A lot of professors I have asked for advice have told me that my research interests are too broad and that I need to figure out exactly what I want to do but I’m not sure exactly how specific they are wanting.

My interests are in molecular biology and I want to study the effects of starvation on the human body, what drives food intake, and how different biomarkers of starvation can be utilized in the clinical management of a starving body.

Would anyone be able to provide input on how and where my research interests are lacking depth? I’m truly fascinated by everything about this topic, I’d be open to doing work on cell biology, molecular biology, clinical trials, basically nothing is off limits. How can I express my enthusiasm while at the same time being more specific?

I've been emailing a lot of professors from different universities. Asking about whether they will be open for supervision for the next cycle. I have two questions:

1. A few professors have replied. One said that she likes my research experience also mentioned that having clinical exposure is also important. Another mentioned that while she cannot go through each email individually as she gets around 300 such emails, she has asked me to go through a few links she's sent. Do you think such replies are a good sign?

2. I'm also stuck with how approach them through email. I usually talk a little about my current work and research, then about what paper I've read published by them and why I am choosing them to be my advisor. Is there something more I should ask them?

Also one last question, my grad advisor also mentioned reaching out to the department to enquire about the professor if they don't respond, should I do that? I'm a little skeptical about this approach. Please let know what more I should do or what I can change about my approach

If I'm applying in the field of AI/ML, for top t10s, is it almost necessary to have publications at venues like neurIPS, CVPR? If not, how can I compensate?

Im starting off college at a university in the top 300 universities. I was a pretty good student in high school (ranked #5 in my class), and I think I might want to pursue a PhD in the future, but I’m feeling discouraged going to a low ranked university and getting rejected from the top unis for undergrad.

Does anyone have any anecdotes of going to a really low ranked university and then going to an amazing grad school for their PhD?

I was wondering how this even works? You mention to the potential advisor that you’re interested in their work and if they’re accepting students…then what? How do you get to the point where they ask to meet with you? Do you ask them to meet?

I also wanted to ask, I was in contact with a professor last cycle but didn’t get off the waitlist. He sent me a link to his past projects. Should I email him again and mention that I plan to apply again and looked over his past projects and was most interested in XXX? I just don’t want to sound pushy/annoying 😅

Hi all! I'm an international student from Brazil finishing my BA in Psychology, and I'm planning to apply to funded PhD programs in Clinical Psychology with a Neuropsychology focus for Fall 2027. I'd really appreciate some honest feedback on whether my profile is competitive enough to apply directly from undergrad, since most of the success stories I've seen involve applicants who completed a Master's first.
For some background, I'm graduating from a federal university in Brazil with a cumulative GPA of 9.62/10 (roughly 3.85–3.9 on a US 4.0 scale). I've completed an undergraduate research fellowship funded by FAPESP (São Paulo Research Foundation, one of Brazil's largest public research funding agencies). I also have two published papers: one as first author on self-esteem in children with ASD and ADHD, and one as a co-author on an ABA family intervention study. I also have another manuscript currently under review (first author). I've presented a poster at a national conference on psychological assessment and assisted with data collection for the Brazilian validation study of the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales (RIAS-2).
On the clinical side, I've completed four required practicums: designing ABA programs for families of autistic children, conducting cognitive assessments with adults and older adults (including attention, memory, and executive functioning), providing CBT-based interventions for survivors of intimate partner violence, and I'm currently completing a practicum in organizational psychology.
Outside of academics, I co-founded and currently serve as president of a student-run academic league, have worked as People Division Director in a student-run junior enterprise, and have served on the organizing committees of two academic conferences.
No Master’s degree, and no post-bac research position (yet). My main concerns: (1) whether going straight from a Brazilian BA is competitive enough without an MA bridge like most posts here describe, and (2) whether being an international applicant without a US-based research position hurts me more than I think.

I need some advice. This was my second year of applying. My intended field is Structural Engineering.

I completed my BSc in 2023 from a not-so-renowned university in my country. My CGPA is good. Since then, I have had a period of unemployment followed by a few years of research experience, during which I published some research papers.

This year, I applied to 7 unis, including both mid-tier and lower-tier schools. I received rejections from two of them, while the remaining offered me self-funded masters admissions.  I know that they are basically soft rejections.

