Relative importance of these factors when applying for PhD?
Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 11:18 pm
Hi. I started my application process rather late (last day in fact) and only apply into tier-1 school in Maths (no safety school). But looking around, it seems like everyone is having super-duper profile, and now I am panicking. I asked this question on another board already but there isn't a maths-specific reply, so I thought I would ask again here. What are the relative importance of the following factors when the committee make judgment to admit or not?
-Application submitted on time or not.
-GRE general taken or not.
-Super high GRE subject maths or not (like, I just look at UPenn (which is not tier-1 but at least they publish the number) and the average is 820; I assume that the average of something like MIT is probably 900 or something).
-Done any REUs or not (I can't imagine what an undergrad could even do for research, but the existence of REU indicate otherwise).
-How many letter of recs there are ('cause I heard many people get 5 and more)
-Whether the recommenders are strong/well-known researcher.
-Undergrad in liberal art or univ?
-What if no grad level maths courses taken?
-What if no basic maths courses taken?
-Cumulative GPA (counting all classes including non-math)
-Maths GPA.
-Whether non-math course failed/barely pass?
If you know someone who get into tier-1 school with poor profile in one or some of the above aspect, please give example too.
Thanks. Please tell me anything to end this uncertainty.
-Application submitted on time or not.
-GRE general taken or not.
-Super high GRE subject maths or not (like, I just look at UPenn (which is not tier-1 but at least they publish the number) and the average is 820; I assume that the average of something like MIT is probably 900 or something).
-Done any REUs or not (I can't imagine what an undergrad could even do for research, but the existence of REU indicate otherwise).
-How many letter of recs there are ('cause I heard many people get 5 and more)
-Whether the recommenders are strong/well-known researcher.
-Undergrad in liberal art or univ?
-What if no grad level maths courses taken?
-What if no basic maths courses taken?
-Cumulative GPA (counting all classes including non-math)
-Maths GPA.
-Whether non-math course failed/barely pass?
If you know someone who get into tier-1 school with poor profile in one or some of the above aspect, please give example too.
Thanks. Please tell me anything to end this uncertainty.