Plotting Your Way

to a PhD:
6 Topics in
PhD Admissions
6
3

An Accepted.com Report
by Dr. Rebecca Blustein
Copyright 2013 Accepted.com

Table of Contents
Introduction.............................................................................................. 3
STEM PhD Job Market is Down................................................................. 4
STEM PhD Applicants: Strengthen Your Candidacy.................................. 5
Choosing the Right PhD Program............................................................. 6
PhD Reapplication..................................................................................... 8
PhD Letters of Recommendation: Who Should Write Them?.................. 9
Minimizing Technical Jargon in SOPs...................................................... 10
Epilogue .................................................................................................. 11
About the Author.................................................................................... 11

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Introduction
Thank you for downloading Plotting Your Way to a PhD: 6 Topics in PhD Admissions! In this
report well introduce you to six important subjects that EVERY PhD applicant needs to address
if they want to gain the competitive edge that will get them accepted into their top choice PhD
program.
Heres a breakdown of the six topics well cover in Plotting Your Way to a PhD: 6 Topics in
PhD Admissions: If youre aiming for a successful admissions season, youll need to be realistic
about the state of the post-PhD job market, even if youre pursuing a STEM PhD (the first
chapter of the report); youll also want to strengthen your candidacy (chapter two) and choose
the best program for your individual goals and interests (chapter three). Next, if youre a
reapplicant, youll want to read through our chapter on PhD reapplication (chapter four)in fact,
even if youre not a reapplicant, there are valuable tips in that section that may help you.
Everyone needs to secure strong letters of recommendation (thats chapter five), and then finally,
the report ends with some writing tips on how to make you statement of purpose (SOP) more
readable and less jargon-y.
Please enjoy the tips in Plotting Your Way to a PhD: 6 Topics in PhD Admissions, and savor the
fruits of your labora seat in the PhD program of your choice!

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STEM PhD Job Market is Down

While prophecies of doom might be more common regarding the job
market for humanities PhDs, a number of studies and articles have
pointed out that the situation isnt too rosy for STEM PhDs, either. A
recent story in The Atlantic characterized the current situation as a PhD
Bust.
In short, the number of tenure-track and full-time jobs has fallen, while
more young scientists are spending longer working as post-docs (a
position that, while it is an accepted transitional part of a research career,
can be exploitative).
In 2010, The Economist critiqued the ever-expanding low-wage post-doc,
and the oversupply of PhDs generally.
Many PhD students in STEM fields have goals that lie outside of traditional academe (research
in industry, etc). But it is clear that the academic market in the sciences has become even more
difficult in recent years.
Obviously, none of this is to say that a PhD is not the right choice. Its just important to be an
educated applicant, and apply for the right reasons. Know your goals, be aware of the (growing)
challenges posed by the job market, and plan your strategy accordingly.

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STEM PhD Applicants: Strengthen Your Candidacy

Once youve made the decision to apply for a PhD in a STEM
field, how can you prepare effectively and strengthen your
candidacy?
Your research is a vital part of your PhD applicationyou need
to have clear reasons for pursuing advanced research in your
field, and you need to be able to show that you have the research
skills to succeed. Pursuing a PhD means dedicating yourself to high level research in your field.
Admissions committees (rightly) expect that before deciding to do that, you understand what that
type of research involves, and that you demonstrate the potential to succeed in an advanced
program. Your grades and GRE scores serve as confirmation that you can succeed in grad
school this is not to discount the importance of those numbers. But you will not get into a top
PhD program without strong research skills or well-thought-out research interests.
If youre still an undergrad, participate in research. If your department offers the chance to do a
thesis, write it. Try to find other ways of developing your research experience and building your
skills: volunteer in a lab, assist a professor or doctoral student with research, etc. Some
universities have a formalized system for assigning undergrad researchers to labs. If yours
doesnt, contact professors in your department and ask about lab opportunities. (The best way to
do this is to contact individual professors: explain your qualifications/background and ask if
there are volunteer positions available in their labs.)
If youve already graduated and dont have enough research experience, try to fill that gap. If
youre near a university, contact faculty in your department of interest and ask about
volunteering in their labs. If youre working in industry: have you conducted research for your
job? If so, think about how to present this experience in your application (and ask a supervisor to
write you a recommendation that addresses your research skills).
Whether youre applying directly from undergrad or have been out for a few years, stay current
with the publications in your area of interest.
Building strong research skills will enhance your PhD application and set you on the road to a
successful graduate school experience.

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Choosing the Right PhD Program

Choosing the right PhD program is key to your success
not just in getting admitted, but in having a successful grad
school experience.
What makes a program the right one?
First, it needs to fit your needs: you need to have access to a mentor who can oversee your
research and guide you as you develop in the profession; you need to have an environment that
feels collegial and supportive to you; and you need to have a community where you feel
comfortable.
Second, it needs to be a program you can get into and fit into. What does that mean, practically?
How do you determine whether youre qualified?

Evaluate your credentials. If your GPA and test scores are well below the averages for
your target school, you need to broaden your search. (Note that GRE scores are not the
end-all for PhD programs, but many grad schools do have a minimum scorebelow
which the university wont even forward your app to the department for consideration.)

If you dont have research experience, top programs wont see you as a serious candidate.

How can you evaluate fit?

PhD programs dont admit many students, so admissions can sometimes seem capricious.
Balance that by making certain youre a good fit for the program, and by applying to
enough schools. I recommend applying to at least 8-10 programs.

