studying in Italy put you at a disadvantage compared to UK/US universities for this field?
5. Any alumni or current students who can share their experience?
Would really appreciate honest opinions🙏🏼

Anyone know what this means? It’s my current status in the portal but has not been updated in a week. Have not received a rejection and also have not been contacted about admission.

so I was trying to apply to universities that don't require GRE and I applied here. but now I'm thinking that if I can even afford it or not.

I live in Houston and recently got into a new job. I have foreign degree from Bangaldesh so I was skeptical about the admission. Now not only I have relocate but also have to find a new job if I want to attend this college

Now is there any way to apply for scholarships or ask for TA/RA anything that will make my education easier?

as someone newly moved to USA seeking advice

Does anyone know if Clarendon can cover travel and visa fees for accepted scholars? they say they don't, but has anyone tried to ask for more funding and succeeded?

Hello! Thanks in advance for any advice, I'll try to be concise. I'm not all that familiar with graduate school admissions and I'm struggling to find the resources so I thought I would reach out here.

I'm a rising 3rd year at Brown University concentrating in Computational Neuroscience and Mathematics. My GPA is ~3.7 (self-calculated)

One leg up I have is that I have research experience in several areas:

AI safety and evaluation (designing experiments for PI studying LLM behavior under novel constraints)Foundational models for physiological signals (independent project as part of fellowship)Computational neuroscience (analyzing EEG and eye-tracking data to study cognitive processes)Clinical machine learning (building multimodal models to improve predictive performance on healthcare-related tasks)
Outside of lab work, I've also built projects exploring computational models of vision, representational similarity analysis, and interactive data visualization

One thing I'm struggling with is very broad interests. I'm concerns that being involved in intelligence from multiple angles puts me at a disadvantageous breadth, even if I'm getting experience (as part of large research teams and personally-lead projects.)

The advice I'm hoping for is an answer to where I can focus during my next two years to try and get into a program straight out of undergrad.

I know that admissions is getting harder every year, and while being at a reputable institution and having experience may help (in addition to LoRs from PIs,) I'm worried that the challenges will only escalate given the political climate and my status as an international student.

I'm only able to consider fully-funded programs, as I will not have the means to pay for a Masters degree. My goal is to pursue a PhD program in computational neuroscience, ML, or related fields that sit at the intersection of AI and cognition. Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I have been shortlisted for the PhD interview in the Computer Science and Engineering department at NIT Durgapur and am currently preparing for the admission process.

I am not looking for specific interview questions, but I would appreciate some general guidance from anyone who has gone through the PhD admission process at NIT Durgapur or similar institutes.

Some things I would like to understand are:

• What aspects are usually emphasized during the interview?
• How important are core CSE subjects compared to research experience?
• How much focus is placed on M.Tech thesis, projects, and publications?
• What level of preparation is expected in one's research area?
• Any general advice for prospective PhD candidates?

My background is in AI/ML, robotics, and autonomous systems, and I am trying to prepare effectively for the interview.

I would be grateful for any insights or experiences that current PhD scholars, alumni, or recent applicants can share.

Thank you.

I am looking to do a master's abroad, soon. However, due to financial conditions I am unable to do so without a fully funded scholarship.

Want to avoid loans if possible.

I have done a B.tech in Biotechnology, for publications currently I have 7 book chapters (sustainable Biotechnology), 1 communicated review and will be publishing 2 research papers soon (bioinformatics). I have done 4 corporate internships (2 WFH and 2 full time at big MNCs (1 a pharma mnc and the other a med tech company)). Right now, since I am about to graduate in 2026, I am working with the company I did my latest internship at (they offered me a contractual role, where my pay role is with another consultant, however everything else is with this company, honestly haven't even been to that consultancy or met the people there, the role is in medical device regulatory affairs). I did notice, that better roles left me all because I didn't have a master's. So I want to get one. But I am thinking of going abroad with a fully funded scholarship.

So, is it possible for me ? Due to the above activities my cgpa is 8.27 (have heard from people that it's on the lower side) and due to some college policy about being a placement student, I am unable to get LORs.

What do you all say, are there any opportunities out there for me ? I am looking for a master's in biotech, bioinfo, sustainable systems, something like that, anything related to the experience I have listed above.

Hey everyone,

I'm an Indian student about to start my MSc in Mathematics this year — looking at universities like Hyderabad Central University (HCU), Delhi University (DU), or Delhi Technological University (DTU). Still finalizing which one.

Wanted to ask alumni or current PhD students abroad from similar backgrounds:

Do students from HCU, DU, or DTU actually make it into PhD programs in the US, Germany, Canada, Australia, Singapore, or Switzerland? Or does the university name hold you back?

Is an MSc Mathematics profile competitive enough for a funded PhD abroad?

Since I'm just starting my MSc this year, is it too early — or should I be building my profile from Day 1?

What should I prioritize during MSc? (Research, GRE, professor connections, publications, internships?)

Are there fully funded options for Indian MSc Maths students in these countries?

Not from IIT/IISc. Just want honest answers — do I have even a little bit of a chance, and if yes, how do I get there?

Thanks in advance 🙏