graduate-applications

[scarlet barn]

@tacit lark

[ivory thorn]

Hey everyone! I’m new to the server! I have been looking at online MS in Applied Mathematics and DePaul University’s program looks really interesting. They have a bunch of courses that interest me. The only downside is the synchronous nature and the cost lol. Beyond that, does anyone have any experience with DePaul University Math Department? How are the graduate math classes? How are the professors?

[smoky jetty]

not screwed IMO

My 3 letters were
1: Math REU prof
2: CS prof who I TAed under for 3 years
3: Aerospace prof who I did graph theory algorithms stuff with
am in math phd program rn

[tacit lark]

i agree

[scarlet barn]

Thanks

[tepid forum]

My third recommended hardly knew me, he was my first year mentor and saw me perhaps half a dozen times

[empty bridge]

Are you planning on pay for it yourself?

[sudden hollow]

does anyone have any example of what a good academic cv should look like

i only have seen people talk about bad examples of including too much

[ivory thorn]

I plan on using my employers tuition assistance. I get like $10k/year tuition assistance, so I plan on spreading classes over 4 years that way I pay max $10k.

[past anvil]

This is the biggest thing. The more graduate classes you take in undergrad, the better your grad experience will be.

Get to know your profs. Especially if you decide on the area you want to focus.

[scarlet barn]

See I am very worried about just asking another person from this year

[scarlet barn]

If I want to apply to candian schools do I need to be applying to master's first?

[narrow shadow]

I am seeking advanced skills in functional analysis. I finished my studies last year and am currently working in a traditional field.

During my studies, I covered classical functional analysis, Banach spaces, Hilbert spaces, and topics such as the Hahn-Banach and Banach-Steinhaus theorems. I also explored (classical) applications to differential and partial differential equations. I studied subjects like Bergmann spaces and the Lax-Milgram theorem. I am also very familiar with L² Fourier theory. I have a basic understanding of measure theory, integration theory, complex analysis, and algebraic topology, although many of these subjects are quite distant for me (from two to three years ago).

I hope this information gives you a better understanding of my level. I'm a complete novice in many areas: representation theory, distribution theory, Gelfend theory, stellar algebras, von Neumann algebras, advanced probability (random matrices), spectral theory, etc. I'm also considering pursuing a PhD in functional analysis in a few years.

I would appreciate some advice on a structured approach and progression in functional analysis. I'd like to gain a broad and in-depth understanding of functional analysis in relation to other disciplines (number theory, probability, algebraic topology, theoretical physics, etc.). Where should I begin? Which books seem best suited for this long-term project? Thank you for your guidance.

[scarlet barn]

This is an excellent question! However, it might be better in a channel like the advanced lounge or the advanced analysis channel as this channel is more so logistics of applications (I could be completely incorrect on that however)

[narrow shadow]

Someone in advanced lounge told me to ask here

[scarlet barn]

oop my bad

[tepid forum]

Functional analysis is fairly diverse, are you more interested in the sort of C* algebras side, the spectral/operator theory side, PDEs side, or Banach spaces side. They all overlap granted

I think once you've done a standard intro to functional analysis (say to the level of Rudin) then you should be ready to dive into any other advanced functional analysis book.

[narrow shadow]

Hello, I'm interested in gaining a broad overview of functional analysis. I get the impression that at a certain level, functional analysis is intertwined with many other topics (group theory, representation theory, Riemannian geometry, etc.). Here are some terms or subjects I've found related to functional analysis that I'd like to explore further: C* algebras, Gelfand transform, von Neumann algebra, spectral theory, harmonic analysis

[tepid forum]

For C* algebras there's books like Murphy and Davidson's C* algebras by example.

For spectral theory I like the book by Sigal and Hislop

Gelfand transforms should be in a book on Banach algebras/C* algebras. Harmonic analysis Im not super qualified but there's Grafakos' classical Fourier analysis book

[narrow shadow]

thank you bro !

[tepid forum]

nw

I think Conway has an operator theory book that'll have stuff similar to what you want

As well

[smoky jetty]

My CV is on my website. Unclear how good it is but it got me into grad school and I've already gotten a few rounds of feedback on it. Of course this has more stuff than when I applied to grad school but the formatting is all there.

https://anakin.phd/cv/

[tacit lark]

thats really nice

[smoky jetty]

Is it that nice? lol

Uhhh https://github.com/moderncv/moderncv

Template btw

[sudden hollow]

Thanks alot, this is very helpful

[tepid forum]

Very standard in a very good way, think it's a great example

[tacit lark]

i like it

The blue isn't that common.

ive also seen many people w extremely basic templates

[smoky jetty]

Blue is my favorite color I suppose

[tacit lark]

i feel like patrick bateman when i see someone's cv and they have a nicer template

[past axle]

@wind plinth you get you scores back?

[wind plinth]

i dont wanna look

[wind plinth]

ok yeah i did legitimately horribly. we are not getting into Berkeley with this one. or Irvine or Boulder ;-;
but thats fine still 8 other schools I'm in the running for

[scarlet barn]

For Candian Schools do I need to be applyig to the master's program?

[shell kindle]

There's also a template in the pinned posts

[past axle]

same lmfao

[smoky jetty]

Yea it's the template I used

[hidden sleet]

Do you need to contact a supervisor before applying for McGill and UBC masters?

Do people list talks delivered as part of coursework on their CV?

[hidden sleet]

when applying to grad school

[scarlet barn]

I dont beleive so

[tacit lark]

if you dont have other talks then it might not be a bad idea.

idk how it's viewed but if you discussed a cool topic it may be worth putting.

[hidden sleet]

It was part of a grad course, proving an important result for the class

[shell kindle]

Talks delivered is not coursework, usually you have a conferences section where talks can go

[hidden sleet]

No I meant I gave a talk in the class, I had to present to fellow students and the prof and got graded for it

[smoky jetty]

I have never seen such things listed

[hollow turtle]

Not sure about those two but I’ve heard some Canadian schools do want you to contact faculty in advance

[main aspen]

When I’m done with applications I should count the number of emails I needed to send over them lol
I’d be happy to take bets on if it ends up over or under 100
You’ll get much less favourable odds on the former 🙃

[paper granite]

Why are you sending out so many emails lol, am I doing something massively wrong? So far I’ve sent an email to my two letter writers, and like 2 emails related to a scholarship I’m going for

Are you in talks with specific advisors?

[shell kindle]

European

[paper granite]

We’re both in the UK

[rocky dome]

I didn't send many emails at all personally

Curious

[shell kindle]

Curious

[lime bay]

Officially registered for GRE! Now to just study to improve my very embarrassing quant score

[gentle basin]

do the programs you're considering require the general or the subject test?

the general is frankly worse than useless for the purpose of math grad applications

[lime bay]

they consider the general, but they only consider the quantitative section and the "pass" score is hilariously low (148), and I'm already doing research with one of the profs so I'm not too worried

and they only care because my program wasn't technically ABET accredited

[gentle basin]

oh icic

[main aspen]

Yeah

[teal gorge]

Would anyone be willing to read a statement of intent draft?

[main aspen]

(Yeah, and then some of these spiral off into little email chains and before you know it you’ve sent 100+)

[lime bay]

Weird! I explicitly got the advice to send emails and connect with profs about research

[wind plinth]

im US and I did it just to check if they were taking students at all this cycle due to funding woes

[hexed ibex]

In the US most of them don’t respond anyways

Plus your money is mostly coming from the department

[hidden sleet]

I know a similar question was already asked but mine is in a more grey area ig, should an 820 75% subject GRE score be submitted for optional places? Would it be enough to clear the cutoff for most "recommended" places?

[foggy prism]

i also had the same concern, but it wasn't answered quite completely: you should probably go off your gut. Idk if they would assume you have an avg GRE score across all applicant, or that they would assume you have the highest/lowest possible GRE score.

Maybe you should submit it if your GRE score is comparatively better than your GPA.

I have a question: How does university in Europe compare to US/Canada? Looking at university of bonn it seems like they offer significantly more graduate/topic courses than schools like Berkeley etc (correct me if i'm wrong). Is this for a reason, or just an outlier?

[hidden sleet]

another issue there, I'm an international student so I don't know how my gpa converts. Also my undergrad institution is ranked somewhat decently on websites, higher than some of the places I'm applying to but I don't know if grad commitees would know about it. I guess I will end up just submitting to the "recommended" places and save myself some money

[foggy prism]

id use some online software lol, umich application uses scholaro gpa report, you could try and see if they can convert it.

grad committee probably knows to some extent (just a guess, don't trust me)

like they probably know UK schools have lower gpa i think

[urban raft]

In Europe, people do a masters before PhD

The "graduate courses" are mostly aimed at masters students

And there's a lot more masters students than PhD students

So they can have a lot more courses

My guess would be that at a top European place like Paris (combined?) or Bonn, there's hundreds of masters students per year

Of the ones who do a PhD, the vast majority will go somewhere else

[paper granite]

Bonn also does just have an absurd number of very advanced courses

[hexed ibex]

When I was applying my advisor told me for internationals submit if above 90%

This was T20 though

[past axle]

I think if you went to a “known quantity” school it will likely not matter, assuming you did reasonably well in your bachelors degree

if you went to a smaller lesser known school / or have some gaps in your background it might be worth submitting

[teal gorge]

Is it bad form to ask potential advisors whether they're taking students before applying? The reason is some schools require you list 3 potential advisors, but I wouldn't want to put down the names of three professors who already have enough students/are on leave etc

[shell kindle]

Are you in the US?

[teal gorge]

No, Canada

What's the procedure in the US?

Also this is for MSc programs, not phd

[foggy prism]

i thought us schools, given that many don't have masters, would then offer graduate courses aimed towards early year phd students. but i guess this makes sense

[half meadow]

I'm pretty sure they do.

[past axle]

It’s not bad form but I don’t think you want to be pushy or anything like that

The average student entering into a PhD program will only have a loose idea of what they’re interested in

[nova hare]

My letter writer telling me he believes in me when I don't 🥲

[foggy prism]

oh no i phrased that badly, i mean that the US schools don't have nearly as much graduate courses as schools in Europe like Bonn, even though i'd expect both US and Europe to have reason to offer them.

[raw quail]

I was looking at applying to hokdai, but I'm getting lost in all the forms and poor website design 😭. Can someone confirm if Japanese institutions expect you to already have a professor there agreeing to supervise you going into applications?

[teal gorge]

The other person in my program who's applying has also run into this problem and doesn't know how to deal with it

I might just ask one of my professors their opinion

[glacial cedar]

Would you say a successful statement of purpose should be more focused on my love of teaching, or my research? Currently my main goal is to teach but that may change when I get more confident in my research skills

[wind plinth]

i'd focus more on research, that is presumably the primary goal of doing a phd after all. the teaching is just how you happen to be funded. you should absolutely make a point of "i like to teach" as well, but i wouldn't make it the focus.

[glacial cedar]

So is it more about the research I’ve done, or why i want to do more research?

