European with a master's and work experience - what are my chances?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<p>I'm from Europe, I got my Bachelor's degree in math from the best university in ... Malta (I know, that's not saying much). I basically had only excellent grades (A/A+). Then I spent a year working as a software engineer, after which I did my Master's in IT Systems Management in the best technical university in the Netherlands, with a GPA of around 3.85. After that, for two years, I've been working as an engineer in a large international company.</p>

<p>I am now thinking of applying to PhD programs in the US. I am considering CMU, Cornell, and Harvard, for applied math. I know these are the best schools around, and very hard to get into. I actually got into Cornell when I was a teenager, but couldn't attend because I was put on a waiting list for financial aid.</p>

<p>I suppose I am a bit older than the average applicant (I'm 27), and all the research I've done (two published papers) were in the field of IT management, not applied math. But I do know the material, and have near-perfect GRE scores. My letters of recommendation will mostly come from people I work with.</p>

<p>I was wondering what you think my chances are? Does anyone know of a similar case, someone having studied in Europe, with experience in the industry? I guess that by applying to math programs I'm deviating from my 'profile' of an engineer, but is breadth of competence normally appreciated, or?</p>

<p>Any opinions would be greatly appreciated!</p>

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<p>You probably do have a good chance of getting into one of those programs. I am thinking about applying to a PhD program in the future but what I have come to understand is that they do sometimes like applicants that have work experience so that they can see your work ethic and motivation. Hopefully, although it is not in applied math, they will further like your application because of your software engineering experience.</p>

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<p>Thanks for your reply!
I have heard some mixed opinions about this… Usually it seems that what matters most is research experience. My worry is that I have been away from the academic world for quite a while, and all the research I’ve done was in IT management, which is “fluffy science” compared to more rigorous scientific areas. It’s also tough getting good recommendation letters from faculty when you’ve been away from school for a while.</p>

<p>I suppose I’ll just have to keep my fingers crossed!</p>