Ask HN: tips for hacking the admission system for top graduate schools? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: tips for hacking the admission system for top graduate schools?

2 pointsasdf_acnt4 comments

I figure a lot of the people on HN would have experience with this. How does one increase their chances significantly of getting into the top graduate schools? I'm talking about places like MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, Caltech, CMU, etc. The focus here is on top engineering/computer science schools.

Is it a spotless GPA? Killer reference letters (and from whom)? Extra curriculars? Independent research? Maybe business experience? Some linear combination of it all? What are the coefficients?

Feel free to share your experiences and give some advice on hacking the admissions system.

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PhD or MS? The admissions processes are quite a bit different. MS admissions are mainly run by the admissions office; PhD admissions at many schools are run by professors.

For PhD, the single biggest way to get a leg-up is to be familiar with one or two faculty members' specific areas of research, have an idea of what projects their labs are working on, and briefly explain some ideas for projects you might work on (that fit into that research agenda). Bonus points if you've met or corresponded with a prof before (but don't send generic saying-hello emails, since most get way too much email to begin with).

Move to the town of a school of your choice. Most schools allow you to pay and enroll in a class as a non-matriculated student. Enroll in classes in the area that you would like to study. Meet the professors. Work with them. Impress them with your intelligence and diligence. Talk to them about getting admitted. This might require multiple tries.

Please stop using the word "hack" to refer to absolutely everything.

I'm hacking waffles for breakfast.

I'm hacking my car to work today.

I'm hacking a web app.

I'm hacking hacker news.

It's really annoying. You can come up with more descriptive words.

General advice at Study Hacks http://www.calnewport.com.

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