Kiss of death?

[Anon15]

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[clearcolor]

what?

 

[Anon15]

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[PhDhopeful]

my understanding is that the top 10 % means youre better than 90 percent of the students that professor has seen. That is extraordinary. Why are you worried?

 

[Anon15]

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[perfektspace]

You are worrying over something that: a) you have no control over b) is nothing to worry about given the rating

 

[joetro]

How do you know this? Didn't you waive the rec?

 

[PhDhopeful]

in my opinion this whole process is like a balancing act. Maybe you got a rating in the top 10% for this, but have better scores than other applicants or a better GPA. In the end we never really know what magic combination of qualities a school is looking for. I know someone who had a 4.0,1350 GRE, and lots of experience that didn't get in. Not because of her qualifications but because she wasn't a good fit anywhere. Try and focus on what you can control and write your personal statements to reflect a geniune interest in the schools you are applying to. Be Proactive. Good Luck

 

[Neuro-Dr]

Having done graduate admissions in one capacity or another at a couple of different places this is what I would tell you. You do get a little extra if all your recs are top 5% or better. But a narrative that tells me a student is well known, done specific things and has no reservations is what I really want. Most of us don't really believe the percentiles anymore. This is also becomming true for GPA unfortunately as well. We're really looking more to rule people out based on recs that have specific concerns, are bland or that don't say much. The letters still get high importance because often they are written by professional colleagues of ours and that goes a long way.