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Are there any affordable US Universities for International (Canadian) graduate students?

Do Universities really admit aspiring graduate students on a first-come-first-serve basis?

  • I've heard from a number of my peers and some GRE institutes that universities are more likely to admit students if they receive their applications early. Is this really true? Does sending your application packet early really put you ahead of other applicants who apply later(but before admission deadlines of course)?

  • Answer:

    No way. I can't imagine the departments would even begin to look at the applications (except to check for completeness) until the deadline passed and all applications are turned in. If they did, that would be both unethical and unwise: it is in the department's interest to get the most qualified student, so they wouldn't accept an early person in case a better person applies later but still on time. However, the sooner you contact your potential advisor (depending on your program) and start talking about a project, the better prepared your application will be and the stronger advocate that advisor will be for your acceptance. Submit the application once it is ready, but start preparing it early.

Matan Shelomi at Quora Visit the source

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Yes and no. I was more or less admitted early to two schools (I got my acceptance the day the admissions deadline closed for one school). However, the admission process starts when Professors have time to look at the large pile of applications. There isn't really a point to get things in really early. Graduate admissions works quite a bit differently than undergraduate admissions. There isn't a target number that they want to hit or an attempt to build a "well rounded class". They are largely concerned about whether or not the students meets their threshold and that's fairly easy to do with a single reading.

Christopher VanLang

I have never come across such a claim. I strongly believe this is not true. Admission processes start only after the application deadline is past.

Garvit Juniwal

That's false. My application to Stanford was delivered via urgent overseas delivery service and it reached at 10:55AM for a 12:00PM deadline. I got into the Electrical Engineering dept for my Masters at Stanford. :)

Anonymous

It is true in case of Rollover deadlines. In case of fixed deadlines FCFS does not matter.

Shubhi Thakuria

In general, this is not true. Though some universities divide their application process in two halves. People who apply early get early decisions(not necessarily admits) and people who apply late get late decisions. One such example it University of Pennsylvania. Its MS in CS course has two deadlines. Also some universities offer roll-over admission. In which case early applicants are given more priority. (I am not sure of it but have heard something similar from friends doing masters in US) However, to clarify you must visit universities website to which you want to apply. They mention their entire application procedure. Tip: I have found admission FAQ section pretty informative on this regard. Do check it out.

Ankit Gupta

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