Hello, everyone!

I’m Makia Alghamdi, associate director of recruitment and admissions at WashU’s Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. I’m here to answer your questions related to our graduate programs in art, architecture, and design, and life at the Sam Fox School.

We offer these graduate programs:

• Master of Architecture
• Master of Landscape Architecture 
• Master of Urban Design 
• MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture 
• MFA in Visual Art 
• Master of Design for HCI and Emerging Technology 

If you're thinking about applying to one of our graduate programs, feel free to ask about:

• Application requirements and timeline
• Program and curriculum information
• Crafting a compelling statement of purpose or artist's statement
• Building a strong portfolio
• Admissions review and selection processes
• Research, studios, and interdisciplinary learning experiences
• Funding, scholarships, and assistantship opportunities
• Anything related to graduate admissions!

I’ll be answering questions live on Tuesday, October 27 from 10am – 11am CT. I’m excited to connect with you and hopefully can make applying to graduate school a little less daunting.

I submitted my applicaiton on October 7th 2026. The deadline for the program for international students is November 1. I am still awaiting a response and I just wanted to know if there is any specific timeline that is followed? I am eager to get my decision so I know if I got accepted or not so I can move forward to applying my study permit.

Any advices on how longer should I wait?

I am planning to get into a fully funded PhD program by Fall '28 in USA. Currently I am working as a software engineer and I completed my undergrad in 2024. Back in my undergrad days, I didn't build any research profile since I was not considering pursuing hire studies as an option in future. But now I changed my mind. Some informations about me.

- My research interest is LLMs. I have a conference paper published. I aim to publish 2-3 more conference paper and a journal paper by the time I start applying. I know it might be challenging. But I aim to do so.

- I have CGPA of 3.6.

- I worked as an Adjunct Lecturer at a University for a semester where I taught Data Structure and Algorithms related courses. This is not related to my research interests.

I know my profile is not good enough. So, I need some advice.

- Does taking GRE will be any meaningful addition to my profile that will help me to increase my chances? Or it doesn't matter much?

- Since I did not do any research during my undergrad, I will probably not be able to manage any professors to issue LoR for me. I can get LoRs from the professors that I took some courses with during my undergrad. But they didn't took the courses regarding my research interests. Will that be an issue?

- Since I have some time in hand, is there any way to connect with the researchers or professors that might be willing to review my work and eventually provide me a strong LoR? I am searching for a way to get some strong LoRs from the professors/researchers with whom I have matching research domain.

Thanks for reading my long post.

Hi everyone! I'm hoping to get some honest advice about my chances of getting into a Clinical Psychology PhD/PsyD programs for Fall 2027. I graduated in January 2026 with a B.A. in Psychology, summa cum laude, with a 3.96 GPA. I'm currently a first-year M.A. Clinical Mental Health Counseling student, but I've been reevaluating my long-term goals and realized that a Clinical Psychology PhD is more aligned with my interests in research, psychological assessment, and clinical work.

I'm planning to apply to a mix of Clinical Psychology PhD and PsyD programs, primarily in NJ, NY, and PA, although I'm open to other locations for the right program.

My academic and research experience includes:

• Senior honors thesis: Conducted an experimental study examining whether relationship threats from a past partner influence retroactive jealousy. The study used a two-group, between-subjects vignette design and an adapted retroactive jealousy measure. The results were not statistically significant, but I gained experience with research design and conducting an independent study.
• Research assistant: Worked as a research assistant under multiple psychology professors on different projects. Worked on projects involving identity, stigma, and mental health, including birth order and sibling relationships, neurodivergence, perceptions of misattributed parentage experiences, and mental health professionals' attitudes toward clients with dissociative identity disorder (DID).
• Teaching assistant: Served as a teaching assistant for Research Methods I.
• Clinical experience: Worked as a behavioral therapist providing one-on-one ABA services to autistic children, implementing behavior plans, collecting data, and documenting progress under BCBA supervision.
• Administrative experience in ABA: Helped coordinate care among BCBAs, therapists, and families, and supported staff onboarding and communication.

My main research interests are trauma, sexual and interpersonal violence, women's mental health, romantic relationships and attachment, and how interpersonal experiences affect identity and self-worth.

I'm trying to be realistic about my chances without automatically ruling myself out because I don't have publications. I'd really appreciate honest advice from current students, applicants, and people who have served on admissions committees. Thank you!

Hi, I am a senior will graduate this May 2027. I am wondering if I should take a master degree in business analytics/data analytics.

For context, I am an international student, non-target school for undergrad, and had 1 internship in my junior year at J.P.Morgan Chase but not really liked it. I want to pursue a career that combines finance and more tech.

My question is, do you think getting a master’s degree is actually worth it? For those who have pursued one, did it give you a significant advantage in your career? And looking back, do you think the benefits justified the cost, especially for someone with my background? I’d love to hear your experiences and thoughts. Tysm!!!

