In the first part of this two-part series, I went over some of the basics of graduate school applications.  In this part, I’ll go over some more detailed aspects you should consider when choosing a program and tell you some tips that might help you get in even if you don’t fully meet the requirements.

After each detailed section, there’s a “TLDR” notice. This stands for “Too Long; Didn’t Read” and gives just the basics of the section.

Program Selection based on Financial Support:

Graduate schools in America are considered “Extra schooling.” By that I mean that many times Undergraduates can qualify for financial aid in the form of grants. Graduate students, however, don’t get this option very often. Unless you get a fellowship, or assistantship (and even if you do many times) you will likely be taking loans to pay for school, and it ain’t cheap.

If your program has enough money (and if they want you bad enough) they’ll offer you a fellowship. This is basically a grant, but it isn’t from the state. It is directly from the school. Sometimes you have to meet certain requirements for them, such as promise to work on certain projects for a certain time period, etc. Be careful and read the fine print some require light work duty, but pretty much all of them say how many credit hours you must be registered for.

You should look for programs that have lots of active projects and grants going on. These programs will likely be able to hire you as either a Teaching Assistant (TA) or a Research Assistant (RA.)

Here’s how it works:

A professor or group of professors at your program will write a grant. If they are awarded the grant, they must research what they wrote in the grant request. For instance: A professor writes a grant to work on a flexible tentacle robot. He gets the grant, and now he has a a few hundred thousand dollars a semester to spend on parts and labor. The labor includes paying someone to do menial tasks such as grade papers (the job of the TA) and it includes paying people to actually actively work on the grant (the job of an RA). RA positions pay more than TA positions, and the work that is done on an RA benefits the worker. If you are an RA working on the tentacle robot, any research you produce that is published has your name on it, and can help you get jobs, money, women, etc. (Joking, but only slightly.) Many times the research you do helps you with your thesis.

When you are a TA, you have to take time away from your current studies to grade some undergraduate’s midterm. Clearly RAs are the rock stars in this scenario. The good thing about a TA is that you can work for any professor, while an RA usually works for their advisor, or another professor on the grant.

You should research who has money, and what kind of money they have. You can speak with professors directly and ask them if they think they’ll have any positions available, and you can see the Graduate Student Services Coordinator to ask about fellowships. Here is some more information and some tips on fellowships and assistantships.

The last thing to consider here is not in any rulebook. Make sure you can write coherently and speak good English. This isn’t a racist thing, but you are less likely to be hired if simple communication with your boss is hard. If you are a RA, make sure that your writing skills are up to par as well. You need good grammar and good style to write effective papers. Your Adviser doesn’t want to have to rewrite everything you send him before he submits it to a conference or journal. These are little things but they must be taken into account. Too many students are passed over for jobs because of this. Again, its not racist, its usually subconscious on the professor’s part.

I was forced to take loans for Grad school, and my very first semester cost me more than all 5 of my undergrad years together. This was in addition to the fact that I was luck and already had an assistantship lined up.

• TLDR
• Look for where you can afford to go.
• See if you can get a Fellowship.
• Try to find Assistantships (RA is better than TA)
• Speak and write well, and in English.

Portfolio, Resume, Curriculum Vitae (CV):

A portfolio shows you past projects and in a way your experience and proficiency in whatever you do. In this type of portfolio, I’m including a resume and a CV.

The resume is simply your past work experience. It should be about a page or two long and it basically shows what you’ve done, how long you did it and who was paying you to do it. You can even add what skills you have and past class experience. I always add this because if a professor sees what you’ve done professionally, then he gets a better sense about you. If he likes you he can pass this resume along to people he knows in industry.

If all you have to write about is that you worked fast food during high school, don’t bother. This is more focused on work in your field. But if you’ve started a company, then by all means, write that down. You want to have 3-4 good jobs at least on there, and list out tasks you performed at each job and how long you worked at it. Spend some time with you school’s career adviser. Mine was a huge help.