[wind plinth]

i feel like it should be an even mix of both, maybe more emphasis on why you want to do more though. like ok you've done all this stuff, now convince us why we should give you 2 dollars a month for 6 years to do more

[tepid cypress]

If I am applying for a PhD position do i need to be able to understand the papers published by potential supervisors?

[quiet stag]

No. It's good to have an idea of what their work is typically about, but by no means do you have to understand the details

[tepid cypress]

thanks

[paper granite]

<@&268886789983436800> Scam

[subtle berry]

Hello @half meadow I permit me to ask you there about the application advice as it sounds with your statement You posted a weird question that you deeply misunderstood what is a thesis application.

I wonder if you could clarify if the person stated out in #discussion has been warned or not. I really insist on the point that I am willing a mature mentality in this math discord server. BR

As I am willing a clear answer, I want a clarification on #discussion message

[half meadow]

I have no idea what you are (or were) talking about.
We do not disclose records about moderation actions taken against members.

This also seems to be entirely irrelevant for #graduate-applications, so kindly cease it here. If you have additional questions about moderation, please direct them to ModMail via DMs.

[subtle berry]

I am bullied in this math discord. I want the agressor be ban.

[half meadow]

This is not an appropriate forum to discuss moderation decisions. Take the matter to ModMail if you must (but you'll just get told the same there), but stop being off-topic in this channel.

[past axle]

in terms of LOR's, would it be better to have a letter from a work supervisor who has a Phd in OR/Industrial Engineering, or from a professor who is a phd in applied math, but who's class you got a B+ in

[cosmic magnet]

Completely dependant on who you have a better relationship with and who can attest to you being a strong candidate

[past axle]

I have spent a lot more time with work supervisor at this point

but I'm unsure how much he'll be able to speak to my capacity as a mathematician rather than an operations researcher

but I would have to think that the OR guy would be able to still speak more to my skills in general since i've worked for him for a year, as opposed to a professor who really only has "he's smart and worked hard in my class"

[shell kindle]

OR is pretty close to math

If you're applying for applied math stuff it would not be an issue

[cosmic magnet]

I assume your supervisor would be able to speak about your research skills (as applied to your work)? That seems like a strong candidate as a letter writer

[past axle]

Yes, but I have only really done one “relevant” thing which was a big linear program model, lol

[past axle]

Mostly applying to schools that house pure and applied math in one program cus I am more interested in pure math than the average applied mathematician but more interested in applications than the average pure mathematician, I’d wager

[shell kindle]

Also having taken a single class with a professor usually doesn't make for a great letter

[past axle]

That makes sense

I’m trying to get a phone # for this guy cus we’re all off work bc of the gov shutdown

and nobody has gotten back to me yet :/

[wind plinth]

i saw those spots to enter recommender's phone #s... is just email enough? i dont know any of their phone numbers lol

[raw quail]

They probably have office numbers, but generally email is enough

Iirc a couple schools demand letter writer phone numbers though

[shell kindle]

Most professors list a work phone number on their websites

[hard pebble]

many universities these days have a general phone number directory for profs if the profs no longer have phone numbers/extensions, so you can put that

[tacit lark]

Can the OR prof write you a good letter? I wouldnt ask a prof to write me a letter if the only thing they can write about is the fact i got a B+.

[tacit lark]

Especially when you got a B+

[past axle]

not a prof but yes I’d think so

He’s the head honcho of where I work

big government OR unit

[tacit lark]

I see

[past axle]

PhD in operations research and allat

the hard part rn is actually ironing out details

I talked to him about it in august and he said he’d be happy to write a LOR for me and that we should meet in a couple months to discuss details but then the government shut down

[teal gorge]

"Please write a one-page summary of a recently completed or in progress project from your current (or most recently completed) program of study, or outline a possible area that you might like to explore during your time at Waterloo. We encourage our applicants to apply for any major awards that they are eligible for (e.g. NSERC, OGS), and such applicants may simply repeat their statement from the award application"

Does it reflect poorly on me if I try to describe two projects instead of one? If I describe one project and outline a possible area to explore? It doesn't seem to me like they are very strict about taking exactly one project and so on if they suggest we copy-paste a statement from who knows what award application

Another thing is that they have a 500 word limit. Is it possible that these suggestions (one project XOR one area) are there only because that's roughly how much would fit in 500 words?

[past axle]

I'm also applying right now but I would think that trying to skirt the expectations on admissions materials would reflect poorly on you

[teal gorge]

Yeah, I guess the prompts don't necessarily look super precise, but the expectation is that they're followed to the letter

[past axle]

I mean if there is a stated word limit I would try to stay within that

[teal gorge]

Certainly. Actually it doesn't even you copy and paste more than 500 words

[worthy peak]

Two summers ago (2024) I overcommitted myself with both a part-time RA position with a non-math professor at my own university while also getting in touch with two other professors (in math/math bio) at a nearby university. Both "correspondances" were relatively informal, in one case I had meetings (mostly remote, some in person) and discussed a few books and papers they wanted to work off of and had me working on a small derivation/report (which I could not complete) and another who was doing a "crowdsourced" lit review that I contributed a few entries with (I also attended some meetings of their research group)

Anyway, background aside I am going to be applying to that university for graduate school and I'm wondering if my mismanagement of time/overcommitment has burned bridges with at least those two faculty members

Particularly worried about the first one; I really enjoyed working with them but afterwards it seemed like they had a rather lukewarm attitude to me (which is understandable) and declined to write a recommendation when I was applying for an undergraduate RA program the following year

[nimble scroll]

should I be emailing potential advisors even if I don't really know who I want to work with in a dept?

[spring portal]

Depends whether if you are applying for masters or PhD. I don't think its necessary in most places to have a masters supervisor in mind already. Although some places like Japan does ask for a supervisor at masters level (you can only apply if a professor has taken you in). For a PhD, its generally better to have an idea whom you want to work with. While emailing is not needed for US schools (as you will be matched with supervisor at end of year 1/2), it is likely needed for schools where you directly start your thesis component.

[blissful crystal]

how detailed should an sop get into what u did at research experiences. should it be specific like stating techniques used, or just state the research question, or only just the research field its in?

[raw quail]

wait you need a supervisor for even the masters level in japan??

[woven plover]

For any research master's, right?

[spring portal]

Yes. And for most schools, you need their approval prior to applying.

[spring portal]

Yes, although most masters programs in Japan are research level.

[spring portal]

I tried to apply to Japan but I honestly gave up. There are like 20 sites you need to browse for information on single program. Then find a supervisor who can speak English and find their email id (many, surprisingly don't have their ids on their webpage, which is frustrating). Then reach out to them. Many, would either not reply or even if they do, they would likely say their lab is full or they are not looking for students. You also don't get funding unless you go through MEXT or some other program (even for doctoral program, you need to arrange funding).

Not to mention, almost all programs have in-person entrance exams. So you need to fly to Japan and write them.

[rose tide]

Hi there. I have 3.23 cumulative GPA but 3.7+ math GPA. I wonder if this will affect my application and how I can better address it before they take general GPA into account too much.

Also, any recommendations for Arithmetic Geometry/Number Theory grad PhD programs that is lower tier? I hope to gather more safety schools but still with some people in there working in the field. Thank you in advance.

(I am applying only for US schools)

[tacit lark]

whats lower tier

to some people low tier is around top 50 and to others its around top 100

[spring portal]

A math GRE might help. Any research experience would also help quite a bit.

[rose tide]

Will definitely do Math GRE.

[rose tide]

Lower tier meaning like easier to get in schools? Here is my potential list:

My transcript looks really strange, with 10+ of Withdrawls but good grad class grades during undergraduate. I just to find a real safety schools to avoid the all rejection case.

[tacit lark]

10+ withdrawls is gonna look odd

[rose tide]

Exactly.

My recent 2 years are okay though. But the transcript is causing all my anxiety..

[tacit lark]

it looks like you have a wide range of schools here

[quiet stag]

will any of your recommenders explain the withdrawals in their letters? that helps a lot afaik

[rose tide]

One of them would. But I explained in my statement of purpose. I’m just not sure if they will even look at my statement of purpose after looking at my transcript..

[tacit lark]

If you have good grades in math classes then it may not be a big deal

[rose tide]

I would hope so as well…

Anyways, anyone has more recommendations for arithmetic geometry schools?

Certainly not MIT, UCLA level..

[shell kindle]

Some applications have a text field where you can describe unusual circumstances which may have affected your undergrad

[rose tide]

Unfortunately, except for UC’s “personal history” required writing, I did not see the text field for describing unusual circumstances in my application portal for other programs.

[cosmic magnet]

This is something you should ask professors who you know

[rose tide]

My school does not have any arithmetic geometry faculty, unfortunately.

[cosmic magnet]

Faculty members in geometry/related fields would be able to tell you what schools you could apply to

[woven plover]

Where did you try?

I think there's some international institutions like OIST

[rose tide]

Yes - I asked people in algebraic geometry and analytic number theory. They recommended me a few schools, part of which is on my list. But they also mentioned they don’t know much about the field at the end.

[rose tide]

Is it in Japan? I think I have a better chance for US schools because I am a domestic student. I heard international applicants for PhD program are on another level of difficulty…

[blissful crystal]

hows ur math gre?

[rose tide]

I registered late, and I think the earliest I can take is on April 2026.

[blissful crystal]

also umd defo has a few arithmetic geometry

[blissful crystal]

oh so ur applying next year?

[rose tide]

I am applying for Fall 2026.

[blissful crystal]

oh

[rose tide]

And yes U of Maryland is on my list.

[blissful crystal]

oh its cuz ur list says they have no arithmetic geo

but anyways

if u wont have math gre till april that will be problematic will it not

[rose tide]

True. I plan to email the admission office for those with a GRE math requirement.

I think for my list, only UC Irvine.

[blissful crystal]

right, but many schools make their decisions prior to april

so if ur taking it in april, and it takes 2 weeks to get the scores + two weeks to send then im not sure they will receive ur scores in time for consideration to ur app

[rose tide]

Okay. So for other schools, will it be problematic if I didn’t submit a GRE math score?

I know certainly it will help in my situation.

[cosmic magnet]

Decisions are oftne made much earlier than April. April is usually the deadline by when you're supposed to let schools know your decision

You realistically start hearing back from schools from end of January onwards

[blissful crystal]

yea i mean obviously for schools where its not required it wont hurt you, but u wont be able to use it to help u i guess right

youll have to rely on the other parts of ur app, like research or grad classes or wtv

[rose tide]

I saw applicants on MathGRE forum and it’s crazy they took 8-12 grad classes with decent A/A- but still got rejected by majority of schools that is on my list.

[blissful crystal]

yea its rough

[rose tide]

I didn’t do any REU’s, only independent study classes. Not sure if they counts as research experience.

[blissful crystal]

probably not, but independent studies are good

[rose tide]

I think I will email PhDs admitted for Fall 2025 on my list and ask them about their application profile. Oh this might be a good idea.

Also - I heard about the funding cut. Is it going to impact a lot of the Fall 2026 funded PhD applicants?

