<p>I still haven't decided whether to choose one of the MS programs I applied to or a Ph.D. program. I know many schools let MS students continue on to Ph.D. with the blessing of their adviser anyway, but what if you are applying to a different school? Are there any applicants here in the position of applying for a PhD after finishing their MS? Is the focus mainly on your research and your thesis? Is it easier/harder than going from your undergrad? Any information would be useful.</p>
<p>anyone have thoughts about this?
i would like to know as well</p>
<p>Here's what I got from the director of Mech E. graduate studies here at Berkeley. The following factors all count for applying to a PhD as an MS. </p>
<ul>
<li>Undergraduate GPA</li>
<li>MS GPA</li>
<li>Undergrad university</li>
<li>MS university</li>
<li>Area of MS research</li>
<li>Whether MS research matches work being done at Berkeley</li>
<li>Quality of MS research(not sure how this is measured - where it was
published maybe?)</li>
<li>Letters of Rec</li>
</ul>
<p>I actually posed these to him and asked him how important each one was, but he just said that all are considered. In addition, he told me to keep in touch with faculty I might want to work for at the school I plan on apply to, and let them know how your MS research is going each semester. In certain cases, said faculty can singlehandedly grant you admission, if they plan on hiring you. </p>
<p>Any more information, maybe on which of these factors actually matter the most (I would imagine thesis), would be great.</p>