Chance Me, Grad School

MWolf
Thu, 06 May 2021 20:06:12 +0000

What everybody says, plus:

What school are you at, and who you ask for letters of recommendation are extremely important, especially the latter. A strong, personalized LoR from a big name in the field who has personal experience with your abilities in your field is a huge benefit.

Grad schools are not looking to “build a class”. They are looking to accept students who will graduate, and will publish their research. Your applications will not be read by admissions officers, but by a committee made up of faculty and grad students.

The only ECs which are really important are those related to research experience - working in a lab, working on research, working on independent research, presentations, and publications. Nobody cares about your music or athletics, or anything which does not reflect on your capabilities ad a potential researcher (and perhaps teacher).

Competitions are not important, except for “best research”, “best talk by a graduate student”. Presentations at peer reviewed conferences are great, as are grants, especially from outside your university.

Internships and teaching are also great.

Do not, I repeat, do not pay for graduate school.

If you are looking for a non-thesis masters, it is better to first gain experience, since people with masters are paid more, and corporation generally prefer to have that extra pay include experience, not just a couple extra years of classes.