[blissful crystal]

yea very likely so

nobody knows how much but i have repeatedly read that admission cohort sizes will probably be smaller this cycle

[raw quail]

is it too late to start reaching out about this? I was looking at hokdai, but I fear I may be a bit behind now

[spring portal]

The deadlines are not uniform at all. Check for each program or university and see their deadlines. So you might still have time.

[spring portal]

OIST is the only school with a decent application procedure. Been there twice.

[edgy lintel]

Agboola is absolutely goated

[tame sundial]

as is Stange

[main aspen]

Why do I have to submit PhD applications can’t they just submit themselves

[limber zephyr]

I'm an undergraduate taking a graduate course and got a very poor score on the midterm, and now am looking at a B with a real chance of a C in the course. I'm considering dropping, which will add a late drop mark to my transcript. Are those viewed very badly by schools? I am taking another graduate class in which I am doing very well.

[tacit lark]

Idk if theyre viewed very badly but i think its viewed negatively

[limber zephyr]

I'm guessing a C would be much worse?

[tacit lark]

Probably

In graduate school your expected to take and do well in multiple courses so its kinda a lose lose. I think a C is very bad.

[limber zephyr]

How would a B look?

Like, obviously it's hard to say any sort of definitive thing, but do you think that would hurt me more than a late drop?

[tacit lark]

I really cant say

What course is it

[limber zephyr]

Like, in a sense of you have absolutely no clue, or is it close

It's probabilistic methods

[tacit lark]

I have no clue

Ok thats probably not great if youre applying to combo related things and tcs.

Id probably stick it out and try to get a good grade but idk what the optimal decision is.

[limber zephyr]

My other class is combinatorics at least 😅

I asked the professor and he didn't know either

[tacit lark]

Gl

[hexed timber]

how do i get associate degree?

in math

i did calc 1 and 2 and almost done with 3

[shell kindle]

That is not the purpose of this channel, which is focused on applications for masters and phd programs in math

I'd recommend asking in math discussion

[hexed timber]

ok

[worthy peak]

Just really down on my chances right now

my grades are incredibly mediocre and probably won't get better after this term

[worthy peak]

I've been mostly average for my upper year courses (spread over a multiple years bc double major)

but I did take difficult courses (including graduate courses)

this term I'm in two grad courses but not doing super well (below class average)

not looking at pure math, if that makes enough difference

[outer reef]

what other math courses are you taking this semester

and how many have you taken in previous semesters

[limber zephyr]

I've already dropped it since after talking to some people it seemed like the right decision, but probably still good to discuss: I'm taking a graduate combinatorics class and an upper division differential equations course, both of which are going well. I've taken graduate logic and algebra as well, with varying grades due to mental health issues, and some TCS grad classes if that counts.

[blissful crystal]

really? is a B that detrimental?

assuming the rest of ur record is good

[outer reef]

it’s pretty bad

[limber zephyr]

It's moreso the very real chance I don't ace the final and get a C overall

[blissful crystal]

dang im in a similar position, perfect record previously but might get a B in a grad course this quarter. probably As in my 2 other ones though

[limber zephyr]

Our situations are different; my record isn't perfect, I'm taking only one other grad course, and a B is the highest grade I could get

[blissful crystal]

oh. the other guy saying its pretty bad even if the record is good makes me think its still bad. in any case, i hope the fact youve taken other grad classes will help u out fs

[worthy peak]

well imagine being me then

OK then I can officially take my hat out of the ring (is that how you say it?)

Actually though now that you mention, if a school has committee based admission how worthless is it for a prof you have contacted to say you "could be a good fit" without committing to anything (indeed, being unable to commit to anything)

Is it just fluff/politeness or what

[limber zephyr]

I'm no expert very obviously, but my professor said himself when I was talking to him that a single B wasn't a big deal for an undergraduate, but a C probably would be. I'm assuming though if you're a grad student or have nothing else to show that you can take grad courses, even if your undergraduate upper division class record is good, then you should be getting straight A's

[worthy peak]

ha ha i remember when used to get straight A's

I should leave this channel

[worthy peak]

anyone have any idea about this

[undone yacht]

Admissions are very different in different places (for example direct admits; I have no idea what grades my PhD student ever got, I never looked)

[blissful crystal]

right right thats fair

[worthy peak]

Of course

I guess I'm just feeling down at the moment

[nimble scroll]

ah okay, I was applying to phd programs in the us

this shit is stressful man

[worthy peak]

I am applying mostly to research masters and mostly in Canada, though also elsewhere

I have professors say that I could be a fit or have sufficient preparation but realistically I am not a competitive applicant given my grades

Especially since Canadian universities are more competitive in the wake of US funding cuts

[foggy prism]

should letter of intent/interest be specific to each school I apply to?

[shell kindle]

Yes

[spring portal]

Yes, but you likely wouldn't have to rewrite it for each school. Many schools often have similar prompts (or some have none and assume you know what they are asking about) with approx 1000 word limit. So you can usually have same content on your past education, research history. You will be particularly modifying what you want to do in a particular school, and which professors you are interested to work with.

[foggy prism]

thanks, is it the same as a statement of purpose?

[hard pebble]

yeah it's the same thing

[ivory thorn]

Are any of you familiar with DePaul University's MS in Applied Mathematics (https://csh.depaul.edu/academics/mathematical-sciences/graduate/applied-mathematics-ms/Pages/default.aspx)

I am considering this program since the curriculum has a lot of interesting courses.

[past axle]

I mean, in the sense that not getting an A is strictly worse than getting an A, it is bad, but I think it depends do an extent on where you are applying and overall what your profile looks like

I guess the better question to be asking is “how does drop signal vs a B”

[worthy peak]

Objectively there are people who have straight A's applying for the same school as you (as me, in other words)

So I should probably prepare for the worst (research experience is not in math since I didn't manage to get an RA position in math, rec letters will probably not be good enough to compensate)

Oh well

[raw quail]

thankfully oist is one of the schools I'm applying to, although its not really my top choice in terms of research being conducted. Hokdai has the more exciting program to me, but significantly more opaque.

[spring portal]

They have in-person interviews too fyi. But they will fly you in.

[worthy peak]

I'm assuming applying to research masters instead of PhD makes my situation is slightly less bad

as well as Applied rather than Pure Mathematics

[nimble scroll]

do people have tips for writing an SoP? anything I write for my motivation just feels really cliche

[tepid cypress]

I feel the same

btw could someone help me in writing an SOP for PhD applications?

[past axle]

write something

anything

even if it’s cliche

the hardest part is writing the first draft

What do you mean by cliche

[past axle]

Yes, but you should still apply

[nimble scroll]

I mean I also applied last cycle so its not like I haven't written an sop before haha

Idk maybe I'm just over thinking it lol

[spring portal]

Many graduate students who have gotten into top programs have shared their SOPs and CVs. You can likely check them.

[inner grove]

Try not to get poetic; just write clearly about your background, why that school fits your current interests and background, and maybe some professors there that you feel would be a good fit. It's being read by math professors, not english professors. It's ok if it's cliche, you're just writing about why you want to do a PhD in math, and what you hope to accomplish

This isn't undergraduate admissions where you have to write a creative essay about the bugs you see on the sidewalk on the way to the bus-stop and how that inspired you to do evolutionary biology, and that this is your one true calling in life with a tale interwoven with family trauma

[nimble scroll]

Legit though I think that was my stopping point, ty

[twin yacht]

something that I have learned is that it helps to be as straightfoward as possible. They are scanning your SoP and CV very quickly, they want to see at the top "I am a good fit for your program because ABC and want to research there because XYZ"

[worthy peak]

Well it's a sunk cost at this point so yeah

¯_(ツ)_/¯

[past axle]

nah its not even sunk cost. If you want to attend graduate school you should apply

my application portfolio is by no means perfect either, but I'm still applying because its what I want to do, and doing the exercise for no other reason than its what you want to do is in and of itself important

in my opinion

[worthy peak]

yeah for sure

here's hoping that masters might be a little better (who know though with the increasing interest in canadian universities)

[past axle]

I think u got it

[worthy peak]

thanks :)

[worthy peak]

good luck!

[glacial cedar]

So it’s not too little to just say “here are the courses i took and why I decided to go into academia, here’s my research experience, here’s why I want to go to X school”?

[inner grove]

It's up to you, and I've never served on an admissions committee, but talk about the math you learned, the relationship with the math, and the professor, and say why you want to learn more about that subject

[smoky jetty]

it can help to read other people's personal statements

Feel free to DM me for mine, but you can find much better ones online with some googling

(in addition to the good advice from MoonBears)

[past axle]

Yeah, what I wrote is basically “here’s what I am applying to, briefly” then “here’s a short anecdote about how I developed my interests” and then (since I’ve worked for a year after school) “here’s how my work experience informed both research interests and functional skills / work ethic” and then a “here’s what appeals about THIS program”

I have a tendency to try to get “clever” in my writing but I come from a more humanities background than many in the math world, so I had to keep myself from using big works and waxing poetic

[gentle basin]

hahahahahaha im fucked the only "research" experience i can write about was far too short to get anything significant out of it

[nimble scroll]

if I already have ideas about who I want to work with can I mention their work I liked in my sop?

[blissful crystal]

yes

[tacit lark]

ye thats standard

[inner grove]

Yes, but don't oversell it. Sometimes they are close to retirement or already have too many students

[nimble scroll]

okay ty all

Yeah for some places I know the people I want to work with via my recommenders so I know I should write this stuff there but idk if I don't know them, which is why I asked

[inner grove]

You can also email them and ask if they're taking students or will be taking students in the near future

[hidden sleet]

Some apps have a section to list relevant courses with a "lower division/upper division/graduate" classification. My school doesnt really make the distinction and you can take any course as long as the prof agrees, how do I make the distinction?

If I understand correctly calculus and linear algebra for engineers would go in lower division, stuff like algebra, analysis, complex analysis would go in upper division but im not sure how to differentiate between upper division electives and graduate courses

[glacial cedar]

Does your schools numbering show anything? Or are there courses not open to grads?

For mine, 100s are lower, 200s are upper, and 400/500 are graduate.

[young yoke]

Anyone have a LaTeX example doc for GRFP? I am a bit worried about setting the font to Arial 10pt vs TNR 11pt (Arial 10pt is substantially smaller than TNR 11pt, but I'm not sure it fits the requirements as listed due to LaTeX shenanigans).

[hidden sleet]

We do have numbering but it's not exactly consistent

[glacial cedar]

Then I would probably ask your advisor. Or see if your school has a list online distinguishing them

[lone flax]

I followed https://sites.math.rutgers.edu/~stw77/grfp-latex/

it worked for my submission last year, after sufficiently many headaches

one extra thing to point out is that you may need to increase the size of your margins slightly because the online submission box is pretty strict with that while latex is pretty lax

[young yoke]

tyvm

-_- lol

[cosmic magnet]

Four and a half days left to submit a proposal.. I may be cooked

[young yoke]

no

[delicate scroll]

How many schools is it appropriate to apply to?

