Admission to Graduate School in the U.S.

Preamble

The U.S. graduate school system offers unparalleled opportunities. However, successful admission is a complicated and lengthy process. This wikibook, aims to help you navigate the application process, especially if you are not a US citizen.

Table of Chapters

Chapter 1: Why the U.S. There is also an all chapters view for printing.

Contributors

Cdamama

Why the U.S.

• Largest number of Nobel prizes
• High national spending on research and development
• High caliber colleagues
• Hundreds of schools
• Freedom of thought, conscience and expression
• Competitive egalitarian society
• Generous stipends

Why not the U.S.

• Limitations on employment after graduation
• Expensive tuition

Ingredients of a successful application

Admission committees in many programs face mountains of applications and a very limited number of spots. Thus, for an application to be successful it

• Must contain evidence that the applicant is a distinguished individual
• Demonstrate that the interests of the applicant nicely match the program he/she is applying to
• Not contain any obvious mistakes or exaggerations
• Be easily readable

Successful application must include high quality course grades, test grades, reference letters and a convincing personal statement. It is important that all of the above are of a high quality and none can be used to eliminate the application in a preliminary round. Probably the single most important factor is the reference letter, because members of the admission committee may know the author of the letter professional. If so, and if the letter is of a high quality, the application would receive a strong boost. Course grades are least likely to boost your chances because the admission committee may be skeptical of high grades: since it does not know how they were assigned, the grades can be inflated or unfair.

Reference letters

High quality reference letter could be very important to success. Try to:

• Get the letter from a professor that has known you for a long time
• Has a good record of research
• Can communicate effective in English

As well:

• Give plenty of time to write the letter
• Explain why you want to be admitted to each of the programs, so the letters can be customized
• Remind the writer about accomplishments that can be listed in the letter
• Follow up on your request with reminders about deadlines

That all being said, when the program is very competitive, even the best applications are likely to fail by pure chance. Therefore, it is important to apply to more than one program. It may also be useful to apply to several less competitive programs as a security. Otherwise, it may be onecessary to wait a year before applying again.

Relevant Experience

Graduate programs typically make requirements of the students that are different from the requirements of undergraduate studies. Whereas undergraduates are typically asked to attend classes or do assignments, graduate students often face open problems and no clear deadlines, and are often required to teach. The difference in requirement means that students who have done well as undergrads find themselves under-prepared for the graduate student experience. Few things can be more frustrating to departments than seeing promising applicants become mediocre graduate students. As a result, admission committees actively seek applicants which document success in the kind of challenges graduate students face. This includes:

• Evidence for success in work on open problems
• Research experience
• Ability to communicate effective in English
• Initiative
• Perseverance and focus
• Creativity

The above list includes some very general attributes, such as personality attributes. Consequently, it is useful to mention in the application evidence for these, even if it does not directly relate to the field of study. For example, starting a yoga club may demonstrate initiative, even if the application is for a program in biology. However, beware: these activities should not occupy much of the application. Graduate studies require individuals who know what they want to do, and therefore excessive information about side activities could be bad.

Funding

As a general rule, students in Ph.D. programs receive sufficient funding for modest living. Typically, funding is provided as long as the student maintains good grades, does work (as a teaching or research assistant) and completed the degree within a given time frame (usually 4-5 years). In Master's or professional programs, the student could be very different.

Tips

1. Contact potential advisers in advance of your application. Contacting the faculty members is an extra opportunity to demonstrate that you are interested in the program. By expressing interest in working with a particular person, you can make your application stick out during the selection process, especially if the professor in question is in the selection committee. As well, in some universities, applications circulate between faculty members and the students are only admitted if there is a faculty member who selects the student's application. You may be surprised by the openness of professors to answer questions or to communicate with you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Why do applications ask about race of the applicant - is race a factor?

A. Publicly-funded university are required by law to report the composition of their student body. However, it is possible that race would play a small role in the application, due to what is known as "affirmative action" or "diversity" policies. Affirmative action is a policy of giving preferential admission to applicants from groups which are under-represented in the student body compared to the general population; Diversity refers the stated preference of many schools to have a student body composed from diverse social backgrounds. That said, recent court ruling and laws have weakened such policies. In sum, race is not an important factor in success.

Q. I have been offered to pay for my program by working as a teaching or research assistant. Do I need to get a work visa? A. No. Work in the university which is related to your program of study does not require an additional visa beyond your student visa.

Q. I heard that the US does not have health insurance. What happens if I get sick? A. Actually, in many if not the majority of schools, graduate students receive comprehensive health insurance from the university.