Thread by @mattblaze

It’s thew time of year to remind people that mass-emailing faculty from a list is NOT an effective way to apply to graduate school. We have an application process. Spamming professors with your transcript/CV will just annoy people and will achieve the opposite of what you want.

If there’s a professor doing work that you’re specifically interested in or you have a specific question about something, by all means contact them, of course. But mass email doesn’t will not help your chances, and the people advising students to do it are harming them.

Around this time of year I get at least several emails -with lengthy attachments- every day from prospective students who are obviously mass-emailing from a list. So do many other faculty members. Stop telling people to do this. Get better advice if you’re being told to do this.

At best, your email will be ignored. At worst, you will be remembered as a pest who can’t follow basic instructions if you submit an actual application. Don’t do this.

I’m sorry if you think I’m being jerk by mentioning this. But that doesn’t change the fact that mass-emailing faculty may well harm, and will not help, your chances of getting into a graduate program.

The worst thing about these spam messages is that they crowd out genuine individual messages from students who really do want to work with me for a specific reason and where I might have some helpful advice.

Every time I post this I get all sorts of replies telling me I should be more considerate and giving of my time. That people can’t afford to apply to grad programs through the normal process.

Yes, the current system is inequitable and stressful. But bulk emailing won’t fix it.

So yes, feel free to think I’m a jerk. Especially if that causes you to take me off your list of professors to spam.

OK, if spamming every faculty member you can find isn’t the way into a PhD program, what is? First, figure out where you want to apply. In most science fields, you’re officially applying to a department, but you’re actually applying to work with one (or several) specific faculty.

This is because (in most STEM fields at most research schools), faculty fund PhD admits out of the grants they have or expect to get. You’re basically applying for a job as well as grad school. The faculty member who admits you will become your presumptive advisor/sort-of-boss.

So before you apply anywhere, you need to
- decide what subfield of the discipline you want to work in, which hopefully your undergrad eduction helped you focus
- find out who’s working in that area and likely to admit students.

It’s fine to email people with specific questions, but do your homework first. You’re more likely to get a helpful response asking about work that you learned about from reading some paper or project than a general “please tell me what you’re working on”.

Once you’ve got a good handle on where you might want to go, it’s time to apply. Again, use the department’s process for applying. It’s not kept secret.

Every professor is a bit different in what they value in good application.

So what do I look for? Roughly in order:

1. A compelling research statement that’s compatible with the work I do and that provides evidence that the student knows what they’re getting themselves in to.

It doesn’t need to (and probably shouldn’t) be a specific research proposal. But...

… it should describe open research areas that you’re interested in and describe the background (coursework, research projects, work experience, whatever) that led you there. It should demonstrate that you know what research IS, and that a PhD makes sense for your goals.

2. Convincing letters of recommendation

Usually these will be from professors (or others) who’ve worked with you on research or courses you took. Good letters convince the reader that the you'll be successful in a PhD program. One really convincing letter carries great weight.

Letters are why, if you expect to go to grad school, it’s important to take advantage of research and advanced coursework opportunities.

Students from research-oriented schools have an advantage here, but it can be overcome by sustained enthusiasm and getting to know faculty.

I really mean this. Students from the top research schools have an advantage, because opportunities to get involved are thrown their way more often. But seeking out faculty works even in small, teaching-oriented smaller departments. That’s how I ended up in a PhD program.

3. An academic transcript that demonstrates you’re prepared for and will be successful in a PhD program.

Doing well in advanced specialized courses in the field carries the most weight here. I don’t care if you got a C+ in music history (but might be impressed that you took it).

That’s pretty much it. Obviously, if you’ve published papers or done something extraordinary, you should also highlight that.

I don’t care much about things like GRE scores, but that’s more an individual preference. Other professors may weigh things differently from how I do.

By the way, everyone I know takes PhD admissions VERY seriously. We're hiring a future colleague who we will be working closely with for 4-6 years. And most of us also understand that people from unusual backgrounds are often very rewarding to give a second look to.

One final note: getting into a PhD program is a highly random process. It’s as much about whether someone in the field you’re interested in currently looking to admit someone with your particular talents and interests as it is about ranked qualifications. So cast a wide net!

Another perspective from @SteveBellovin (and very similar to my own).

https://twitter.com/SteveBellovin/status/1452413323564232704

@SteveBellovin One last thing: Admitting a PhD student is expensive. By admitting someone, I’m committed to raising and spending about $100K/year in stipend, benefits, overhead, tuition, and expenses. Seriously. It costs about half a million bucks to produce a STEM PhD.

@SteveBellovin This is to say nothing of the time, energy, and intellectual effort I put in to closely mentoring that person for ~5 years. So we take admissions VERY seriously. We want to find people who will be not just successful, but thrive in long careers.