I have decided that this will be my final application cycle. If I am unsuccessful again, I will shift my focus away from research.

Given my situation, which option would strengthen my profile more for one final application cycle? Taking the GRE before applying or completing an MSc first and then applying for a PhD two years later?

I got a Juris Doctor offer in Australia, as an international student from Aberdeen, the fees are quite high. But my ultimate dream is a PhD which I may recieve an unfunded offer for.

I keep hearing all the time you should not do an unfunded PhD. In my eyes, the JD and PhD costs similar so I keep thinking why not do an unfunded PhD? But its so widely discouraged, I am confused.

Anyways what do you think?
Provided I can manage the expenses (in both circumstances) and I do aim to start looking for scholarships/ teaching assistant positions other jobs. Also is it realistically possible to work alongside a law phd?
Can anyone who did a phd (especially unfunded) in law, have any advice?
Also does university ranking matter?
The uni ranking of the JD is a 1 Australia, top 20 in world. The Phd is a top 200 world ranking.

No one in my family has a postgraduate degree so I am in a bit of a pickle. Thank you to everyone for explaining.

I'm first-gen trying to collect my application materials, but there is so much different advice on what to emphasize and how to curate my application. Because the F26 cycle was so competitive, I'm really interested in hearing from people in my discipline (rhet/comp/English or humanities) who had success in their cycle, or who learned from the last cycle!

Many people in other fields have shared that they were in contact with PIs before/during the application cycle, and I'm curious if that is something that humanities (or specifically English) candidates have started doing. Did you participate in cold emails, and if so, how explicit were you in your intentions and how clearly do you distinguish that communication from what would be communicated by your application materials?

I'd also love to hear how people chose their writing samples and how they approached the personal statement—especially if you mentioned specific faculty you'd like to work with.

TIA for any advice!!

I'm planning to apply for Fall 2027 (MS/PhD) and started reaching out to professors in July. So far, I haven't received any responses. I've heard that July and August aren't the best months because many professors are on summer break, attending conferences or traveling etc.
i mainly targeting US, canada and germany.

Hey guys

I will be going to Germany for my MSc in Quantum science, to pursue my research interests in quantum computing and many-body physics. I have offered from RPTU Kaiserslautern, Leibniz University of Hannover, and Ulm University. I am currently awaiting a response from TUM as well.

I have been reading a lot of posts about the fact that it is very hard to get a phd in europe now, germany included for physics. Some of this data are from people on reddit itself, so I do not know what to really take from that. And some of these people are applying to these positions with non-europeans degrees as well. I would really like advice from some people who are doing their phd in physics, so that I have a realistic picture of what to expect and how to prepare.

Although nobody can predict the future, as an Indian I am trying to understand the German system better, and this post is part of that process.

Please give me your input!

Hey!
I’m a dual major at community college (biotech and biology) in New Mexico
I’m looking to finish summer of 2027 and transfer to a four year college get my bachelor and then get my masters and possibly phd
I love research and animals!
I met with a career advisor yesterday and we couldn’t find anything bio related stuff in the state at all
I had mentioned maybe going to El Paso and studying at state for the animal sciences stuff
She kept pushing for UNM but I was told it’s super biomed focused with a lot to do with cancer research that’s also highly competitive which doesn’t seem to be calling me
She recommended California and Massachusetts
Possibly to do a RUE at a school and then transfer there afterwards
I saw that UC schools were good and that MIT was good but I wanted some actual insight into what made them good from real people
I’m looking to actually move out, and put a down payment on a condo or a mobile home or some land for a mobile home and I don’t think I would ever be able to afford a actual house but I would still like to own where I live
I’m pretty openly queer and would like to go somewhere that’s accepting
I’d prefer if tuition was affordable and that if there was grants or other forms of tuition assistance

Any help is appreciated!
Thank you

TLDR
I’m moving next year and hoping to go to a good biology school
Looking to get masters and maybe phd
Looking to also settle down wherever I go to school (condo or mobile home)
Low tuition or good financial aid is a must
I’m mostly interested in things to do with animals and not super medicine focused
I’m looking for low cost institutions in a city that’s queer friendly

EDIT:
I posted this to a different subreddit and someone suggested NMSU which was my original choice!

