Grad App Process ≠ Undergrad App Process

I was asked to advise undergrads about how to start a career while being a student. I wanted to give a detailed overview of what I learned after applying to PhD programs.Here are some of the slides/tips that I presented!

You might be asking yourself about grad school. Graduate or grad education is a chance to gain more skills and take more classes. As a graduate student, you have the chance to learn more and conduct research. If there's a specific area that you're interested in, you can take more classes in that field. If there's a project you've been wanting to work on, you can conduct research. You also get the chance to teach students. It can be a great time to learn about yourself and to get more skills before you enter the workforce.

If you are considering grad school, you are likely trying to decide between a master's degree and a Ph.D. There are some major differences between the two.

Master’s programs are a great chance to learn more. You can take more classes and challenge yourself. Lots of master’s programs include research elements where you have the chance to work in a lab. If you choose a program with research, you will likely be taking less classes and you will have to submit a thesis. You might not have to take as many classes as undergrad and the workload will likely be less. In a master's program, you’ll be challenging yourself without the strict constraints of undergrad. These programs are usually one to two years and are not funded by your institution. Engineering master's programs can cost anything from $50,000 to $90,000. Fortunately, there are ways to pay for a master's without getting lots of loan debt. Some companies offer to pay for master's degrees as part of a company contract. There are also opportunities as a graduate student. Whether you are pursuing a master's or a Ph.D., it is likely you will be required to be a teacher's assistant (TA). As a TA, you can teach classes, grade homework, help with labs, tutor, etc. It is a paid position that you can use to help offset the costs of your education. There are also many fellowships that you can apply to for your funding. Once you have completed your program, this additional degree is a great way to level up your job applications. It will likely give you a pay bump and allow you to apply to positions beyond entry-level.

Similarly to a master’s, a Ph.D. is designed to challenge you. I’ve been told that it’s more of a journey of self-discovery than anything else. You can figure out what you’re passionate about and what you might want to work on in the future. As a Ph.D. student (or Ph.D. "candidate" after your qualifying exams) you are a worker and researcher, not necessarily a student. You’ll be taking classes—especially if you go straight from undergrad—but you won’t be turning in weekly assignments. You’ll be conducting research and teaching. There are also lots of career opportunities after a Ph.D. because you are an expert: academia, national research laboratories, R&D, and entrepreneurship. If you choose to go back to industry, you can get an even bigger pay bump! Many Ph.D. are fully funded. You are a paid researcher and educator—you are not paying to attend the institution. However, the pay from a Ph.D. is significantly less than the pay from industry. The pay for Ph.D.'s ranges from $20,000 to $50,000 per year, while an entry-level engineering position typically ranges from $50,000 to $200,000 per year.

If you are interested in pursuing a graduate degree, it is important to understand the application process.

The graduate school application process is a bit different from the undergraduate application process. The majority of this post, applies to the Ph.D. process, but the application process for both a master's and a Ph.D. have things in common.

It is important to research your department and your advisor. The name and the school is not as important as your advisor and your department. It can be hard to decide where you want to go. Reading papers is a great way to figure out who and where is working on the topic you’re interested in. Your current professors and other faculty are a great resource to find specific people in your field that could be your principal investigator (PI) aka advisor.

When you are looking at departments, make sure that there is more than one lab and more than one faculty member that you are interested in working with. This will grant you more flexibility in the event that you do not work well with your advisor or if you need a co-advisor. If there is more than one faculty member that you are interested in working with, it will be easier to find support for your research if you face an unexpected change in plans. If you can’t find anything in that department, it’s possible that you might need to apply to a different department. Even though you studied mechanical engineering, you might need to look at electrical engineering for graduate school. You do not need to feel boxed in. Graduate eduction is what you make of it.

The application process can be very difficult.

Many schools offer programs for people applying to grad school who might need help in the process. They can assign you a mentor to help you with your application. They can also give you resources like application fee waivers. They can introduce you to faculty so you can ask them about their research groups. Current grad students will help you figure out the best programs for you. I've listed a few in the image above that I know of, but there are many more.

After you've looked at different topics, different departments, and different labs, it's time to start your application!

This advice might seem silly, but make sure you look through the application. Many schools have different requirements. Some institutions no longer require the GRE (the GRE is the entry exam for graduate school, similar to the SAT and ACT). Some programs need you to submit supplementals like videos. In some applications, you might be applying to work with a specific advisor while others require you to apply to a whole department. It varies from school to school, so make sure you know what is needed of you.

When you've finished looking through the requirements, it's time to start getting materials together. One of the most important parts of your application is your letters of recommendation. Please do not procrastinate asking for your letters of recommendation. It is best to ask for letters at least a month in advance. It’s important to make sure that you have three people who can speak for you and your work. If you are still in the early stages of your academic career, start forming bonds with your professors. It is important to have faculty and administrators that can speak on your behalf, because many applications specifically require recommendations from former advisors and instructors. It is helpful to have recommenders in the field that you are interested in because most fields are pretty small. As you move through your academic career, you'll realize that most of the people in your field recognize each other. They know each other by name and they know each other's work. The professors in your school will recognize the names of the people you are planning to work with and vice versa. If potential advisors recognize your recommenders, it could strengthen your application. That said, you can also ask people that you have met through work for recommendations.