The Curriculum Vitae (CV) is basically your academic resume. Whereas the resume is only work experience and should only be a page or two long, the CV shows academic as well as industry work experience, teaching experience, community service, achievements, awards, publications, conferences attended, the name of your sister’s cousin’s uncle, etc (joking again of course.) Where the goal of the resume was to be only a page or two, it seems like the goal of a CV is to be as long as possible but without being redundant or extraneous. Again, have your school’s career adviser look it over and give you tips.

My portfolio is one of the main things that got me into Grad school. I may not have had the best GPA, or the best GRE scores but throughout my entire undergraduate career I had been designing and building projects that were on the level of most people’s Senior Design projects. I still had all these projects, and I searched through all my hard drives to find images, videos, code, descriptions, anything at all on them.

I went to Open Source Web Designs, picked out a nice design and stared hacking on it until I had made myself a well organized portfolio website. I uploaded it to a web address and burned copies of it (as well as an autorun script) to CDs. It included contact information, a general introduction, resume, CV, videos, pictures, and even presentations of past projects and my publications. I linked this in my Personal Response and handed a CD out to any professors I met in a program. Since most people don’t do this, its rather impressive to have a full body of work there. The professor just pops it in the CD drive, and the webpage automatically runs off the CD.

Even if you haven’t done a lot of outside work, you can still put projects and presentations from your undergrad classes. Any big project with a powerpoint file or a final paper should be documented and used. In my case on the CD, I actually provided PDFs of descriptions of what each project was. You can browse the files to find more projects than were presented on the HTML pages.

Don’t worry if you don’t know HTML, neither do I. You can use a WYSIWYG editor to drag and drop things. Kompozer, Nvu, Seamonkey are all great free WYSIWYG editors for every platform.

• TLDR
• Make a good resume
• Make a good CV
• Collect some projects form undergrad you are proud of
• Create a simple but appealing and well organized website showing all this.
• Put it online as well as burn it to CDs to hand out when you meet people.

Face to Face Meetings:

One big thing that I feel helped me get into Grad school was face time with the professors in the program. These are the people who will be on the graduate committee. They are the ones who go through all the applications, read all the personally responses and will ultimately decide who gets in and who doesn’t. The best thing you can do is to meet with these people and make a good impression on them. This is quite possibly the most important thing you can do.

The first step here is to research the professor on the school’s website. See what kinds of projects they have. You have to do your research, otherwise you’ll just waste their time and that can piss them off. You should be able to ask intelligent questions about their projects, etc. Many times their websites are out of date. Be prepared for this as well. Search for their names in Google Scholar and try to find some papers they’ve published.

For instance, when I was checking out Clemson’s Intelligent Systems Program I got online and researched every professor in the program. I set a day that I could go to Clemson, and meet with them. I set up appointments with each and every professor in the program. Basically I sent a cold email or made a cold phone call to each one of them.

Dr. X

I am an Undergraduate student in <topic> at <your university> and am interested in pursuing <Dr. X’s program> in graduate studies. By searching the <Dr. X’s school name> website I found your project on <whatever Dr. X is working on> and am interested in learning more about it. If you have the time, I would really appreciate a meeting at which we can discuss your project and my prospective Graduate school plans. I will be visiting the <Dr. X’s school> campus on <give a date.> Please let me know at your earliest convenience whether or not we can meet that day; and if so, what time would be best for you.

Regards,

Name

This isn’t exactly what I wrote, but it’s close. You need to be professional and state exactly what you mean to discuss. Most professors will reply favorable to you taking the initiative like this.

I set up 7 meetings for the one day I planned on visiting the campus. I gave 30-45 minutes per meeting with time for lunch. I left my house at 4:00AM, drove straight there, wore a suite, met with some people, ate lunch, met with more people, and left campus at 5:00PM and arrived home at like 9:00PM. The entire night before I had stayed up putting finishing touches on my portfolios.

At each meeting I introduced myself and knew exactly what topics to discuss with each person I was meeting with. I even met with some people I didn’t expect, such as the Graduate Student Services Coordinator and the Chair of the program. Be prepared for this kind of stuff too. I was taken on tours of research labs and met with a few RAs.

