How much harder is it these days to get into a PhD program without having a high ranking degree for UG? [D]

This Reddit discussion thread from r/MachineLearning explores the growing challenges faced by applicants from non-elite undergraduate institutions when applying to PhD programs in machine learning and related fields. Community members likely discuss how increasing competition — driven by the surging popularity of AI/ML — has raised the bar for admissions, with research experience, publications, and faculty connections often outweighing or compensating for institutional prestige. The thread probably includes personal anecdotes, advice on alternative pathways (such as research assistant roles or master's programs as stepping stones), and debate over how much undergraduate institution ranking actually matters to admissions committees.

'There's a new generation of empirical deep learning researchers, hacking away at whatever seems trendy, blowing with the wind' [D]
Is google deepmind known to ghost applicants? [D]
Was looking at a ICLR 2025 Oral paper and I am shocked it got oral [D]
What is the criteria for a ML paper to be published?[D]

Source: r/MachineLearning | 2026-04-15

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