Look at the research that current students and recent grads of your target department have
done. Is this the type of work that appeals to you? Yes? Then look into the labs they
worked in, contact professors, etc. No? Broaden your search. Its not all about the
name/ranking of the universityyou need to find your research home.

It is worth contacting potential research mentors before you apply, to let them know
youre interested. Give them an overview of your background/experience/goals.

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To start finding potential mentors, you need to do extensive research. Take advantage of
every resource available to you: your undergraduate faculty and grad students you may
have done research with may have helpful advice. Reading journals and attending
conferences will also give you a sense of what work is going on, where, and who is doing
it. Thats your starting point for researching potential labs and programs.

Start your application process earlytheres a lot of research involved in choosing the right
programs to apply to.

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PhD Reapplication
What if you did apply and were unsuccessful?
How can you strengthen your candidacy for reapplication?
The first step is to conduct an honest
assessment of your candidacy. Did you apply to
too few programs? To the wrong programs?
(Applying only to Harvard is not a great strategy!) Consider broadening your list of schools.
Were there weaknesses in your application that you can remedy by gaining more experience,
retaking your GRE, adding a stronger LOR, or taking courses? Some applicants can benefit by
pursuing a masters degree before entering a PhD programespecially if youre changing fields
or if you have limited research experience.
Look at your research experiences. Do you need to take some time before reapplying to develop
your research experience and skills?
When it comes to the practicalities of reapplying, make sure that you craft a new, stronger
application. If your SOP was unpersuasive last year, it probably wont be more persuasive this
yearyou need to re-evaluate and revise.
It is disappointing not to get in the first time, but making a serious reapplication can give you a
chance to analyze your skills and your goalsand even leave you better prepared for grad
school.

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PhD Letters of Recommendation: Who

Should Write Them?
Letters of recommendation are a key part of your
application. Strong ones provide meaningful support, but a
lukewarm one can really hurt you. Who should write in
support of your PhD application, and how can you make
sure your letters are as good as they can be?
For your PhD app, you need LORs that can address your research experience and potential.
Most of your letters, unless you have extensive work experience, should be from academic
references. (If you have work experience, you can submit a work reference, but it should also
focus on your research potential.) Ask people who know you well and can comment specifically
and knowledgeably about your abilities.
When you ask your recommenders if they can write in support of your application, ask if they
would be able to write you a strong letter. This provides a gentle way for a hesitant
recommender to declinethey can let you know that they dont think they know you well
enough to write a strong letter (or you might sense their hesitation), and you can move on to
someone else.
For the recommenders who are able to write for you, offer to supply whatever information will
help them: your CV, a draft of your SOP, copies of work you produced for their class, etc. Offer
to meet with them to discuss your goals. (They might not have time, but this can make their job
easier!)
And always remember to follow up with a thank you note. (Ideally, you can write another thank
you note after you get in, sharing the good news!)

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Minimizing Technical Jargon in SOPs

Frequently, applicants in STEM fields are working on projects
that are quite technical in nature. Field-specific jargon might
show that you know the language of your fieldwhich is
importantbut using too much of it can also make your SOP
very hard to read. Aim for the middle road: you want to
demonstrate your knowledge, but you also want to make your
project accessible to readers outside your immediate area of specialization, and you need to be
able to explain IN PLAIN ENGLISH why your work is important.
This is a matter of tone, and of consideration for your reader. Its also a skill that will serve you
well when youre writing grant applications, when (as with your SOP) youll be submitting
proposals to an audience of scholars who might work in your broad field but not in your specific
area. You need to be able to present your ideas clearly both to an expert audience and to an
audience of educated non-experts. This means minimizing the most technical jargon, and writing
in plain English.
Questions to answer, and some jargon-busting tips:

What is new about your project? How will your research contribute to or advance the
state of knowledge in the field? Why is this important?
Are you building on previous significant work? How? Are you building on your own
research experience? How?
What does your project aim to demonstrate?
As you work on your SOP, challenge yourself to describe your main research
interests in one sentence. Then in one paragraph. Forcing yourself to describe your
interests concisely (even if this isnt the final form youll use in your SOP) will help
you weed out jargon.
Read your SOP aloud. If there are sections you find yourself stumbling over,
highlight them and return to themtheyre probably not as clear as they need to be.
Give your SOP to someone else to readsomeone who is not an expert in your field.
Can they understand your description of your research, or do they need you to explain
your terms?

Cutting back on jargon, even when youre describing a very technical project, is a skill in
itselfand its a useful one to have.

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Epilogue
Thank you for reading this exclusive Accepted.com special report. You should now be able to
successfully choose the right PhD program, strengthen your candidacy, pick perfect
recommenders, and thenfinallyapply!
Dont think you can take on the PhD application process on your own? Contact Accepted. While
our experienced professional editing staff wont write your essays for you, we can help you from
the beginning, as youre defining your topics and themes, or we can edit your essays to ensure
that your application is as strong as it can be.
If you have general questions about this report, or questions about PhD admissions in general,
please feel free to post them to our Facebook wall or LinkedIn group.
We look forward to hearing from you!

About the Author

Dr. Rebecca Blustein is an Accepted.com consultant and former Student Affairs
Officer at UCLAs Scholarship Resource Center, as well as the author of
Financing Your Future: Winning Fellowships, Scholarships and Awards for
Grad School. Rebecca will be happy to assist you with your PhD applications.

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