They may ask you questions such as “Why do you want to work in <whatever they teach>?” Be prepared also to mention some projects you want to work on. Don’t be afraid to get kind of specific, these people know your field, and can easily carry on a conversation. Don’t B.S. them either.

I was once chatting with the head of a Computer Science program I was applying to. I was talking about neural networks and image recognition, and talking way over my head. Someone interrupted our meeting for a few seconds and while they chatted up the professor, I looked at her bookshelf. There were titles such as “Neural networks and Vision recognition.” The bad part was that these were book she had authored! She had literally written the book on what I was trying to B.S. about. Imaging my surprise. Once we were alone again, I quickly changed the subject to more familiar territory. (That program accepted me in the end, and had I gone there I would have had to do a lot of extra work to keep up with my B.S. I was talking.)

I ended up not even applying to Clemson, as I wouldn’t be able to afford to move there at the time. That was a mistake because I would have lost nothing in applying but had I gotten in, I’m sure I could have found a way to work things out. I think with fair certainty that all my work would have paid off and I would have been accepted there.

The whole trip took its toll on me, as that weekend, I had a pretty bad panic attack from all the stress it put me under. I had chosen a terrible time to go, I had an exam that week, as well as Valentines day, and a huge project for work the same week. Be smart and plan ahead on all this stuff, to avoid the same fate.

The best thing I can say is to imagine you have their job. What would make you remember someone, and make you want to work with them?

After you meet with the professors, way a few days and send a personalized “Thank You” email to each of them. Mention how you appreciate their time and effort, and thank them for mentioning <whatever thing you talked about that you hadn’t heard about yet but are now really interested in>, etc. This goes a long way with them as well.

• TLDR
• Research each professor in the program you are interested in
• Try to meet with them in person, otherwise through email (this is why your portfolio should also be online.) It is easy for them not accept a name on an application form, but much harder for them to deny someone they’ve actually met.
• Dress nice, don’t look like you’ve stayed up all night.
• Be genuine and don’t lie (you should do this always anyway).
• Introduce yourself and be confident and self assured while meeting with them.
• Ask the right questions.
• Get their names and projects right.
• Be ready to answer questions yourself, as if in an job interview.
• Be ready to provide some ideas you’d like to work on that are similar to their projects.
• Plan ahead.
• Send Thank you emails.

Numbers:

While it isn’t free to apply to graduate programs, you should apply to every one you can afford to that you are interested in. I only applied to two programs, and they were from the same school. I should have thrown my hat in the ring at Vanderbilt and Clemson, and even MIT. I might not have been accepted, but I would have gotten some nice letterhead at least.

On a whim, Jessica sent her GRE scored to Harvard. A couple of months later, they sent her a letter saying they got her GRE scores, but she had not applied. Based on her score they were surprised that she hadn’t. Word for word: here’s the beginning of the letter they sent her:

Greetings from Harvard… We have received your official GRE score report and believe you to be a strong candidate for graduate study at our school.

The only thing you loose in applying to more schools is the submission costs and costs to send them your GRE scores. The benefits are that you can go to a really great school with innovative projects and interesting people. You loose every possibility for these things by not applying.

• TLDR;
• Apply to all the schools you are interested in, and don’t sell yourself short. You just may get into the school of your dreams.

Conclusion:

All of these tips can only help your chances at getting into graduate school. Strong relationships with the professors are integral, and integral to that is a strong portfolio and some good face time with them. That being said, having good GRE scores and a high GPA, and good letters of recommendation are a lot of what they look for. They also look to see if you are a hard worker, and all of the tips above will prove beyond a doubt that you are. This is also a good exercise in working by yourself for a goal. You’ll be doing this in one way or another all throughout Grad school, so get used to it that kind of mentality.

If you they let you in it is because they believe in your potential. They don’t want you to fail. Your success helps your adviser get raises and promotions so they will do what they can for you. Your adviser is a great ally.

Good luck in your Graduate Program Search and I hope you get it!

