What should I do to increase my chances of getting into Carnegie Mellon?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around strategies for increasing the chances of acceptance into Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) for a PhD program in Robotics. Participants explore various aspects of graduate school admissions, including academic performance, research experience, and extracurricular activities.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • Austin expresses concern about his academic profile, mentioning a 3.8 GPA and a D in an English class, and seeks advice on improving his chances for acceptance.
  • Some participants assert that significant research experience is crucial for admission to CMU, suggesting that Austin should join a lab and start working on papers.
  • Others argue that a strong GPA and letters of recommendation can also play a significant role in admissions, downplaying the impact of a single low grade.
  • There is a suggestion that applicants should pursue their interests passionately rather than focusing solely on what might impress admissions committees.
  • Some participants note that the admissions landscape has changed over time, indicating that past experiences may not reflect current requirements.
  • Several participants discuss the importance of research experience, with some claiming that applicants have been admitted without it in the past, but this is becoming less common.
  • There is a discussion about other leading schools in robotics, with mentions of MIT and Georgia Tech, as well as a claim that CMU is the top program.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that research experience is important for graduate school admissions, but there is disagreement about the extent to which other factors like GPA and recommendations can compensate for a lack of research. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the best approach to enhance admission chances.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying opinions on the importance of different aspects of the application process, such as grades, research experience, and personal passion. There is also mention of changing trends in admissions criteria over time.

AustinWhite
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What can I do to increase my chances of getting accepted?

I'm currently a freshmen at Wichita State University studying Electrical Engineering. My hopes down the road are to get a PhD in Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University. As it stands currently, I'm pretty unimpressive on paper. My GPA is a 3.8 which is ok but I have nothing else going for me. I volunteer at a couple of places in my free time but that's about it. So I feel that if I want a chance of getting accepted I have to start now. Can you guys tell me some things that will increase my chances of acceptance? And I was just wondering since WSU isn't that prestigious of a school, will that hurt my chances? I also would like to know what are some of the other leading schools in robotics, just so I can keep my options open.

One more question. I was stupid and got a D in an english class and I'm pretty ashamed about it. I can assure you it wasn't because of lack of brains or anything. I retook the class and got a High A but the D is still on my transcript. Have I already ruined my chances of getting in?

thanks,
Austin
 
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you will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever get into cmu for grad school if you don't have a significant amount of research under your belt. get in any kind of lab immediately and start working on papers. forget about the D, a 3.8 is fine.
 
My suggestion might seem absurd, but I'd say if you want to get into Carnegie Mellon, stop wanting it directly. Don't do something just because you believe it will help you to get into that place. Just do what you like to do, do it with passion, the only rule is not to be lazy, that is, enjoy mostly intellectually.. in some sense.

I believe there's no concrete suggestion that would be helpful to you. More passion, less laziness - that's about it.
 


AustinWhite said:
I volunteer at a couple of places in my free time but that's about it.

The first thing you need to realize is that graduate school admissions are different from undergraduate admissions. For grad school, what counts are (a) your grades, (b) research experience, (c) letters of recommendation from professors or research supervisors. Extracurricular activities are irrelevant, except perhaps if they're directly related to your field of interest (e.g. being officer of an engineering club, or tutoring students in classes in your subject area).

One D early on isn't going to kill you, especially if it's in an area outside your major field. Even if it had been a D in first semester freshman physics, it could still be overcome by doing well in the rest of courses, thereby showing that it was just a fluke or "first semester jitters."

Many high school students find that the academic environment in college/university is very different from high school, and have trouble adjusting during the first semester. Many of them make the adjustment and do well later on. Just make sure you understand the source(s) of any difficulties you're having them, and do something about them.

Good luck!
 
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Highway said:
you will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever get into cmu for grad school if you don't have a significant amount of research under your belt. get in any kind of lab immediately and start working on papers. forget about the D, a 3.8 is fine.

Well, people *have* gotten into CMU without undergraduate research experience in the past <cough, cough!>, but times have changed so I have to agree that you need to get into a lab quickly!
 
TMFKAN64 said:
Well, people *have* gotten into CMU without undergraduate research experience in the past <cough, cough!>, but times have changed so I have to agree that you need to get into a lab quickly!

yeah, i literally got this info straight from the cmu cs department. . .

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~harchol/gradschooltalk.pdf
 
Yes, I've read that before. If anything, it points out to me how much times have changed... I got in purely because of grades, recommendations, and test scores. I probably wouldn't even be considered today! :smile:

I also firmly disagree with the idea in that article that a Ph.D. is a waste of time if you don't continue to do research. I happened to go into industry, and the skills that I learned at CMU were *definitely* useful and applicable there.

And that concludes my rant for today.
 
TMFKAN64 said:
Yes, I've read that before. If anything, it points out to me how much times have changed... I got in purely because of grades, recommendations, and test scores. I probably wouldn't even be considered today! :smile:

I also firmly disagree with the idea in that article that a Ph.D. is a waste of time if you don't continue to do research. I happened to go into industry, and the skills that I learned at CMU were *definitely* useful and applicable there.

And that concludes my rant for today.

yeah, i gotcha. I've talked to people in industry that I've worked with, and they said a ms/mba is better because you have the benefits of a higher education and the extra time to work there getting experience / raises; with the example being used: BS + 5 yrs experiences = higher salary than a starting phd with no experience :P
 
  • #10
AustinWhite said:
that was very informative, thanks.

Can you guys tell me some of the other leading schools in robotics?

mit? google will probably be your best bet, but I am p sure cmu is numero uno . . .
 
  • #11
Highway said:
mit? google will probably be your best bet, but I am p sure cmu is numero uno . . .

I know that CMU is the only Robotics PhD program in the nation, do you think this could change within the next few years?
 
  • #12
AustinWhite said:
I know that CMU is the only Robotics PhD program in the nation, do you think this could change within the next few years?

i meant the top, not the only. . . i googled and found some threads. check georgia tech.
 

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