I posted about getting replies back from most of the PIs I have emailed. Since this is happening across all the schools and not just my top choice, and people are sending me messages asking how I did it, I decided to just summarize it here.

The TLDR: There isn't a specific format that I use. I email all PIs with intent.
My background: ~3.5 undergrad gpa for state school, ~3.7 masters gpa, also from state school. 2 years research experience.

Here is what I did:

1. I keep it short unless the PI has something interesting I can directly connect to. I never go above 2 paragraphs.. longest I sent was 3 but that was an exceptional case
2. Perhaps the most important point here: I have a well connected PI. He knows everyone. He is friends with all of them. His wife has a major role as some grant coordinator for their projects. I honestly think this is doing a lot of the work. He had presented my work at a major conference where all the PIs were at. If his name was not mentioned in the first sentence I don't think I would've gotten replies back unfortunately.
3. I have a skillset that is desirable. I have knowledge of an area that *I know* current researchers in this field are becoming more interested in learning about because it would make solving problems easier. In fact prior to my research in this field, I had a research position doing nothing but developing this tool I also make sure to mention this very early as a hook.
4. I email with intent. I either ask to meet them over zoom or I ask if they have funding. My field is rotation based. They have no control over what students get pick until the adcomm decides to interview. The purpose of my emails are always to 1) get to know their work/current projects OR 2) find out if they are accepting rotation students so I am not listing a PI that has no funding. Since they match you to PIs you list on your SOP, if you list a PI that has no funding that can reduce your chances of getting an interview.
5. I don't use AI to draft my emails nor do I copy templates. I literally just write it as if I was sending an email to my own PI. I am a lecturer for undergraduate students, I know what it's like to read emails. I personally prefer it when students are concise and a little informal (but respectful) so I try to do the same.
6. No need to brag about your accomplishments. I personally don't bring up any coursework, GPA, achievements, etc. I will attach my CV which contains all the details regarding personal projects and summarize what *my future direction* is. If they want to know what I already did, it's in the CV.

Following this, I have gotten replies from people at Yale, Princeton, Columbia, UChicago, NYU, and more. I stopped sending emails out because I felt like the conversations made me confident that my research direction was good and that I had a good fit for most of the schools I was applying to.

My professors asked me to draft letter of recommendations for them, can someone please review my draft before I send it off just incase they don’t change anything in it

Are there any GitHub for cv examples and template for grad school applications?

My main objective in this email is to confirm whether the PI is taking students. All criticisms are welcome!

P.S.- The PI explicitly asked for cover letter on his website.

I’m applying to biology/biomed PhD programs, and the different AI policies are confusing me. Some allow limited help if you disclose it, others are stricter, and some don’t mention AI at all.

If it's totally unethical shouldn't be unethical for all? Or, some are just trying to identify as a trap the people who used AI in their essays? (as AI detection can be false positive)

I did a BCom Hons and then an MA in English. I have framed this well in my SOP, since the change was what drove me towards research. I have qualified three national exams with good percentiles. I scored the 98th percentile nationally and ranked 9th in the state. I have worked as an adjunct professor for a short period of time, and I have two single-authored publications in reputed journals (Scopus Q1). My pedigree was not elite at all; they are very mid colleges. However, I have a solid proposal, because I have also received admission at a German university with two supervisors. I can’t go there since I am waiting for funding, so I am afraid to keep all my eggs in one basket. That’s why I am also applying to the US. The research fit is quite strong across all the faculty in the departments I am applying to. I am afraid because I did my bachelor’s in a non-literature background, but I have substantially proved myself in my field through exams, teaching, publications, and conferences. I am also targeting top ranked programs, but I am worried that my non-elite background and different bachelor’s will be seen as a weakness.

I used to refresh this sub every 10 mins back when i was applying circa yrs ago. I had a relatively low gpa, but good research experience, and was applying directly from undergrad. didn’t have much success, tons of rejections, covid era. What helped me through it was keeping a positive mindset and not taking rejection personally.

I remember getting on here and posting some words of encouragement, and got ripped to shreds by all the miserable people in the comments saying “i’m sure you dont care as much, your gpa is low anyways”, “talk to me when you have a masters and are still getting rejected”, etc. Essentially saying my stats weren’t good enough anyway to feel any sort of way, and CERTAINLY not post any words of encouragement. I was perplexed

well. I just defended my phd at a top public uni (got in during that one and only cycle). didnt need the masters after all.

dont lose hope guys.

I am applying for programs in Public policy in the United States. In the statement of purpose, there is a word limit of 1000 words where I have to mention why I’m interested in the PhD program and I am pursuing a PhD and what are my interests and how can the faculty members help me do my research and explain my background. This being said, how much do I elaborate on my topic?

Hi everyone! I'm planning to pursue a PGDM from a B-school in Chennai. Is it worth the investment in terms of fees, placements, and career growth?

Which B-schools in Chennai would you recommend, and what has been your experience?

I'd love to hear honest opinions from current students and alumni

Thanks!

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Which one would be the best amongst the three.Interms of course, brand value and outcomes.