[tacit lark]

probably 10-20

[wind plinth]

depends on your goals
if you already are more or less locked into a particular field/topic, apply to as many as you can find that are strong in that topic and you feel you are a good fit for. that could be 5,6,17, whatever. in my case it was 11.
if you're not as settled into a specific thing, then cast a wider net. ultimately just focus on fit though, whatever that looks like to your particular case (specific topic, strength in a broader subdiscipline like geometry or algebra,or something else entirely that you feel makes you a good candidate for that program) and that will determine the number of schools it is appropriate for you to apply to

[worthy peak]

Likewise

Is it always bad to ask a prof that doesnt kbow you but gave u good grades for a LoR

[gentle basin]

better than nothing

a neutral “they got an A in my class” is better than them giving an actively negative recommendation

[worthy peak]

Fair

a prof who does know who I am declined to write a LoR for me due to mediocre grades

I suspect it might not have been the only reason though

[spring portal]

Mediocre grades doesn't look good on LOR anyways. It might been seen as negative.

[worthy peak]

so is it better to ask a prof who doesnt know me but where I performed exceptionally in a class vs. one who does have some kind of a personal knowledge of me (i.e. I went to office hours, etc.) but I was about an average student in their class

like I have a prof in the first category who taught me two years ago and I barely talked to them so I highly doubt they remember me at all

[shell kindle]

That would be a bad letter

[spring portal]

^

[worthy peak]

worse than the prof whose class i had mediocre grades in?

I feel like I'm getting conflicting advice here

[spring portal]

I think its best if you can ask if the second professor can write well about you? If they can write out other good qualities about you its better. But if they would only mention your mediocre score it would be worse than the letter from first professor who might say, 'X took a class with me, submitted assignments on time and got an A'.

[worthy peak]

yeah for sure

[shell kindle]

Every single student applying to phd programs can get a letter from a professor that taught a class in which they performed well

You don't stand out at all

Especially if you had no extra interaction with the professor

[spring portal]

That is true. This is not an ideal situation with both the professors here, but maybe if it's like the third letter they are looking for then I guess its okay? Still not ideal, PhD programs are quite competitive.

[worthy peak]

Mostly applying to research masters btw

if that changes anything

I might be able to get a more personalized letter from a prof outside math (I am a double major) whose class I got a better grade in who i think is more likely to remember me

In theory I could also get a letter from one of my current profs

Probably I could hedge this a little

[wide cosmos]

get rid of the colons lol

[young yoke]

tried this, i had to put it on a newline

like this

[wide cosmos]

That too yeah

does anyone know if references are allowed to be in a smaller font size

[waxen glen]

my goat

ty

[wide cosmos]

all of the past examples I've seen do this, but it doesn't explicitly say this is allowed in the solicitation

[young yoke]

no

they cannot be

im pretty sure if you try and upload the pdf with smaller font size it'll reject it

[wide cosmos]

ah gotcha thanks

very strict this year

[spring portal]

Wrong channel

[narrow shadow]

where's the best channle ?

[glacial cedar]

Looking at SOP examples online, they are all written in LaTeX and even bolded specific words/phrases. Is this the expectation? Like should I bolden my undergrad school name and my research focuses?

[tacit lark]

I wrote it in latex but didnt make anything bold

In my opinion you're overthinking it anyway.

[spring portal]

I bolded few points but scarcely. Mainly highlighted any publications, conf presentations. But many universities make you type in the webpage directly, so it doesn't matter much imo.

[glacial cedar]

My advisors have told me that I should cast an open net in my SOP and not commit to any exact area in TCS. What would you suggest doing to elaborate my interests?

[young yoke]

For the GRFP personal statement, is it inappropriate to, in the "Education and work experience" section, list my publications/preprints as proper references and reference them in my statement?

In "Significant academic honors, fellowships, scholarships, publications and presentations:" I have:
PAPERS
[1] Author 1, author 2, paper name, etc..
[2] ...

PREPRINTS
[3] ...

BOOK CONTRIBUTIONS
[4] ...

and in my personal statement I in-line cite these like "[Application ref. 1]"

Should I just leave them uncited?

[shell kindle]

Why don't you want to provide proper citations in the personal statement?

[young yoke]

There are some unpublished works that are "in preparation" that I talk about. I worked at a national lab for a bit and so there are proprietary reports that I also mention.

[young yoke]

Nvm i just cited them in the usual way. Thanks

[foggy prism]

wait you are supposed to have proper citations for personal statements ? does that apply to talks?

[shell kindle]

No citations needed for talks

Usually you don't have citations in the GRFP personal statement, just the research proposal

But if you want to cite something in the personal statement then you can

[worthy peak]

ugh

well i'm happy research masters exist

there's no way im competing with people like this for phd

(not that there aren't people applying to masters with this kind of pedigree)

[main aspen]

GRFP is something in the US you apply for during your PhD (can’t remember when exactly)

[worthy peak]

oh I mean, people above with multiple publications, etc.

https://sites.math.washington.edu/~lind/GPC/NSFGF/BottmanPersonal.pdf

or this person's SoP

like......

[main aspen]

They’re talking about applying for grfp, no?

[worthy peak]

OHHH

nvm nvm I thought it was SOP

i misread

[worthy peak]

still, there is stuff like this...

oh well, not much I can do anymore

whatever better to focus on how to prepare the best application right now

• finish this term with a decent enough grade

[foggy prism]

afaik, one of my profs commented that being able to write a paper in undergrad is very much dependent on whether profs have projects that an undergrad can reasonably understand/work on. This (especially in pure math) shouldnt be too common so it should be fine if one does not have papers. I have gone through with 2 research terms with basically 0 outcome

and one of the first thing my prof told me during research term is "you are not expected to come up with any original research"

prob recom letter and gpa matters a lot more (im cooked in gpa)

[foggy prism]

i thought grad school dont see ur current term gpa

[worthy peak]

depends when the application deadline is

im applying to several schools with later deadlines who'll see

[worthy peak]

im cooked in both

[foggy prism]

i feel like im cooked in both too 🫂

[foggy prism]

i heard some europe school for masters is easy to get in if that is what is inferred by the application deadline difference

[rose tide]

Hi I wonder how everyday of a math PhD looks like. I know there are TA duties and meeting with your advisor. Do you fly/travel often to conferences/talks? Are the fees covered? Is there anything fun(workshops, projects) that you will be doing? What else? I know this depends on the program and (which) year of the PhD. I’m just trying to get a detailed picture. Thanks!

[gentle basin]

you apply to every single source of funding you can find

PhD stipends by themselves can be barely livable

[worthy peak]

no funding btw

[ivory thorn]

I used to be a PhD student (left for a job in industry) in EE and yes the stipend sucked, especially since I was in the Bay Area.

[ivory thorn]

I kind of wished that housing was provided, that by itself would have made the whole experience way better and improve my mood in general while I was there

[shell kindle]

For me, this is what my week looks like:
Monday: work from home
Tuesday: attend a reading group
Wednesday: DRP meeting, first advisor meeting, second advisor meeting
Thursday: work from home
Friday: third advisor meeting (these are 3 different advisors)

I go to conferences roughly 4 times a year, all of which I have received travel funding for

I am a 5th year

Also I am not teaching because I am on fellowship

[rose tide]

Oh three advisors sounds fun(and helpful.) I was thinking PhDs travel more often. Maybe not. And reading group sounds fun too!

[shell kindle]

My work is quite interdisciplinary so yeah three advisors

I do travel more frequently but that is personal travel so varies by person

[cosmic magnet]

Were you planning on being dual (ig triple) advised upon entering your PhD program? @shell kindle

[shell kindle]

I was planning on doing something interdisciplinary

My specific program requires that we have a co advisor outside of math so a second advisor was expected

A third advisor was not

[cosmic magnet]

I see. That's pretty interesting

[inner grove]

This year I am doing a couple conferences. Some of the fees were covered, some of them I'm paying out of pocket. My schedule depends whether or not I TA. I live about an hour from my campus, so if I TA then I commute in. If I don't TA, then I get work done at home. My advisor is the current chair, so each week we have to find a new meeting time

My daily schedule seems to be some grading, some homework, research meeting, and whatever else I need to get done. I have a lot of autonomy

[tardy basin]

canadian masters applicants, how many places did you apply?

[foggy prism]

i think some uni would be almost free like the german ones

[foggy prism]

is that something to worry abt rn during application season or is it generally post offer of admission?

[foggy prism]

6 with one safety

[foggy prism]

is there also a large part of reading papers/books related to your research?

[static frigate]

reading a lot of unpleasantries here really got me reconsidering about math phd (speaking as an undergraduate ...)

[blissful crystal]

unpleasantries such as

[worthy peak]

for citizens

[foggy prism]

from what ive heard from a person from ubonn (international) they pay a 300 euro (probably administrative fee) per term, pretty close to free

[paper granite]

And that gets you things like free transport in North Rhine Westphalia afaik

[foggy prism]

thats a steal

[worthy peak]

tf actually ok

:)

[paper granite]

Yeah i kinda got hit with that last year lol, god i fucking hate Brexit

[worthy peak]

I guess it's a Bavarian thing

[paper granite]

They need to ensure living in Munich is as expensive as possible

[worthy peak]

thanks CSU

[paper granite]

Germany should just adopt green card system so i get EU citizenship through my girlfriend

[worthy peak]

OK I was joking when I said this not realizing that Bavaria actually is a "one party state"

[paper granite]

Yeah it’s a pretty staunchly conservative area

[wind plinth]

before i read the rest of the conversations context i thought you meant Colorado State University lol

[main aspen]

aaaaaaaaa
I can't apply to half of my unis yet from a combination of {need to talk to people, need to acquire documents, not open yet}

[scarlet barn]

https://youtu.be/fQP1rXzZbbQ?si=lmk1rl667_B96iqO

[shell kindle]

[tardy basin]

ok! did you only apply to canadian unis?

[foggy prism]

9 other non-canadian

[tardy basin]

ok wow. if you don't mind me asking, how many did you get into?

or how many was average in your cohort

[foggy prism]

i wish i can get into any, still applying

[tardy basin]

ah kk. good luck!!

[foggy prism]

i can tell u its horrible

[worthy peak]

I haven't applied yet but around the same most likely, but with a few us schools maybe

im so bad

[nimble scroll]

Ugh the toefl costs so much money

Hate having to prove I speak English

[ivory thorn]

How is that exam? I’m curious because I have never taken it before. Is it similar to Verbal Reasoning portion of the GRE? I hate reading comprehension lol and I am a native English speaker. I especially hate when they tell you to read between the lines lol. I’m in the camp of the person said what they said, there is no need for interpretation it just makes things more complicated than they need to be lol.

