A little over a month left before the deadlines for most graduate programs arrive, so I just wanted to reach out to all those undergrads who are currently applying (or will apply in the future) to lend some support and encouragement, and also provide some insight on the application components from a former grad admissions chair. Sorry, this will be a longer thread. The application will usually consist of:

1. GPA/transcripts. At least unofficial ones will need to be submitted at first, official ones by the time you arrive on campus in the following fall semester. Admission committees are looking to see if a student took a fair number of rigorous scientific courses and received Bs or higher. Most programs do not have any strict GPA cut-offs, although you could ask the program director what the average GPA was for the last incoming class or two to get an idea. I have been involved in admissions at two Ivy League institutions, and have seen a wide range of GPAs from admitted students, as the applicant is judged by the application as a whole, not just one part. However, the lowest GPA I have seen from an admitted applicant at one of my former Ivy institutions was 3.10. Also, I’ve seen a wide variety of majors also be admitted to different programs as well. As long as you have a scientific background to undertake the graduate studies, you do not have to have the ideal major for that program. Don’t ever count yourself out based on your major or grades alone. If you have a semester or two of lower grades, please also describe why this happened in the Personal Statement, don’t leave it up to the imagination of the admissions.committee to wonder why. Grade trajectory is very important, so even if you had a year of lower grades, we often look to see how you bounced back and if there is a trajectory of better grades as your education progressed.

2. Your CV. This is an important document to succinctly summarize all your prior research, extra-curricular, academic, volunteer and leadership experience. Many students also list skills learned in lab courses or during their undergraduate experience. We look for any leadership experience, whether it was in a science or academic setting, or not. Being in charge of any activity or a manager/supervisor role at a job is also important to show you have growing leadership skills. Have you been a tutor or participated in outreach opportunities in your community? Lessons you learn in life often translate into shaping your mindset in the academic and research lab setting. Students often also list honors and awards as well, however, those aren’t the most important things imo, but it’s fine to be proud of your achievements. Don’t sell yourself short here in any way.

3. The Research Statement. This document is typically 2-3 pages long, and describes the research experience(s) you’ve had over your young career. Here you should describe what you did in your research experiences, both the technical details, but also the bigger picture of the work. What is the scientific and applied significance of your research project (e.g. affect/improve knowledge for better human health)? What did you learn? How did you make sense of your data and results? How did your research contribute to the field? What would you do if you could continue the work? How has these experiences shaped you to now pursue a more rigorous graduate research program? How has this research influenced you to apply to this graduate program?

4. The Personal Statement. It’s usually a bit shorter (1-2 pages) than the research statement, but this is your opportunity to tell us all about you. What drives your passions in life and in your education? If you’ve had any hardships to overcome, this is also a good place to describe them in more detail as well (e.g. low grades your Freshman year). Perseverance is a hallmark of being a scientist. How did you become interested in science? What are your overall career goals, and how can a PhD from our program help you achieve those goals? It’s important to let us know why you are specifically interested in our PhD program. Are there any particular faculty you could see yourself working for (or at least areas of science you’re interested in for your PhD)? Take time and do your hw on our program and institution.

5.Letters of recommendation. The standard program will ask for 3 letters, why? I have no idea, but that is usually the case. I think we should move to asking for 1 from a research supervisor and another optional one, but that is a conversation for another day. Please ask your letter writers if they can write a strong and positive letter. You’d be surprised how many weak letters are submitted. Usually this stems from asking someone that is not very familiar with you for a letter (e.g. Professor from your Freshman Chemistry course), as the strongest letters typically come from research supervisors. We understand that not every applicant has had 3 research experiences to get 3 supervisor letters, but please consider who to ask for a letter of recommendation carefully. Besides research supervisors, are there any program directors or other job supervisors you can ask for a letter? Anyone who can attest to your motivation, curiosity and ability to undertake an intensive research training program could be a good choice for a letter writer. It’s okay if you might have 1 letter from someone who might not know you as well as a supervisor, but just try not to have 2 or all 3 of these be like that. Please give letter writers plenty of notice before due dates, and supply any relevant application materials as you have them ready (CV, research or personal statements, etc.), and send plenty of reminders!

6. GRE scores. Most institutions have removed these requirements or made them optional. I’m not sure I would apply any place that still requires GRE scores, as this test is pretty bias and is a form of gatekeeping. It is especially unfair to URMs and international students. There is no correlation between high GRE scores and success in graduate school, so any institution that still thinks these are important is thinking in the past, so I would advise to just avoid places that absolutely require them. International students may still be asked to submit TOEFL scores though.

These are the basic components of most graduate school applications, although every institution maybe have some slightly variations or different requirements. In general when I was reviewing grad applications, I really tried to determine how ready a student was for our program, and how motivated they were from these documents. Although I know many of you students will be applying to many programs, please don’t just cut and paste the exact text over and over. Try to slightly tailor it to each program you are applying for. Anyone else have any other advice? Best of luck out there, you can do this! fin/