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  • Ask My Readers: Grad School Admissions

    By Dean Dad October 25, 2007 9:32 pm

    An assiduous undergraduate correspondent writes:

    Is it actually encouraged to email prospective advisors at the schools to which you will be applying? What do you send them-just an email, a copy of your thesis? Should your current faculty be sending introductory emails on your behalf to colleagues who you can then follow up with? Are there any good blogs that focus on getting into grad school, as opposed to the end of grad school life? How much do grades and scores actually matter in grad school admissions (I know, there are so many different schools, etc. Maybe confine answers to the social sciences and humanities?)? Do faculty at prospective grad schools actually want to read your work? Do they actually want to meet with you when you visit the school?

    First, my generic warning for anybody considering grad school in an evergreen discipline: for the love of all that is holy and good, don't do it! (For the longer version of this warning, see here.)

    That said, one of the perks of working at an open-admissions college is that we don't deal with the angst of people trying to psych out the admissions process. It's pretty transparent: if you meet the basic requirements, you're in. Grad school is not -- and should not be -- like that.

    The downside is that I have precious little wisdom to share on the etiquette of grad school admissions. Luckily, I have the Best Readers Ever, so I'll throw this one open to the readers who have experience working in or on graduate admissions. Wise and worldly readers, what do you think?

    Have a question? Ask the Administrator at deandad (at) gmail (dot) com.

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Comments on Ask My Readers: Grad School Admissions

  • Quick advice and a link
  • Posted by Michael on October 29, 2007 at 6:40am EDT

  • **Is it actually encouraged to email prospective advisors**

    Absolutely! (I am describing the norm in PhD-terminal programs in social and life sciences.) Most departments work with an apprentice-like system where you are accepted by a particular professor to work with her, so if she has a full lab that year, you will not get in no matter how good you are or how much she might be impressed by you. Save the application money and find out first. Also, this is a chance to briefly introduce yourself and your interests in the hopes that she will take a look at your application when you send it, rather than missing it among the many others. Send just an email with a description of your thesis work and any other related research work (and who you have worked with).

    **How much do grades and scores actually matter in grad school admissions**

    It depends on the department/professor. Places that are inundated with applications will often first cut down the number of applications by grades/scores before even getting reviewed. Many make this clear if they state a "minimum" rather than a preference or average.

    **Do faculty at prospective grad schools actually want to read your work? Do they actually want to meet with you when you visit the school?**

    They may not read it in detail, but they will scan your work to see if you have what it takes intellectually, and your letters should make clear you have the stamina and drive to do well (grad school is 10% talent and 90% effort/stamina). If the department uses apprenticeship, then they absolutely want to meet you and see if you are worth the investment of 4-6 years, and if they will like working with you.

    I do not know of any useful blogs, but the Observer published by the Association for Psychological Science has a nice student-written column that discusses such issues. http://www.psychologicalscience.org

    Good luck!

  • Posted by Dave Stone on October 30, 2007 at 2:45pm EDT

  • I was answering the same questions so often about grad school that I wrote up my answers and posted them on the web:
    http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~stone/GradSchoolGuide.html
    On contacting faculty--I say to do it early and often. As I put it in my guide, if a professor isn't willing to spend five MINUTES talking about whether program & student are a good fit, what do you think the next five YEARS will be like?

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