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not an expert on this subject. I don’t have the best people skills, and I don’t know all there is to know about Grad school, but I do know what worked for me, and my advice has helped a few people to get accepted so far.

I’ll begin with some general questions I get asked.  The second part of this series will go into more advanced aspects of Grad school selection and even some tips that may help you get in even if you don’t meet the requirements.

After each detailed section, there’s a “TLDR” notice. This stands for “Too Long; Didn’t Read” and gives just the basics of the section.

Timing:

This is a pretty simple one. Start Early! If you are interested in starting Graduate school in the Fall, then you should do all your research and apply as early as possible for that program. Another benefit of applying early is you may get your results faster. Many times a Graduate school might accept you into a program, on the contingency that you take some classes to bring you up to speed with their program. If your acceptance has a such a contingency, applying early give you a chance to make it up.

Degree Selection:

One of the biggest questions I get is “I got my undergraduate degree in X, what do I need to get into a Y grad program?”. The answer I give applies to all degrees, but my answer is going to involve a specific example.

Let’s look at a Bachelors degree student in Electrical Engineering Technologist (EET) trying to get into an Electrical Engineering (EE) program. You would think these two things are very similar, and in many aspects they are, however, there is one MAJOR factor separating the two degrees. Calculus. EEs have to take Calculus 1, 2, 3 and Differential Equations, then the Calc-based Physics classes. EETs on the other hand generally take a class that combines only the topics required for the degree from Calc 1 and Calc2 classes. EETs going for an EE graduate degree are many times in a bad situation, where they are required to take all those math classes Post Baccalaureate before being accepted into a Grad program. I only know of 2 cases in my Grad program that a B.S. EET was accepted. Both of us had first taken our first 2 years of our undergrad in EE, then changed majors. This is critical as we already had the math required. In fact I had to take Calculus 3 the summer before my first Graduate semester to make up the deficiency.

• TLDR

• Basically the rule here is try to find what programs your undergraduate degree works best with. For most EETs, Engineering Management is a great choice, and for those that like to program, Computer Science is good. I know people who I graduated with who have done both. Don’t fool yourself into thinking your B.A. in History will help you get into a Biology program or vice versa.

• No matter what program you are in you will likely have to take a deficiency class. It usually won’t apply to your graduating credits either but many times Graduate Directors use this to see how serious you are and how hard you are willing to work.

GRE and Acceptance Exams:

Usually, to get into a graduate program, you have to take an exam like the GRE. The GRE is basically like the college version of the SAT. Many schools require a certain score, but this is flexible. If you lack in this area, they will look at other aspects of your college career to decide your Graduate School fate.

There are other Exams, but I only have experience with the GRE.

There are 3 main sections; Math, Reading Comprehension, and Writing. Many programs have a minimum score you must get to be accepted. To check the program or college you are interest in, scour their websites. You can also check some stats at places like GREexplorer. I also highly recommend searching the net on your own. A simple google search yielded a free site, Number2.

When you sign up for the GRE, know that it takes about3 hours straight (a short break between sections) and must be taken at a test center on a computer. The company that makes the GRE has free software called Powerprep with example GRE tests in it that look and feel exactly like the real test. You can go there now, answer a quick survey, and download it for free before registering to see what it is like.

The fact is that you HAVE to study for this test. You cannot just wing it. Now as far as test preparation, There are many schools of thought. You can buy all the books, do all the practice tests in them, and take classes; or you can use Powerprep and the internet. Jessica and I both used the second method and did well. (I did OK, Jessica did pretty well…) I have a friend who tried to wing it the first time, and whiffed miserably. He bought a book in the campus bookstore, studied it and whiffed again. He said the book was useless.

Jessica and I used Powerprep and the internet to find old GRE-like questions. We each made above average on the exam.

There are classes for the GRE preparation, but I didn’t take one. They go over good test taking skills and how they apply to the GRE specifically. You can generally find classes at local Universities. I really likely should have taken a class, and will if I ever need to take another test like this.

As far as materials selection, go to Amazon or some other site with a lot of reviews and read the reviews for books you are considering. People have likely found that only certain sections of a book are relevant to the test, or that a particular book was completely useless for reviewing.

