Facts about the US Ph.D. Acceptance and Rejection.

1. Does Brand matter?

Oh! Definitely. I strongly appeal to you not to fall into the trap of ignoring the reputation of your institute and recommenders. This misconception is something that has been deliberately spread over the internet. Most people who say that it is of less importance either are not aware of it or are themselves from a great place or group. Let me tell you that I am not saying that a person from a lower-ranked or internationally unrecognized university will not get a direct Ph.D. I am saying that you will need to work much harder to show that you are better than others and probably your application may not be even reviewed at the topmost universities like MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, etc. Yes! Believe me, I have analyzed it for several months and the data comprises my own connections (more than 40).

NOTE: Please do not misinterpret my words and assume that the ones at recognized places do not have to face difficulties. Getting a Ph.D. admit is no one's piece of cake. However, I am very well aware of why the topmost universities/groups consider students from recognized places. In fact, they are in most parts right to do that. Also, here, I am strictly talking about Ph.D. applications and not about MS applications in the US. For MS, you are welcome to apply anywhere. You can have a look here for MS.

If you are from an institute not well known, then there are two paths to choose before you apply for a Ph.D. The first way is to go for MS in a good university. In India, you can give examinations like GATE or JAM and get into IITs. This option will tremendously help you to improve your college tag as well as get connected to recognized researchers and professors. You do not want to simply spend your money on applications and see yourself get rejected from every top place just because they did not know your college well. However, if you are having no shortage of financial sources, you can definitely apply for MS abroad. The second way is to go for a research position for a year in some reputed research group either within your country or abroad (For Indians, I will suggest going abroad).

Let me give a real example so that you understand. There are three applicants A, B, and C. A is from IIIT Jabalpur (ever heard of this place?), B is from IIT KGP, and C is from IIT Bombay. Now, B and C apply to many places among which MIT, Stanford, and Berkeley are in common. A does not apply to any of them but rather applies to universities ranked a bit lower than these, including Cornell and UT Austin. A does not get a single reply from the university as well as the professors at both the places. C hears from all the places, is interviewed, and gets selected everywhere. B hears from two of those listed here and gets rejected from all of them later. Now, let's talk about their profile. A has no recommender who is well known in the area and has no international internship. However, A has a strong research background with over 6 publications in highly reputed journals. B has a great research profile with over 6 top conferences (he is from CS) and has worked intensively with a group at IISc. C has a great academic profile and has undoubtedly strong knowledge about his field but just one published paper at the time of application. Here, the difference between A and (B, C) is very clear. But, what made the difference between B and C? It is the connections of the group. C came from a group that has great connections abroad and a marvelous track record of sending students to top places in the US. So, you are smart enough to realize. However, On a good note, A still got GRA offers from some best places, including U of Washington, Seattle; U of Maryland, College Park; and Purdue, West Lafayette. A knows more than 10 people from India who will be joining UMD and all of them are either from IITs or IISc.

Now, there is another candidate D from an NIT. D has no significant research work during B.Tech. However, post-Btech, D goes to a highly reputed US university for a year (UT Austin). Later, D gets admitted to MIT. These are just a few examples that I have listed. I have many and have looked at them closely.

Therefore, what you need to understand is that blindly applying to places will get you nowhere. See which groups actually take students in an unbiased manner, study statistics of accepted students, do your homework, and then you will definitely find a place for yourself, if not the topmost. But, you will need to put much more effort than others. Just keep this in your mind.

2. What should I look for in a Research group?

Good question. You need to do a lot of background work before selecting research groups or mentioning them in your SOP. First, is the group open to different student backgrounds or has a tendency of accepting students from selected places. There are hundreds of groups in every field that have this tendency. So, be aware of such groups. Next, analyze what sort of group suits you. I mean, there are broadly two kinds. One in which you will directly be in touch with your guide and he will keep taking updates from you now and then. Here, you will do the work mostly alone and would rely on your supervisor entirely. Second in which you will be mostly working with other Ph.D. students or PostDocs rather than your guide. However, you will definitely be in touch with him frequently. My way of working matches the latter one. So, I chose accordingly. More PostDocs usually imply more projects and much ongoing research. If possible, try to contact current or pass out students to know more about how the group functions. Also, I will suggest that you thoroughly check his/her connections and collaborations. Finally, make sure the group you are applying to has an updated group page, and do check out the google scholar page of the guide and the recently graduated students. If possible, try to reach out to the current and graduated students. Most will not reply until you are selected by the program, but there will be a few who will. Just keep trying and be professional and polite while mailing.

3. Should I follow the College Ranking?

No! Never. People who do so are usually the ones who have no clear idea of the research that happens in the field they are applying. Let the people around you talk about ivies and MIT. They themselves do not have the capacity, so just leave them. For instance, the University of Maryland, College Park is ranked 59th overall and 20th among public universities in the US. However, if you look at the research in the field of Quantum Science and Technology, it surpasses all the major universities and is consistently considered among the World's Top 10 Quantum Institutes with one of the best Ph.D. programs in Quantum (Quantuminsider, USNews). So, focus on the research groups and the facilities that are available in that university in particular to your domain. Also, make sure that there are other groups that are working on similar areas. Do not apply if there are only one or two groups related to your interest. This may trouble you later. You will know about these things when you read more and more research papers related to your field. Also, you can have a look at department-specific rankings from US News if you do not already have some idea. Best of Luck!

4. What are the chances of getting a Ph.D. admit? What if I did not get into any place?

Okay! This is something you will be disappointed to know. In Ph.D. admissions, in contrast with MS applications, the probability of acceptance has much more major factors that involve humans. For instance, the area you come from does not suit the groups very well, the area you want to go into doesn't overlap very well with the groups there, the groups you mentioned in the SOP may not be interested in taking candidates with your specialization during that particular intake, the groups may not be taking a candidate from that department this year (remember many faculties are affiliated to different departments), the selection committee is unaware of your college, the main members of the committee were distracted by something else while reading your application, the committee or the professor did not get excited about you after reading your SOP, and on and on....

There are several factors (in fact, a majority of them) beyond your control that you must know but should not worry about, as worrying will lead you nowhere. So, what is important is that your application should be as perfect as you can make following the above-said procedure and have plenty of backup plans. Now, let me tell you about my story.

I am someone who was very sure about pursuing a Ph.D. and going into academia later on. But, as I have mentioned many times earlier, there were a lot of concerns about getting accepted. So, I had a few backup options with me. The first was to go for MS at IITs or some countries that have scholarships available. The second option was to apply for an international research position in a reputed place. There are actually many great places where you can easily apply, such as OIST Japan, IST Austria, KAUST Saudi Arabia, and NTU/NUS. Now, many people have this notion that backup options mean applying for a Ph.D. at a place that according to you is ranked low in your area or to a group where you have higher chances of getting in, but you do not actually want to work there. These are the most stupid things to do. Yes! it is stupid. I will never encourage anyone to have backup options that could harm your future. Look, delay in achieving what you need is acceptable, but throwing yourself into anything to save yourself from getting hit by the questions of society is the most senseless thing to do. If you see it carefully, I had no university which was ranked lower in my area, had fewer groups working in my area, or had less reputation of some kind. UMD, UW Seattle, Purdue, Rice, UT Austin, and Cornell. Yes, I did not apply to the very top universities, but that was due to some unfavorable conditions. Finally, I would like you all to remember that I was actually having high confidence in not getting a reply from any university (not because of my profile though). Actually, apart from other factors, I had an additional reason to worry - just 6 applications. But, I only focused on my application and backup options, leaving everything else beyond my control in the hands of the ultimate power (commonly known as God). Worry less, Work more!