[cosmic magnet]

Remember that you're never the infimum nor supremum in terms of applicant capabilities so never sell yourself short of what can or cannot happen

[worthy peak]

not that it affects the early deadline schools but it's also demoralizing when ive been doing poorly in the courses i'm taking now

[static frigate]

IELTS too, and i hate how fast it expires

I have to retake it next year, even though i already got a decent(?)ish score of 8

[gentle basin]

me on my way to get all my reference requests declined

[cunning nimbus]

I feel like the listening part (of toefl) was really difficult/annoying. you’re given something like a 2 minute recording of a college class on dry deserts and soil erosion and then you get asked questions on random technical details that were mentioned once in the recording (the vocab and sentence structure used are quite simple but the content itself is technical). I found it pretty hard to stay focused during the whole 2 minutes

(luckily you can sometimes use common sense to help you answer these kinds of questions, but still)

[nimble scroll]

Idk I haven't taken it yet, I looked through a sample test and it seemed alright

[cunning nimbus]

orz I guess

[wind plinth]

general GRE tomorrow folks
i did a praccy last night and got 162V/166Q so my hope is to just do that good again. the first practice test i did i got like 161V/149Q so hopefully there was some measurable improvement going on between the two

[cunning nimbus]

(also yeah fuck the lobbying by english speaking certifications)

[cunning nimbus]

good luck

[nimble scroll]

Yeah it's really annoying because I was thinking of just doing the duolingo test which is way cheaper

Literally just one school on my list doesn't accept it so I decided to just withdraw my application lol

[worthy peak]

general GRE in a week

[cunning nimbus]

(same except it’s the school I have the highest chance of getting in so I had to keep it)

[brittle bobcat]

I'm not sure if this is the correct channel for this but, if you're an amateur mathematician (by amateur not affiliated to a university), then to what extent will actual mathematicians be willing to collaborate with you? You can assume the said mathematician does their research very diligently and goes to conferences to have connections with the mathematical community

[half meadow]

If your work is good (though that is a rather large 'if' for most people who call themself amateur mathematicians), then I think most won't care where you get your income from.

[brittle bobcat]

I hope there are examples of mathematicians without a phd...

[half meadow]

However, convincing people to spend time on evaluating whether or not your work is good might be a challenge unless it's published.

[brittle bobcat]

Dang...

Guess I'll look for journals aimed at amateurs or something

Or, at least, the ones that don't reject amateurs because of their non-affiliated nature. Though, the peer reviewing committee is probably going to spend less time and effort reading "proofs" by non professionals

[half meadow]

Also, now that you mention it, #advanced-lounge would be a better channel for this conversation.

[brittle bobcat]

Ahh, I didn't know what that channel was for 😭

Thank you man 🙏

[glacial cedar]

I had a TA-ship fall through two years ago because the professor said it wouldn't work with my schedule as a varsity athlete (our team travelled too much and he needed me on campus most weekends), should I mention that in my SOP when talking about how my relationship with that professor helped me grow academically?

What if a research project with the same professor fell through for the same reason? My current thoughts are include the TAship but not the research falling through. I do have another TAship and one research project that did happen/are happening right now with other professors that I am mentioning

[half meadow]

Based on how you're describing it here, I feel it sounds like you're complaining about the professor to the admission committee, which would sound quite inappropriate.

[glacial cedar]

That's my fault I worded it poorly. I wanted to explain why I don't have as many research experiences and TA experiences, but felt like it could sound like I was making excuses

I only had one TA ship and one research experience, and thought that less experience would turn away schools

[wind plinth]

you could just say like "I was also offered a TA position for [whatever semester], but due to extenuating circumstances I was unable to take advantage of this second teaching opportunity."

[glacial cedar]

would you suggest I do that, or am I overthinking it?

[wind plinth]

up to you, i don't think it's bad to be like "i was given an opportunity but had to turn it down" because it shows that at least someone thought you deserved something even if you couldn't accept for reasons outside your control

hell i'm basically saying that about a course that i audited but didn't pass the audit because i had to prioritize 5 other grad/advanced undergrad courses that semester that I was getting credits for

[scarlet barn]

Does anyone have revison advise for SOP's?

[nimble scroll]

One of the schools I was applying for waived my application fee!

Saved like 90 bucks

[spring portal]

Epic!

Small tip, look out for any admission events, if you participate in those, you might be eligible for fee waivers. Ex: MIT has something called as GAAP and GAAP participants can get fee waivers (even international applicants).

@raw quail hey did you hit the submit for OIST? Deadline was yesterday. I am feeling nervous already

[dire brook]

God the toefl support people are driving me crazy. My first names (4 of them...) exceeded the character limit of their form (why is there a 30 char limit??) so I emailed them to add the last one, and after requesting my ID as well as writing out all the details as I want them, now they ask me to "translate my ID into English pdf format", and now they're just parroting that same sentence like???

Guess what, in front of my first names it says "first name"

And how do they want me to produce a "pdf translation". I am not putting my id into google translate

Sorry, I just had to vent

[paper granite]

You did part of your masters in the UK, is that not sufficent for a waiver?

[dire brook]

Not for everywhere

[paper granite]

That sounds ridiculous though im sorry. A character limit, especially one that small, on names is just bizzare

[dire brook]

Heck, I also have an A on the CAE but it's more than 2 years old

[paper granite]

Ah yeah, fair risk that youve just entirely forgotten how to speak english in the last 2 years

[dire brook]

Yes, especially given that I literally did a 1 yr masters last year

Also the us unis are like either 3 yrs undegrad in English speaking or a masters in a US uni

[paper granite]

My friend had to do all this before starting his UG despite having lived in the UK since he was like 3. His citizenship wasn't quite processed yet, and apparently him growing up and going to school in Scotland wasnt enough. I do just find the idea of a man with a thick Aberdonian accent doing an english test quite ammusing

[dire brook]

I'm also not sure I understand this 1st reply I got

[paper granite]

Maybe you do need to sit the test

[dire brook]

Like my name doesn't fir into 32 chars. That's literally the entire point??

Yes I was about to make this joke

[paper granite]

I guess you need to pick your favourite nickname

It is strange wording though, what happens when they see your passport and your name isnt less than 32 characters

[main aspen]

The “copy of passport” seems to imply it needs to match that

They need a copy of that “false assumptions programmers make about names”

[paper granite]

Opression for the aristocracy and the spannish here tbh

[dire brook]

The point is that if they're not planning on adding my 4th name since it exceeds the limit, idk why I've been emailing them back and forth for the entire afternoon

[dire brook]

Or kids of parents who decided 3 extra 1st names was a nice touch 😭

[raw quail]

Yeah I forgot they had an insanely early deadline until like the night before, so I had to send some panicked emails. (Thankfully, only needs two letter writers.) But I managed to press submit with 30 minutes to spare.

[spring portal]

Nice. You will also hear back insanely early, like Dec 11- 12.

[raw quail]

oh wow

[nimble scroll]

Submitted all my US apps! What a relief omg

[teal gorge]

How do I tactfully negotiate asking around for potential supervisors at my last-choice school

I don't want to give anyone the impression that I'm 100% set on wanting to attend this school if I get in, but I also don't want to look like I'm hesitant or anything

[gentle basin]

hammering out my statement of purpose but im worried im wasting too many words on my pre undergrad stuff

[shell kindle]

Probably

[gentle basin]

problem is there’s not much I can write about during undergrad (but the pre stuff directly contextualizes it)

eh I’ll figure smth out

[foggy prism]

its so confusing that some school require personal statment, some school require SoP and when checking the prompt, they mean the samething. And meanwhile some other school requires both and list them as different things

[scarlet barn]

I'm doing mine next week

[spring portal]

Pre undergrad? Like things you did in school?

[smoky jetty]

who tf is talking about preundergrad stuff in SOP

what could you even say?

other than maybe "yea in highschool I liked math alot" in an intro sentence type thing

[gentle basin]

a fucked applicant like myself who has almost nothing significant to report from undergrad 😭

[glacial cedar]

Yeah a mistake i made last time was making my SOP sound like an undergrad essay. It was a personality essay not an academic essay

[smoky jetty]

very confused how you have things to report from pre-undergrad but not undergrad

[paper granite]

I feel like waffle about UG and future maths you dont know much about sounds better than hearing you were good at trig

[gentle basin]

lots of compounding bad decisions during undergrad

[smoky jetty]

While on the topic of statements, my DMs are open to anyone who wants a copy of my personal statement. I make no claims it is outstanding but I think it is good (got me into a few different schools) + at least can be used as a jumping off point. Just DM me

[paper granite]

I will probably do so soon! (though maybe you sent it to me last year already)

I really need to start my PhD apps, so much effoert though, I only just finished the MSc ones

[tacit lark]

IMO medal

[smoky jetty]

ok fair enough

[tacit lark]

ive you did any olympiad stuff you could prob fit it in somehow

[smoky jetty]

I didn't so it didn't even occur to me

[tacit lark]

thats like .01% of applicants though...

[smoky jetty]

but that's a fair point

but yea, very very rare

[tacit lark]

so its not really relevant

[smoky jetty]

this is really the biggest issue that needs rectifying and idk what advice to give on that front

[tacit lark]

its definitely a big issue.

[gentle basin]

potentially irreparable for this cycle

thanks to a whole ass second major in music that pushed out any hope of taking grad courses + some bad course planning decisions

[midnight sable]

U applying phd or ms

[gentle basin]

both at this rate

[glacial cedar]

Would you not just check the box that says “if i don’t get into the PhD still consider me for MS”

[gentle basin]

for many schools that seems to be a separate application entirely

[cosmic magnet]

You're never as cooked as you think you are @gentle basin. You got this🫡

[gentle basin]

i appreciate the vote of confidence but also

i see the writing on the wall

i did not optimize properly for this shit at all 😭

and i fear that's already locked me out for good

fallen too far behind where i need to be

[ivory thorn]

Yeah I think probably doing an MS in Math might be a better route if you don’t feel prepared for the PhD.

[gentle basin]

is a thesis MS or research MS preferable for eventual phd apps

im assuming research?

[wind plinth]

thesis is research no?

[gentle basin]

some schools seem to list the two separately

[cosmic magnet]

I can DM some recommendations of schools if you're curious @gentle basin

[foggy prism]

in some school this (like oxford) this is stated in their ms research. It might be different for other school, so you should check

[ivory thorn]

I guess this MS has no coursework at all and just research component?

[foggy prism]

yeah i suspect so

but of those I encountered i picked thesis. Some school says research is part time.

[hard pebble]

as opposed to just taking a part iii?

[foggy prism]

yeah idk lol

[cosmic magnet]

It depends on if they're funded or not ig? Good way to get some extra cash

[foggy prism]

oh yeah that could be a vlid reason... oxford phd is not by default funded

[urban raft]

I thought this was introduced for the Martingale people?

who often have funding for Masters + PhD

so for them it's basically just a 5 year PhD after undergrad

not sure why anyone who isn't in the above scenario would do it tho

for better or worse, I feel like I'm seeing more of these 1 + 4 type deals

[main aspen]

Worse?

[urban raft]

is that supposed to be a question?

[main aspen]

Yeah of the form like
In what way?

