Preparing for US Grad School Applications
University selection and contacting professors
M. Usman Rafique, Yusra Farhat Ullah
First, we want to emphasize the importance of devoting time and effort to the whole admission process. To maximize your chances of admission, you should be putting in just as much effort as you did for your GRE exam and putting together your research profile. Every step counts, including the university and advisor selection.
We advise you to be deliberate and thoughtful about the programs you choose to apply to. University selection is a tricky thing: the process is fairly random and there are many unknown factors (for us) that admission committees are considering. Such as, a faculty is out of research funds and cannot hire new PhD students, or the department or lab got a major grant and they are now desperate to hire promising students. There are two things to consider here: the university itself and the specific program you’re interested in.
A game of calculated bets
View the application process as making calculated bets. To maximize your chances, you should:
- Make more bets: apply to a large number of schools and hope
- Make better bets: actively search for programs that are seeking candidates in your research area
If you do your research and find that you have a good chance of getting in, then 5programs should be enough. Alternatively, applying to 10 programs without much knowledge about your chances of success might also be okay. The more time and effort you invest (the more bets you make, or the more educated your guess is), higher the chances of getting in.
Pro-tip: Recently, more and more schools are offering programs that waive admission fee; in some cases, all you have to do is to send an email asking for a waiver.
Shortlisting Grad Programs
No one can know for sure if you have a good shot at getting into a program more than you. There is only one exception: someone in a program (a grad student, a professor etc.) tells you explicitly that they are looking (or not looking) for new students in your area. In absence of such first-hand information, this is our preferred method of shortlisting schools:
- Get a good mix of ranking and start with a large number of schools; you will be removing many of these quickly. In the US (and everywhere in the world), you’ll find great professors at middle and low rank universities.
- The main resource you are looking for is: professors active in research and having research funding and working in your area
- Do your research and remove schools from your list until you reach a handful
Pro Tip: The important thing to note here is that we are asking you to flip the order: do not wait for professors to advertise and then apply. Usually, in the US, professors and departments do not go advertising like “hiring new PhD students.” The standard process is for schools to wait for formal applications and professors usually only engage after admission offers.
Warning: Interestingly, many new professors that go on public advertising, maximize applicants and make the admission very competitive. Unless you are a really good match and you have done some research similar to the areas of these professors, we think the chances of getting a funded position in these advertised positions are actually lower than other positions.
Conclusion: if someones says go apply to school ABC, do not listen to them unless they have first-hand knowledge of opportunities. No one else is going to do this research for you, probably. You can find a lot about any program by spending 30–60 minutes on their website.
E-mailing Professors
Writing emails to potential advisors is probably not the best use of time and effort in my opinion: the faculty usually do not engage before formal application. Below are some pointers:
Email template: If you’re sending an email with little changes to every professor, then I have bad news for you: you will probably not get a reply. Customize the email: Send a custom email with natural statements, just like you would if you meet them in person. More details below.
Don’t write lengthy emails: When a busy professor sees a lengthy email from yet another unknown student, it goes unread, or given a very short time. Keep it short: Cut down your email by half, and then keep on cutting, until you have a few independent but coherent sentences.
Don’t read your CV in the text: This is the prime contributor to lengthy emails and often students confuse the answer to “what motivates you” with writing out their CV in words. Use a short hook: In a few words, catch the attention of the reader such that they want to open your attached CV.
Don’t say: Avoid statements like “my research profile completely matches with yours”. Demonstrate: In a few lines, show evidence that leads to this conclusion. For example, something like “I have research experience in ABC that was published in conference DEF that closely matches your recent work GHI.”
Don’t make empty claims: “I want to work on something like LMNO with you.” Make concrete connection: Read their relevant publications and make it clear that you have done your research. be bold, list an ambitious and specific research proposal. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it should be relevant.
In summary, our advice is to put emphasis on choosing programs of best fit and preparing application material instead of sending generic emails.
The application process might seem intimidating, remember to take it step by step. The good news is that if you keep investing time and effort, your chances of admission will continue increasing. Be bold, stay focused, and believe in yourself.