You can take the GRE multiple times, but there are a few rules. You can only take it once per month. Depending on your grad school they can choose to either take a single score, or the average of your scores. You have to check with them to see what they accept. If you take it more than once, they will only send the scores of your last 3 recent tests to the schools you choose. I took it more than once and it improved my score a good bit.

Since you can take it multiple times, some people study really hard for one section, then the second time they take it they focus on another section. This may get you an overall cumulatively higher score however, Grad schools will look at what makes up the parts of your score too if memory serves. Whether or not they do this, I personally find this method of testing unethical and therefore cannot recommend it.

• TLDR

• Find out what test your college or program requires, study hard using good materials and take it more than once.

• Find out if the Grad program you are interested in accepts multiple GRE scores.

• Take a GRE preparation class before taking the test if possible.

Two kinds of GPA?:

Some schools have a minimum GPA requirement. They might post this online to scare off lazy and timid people. Using the tips in the second part of this article might help you convince them to waive this requirement. But in many cases, if their minimum is a 3.0, and you have a 2.8, you may still be able to get in. These rules are not always written in stone, the decision is in the hands of the Graduate Director and the Graduate Committee. More on these people later, but for now just know, its usually a flexible requirement just like GRE scores.

In lots of cases, cumulative GPA is not taken as seriously as “in the major” GPA. Cumulative GPA counts in stuff like English 101, College Algebra, Calc, Physics, etc. These classes include everything you’ve taken from that art class you never attended to Senior Design. The classes you did poorly in because you hated the material haunts you here. My cumulative GPA is below 3.0 from my undergrad studies. What made up for it was the fact that my “in the major” GPA was higher.

“In the major” GPA comes form the classes that define your major. These are mostly taken your last two years, but can come all the way from freshman classes in certain programs. Since you specialize your knowledge more in Grad school, they look to see that you excel in your field more than in general classes.

Personal Statement:

There’s not too much to say about this aspect of the process. Here they simply want to know what your motivations are to be in their program. They are also checking to see that you are a competent writer (in English usually.) Don’t make it too long and don’t make it too short. I think my statement was about 3 pages.

Make sure to personalize it to their program. They HATE to read something that sounds generic, and they can tell when you’ve used the same statement for every school you applied to. Change it up a bit and if you’ve met with the professors there, mention something you talked about. Mentioning their research is helpful as well. Again the people who read this will be the Graduate Committee of the program you are applying to. If you follow all my tips in the second half of this article, you’ll likely have met some of them already.

They like to get a sense of your experience so far, as well as possible research ideas. Throw in some neat ideas you might have for your field. Don’t make promises, and don’t go crazy with the ideas.

I stressed out more than needed about writing the statements, but a just keeping these things in mind will make it easier to know what they are looking for.

• TLDR

• Don’t stress over this.

• Write in proper English with good grammar.

• Personalize the statement to the school.

• Why do you want to do (whatever field you study?)

• What is your motivation for continuing your education? ( mention life-long learning, improving concepts/projects/ideas/the science of <whatever>, etc.)

• What kinds of ideas do you have for research topics? (Robots for space exploration, sensor fusion, etc.) Don’t B.S. too much here or make your projects too fantastical. They are looking to see that you have ideas, and that you can make reasonably reachable goals.

• You can mention professors you have met in their program and what you may have spoken about.

Letters of Recommendation:

Usually you’ll need a couple recommendations from professors in your undergraduate program. This isn’t bad. Simply ask a few (you should have made friends with a couple of them if you got the most out of your time with them.) Most will be glad to help you if they believe in you and your potential. Its usually a simple process of printing out a PDF, and having them fill in some blanks, write a bit about you, and mail it in. Most schools nowadays offer this service completely online, and the professor can enter it at their leisure.

Conclusion:

These are the basics required of most Graduate program admissions. International students may be required to take a few additional exams to show proficiency in English, or to for placement in the program.

Check out the second part of this article for additional tips on getting into grad school.