[urban raft]

well I'm not convinced going straight into research after a 3 year UG is a sensible idea for most people. I think some places still make them take some courses, which is good. To be fair it's like a PhD, how good the masters year is depends entirely on who the supervisor is

[paper granite]

At the same time, if you get to take 3/6/9 months to just learn what you need to learn, you might still be able to get a better thesis. Perhaps still not something super novel, but like, my entire term right now is just kinda a waste of time, I’m just taking stuff because I have to, if I could just direct my own study I think that’d be more productive

But I see your point, more breadth is good as well

[main aspen]

Ah bleh I think I had it in my brain wrong what you were talking about when you said that

[urban raft]

ah nws

I mean another thing to keep in mind is that a lot of these things are somewhat related to widening participation schemes

so if it is worse than the typical path, then it would be a net negative overall

[main aspen]

Yeah like idk
I feel like if you’re doing that sort of thing, you’re best served by essentially learning a taught masters worth of content alongside any research you do in that first year 🙃

At which point like what’s the point

[foggy prism]

do faculty ever post info on which falculty members will be on the admissions committee?

[shell kindle]

Some math departments have their committee assignments visible online

[foggy prism]

do you have some examples?

[shell kindle]

For example, Berkeley

https://math.berkeley.edu/people/officers

Scroll down to the committee assignments

[foggy prism]

oh sheet i didnt find it before thanks that helps a lot

i talked to the right guy

[ivory thorn]

Yeah, I am mainly interested in a course-based MS in Applied Math so that I can really master the foundations, and then from there I will decide if I want to do research and on which topic.

[undone yacht]

how would you know if you want to do research if you have not tried it?

[urban raft]

As far as I can tell, Oxford is more than happy to accept external sponsorship, e.g. by governments, companies, charities etc. Which I think is fair

[paper granite]

Why would that be unfair?

[ivory thorn]

I did EE research

[paper granite]

You mean the scholarship for people from disadvantaged backgrounds yeah?

Yeah

Well it’s good that all of those assumptions are wrong then isn’t it, because it’s not just to do with “talent”, and people’s opportunity for development is incredibly closely correlated with their financial background

This isn’t something I’m interesting in debating btw, you can respond to this if you like but I don’t have any interest in engaging with it

[foggy prism]

i've been sending a couple emails to potential supervisor that I'm interested in their areas of research and asking if they are taking any student. Would this have much of an influence on admission if the person is not on the committee, and if they are on the committee?

[cosmic magnet]

Even if they're not on the committee it can still help since they (presumably) will look at your application if you have them listed as a potential advisor. So it ranges from it either not mattering at all or bumping you up in giving your application a thorough look

[foggy prism]

idk about these type of stuff, so you are implying that all prof have access to applications?

[cosmic magnet]

I'm not sure if they have access to every application but if you list someone as a potential advisor then they'll at least glance through your application/profile

[foggy prism]

make sense, thanks! I sheepishly thought that the application is for the committe and the committee only

[tacit lark]

not sure this is entirely true. Ive heard of some places where the committee initially filters out a bunch of applicants. If you are one of those initially filtered, then the profs you list will not see your application.

[foggy prism]

can they access it before the committee reviews?

[cosmic magnet]

Yeah, I think I made an overgeneralization. I think emailing an advisorcan help you get past that initial review assuming they let the committee know to not discard your app?

[foggy prism]

would it be more significant if the person happens to be on the committee?

[cosmic magnet]

I'm listing out some of the possibilities but I can't comment on that

[shell kindle]

Some professors may recuse themselves from looking at an application if they have a vested interest in the applicant

[tacit lark]

in this scenario no. that would sort of defeat the purpose.

[tacit lark]

I think the influence would be negligable. Why do you think simply emailing a professor would have much of an impact? These profs get plenty of emails.

It might increase the chance of them being able to look at your app but thats only going to help if you're already a good applicant.

[foggy prism]

idk honestly, thats why im asking. my interest is too niche that there is not that much professor who would be a good fit so i feel like i have to ask if they are taking students or not.

I was told that many would just ghost with a few replying so idk if getting a reply would be good if its rare as ppl say.

[foggy prism]

good point lol, i was hoping itd do something

[tacit lark]

its not bad to get a reply. But I dont think it's a much of a signal other than this prof is better at responding to emails.

[foggy prism]

yeah fair

[smoky jetty]

(honestly having a prof who is good at responding to emails may be worth the effort)

[paper granite]

This is something I’m considering about my thesis options haha, I’ve got prof A who is my first choice but I have just continually been chasing the man down or prof B who was my second choice but has also always replied to me like within the hour

I’m staring to wonder if having him actually available and interested may be worth the slight dip in project preference

[shell kindle]

Comunication is an important park of a working professional relationship

[paper granite]

Prof B was also mildly rude to me when we met but like I’ve had worse and he does actually respond lol

I have been thinking about which way to go with this over the last few days. Prof Bs project also seems considerably more difficult but that also means more learning I guess

[main aspen]

What are the projects?

[paper granite]

A) “Loop space homology of classifying spaces and the squeezed model structure”

B) Something to do with Verlinde categories and Tanakian duality, we didn’t settle on an exact problem/title

So either algtop, or more monoidal category theory/representation theory

[main aspen]

The latter one scares me a little lol
I’m having flashbacks to my second year summer project

[paper granite]

The latter scares me as an MSc student the fuck were you up to in year 2 lol

[main aspen]

Way too much category theory

[fresh kindle]

A sounds cool

[paper granite]

It does, and the professor is lovely (when you can actually get a hold of him) and super knowledgeable

[worthy peak]

I feel like I won't be able to get into an MSc program

(Due to double majoring) I have already taken 5 years of undergrad, would taking a 6th year look bad? I could graduate with (possibly double) honours if I take a couple extra courses, and I could make another attempt at applying to USRA or getting some other kind of research opportunity over the summer.

[tacit lark]

wouldn’t help but idk if it would hurt if your grades are good

[worthy peak]

If my grades get better would it help

Maybe not if they think I'm just padding my GPA but if the classes are challenging then maybe, right?

[worthy peak]

moot point because they won't

if anythng they will probably get worse this term, maybe they wll rebound next term

[worthy peak]

do people share/edit statements of ntent here

[shell kindle]

You're certainly free to ask if anyone is willing to read over your statements and provide feedback

[worthy peak]

got it

I think I need to do some more work on it myself

it's quite bad right now

and not specific enough to the school

[foggy prism]

how specific does one even need to be? mine is not quite specific. all i say is some possible seminars, some possible advisors

[quiet stag]

That should suffice, unless the school has some special program or lab or something you want to write about

[worthy peak]

should I even mention specific people if i'm not committed to them (and them to me). in fact the application has a box to list advisors you're interested in

and a lot of the profs at this school have notes in their bio/website telling students not to contact them before applying to grad school (i have had no trouble contactin profs at other schools)

[inner grove]

You should heed a warning not to contact them if it says not to; you can write about them in your statement of purpose, in a way that sounds "I'm interested in so and so's work for this reason and that reason"

[wind plinth]

so, some schools, when they ask for academic history, explicitly state they want information about every single institution you've ever earned credits from including college credit courses during high school. most of them just say something like "Include all of your post-secondary institutions, including all attempted terms and degrees."

does a college credit course taken during high school count as post-secondary though?

also one of the instutions i got CC from isn't even listed in the possible schools for some of these applications lol

actually on this particular one neither of them are listed 💀

[fierce bobcat]

when mentioning faculty you'd like to work with, is it expected you reference them when talking about research interests or literally listed at the end or writer's choice?

[worthy peak]

I'm still undecided on a few (potential) advisors I was interested in so I'm not sure how much detail i should go into

[quiet stag]

writer's choice; just do what's most natural/don't make it sound shoehorned or copy-pasted in

[worthy peak]

is it normal for a school's application portal to automatically send a recommendation request as soon as they enter their contact information

[quiet stag]

It varies but yes

[smoky jetty]

I added it to the portion which talked about why I was interested in that program specifically

[foggy prism]

There is a school that wants me to write a research statement and im stumped... What do they want?

not like i have any specific research in mind

[teal gorge]

I'm just now learning that a particular school requires us to apply to certain funding sources. These applications need references, and the deadline is in about 10 days. This is a good bit earlier than the earliest deadline I had asked them to prepare for. Is it appropriate to ask my letter writers to send whatever they have written, in the event that the letter they would need to write is the same?

So in particular, I could emphasize that if they don't have anything written, then my intention is not to impose myself on their time, and I'd ask that they don't bother trying to send their letter to this funding source

[raw quail]

this is fine I think

just like be willing to accept that this is on you

but I've done this and like my letter writters are probably mildly annoyed at worst

and if they really don't have anything ready they're willing to send they'll tell you

[teal gorge]

Yeah, it caught me by surprise because I don't think this is even on the school's website. I learned it after a lengthy back-and-forth with a potential supervisor

[raw quail]

yeah, this happens I think

[teal gorge]

Maybe I'll work that into the email somehow... not how and when I found out, but just that a potential supervisor requires an application

Thanks anyhow

[terse junco]

what do you do if a certain professor is weird and mean to you --- but you need a letter? this prof is super strange to me and i did a project with him 😭 and idk i could ask another professor (i took probability with him and also am taking real analysis now) but they don't know me very well (but i do go to his office hours) and im doing relatively ok with the class (real analysis), so does it hurt to ask?

tbh it's not for grad apps but maybe in the future - im thinking more for REUs

[foggy prism]

doing a project with them and them still being mean to you is crazy . Did you mess up the project? You could just be upfront with the prof and ask "would it be a strong letter".

[foggy prism]

oops just realized Its for REU. then i have basically no idea about it.

[young yoke]

what some of my colleagues have done in similar situations is ask them if they can "write a strong letter"

i have personally done this with a prof whose opinion of me was nebulous, and he agreed to write "a strong letter"

[terse junco]

hmm yea mayb

[terse junco]

nebulous opinion i scrazy

[terse junco]

no - i did just not do the best on the last two exams due to personal circumstances but i was showing up to class and such

lowkey i don't think it makes sense to act weird towards me but idk i may ask him for a letter😭 cuz idk but ill ask the other professor

the strange prof has written me a letter in the past

[foggy prism]

oh ok, have some benefit of the doubt and ask directly, maybe some signs were misinterpreted

[terse junco]

Mayb

i can mayb ask in person at his office

[worthy peak]

Well I'm glad I'm probably only going to apply to 1 US school

because I think my GRE was 163 Q

now I did not study and I was lightheaded/brian fogged the whole time (medical)

but still not a great score

[worthy peak]

this is also the unofficial score i didnt check clearly enough

[tepid cypress]

If i am applying for PhD for research in Model theory, what level of Model Theory knowledge is expected?

[brave cipher]

0.0

[half meadow]

It is probably useful to know enough to be able to state what makes you choose that field in particular -- but specific technical knowledge should not be expected if you're applying to a direct-from-bachelor program.

[shell kindle]

I think for that for model theory, because of how specific and how few logicians there are, the standards will be a bit higher

[tepid cypress]

I hold a master's degree, so am I expected to know more?

[shell kindle]

Yes

[tepid cypress]

Should I wait one more year to learn advanced stuff?

