Is it possible to change graduate schools in the US?

International Students
1

<p>Hi everybody,</p>

<p>I am kind of killing myself with an issue, so I thought I could perhaps share it with you all and get some opinions about it.</p>

<p>So, I am an international student, and I have just graduated from a top college in my country. Last year I've had research experiences in two schools in the U.S.: first MIT, and then UPenn. </p>

<p>Then, I have applied to a some universities in Europe and U.S. for graduate school, being accepted in about half of them. In the US, specifically, I got accepted in UPenn, since I already knew some people there and since I believe I did a good job while I was there. Unfortunately, I wasn't accepted at MIT, which was by far my first choice - and the school of my dreams as an engineer - although I was told by some professors there that I had good chances.</p>

<p>It turned out that I accepted my offer from Penn, since it I thought it was a good school anyway. However, I didn't know a lot about the american educational system, and I am figuring out how hard (if not impossible) is to change grad schools once you start it. I definitely didn't know that, and now I feel kind of regretful that I won't be able to go to MIT anymore, which was my dream. I always thought that I could later change schools, but I can see how hard it can be.</p>

<p>Maybe I should have rejected my offer from Penn and went for a masters in Europe, and then tried MIT again. Or maybe I should have just rejected Penn and waited for an year or so, trying MIT again on the next year. The point is that, now I don't know what to do anymore. And I feel more and more that MIT is so much better than Penn, and that by graduating at Penn, my chances to go for a Postdoc or a professorship at MIT will be incredibly small.</p>

<p>So I found this forum and I am wondering if someone ever had a similar experience. What should I do in this situation? Or, maybe better, is there anything to do? Or should I just accept Penn and do the whole 5 years of grad school there?</p>

<p>Thanks for any advice!</p>

2

<p>You can get a postdoc or faculty position at the top engineering schools with a PhD from Penn, if you are qualified for the position to begin with. I recently read a story about a math PhD student from Penn getting a post-doc position at Yale. (Penn’s math graduate program is good but “only” ranked #20 or so in the country.) [Math</a> whiz gets Ph.D. at age 20 | The Daily Pennsylvanian](<a href=“http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/node/33339]Math”>http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/node/33339)</p>

<p>The research group you are working with and your individual accomplishments are much more important than the university your degree is from.</p>

<p>You can reapply to MIT if you would like, but you should know that graduate admissions is incredibly competitive for foreign students, much more so than for native American students. There’s a high chance you would get rejected again, and then you would have lost your offer from Penn as well.</p>

<p>Personally, if I were you I would take the offer from Penn and focus my energy on excelling there.</p>

3

<p>But to answer your original question, yes, it is possible to change graduate schools, although it happens very rarely and you would need to indicate a very good reason on your applications. Common reasons are that the department is not a good academic fit (e.g. no one works in your area of interest or the people who do are not taking on new graduate students) or that you need to relocate for personal reasons (e.g. your spouse is living in a different city).</p>

4

<p>Barium is correct . . .but, there are two ways you can do this- apply afresh or transfer. Some schools dont allow transfers while others do. However, you will also need to ask for recommendations from your present supervisors. Think about it though- imagine going to your supervisor and tell them you want to move form UPenn—>MIT. Its like saying you are not good enough for me kind of thing.</p>

<p>You need pretty good reasons and even academic fit is not sufficient. You should be aware of academic fit b4 you apply of course your interests could change through the years</p>

5

<p>hey by the way could I PM concerning math PhD admissions. I would assume your program in your country was way more advanced than that in the US and you probably have a couple of graduate classes in your belt.</p>

6

<p>Thanks a lot for your replies, folks.</p>

<p>I guess you are all right. This crazy idea of “having to go to MIT” is making me crazy, and I have to abandon it once for all.
Maybe I should just focus on excelling at Penn, and then, perhaps, I can still go to another top place for my postdoc.</p>

<p>After all, Penn is not a bad school, right? =D</p>

7

<p>Penn is great. I hope you’ll have a great time there, academically and personally!</p>

<p>(Some of their engineering professors are so amazing that I almost ditched my math major to go into engineering. Lucky you!)</p>

8

<p>I have a similar questoin: Should I Reapplying Another Grad School of Finishing an Expensive Degree That Helps Me Little?</p>

<p>I am a US citizen and I was in the graduate school of the environmental managements in University of Hawaii, Manoa. I have learned some useful skills (such as some introductory level environmental study) and wrote the literature review as well as practice graduate thesis. However, other unexpected incidents also happened. I lost my TA position in my first semester (with negative feedback) with very limited funding, the hydrology courses I originally wanted to take were closed, and the professor that originally I wanted to work for left my school. With very amateur environmental skills, I worried that I might face similar challenges once I attempt to reapply for other graduate school, or find another full-time/ part-time jobs in the mainland. I have already contacted a list of personnel, from the graduate advisers, professors, to people that worked as hydrologist in the last 3 months, but I am wondering: should I reapply for other MS programs?</p>