The next step in the process is to work on your statement of purpose. This document is the most crucial part of your application: it is where you tell the people reading your application why you must join that institution for your career. Start writing your statement of purpose early and look at examples. Unlike undergrad, the statement is more focused on your present and future plans rather than your background. They don't need to hear about how you sprained your ankle in tenth grade. They want to know what has led you to your current path, what you’ve accomplished, and what your future goals are.

If you’re ahead of the game, you might already be looking into fellowships. Remember: lots of programs are fully funded so focus on your application first. However, getting a head start on funding will be helpful. Some fellowships like the National Science Foundation (NSF) or the NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunities (NSTGRO) are better to apply for once you’re already in a graduate program. However, funding like the GEM fellowship has to be done as you are applying for graduate school. Some universities have additional internal fellowships that you can apply to as you are submitting your application to them. Many funding opportunities are available while you are applying and after you are admitted. Look into the funding opportunities you’re considering. How many years do they cover? How is the funding split—is it a personal stipend given to you, funding to your advisor, funding for conferences, or tuition paid directly to your institution? Make sure you look into the funding of these fellowships!

Another major part of your application is your experience. If you are applying for a Ph.D. and you don’t have research experience, I’m here to tell you that it’s okay. I had more industry internship experience than research experience and I was so nervous that it would hold my application back. The truth is that anything can pique your interest in research. You can talk about personal projects or industry experience in the same way that you can talk about research experience. Anything that you have learned can be used in your application. That being said, if you can get research experience during undergrad, get it! Having some experience can boost your application, and it can let you figure out if you want to pursue research during your graduate degree. I've included some information about getting research experience in my post, "Getting That First Internship."

With all this in mind, you are ready to submit your application!

After you submit your application, I truly hope that you hear good news.

The wait after you submit you application is the hardest part. It is long and hard to wait for interviews and decisions. It can take months to hear back from interviews. Sometimes you might be receive an invitation immediately after submitting interviews then not hear anything else for weeks at a time. There is no defined path or set time when you can expect to hear back. It can be hard, but you just have to be patient.

A lot of times, people don't hear positive news. I want you to know that you are good enough for graduate school. You are good enough, smart enough, skilled enough, and hardworking enough for whatever career you are pursuing. You’re still an amazing scholar if you’re not admitted to your dream program the first time (or at all).

Rejection is hard, but the rejection of that specific application is not a rejection of you. The graduate school process is drastically different from undergrad. There are so many more factors. Maybe your interests don’t align with the group you applied to. Maybe that researcher is leaving. Maybe they only have one spot in the labs you're interested in. Maybe they're limited and they can’t take on more students. There are so many reasons why you might not be admitted. Many people apply multiple times. It’s okay if you don’t get it the first time.

Your career is a journey. You’ll get where you need to be.

It’s perfectly okay to re-apply the following year. Or to take a break. You can take as much time off as you need and try as many times as you want.

I am hopeful that you will get an interview. Let's walk through wha the process might look like after you submit your application.

So, you've submitted your application and a potential PI thinks that your interests align. This is great news! They reach out because they want to meet with you. The interview for a graduate program is not like a technical job interview. It more resembles a behavioral job interview. They want to know more about the person who could be working in their lab for two, five, or maybe seven years. You likely won't have many rounds of interviews.

Let’s prep for the interview!

• Before you get into your interview, make sure you know what your interests are. Your potential advisor is going to ask what piqued your interest in research—specifically their research. You should be able to say what made you interested in graduate school and why you want to be part of your program.

• They’ll want to know why you chose this particular degree/path for your future goals. Make sure you know why you picked graduate school in place of other paths. Why do you want to go to graduate school? Why not industry? Why a PhD? Why not a master’s? You might have to explain what your goals are for the next 5-10 years or what you want to do with your degree. You don’t have to have every step figured out. You can talk about general goals. Maybe you want to work in academia. You want to work in a national research lab. Just have a concrete end goal in mind.

• After the interview, follow up and say thank you. Always follow up and say thank you. It helps them to remember your name and your interests.

Your potential advisor might welcome you into the lab immediately after the interview. Maybe your advisor has told you to meet with the current graduate students. Even if they haven’t, once you are admitted, it’s time to meet with the current graduate students. If you do get positive news, it's time to ask the graduate students in the lab/the program some hard questions.

It is best to meet with the graduate students one-on-one without your advisor present. I have made a list of questions (See above) that you can ask. It is really important that you understand the institution you are joining, the lab and people you will be working with, and the location you'll be living in. After all, you'll likely be relocating to a new city, state, or country. Now that you're in, you need to make sure the school is a good fit for you. Check the funding in your letter and compare it to the cost of living in the area. Make sure you ask the grad students about their finances and if they can afford the area with their stipend. Ask them about their research and if they feel supported. Ask about their mental health, their time off, the workload, and expectations. It is so important to get a good impression of your program before you agree to it.

I hope these tips help you and give you a clearer idea of what it's like applying to graduate school! It can be hard, but it is doable. Plus, I believe in you!