Here’s a piece of advice I am confident of: some graduate programs focus on getting everyone through to a terminal degree and don’t admit anyone who they don’t think is capable. They tend to admit a small number of students relative to faculty size. Some programs admit too many people and plan on washing out 50-90% of students on the qualifying exams or by other means. It is usually easy to figure out which is which simply by asking existing grad students about this.
Do not apply to any program that has a high washout rate. While some attrition is to be expected as students decide the career they thought they wanted is not for them, any program that gets less than 50% of its attendees through to a terminal degree should be avoided. Any program that washes out students on qualifying exams or by other means should be avoided. Some qualifying exams are legitimately difficult, but that should be compensated for by unlimited retakes.
Here’s a piece of advice I am confident of: some graduate programs focus on getting everyone through to a terminal degree and don’t admit anyone who they don’t think is capable. They tend to admit a small number of students relative to faculty size. Some programs admit too many people and plan on washing out 50-90% of students on the qualifying exams or by other means. It is usually easy to figure out which is which simply by asking existing grad students about this.
Do not apply to any program that has a high washout rate. While some attrition is to be expected as students decide the career they thought they wanted is not for them, any program that gets less than 50% of its attendees through to a terminal degree should be avoided. Any program that washes out students on qualifying exams or by other means should be avoided. Some qualifying exams are legitimately difficult, but that should be compensated for by unlimited retakes.