The GradCafe

Details and information about the application.

Institution: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Program: Computer Science
Degree Type: PhD
Degree's Country of Origin: International
Decision: Rejected
Notification: on 30/11/-0001 via E-mail
Undergrad GPA: 3.80
Notes: TTPB: Do not worry about MIT rejecting you. I have two papers at top venues, one of which is a first author. But the biggest problem was I come from a place where my recommenders weren't well known. To the best of my knowledge, schools in top 10, including places like UT Austin are taking students if your recommenders are known to the admissions committee. I am bummed because all my recommenders gave me strong letters and still I got rejected. If this should be the case, I would rather suggest that you all don't worry. You will surely get in somewhere where only Academic Merit is valued and not networking. Sadly, we live in a world where it is very difficult for individuals to get admitted all by themselves if they can't find good connections with Professors elsewhere. What bums me even more is the simple fact that if even one of your Letter writer sends an email to a prof at a top uni anywhere (personally if they know each other), all the other tangibles are overlooked and you atleast get looked at very deeply in the application and guess what, have an excellent chance of making it even if your application is okay. never lose hope. sometimes life isn't just about making it to these places. its bigger :)