[shell kindle]

What did you learn in your masters?

[half meadow]

Huh. Intuitively I would have considered "how specific it is" to be a reason why PhD/masters programs can't expect applicants from BS to know much specific.

[tepid cypress]

Basically my institute did not have a course in model theory. I picked up basic notions during my masters thesis. So basic theorems like compactness and tarski vaught, quantifier elimination, and type spaces and I have read the basics on indiscernibles. I highly doubt that it's insufficient

[shell kindle]

Ok you should be fine

[shell kindle]

Less supply of phd advisors means more competition for the limited positions

[tepid cypress]

But the issue is I can't understand the current research papers. How would I explain my motivation of I'm unable to understand some their works atleast on surface level

I'm wondering whether I should wait so that im at a level capable of reading that

[half meadow]

You're not applying for a direct-to-dissertation-defense program, right?

[tepid cypress]

I don't understand

What's a direct-to-disertation-defence program?

[half meadow]

A hypothetical thing that would refuse you unless you're already ready to graduate from their program.

[tepid cypress]

Oh

So how would I explain my motivation in my SOP if I can't understand the potential supervisor's work?

[shell kindle]

You don't understand any of it? Motivations, questions they are trying to answer, big open problems in the field, techniques they use, how things you've learned generalize?

[tepid cypress]

There are lot of terms which I haven't learnt. Trying learn them is taking too much time, given that application deadlines are close

[glacial cedar]

I'm trying to keep my SOP a little open ended, because while I think I know the specific topic I want to do, I'm not positive and want other faculty to be open to working with me. What kind of stuff do you think the "why [school]" section should have? I am still listing professors but don't want to turn away professors I didn't list

[shell kindle]

You can say things like "X school has a large and diverse faculty. I have not solidified my mathematical interests yet, but I am confident that regardless of the mathematical direction I choose, there will be suitable advisors"

[glacial cedar]

So like I shouldn't elaborate too much on any specific professors? Even if some have research that overlaps with my current research a ton

[shell kindle]

Well you can mention specific people

But if you don't have direction picked and it's a large school, you can mention that as a reason for why specific school

[glacial cedar]

I'm mostly set on Computational Complexity and/or Algorithms and/or Computational Social Choice/Voting Theory, but am still exploring a bit.

Also, how detailed do most people get when they write about their ongoing research? Like do they mention what angles they are currently exploring

[hard pebble]

if you have ongoing research, writing about it in reasonable detail to illustrate that you know what you're doing already and have specific ideas and interests is a great plus, but you need to make it nontechnical enough that any mathematician reading it (not just those in your field, and don't overestimate how much thsoe not in your field know) can get the idea

[glacial cedar]

I did my UG at the same school I'm doing my masters at. When I generate an unofficial transcript, it generates both and puts them in the same file. One of my applications asks for a transcript for each degree I have/am in the process of. Should I just submit the same transcript both times?

[shell kindle]

You can split the pdf, no?

[glacial cedar]

Its not like they put the header, generated one, then generated the header and put the other. ts like they put the header, then put one, then the other.

so if i split it, itll look bad on me, right?

[shell kindle]

Ah well putting the full one for both should be fine

[wind plinth]

same sitch for me, i give the full transcript for both

[foggy prism]

in a SoP? i was not that detailed in mine

I stated the main thing that was the outcome and didn't specify the method. I feel like this is fine cuz idk if the reader would be interested in the specific proof. But this is pure math tho idk abt non-pure math (nor do i know about pure math, just stating what i did).

[trail vigil]

where do I find good examples of CV formats fit for phd applications in either math/physics programs?

[lament creek]

Hello great math fellows. I have a simple question regarding PhD admission.
I'm an undergrad math student(mostly interested in applied math).
Recently I found there are some journals which accept undergrad papers, like the following:
• Stanford Undergraduate Research Journal (SURJ)
• MSP involve
• Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Journal
• MAA

I'm asking if publishing one or some papers on these undergrad level journals will boost my chance to get accepted to a PhD position later? Or the effort may not worth it.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

[spring portal]

Publications would always help

[lament creek]

Thank You. And do you find it better to focus on an idea/paper I have and publish it to these undergrad journals? or maybe try to join a lab or research to contribute ?

[spring portal]

I would do the latter. Working under an experienced person would be muvh better and more fruitful.

[teal gorge]

A school I'm applying to has the following prompts:

• Please write a one-page summary of a recently completed or in progress project from your current (or most recently completed) program of study, or outline a possible area that you might like to explore during your time here. We encourage our applicants to apply for any major awards that they are eligible for (e.g. NSERC, OGS), and such applicants may simply repeat their statement from the award application (emphasis mine)
• Please let us know any other information that would be helpful for our Admissions committee to know about you

Does it look bad to write about a possible research area in the "any other information" field? This school does not accept any other documents like a personal statement etc. Is this too trivial to ask the grad coordinator about? (Incidentally, the grad coordinator did not reply to a question about other aspects of these questions)

[shell kindle]

See pinned posts

[shell kindle]

Do not publish for the sake of publishing

All journals accept papers that are high quality and well written, regardless of the status of the author

[shell kindle]

Why can’t you write it in the correct field?

[teal gorge]

Well, the correct field asks to describe a project or outline a possible research area, not (necessarily) both. There is also a very restrictive character limit, and I would be very limited to try to answer both in this field

Like if I interpret these instructions literally then there is no reason I can't write this in the "add'l information" tab

But something about it smells like following the letter and not the spirit of the instructions

[shell kindle]

One page isn’t enough?

[teal gorge]

Of course I can restrict myself to 250 words for the project and 250 for the research area, but (a) the "or" makes me think they want one or the other, but not both, and (b) I would rather have 500 words each

[shell kindle]

I mean like

At the end of the day, it is people reviewing the applications

[teal gorge]

(I've been looking at this for so long I;m no longer an objective judge of if I'm thinking about this wrong)

[shell kindle]

Your application won’t get auto rejected or whatever

The person reading your application might be a little confused

[teal gorge]

Hmm yeah that's true

[lament creek]

Yes of course, I'm not just trying to publish something.
Some months ago, I got an idea (just because of curiosity) in one of my pure math subjects. I did my part, research, and document my whole thoughts, and later asked my professor to check out my work, and his honest comment was "so why you are doing this? what's the point?". Of course I still have no point why I did this. And still don't know what possible applications of that, and maybe it's completely useless. IDK.

[lament creek]

Yes, but I'm not sure if I'm able to do any serious graduate level research at the moment. I need to study more.

[shell kindle]

Even if you are publishing in an undergraduate journal you need to be able to answer why

Why is a question interesting, why is it worth answering, why is it worth thinking about

Now, some applications allow you to submit a writing sample

So this could be a part of the application

[shell kindle]

The editor will certainly pay more attention

Sure

[tacit lark]

Why do you feel like this?

It's pretty easy to desk reject a paper based on the abstract if the result is out of scope or not significant enough.

[scarlet barn]

Doing all my grad apps this week

[wind plinth]

i've gotten thru 3 of 11

[wind plinth]

im starting to wonder if it's really worth applying to berkeley tbch
i did abysmally bad on the math subject gre (they want you to be at least 50th percentile. i'm far below that. oopsie.). the research interest fit for me is decent but not as strong as some other places like johns hopkins. outside of that im a pretty strong applicant in general and i have two reference letters from folks who got their phds from berkeley, though, so maybe i do have a shot? i just dont really want to throw $135 dollars at this if i'm guaranteed to not get in lol

[foggy prism]

If u dont think it's a good fit that should be the main reason that one shouldnt apply imo. I've heard of ppl say that application are tossed if they were below the indicated gpa from the university website, in some universities. idk if this holds true for GRE subject for schools that requires them. For UC's this website may be of interest to you https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/about-us/information-center/doctoral-program

as u can see its 16% for domestic and 8% for international for berkeley math phd, you could take this into consideration

[fierce bobcat]

y'all who made this GPA scale selection 😅 🫣

[foggy prism]

did they do 15,8,9,4.0 and then order the numbers lexicographically??💀

imagine being taught to count numbers lexicographically... 0, 1, 10, 100, 100,...
11, 110, 1100...💀

[glacial cedar]

Honestly i fw right to left binary (not the same thing, but close)

[nova hare]

The web design person goofed up

[final yarrow]

When applying for PhDs in America, would you recommend also contacting prospective supervisors before you apply? There are some professors I would like to work with, but I've typically seen that advisors are finalised a few years into the degree and am not sure if I should contact them or not

[foggy prism]

you should get input from profs (maybe your recom writers). What I've heard is that it is not bad, and was told to not be way too specific in the research area the email. You might be looking at a couple ghosts with probably rare replies, but probably would not hurt in any way.

[spring portal]

You are right, in almost all programs you select a supervisor at end of year 1 or 2. So it's not very helpful to contact any professor beforehand as they may or may not have sway in admissions. Best I can suggest is to look at each professor's profile and see if they are okay with emails. Some I checked had explicit instructions to not mail them for grap apps.

[foggy prism]

one scenario i can think of is if the only reason you are applying is for that one advisor, in which case you should probably ask. Maybe ull get lucky and the person is on the grad committee and says they'd be interested in taking you, but even then idk if itd necessarily help (I've asked this before and had gotten mixed response which all seemed reasonable).

[lone flax]

it's probably worth noting that it is definitely worth contacting potential advisors after you've been accepted into a given program. for example, it is very important to know if there are people in the department who you might be interested in working with and are taking students.

[zenith zenith]

Does anyone know of any grad programs with a lot of universal algebra / order theory, I've tried looking around the web but haven't found anything centeralized besides just isolated researchers?

[main aspen]

Step 1 in general for this sort of stuff would be to ask anyone local (ie at your uni) if there are any
(I don’t know about UA/order theory in particular, but this is good general advice)

[zenith zenith]

Unfortunately the responses I've recieved is that they don't know since its quite far from what my uni specializes in

[void horizon]

there's this guy online that wants to do UA and he said he wants to go to university of colorado boulder

you could also ask @ornate wharf

[ornate wharf]

unfortunately i am a first year student so i dont know anything abt grad programs lol

[shell kindle]

[foggy prism]

first year phd?

[past plume]

[ornate wharf]

undergrad

[ivory thorn]

lol you have a long journey ahead my young padawan. lol but for real, time goes by so fast. In no time you’ll be a grad student

[glacial cedar]

Even as a first year PhD you have a long journey ahead

Well sometimes. The fastest someone completed a CS PhD at my undergrad was 3 years 9 months

[wispy sage]

Colorado Boulder

[foggy prism]

and even as a postdoc you have a long journey ahead

[glacial cedar]

How common are postdocs? Like if a school asks for my plans after I get my PhD, should I say “do a post doc then get a professorship” or “get a professorship”

[foggy prism]

"get a fields medal". but probably saying that u aim to become a professor is good enough

[nimble scroll]

Does anyone know how selective boston university is? I'm applying for arithmetic geo / number theory if it helps

[shell kindle]

Usually for post graduation plans it's more like

Stay in academia vs industry job

[undone yacht]

you apply/do postdocs at the same time as applying for tt-jobs

[tacit lark]

postdocs are very common

[lone vessel]

for cs i would say depends on subfield but more common the more theoretical the subfield is

afaict

[raw quail]

I think Colorado has a bunch of universal algebra people

Idk about order theory though

[blissful crystal]

important to note is that there is Boston college and Boston university, the first has a strong number theory program and is pretty competitive. Boston university is not as competitive, and also not as strong. — my professor

[foggy prism]

lol whyd they call it a college then

[naive laurel]

This is truly traumatic; I was recently rejected from a master's program in pure mathematics.

