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I was in a math PhD program for one year during the 2009-2010 year in US (with funding by school). I was expelled due to low grades (nothing related to violence/cheating). During the Fall of 2010, I took some classes at a local university and applied to Master's programs during that time. I went to a Master's program in math in Canada from 2011-2013 (currently there).

My plan is to apply to top PhD programs in the US in math this Fall and enter at the Fall of 2013. I have a 4.0 Masters GPA, >95% GRE math scores, publications, and excellent relations with Master's advisors. I have developed great focus and motivation and have rid myself of procrastination which plagued me the past. I am also sure I want to continue doing mathematical research.

I am sure that when applying to PhDs, mentioning the expulsion from years ago will only hurt me so I intend to not mention it (I have not told anyone about this either). My question is if PhD programs will discover this hidden information when I apply? What if when I apply for fellowships?

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user717
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    Was it technically called "expulsion" or were you "asked to leave" or "not allowed to continue"? Expulsion sounds rather extreme, whereas the others don't have the same strong connotation. – Dave Clarke May 12 '14 at 17:59

1 Answers1

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I would strongly recommend mentioning it briefly somewhere in your application, with a very short explanation of why it is irrelevant (for example: you were less mature and motivated, so you procrastinated and your grades suffered, but your performance over the last few years proves that these issues are no longer a problem). Don't emphasize it too much, but your best strategy is not to hide anything.

You are right that it might hurt your chances, but I do not think it will hurt them much. If it came up in a committee I was on, I would argue against worrying about it, if the rest of your application was compelling. If you do not mention it, then you'll have an unexplained gap of a year in your CV, and that will also raise suspicions, since such a gap is usually a sign of something that did not work well. If you don't want to mention it or have a gap, then the alternative is lying.

You should definitely not lie, by giving an incomplete list of previous schools attended if asked for a complete list, or by giving a different explanation of what you were doing during that year. You might get away with the lie, since it can be difficult to detect missing information or disprove vague excuses, but if the lie is detected then it will ruin your chances of admission. (And committee members might even mention it to friends at other schools, if they are irritated enough about the lie.) Even if you get admitted, the lie may also come up again to haunt you in the future. For example, a faculty member from your old school may someday visit to give a talk, recognize you, and mention the connection to your advisor. Or you and your advisor may someday end up attending a conference at that university. You probably won't get kicked out of grad school if the lie is discovered later, but it's technically possible (at least at some universities), and in any case you do not want to be known among the faculty as someone who lied about his/her past.

You've already done the hard part of moving beyond this issue and demonstrating that it is no longer a problem, and that will minimize the risks of honesty. By contrast, the risks of dishonesty may follow you for years.

Anonymous Mathematician
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    Once again, this answer pretty much says it all. The best strategy is honesty—although downplaying it would also be a good option (don't dwell on it, just state that it happened, won't happen again, and move on). – aeismail Apr 23 '12 at 09:07
  • If I was a Federal Title IV Financial Assistance recipients during the 1st phd, will them knowing affect the possibility of me being funded since there is also a federal component and not just the school? – user717 Apr 23 '12 at 17:39
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    @user717: Sorry, I don't know. My guess is that it wouldn't hurt you, but I really don't understand the technicalities of these programs. (Under some circumstances, withdrawing from school requires you to pay back some of the financial aid or loans you were given. I don't have a reason to think it eliminates future eligibility, but I have never looked into this.) I'd be very careful with this: you really don't want to get in trouble for fraud with federal student aid, which is much more serious legally than what you tell the university. – Anonymous Mathematician Apr 23 '12 at 18:22
  • I think if you owed anything in the past, they would have told you, so you should be safe there. The fraud issue would be if you apply for financial assistance without mentioning this and end up getting funding you aren't eligible for, and then the government discovers it later. (I don't think this is a real concern - as far as I know, there is no eligibility issue in the first place - but there is no sense in taking chances.) – Anonymous Mathematician Apr 24 '12 at 02:21
  • Got cut off before finishing above.

    I was not told to pay anything back. I hope I don't get into trouble for fraud; I never had any intention of going down that route. But if I were to mention the expulsion in the statement of purpose, how should I phrase it to best downplay the past(i.e. what kind of reasons are considered least severe). I heard online somewhere else that one should never mention negative events or just the bare minimum if required(e.g. send bad gre score but no explanation of why) even if they were beyond my control.

    Thank you for your advice.

     – user717 Apr 24 '12 at 02:25
  • As for how to downplay it, I'd recommend listing the school you attended for one year in your CV (but you don't need to go into detail there about what happened or why you left), and putting two sentences in your statement: one that explains that you left because of procrastination/poor grades [or whatever], and one that points out that your track record since then proves that these issues are no longer a concern. I'd avoid putting this at the beginning of the statement, which would emphasize it, or the very end, since the end may stick in the reader's head. Somewhere in the middle is good. – Anonymous Mathematician Apr 24 '12 at 02:28
  • If the faculty do not know about it at my current master's program, is it best to not tell them now? – user717 Apr 24 '12 at 02:29
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    You also don't have to say explicitly that you were expelled. For example, you can say something like "You'll see from my CV that I studied for a year at X, before leaving when it became clear that I was not yet ready for graduate school. I took a few courses at Y to strengthen my background, and then I entered the master's program at Z, where I have received excellent grades and published several papers." – Anonymous Mathematician Apr 24 '12 at 02:35
  • I'd suggest giving anyone writing a letter of recommendation a copy of your application materials. People at your current school may learn about it from that, but I don't think it will be a big deal. (If you just left it off your previous application, without lying about it, then don't worry. If you told them something that was explicitly untrue, then you'll have to figure out how to handle that - for example, then it might be easiest just not to give them that information. But one advantage of mentioning it briefly on your next application would be never having to worry about this again.) – Anonymous Mathematician Apr 24 '12 at 02:42
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    I completely agree that you don't have to go into details. Just mention very briefly that you did a phd for one year but you were not ready for it so you decided to strengthen your background and lay a good foundation for a good phd program and you're ready and highly motivated now. Only go into details when someone asks for them. And try not to focust on that fact. Sometimes when we know something, we think, that others are also focused on that fact, but frankly nobody cares that much. So, leave that behind but simultaneously be honest. – bordart May 12 '14 at 18:15