Hello, guys! I’ll be having my MBA interview this weekend for University of San Carlos. Can anyone share some tips on how I can ace the interview and what possible questions I should prepare for? I'm going to take the non-thesis program. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! 😊

Having some qualms regarding future career paths.

Background Context: Currently working in academic administration making low 6 figures, salary will capped out in 3 years unless graduate level degree is obtained.

I was initially going to accept a PhD offer, but after running the math I am starting to see that the 5 year work gap and the loss of my current salary for 5 years is pretty stark.

My other plan was to do a Masters then an Ed.D and keep my job and move up the ladder, but will have to pay out of pocket for them.

Another issue is I love research and biomedical sciences and have spent the last 3 years volunteering in a research lab ( have pubs from it) with the thought that I would go into a PhD. But I do not think it would be wise to trade off a stable salary and hope that I land a PI position or a similar job to my current role, post PhD considering the job market and funding uncertainty.

My goal has always been to go for Dean level roles then work myself into Provost/VP level role in academia and educational policy. But reviewing some threads and discussing with higher ups, I was told that Ed.D candidates are usually passed over for PhDs at the 4 year level....

Should I pursue the Masters to Ed.D? Is the PhD still a good idea?

I would really appreciate any thoughts and insight, thank you in advance

I have two confirmed thesis based MS options at the same low-mid tier Canadian university.

My background is in CS, with a very weak undergraduate CGPA of less than 3.00 out of 4.00, nearly five years of data engineering experience, and a few published independent works. After the MS, I will definitely pursue a PhD.

Option 1: CS based MS

The coursework is more familiar and probably safer for earning a strong GPA. The research is in trustworthy AI and deployment risk mitigation. The supervisor is relatively new, but his research expectations are clear, straightforward, and manageable, which is an upside for me. With the more manageable coursework and research, I may also have more time for deeper or additional independent research.

However, I do not necessarily want to pursue PhD research in this specific topic. It may be something related, but probably not this exact area.

Option 2: Electronic systems based MS

The supervisor and research interest me slightly more, particularly hardware aware AI, software simulation, SNNs, and related areas. However, the coursework is much less familiar and likely harder due to it being electronics adjacent, I could do some CS related courses but overall coursework will most likely still be harder. Even though I built a decent research profile to compensate, my weak undergraduate grade still makes me really doubtful about handling the harder coursework.

I have not yet had a formal meeting with this supervisor about research expectations or a specific research direction. However, I could see myself continuing in this area during my PhD.

Basically, one option feels safer, while the other feels riskier but may have a higher ceiling.

How much should I prioritize supervisor and research interest over coursework difficulty and GPA risk? I would also be grateful for advice on how much MS research alignment matters when applying for a PhD.

When to start cold emailing professors for Fall 27 PhD? My field is ECE.

Background & Stats:

• Undergrad: IIT (Tier 1 India), Dual Degree (B.Tech + M.Tech) in Computer Science.
• GPA: 9.0+ / 10
• Experience: ~3 years at a FinTech firm working in a makeshift research department.
• Letters of Recommendation (LoRs): 2 from IIT professors (strong academic/research backing), 1 from my current industry research manager.

Publications:

• 1 paper published as a primary/co-author in an AI conference (CORE Rank B / e.g., IJCNN).
• Note: The paper is not in Multimodal AI.

Research Interests:

• Looking to transition into Multimodal Artificial Intelligence for my PhD.
• Note: Neither my published paper nor my current corporate research focuses on multimodal AI.

Questions for the Community:

1. Reality Check on Top 15 US Unis: Given the hyper-competitive nature of AI PhDs right now, is a Top 15 US university realistic with one Rank B publication outside my target domain?
2. Domain Pivot: How heavily will admissions committees penalize me for applying to Multimodal AI labs when my publication and work experience are in a different subfield of AI? How can I best bridge this gap in my Statement of Purpose (SoP)?
3. School Recommendations: Which Tier 2 / Tier 3 US universities (or specific labs) have strong Multimodal AI programs and would serve as good "target" or "safe" options for my profile?

Thanks in advance for any brutally honest feedback!

hi everyone. i am still on the waitlist for a masters in occupational therapy cohort starting this fall. just wanted to ask what is the latest anyone has been accepted after being on the waitlist? trying to have some hope since there is still a month before orientation!