[nimble scroll]

Luckily I only applied to the second one 😂

[glacial cedar]

Same

[gentle basin]

keep applying

[nimble scroll]

Good luck!

[glacial cedar]

Thanks you too

[foggy prism]

results are out this early? good luck with the rest of ur appli

[quiet stag]

Maybe you could peek at the editorial board for Algebra Universalis (universal algebra specialist journal)? The institutions represented there might be a good start

[empty bridge]

Not competitive and not strong meaning what 👀

[glacial cedar]

Does anyone know if CS PhD at Northwestern requires the writing sample? I can't find any info online one way or another about it.

The link there is dead btw

[main aspen]

What makes you think it does?

[glacial cedar]

Well i saw that the IE one specifically says it’s not required

But the CS one doesn’t

[blissful crystal]

well they are all competitive but relatively speaking its not as competitive as boston college which is very competitive. thats all anyone can say lol

[blissful crystal]

oh and for the not as strong well, boston college literally is known for their alg number theory/topology program so they are very strong in it, boston university is NOT known for that so they probably arent as strong basically

but there is a few professors at boston uni that do alg number theory so yk its not like nonexistent in the department

[foggy prism]

you should ask their admissions office

[trail vigil]

is anyone willing to read my CV for math-phys phd programs?

I am mainly wondering if I have formatted it correctly and if it looks to be in an acceptable condition

[foggy prism]

i could but im also applying this year so idk what is good or not

[trail vigil]

hahaha, it is very difficult to find examples from accepted students that arent already in their 4th year PhD

[foggy prism]

i just go by feel

[trail vigil]

is it okay if I dm?

[foggy prism]

yup

[nimble scroll]

how many schools do people usually apply to? I applied to 7 schools in the US and I'm getting concerned its not enough (esp in this climate)

[foggy prism]

~15

[nimble scroll]

Ah ok

How do people afford that lol

[foggy prism]

its less than a term of tuition💀

[glacial cedar]

Yeah I’m doing 15

[nimble scroll]

Ah I'm international so I cant relate so much

[foggy prism]

isnt international tuition much much more expensive

[hidden sleet]

I think they mean international student studying in their home country

Most countries outside the US have cheap/free education

[half meadow]

"International" would have to involve at least two different countries by definition, though?

[hidden sleet]

Yes, the two countries are the one they are applying to and the one they are in

[half meadow]

I see.

[nimble scroll]

Yeah I guess should've said 'not from the us' lol

[delicate scroll]

Are stats phd programs more or less competitive than math?

Or the same

[foggy prism]

idk, it probably depends on the university. for some school you may be able to find enrollment data for phd so you should start there.

[glacial cedar]

Would they answer after thanksgiving? The app is due on Monday

[foggy prism]

i wouldn't know, but better to ask still, and it probably doesn't hurt to submit a sample

[shell kindle]

Do you have a good writing sample?

Other strong applicants will be submitting writing samples so I would recommend submitting one if possible

[glacial cedar]

I have a tech report I’m currently working on but it’s kinda in early stages

I don’t do much technical writing cuz my current research is my only research experience

[shell kindle]

You never wrote anything for any classes?

[foggy prism]

^cuz if applicable, notes would be good

[ivory thorn]

I think that may have happened to me once lol

I just kept asking other professors

for me it was a numbers game lol

[glacial cedar]

Pretty sure that’s explicitly banned? I’ve been asked to provide materials to help them write it but that’s it

cuz like you sign saying something along the lines of “i have not seen or been told the contents of the letter”

[glacial cedar]

I had a writing for CS class. Maybe i can use something from that

[chilly turret]

I think the way most application portals go is that you put in the professors email and then they submit the letter via that

so unless you write the letter and then send it to them for them to submit i don’t see how writing your own letter would even be possible

[foggy prism]

does it mean

1. write it yourself on the prof behalf and so the prof can submit it, or
2. write it yourself and submit it yourself

id gladly do 1

[tacit lark]

Id guess they’re comparable

[foggy prism]

i firmly believe (enter your name) is set for greatness. The possible low grades reflect not their inability to do well in certain courses, but that they are too far ahead of their time that not even the profs and TA's can comprehend the level of sophisticated math in their solutions. People joke about how (enter your name) must've found a proof that ZFC is inconsistent because of their ability to insta solve conjectures...

Insta admit to every school

[dire brook]

For math?

[shell kindle]

For math and for other subjects

[past axle]

I think they are, if only marginally because there is an easier path to $$$ from a statistics undergrad

But I guess the converse is that statistics programs (realistically) can pull from a larger pool of students than mathematics is able to

[glacial cedar]

did you end up asking any of them?

[lone vessel]

yeah afaict he’s not really doing modern complexity research anymore, so it might not be the best place to apply if ur interested in working with him

[glacial cedar]

let me look and see if there are other professors there I'd want to work with

When you say "modern complexity research" does that mean hes not doing any complexity research or any modern complexity research (like circuit complexity, or BPP research)

[nova hare]

When they say applications are due Dec. 1st, it's usually 11:59 PM on Dec. 1st, right?

[lone vessel]

i heard he was doing some stuff along the lines of “what problems can we solve if we can access a halting oracle n times” but i’m not too sure

[cosmic magnet]

Double check since some places are weird. Berkeley had their deadline at 9 PM Pacific Time when I applied last year which was pretty odd

[nova hare]

I did, and none of my places mention a particular time. Then it can probably be assumed 11:59 PM then? Thank you for sharing though.

[blissful crystal]

im not sure i would assume that if i didnt know the time zone

id probably submit a day in advance or at least 12 hrs before 11:59 my own time tbh

[raw quail]

So I'm applying to a school, and I've had one prof from a non-math department say that I'd be unlikely to get into his department, but that he'd be willing to co-supervise me. That means I still have to find someone from within the math department to be another co-supervisor. How different is this from looking for a traditional supervisor? Should I find someone as close in research as possible or does it not really matter and I'm just looking for someone to supervise me as a formality?

[shell kindle]

This will vary quite a bit depending on how the department and the phd program is structured

[raw quail]

guh that's what I was afraid of

[shell kindle]

I can speak a bit on my own experiences in an applied math program

So we have an official requirement to have a co-advisor outside of math

[raw quail]

oh woah

[shell kindle]

For a long time, the relative weighting of your research towards your math advisor or your non-math coadvisor was completely free for the student/advisors to determine

So you could entirely work with your co-advisor with the math advisor only as a formality

Or the math advisor entirely with the co-advisor as a formality

A few years ago, the program officially changed the rules

So you're supposed to primarily work with the math advisor now

A few years meaning like

2 or 3 years ago

[raw quail]

interesting

[shell kindle]

I remember that when I was applying for applied math phds, the subject of coadvisors was one thing which varied quite a bit by school

Also you lean towards logic don't you

Logic is handled very differently by different schools as well

[raw quail]

yeah the guy who I want to work with is in the philosophy department

[shell kindle]

For the math phd program at my school, it is actually less restrictive about the whole co-advisor thing

I know one guy in the math phd who has fully transitioned to machine learning and seems to have a math advisor only as a formality

[raw quail]

huh, still in the math department though?

[shell kindle]

I think so yes

[raw quail]

Would it be reasonable to reach out to the program coordinator to ask what the expectations are for co-supervision? I assume that's what their job is, right?

[shell kindle]

Yes

[raven sun]

Imagining this requirement made specificall because of you just as a meme

[blissful crystal]

as a related question, say im applying for pure math, if i got into a phd program but later wanted to do applied math or something, how easy is it to switch (if u can at all)?

[shell kindle]

School dependent

One of my applied math friends has switched to pure math research

[inner grove]

very school dependent. The school I'm at has a joint pure and applied math, so it's incredibly easy

[primal pollen]

Do schools generally offer a grace period post the application deadline for referees to submit their letter? Not all my referees are able to submit by the deadline

[primal pollen]

im asking about german universities in particular if thats of any help

[spring portal]

Some do, some don't.
Most systems accept LORs post deadline but it's entirely up to specific dept if they will use late references or discard them. Just check with the program.

[primal pollen]

I see, I've sent them an email asking the same

thanks

[spring portal]

Not a very helpful response on my end but it is what it is. The system is not very uniform.

[primal pollen]

yeah thats fine I was hoping there would be some sort of universal agreement there since my referees actions completely out of my control

but it is what it is

[spring portal]

gotta run behind them and call 4 times a day

[primal pollen]

[spring portal]

One of my referee was like that. I would send weekly reminders and she was like, 'I perfectly remember the deadline', then forgets to submit it 😭

I don't know how close you are with your recommenders but I have personal contacts of all of mine so in case they forget and deadlines get close I generally call them up (and they don't take offense). You can maybe do that if you know them well.

[primal pollen]

Also some schools recommend a GRE score if youre applying from a non eu university - does anyone know where do UK unis stand in this regard

[foggy prism]

one of my referee was like ill submit by 31st but november doesn't have 31st . But recommendations probably have some leeway compared to application deadline. were u able to get them to submit then?

[main aspen]

Most don’t have a nice way to submit, and idt most of the others care

[spring portal]

Most UK schools don't ask GRE afaik.

[spring portal]

Yea, calls seemed to work, and referee don't seem to have strict deadlines yea. For couple of programs some of my references were late by a day or two and I still got interviews/offers.

[primal pollen]

Ah this is for germany

Id assume it doesnt matter since pre brexit they didn't require gre from uk schools and in terms of course structure and all not much has changed since then

[frank peak]

Are you applying for summer?

[foggy prism]

do you know what they ask u in an interview (is it very school dependent)?

i also dunno which uni does interviews

[glacial cedar]

I had one interview last year. It wasn’t really like a typical interview. He asked questions about my background, spoke about his research, asked me some questions to gauge my knowledge then gave me some of his papers to read and email him about

Idk how different this is from others, this was just my experience

[foggy prism]

idk what a "typical" interview is🤔

idk what else the interview would be except asking about background and research

but i guess the last part I would not expect (maybe that's indicating u have a very good chance of getting in?)

[glacial cedar]

Idk about that, seeing as i did not get in

[spring portal]

Very school dependent and sometimes prof dependent. Some interviews I had were very informal (even got questions like do you cook, are you married, etc), some were formal with fixed times, fixed questions I was told earlier.

[void horizon]

"are you married" is that legal in the places you applied to?

[foggy prism]

the prof wants u to be their personal chef, and marry you?