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Apart from it being obvious, I've read at several places that PhD panels have "higher bars" for admission.

This "higher bar", does it simply translate to higher quality research, internships, scores or is there something else accompanying this as well?

Academic
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    I don't know to what extent the situation is different now from the several times (!!) I was a graduate student, but back in the 1980s the bar was higher for Ph.D. admission simply because Ph.D. candidates often didn't pass qualifying exams or succeed in the higher level courses, resulting in wasted effort and department admission slots that someone else could have filled, despite usually still getting a Masters, whereas the prospects for Masters only more likely succeeded in their original goal (although sometimes the better ones upgraded to Ph.D. after realizing they could do the work). – Dave L Renfro Mar 12 '21 at 07:55
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    As for what this "higher bar" is, the expectation of research and internships was pretty much nonexistent when I was applying to graduate schools (U.S. mathematics, various times from 1980 through 1989), but it was probably being consistently stronger with level of courses taken, achievement in those courses (usually not just whether an 'A', which sometimes didn't mean much and sometimes did, but something especially outstanding that the professor could include in a letter of recommendation), and other things not expected of a typical undergraduate (e.g. a nontrivial Putnam exam performance). – Dave L Renfro Mar 12 '21 at 08:04
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    By the way, what you describe in your question Is blogging experience (on medium) relevant on the CV for PhD CS Admissions? (US) seems to me to be a good example of "other things not expected of a typical undergraduate". – Dave L Renfro Mar 12 '21 at 08:09
  • Is this a theoretical question, or are you really looking for advice whether to apply for an MS or a PhD? – Buffy Mar 12 '21 at 15:41
  • Thank you so much @DaveLRenfro. This has helped me develop really good insight! – Academic Mar 14 '21 at 02:01
  • @Buffy It was just a theoretical question. I personally am strictly aiming for PhD programs. – Academic Mar 14 '21 at 02:02

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