Good college in an uncertain future

4-5 Colleges I applied for. I got interview calls from many other institutes. I got a call from the Max Planck Institute and a research institute in the Czech Republic. But I applied for other PhD positions as well which were not exactly similar to my research and could be a reason that i was not good with the fundamentals of other positions while interview and i got rejected either after the interview or was not shortlisted for them. I was applying to other colleges as well, but for a PhD the focus is usually on positions rather than institutes. So, I used to search for PhD positions based on my research interests. One day, I found a position on the Chalmers vacancies page that matched my interests, and I applied for it. At the same time, I realised that Chalmers is one of the best universities, ranked 2nd in Sweden and 127th globally. The admission procedure started with an online application where I submitted my Bachelor’s and Master’s documents, along with my research assistant experience after my Master’s thesis. I was then shortlisted for an interview. There were two rounds — I cleared both, and out of 157 applicants, I was the one selected. What I appreciated most was that they didn’t expect perfect English or complete knowledge of everything. Instead, they assessed basic understanding and emphasised that “we are here to teach you.” That philosophy truly attracted me. I had taken the TOEFL, but as far as I remember, it was not a major deciding factor. To be honest, repeatedly finding positions, writing applications, and submitting documents was a bit tiring. But once you secure a position, the whole journey feels worthwhile. I applied in january and then joined in spring, May 2024. Application process started in december when the position showed up on the website and then by the end of December, students were shortlisted for the interview. I had my first interview in january and then one at the end of January. After that I got an email that i am selected for the position and HR sent me an email about how to apply for a resident permit, housing and everything else. it all took a month; on may 15th i joined here....Read More

The quality of education is good; the syllabi are higher level, which gives a good foundation for future research. Bachelors degree and in sweden there is no need for test scores. english requirement certificate is fine....Read More

I chose Chalmers University because of my advisor. For a Ph.D., more than the university an alignment with your advisor is necessary and I felt a great connection with my prospective advisor, the university did not have a language barrier for most courses and that helped me with choosing it. Apart from my advisor, my prospective research group was also very strong....Read More