Timeline: Pathway to Graduate School

Timeline: Pathway to Graduate School

Look for a research group

    • You will want to begin looking for a research group as soon as you piece together a list of potential advisors as they might not be taking students immediately and may need some time before space opens up for you.
    • Don’t be afraid to ask even as a freshman or if you are in a different field. You never know the opportunities you may have. Also you might be rejected a lot, don’t let that discourage you.
    • Time, space, and resources are factors that need to be considered on whether someone can take you in.
    • You want to work somewhere where you will be looked after.

Do research

    • Make time for research.
    • Try to set aside at least a 3 hour blocks if you are doing experimental work as it might take you an hour to set up and clean up.
    • Many times advisors will give you a lot of freedom of what times to come in and work so don’t get lazy.

Don’t fall behind in your studies

    • Doing research is really important, but at the same time, don’t fall behind in your course work.
    • If you have a midterm coming up, let your advisor know. They will understand. Communication is key.

Present research at conferences

    • Build your resume up by presenting your work at conferences near by and far.
      • This will expose you to new opportunities and you might even get to meet your future advisor at one of these conferences.

Prepare for GRE

    • You can use a few months of prep to study.
    • Make sure to aim for at least get a 4 in the writing section and a high score for the math portion.
    • Go over some review material in the GRE.
      • If you are in STEM they expect a great score in mathematics. The mathematics is basic and doesn’t require anything beyond algebra/trig/stats.
    • Take a few practice exams and see if the score you get is good enough for what you want.

Take GRE*

    • This can be taken whenever you’d like throughout your time at the university.
    • Make sure to take these Junior year or earlier.
    • The earlier the better to get more tries if needed. They are offered almost everyday.
      • You can also take this your senior year but you will already be busy with a lot then.
      • Don’t leave everything for the end. You can even take this your Freshman year to get a leg up on the game.

Take subject GRE *if this applies*

    • These are offered only a few times a year so make sure to apply far in advance. At least for physics, you will be taking it your junior year or beginning of senior year. As you will be tested on physics knowledge and more classes can help. Same with mathematics.
    • These require a lot of preparation, possibly a summer’s worth at least a few hours a week for a summer would do.
    • Mostly for Math, Physics, Chemistry students. Engineering students don’t need to worry about taking this unless you are applying to a mathematics/physics/chemistry program. Check with the program you are applying.

Statement of Purpose(SOP)/Personal statement/Diversity Statement

    • Each program has different requirements and you must follow their specific requirements and write why you fit well for that specific program.
    • This isn’t the same as your undergraduate statement where you write a cute fluffy story.
    • You have to write about your qualifications and your story leading up the the specific work you want to pursue.
    • Write about why that specific program suits you best. Example, You are studying Optics and you are applying to CU Boulder which is the best optics program in the nation which has the exact research you want to pursue.
    • When you write your statement of purpose try to show it to your letter writers so they can get a better feel for you.
    • If there is an “optional” essay to submit a diversity statement, make sure to include that as it can give more insight into your unique individual experiences and give the university a better picture of assessing you.

Apply to fellowships

    • Prepare these during the summer. Many of these applications have deadlines early fall time.
      • NSF has deadlines in October.
      • The GEM fellowship is early November which you should apply for to get free application waivers. Makes applying to graduate programs a lot cheaper.
        • Also these require LOR and a personal statement. This can be the skeleton of your application.

Asking for Letters of Recommendations(LOR)

    • This should be done as soon as possible. Give your letter writers at least two to three months in advance as they might be writing letters for multiple students.
      • Make sure to let them know the deadline for them to submit the letters and note that they may be due at a different time than the regular program deadline.
      • Don’t be ashamed to send constant reminders as some might forget.
      • There have been many cases where a letter writer forgets and leaves the country for some time and you might not be able to get a hold of them.
      • Don’t let this happen to you and get it done ASAP.
    • Ask if they can write you a strong letter. The preference of who writes your letters should go as the following order:
      • Research Advisor(Professor)
      • Technical supervisor (if you worked in industry)*preferably someone with a PhD)
      • Professor who oversaw a small project
      • Lecturer you took classes with and who can speak on your behalf preferably a professor or someone with a PhD.
      • Director/Advisor of program or department that can speak about your improvements/ability to handle problems.
    • You really want someone that knows your strengths and weaknesses. You want them to speak about your abilities to do individual research and your diligences to see your problems/projects through.

Apply to graduate school Programs

    • Deadlines for programs vary from late November to January so make sure to pay attention to the deadline for applications.
    • Most applications will come with a fee that can possibly be waived by the university themselves, an academic program, i.e. McNair Scholars program, or a fellowship, i.e. GEM Fellowship.
      • Just applying to the GEM fellowship gives you free application waivers to many schools. I highly recommend you apply to the GEM fellowship. It saved me hundreds of $$

Visit Graduate school Programs

    • Programs vary in visiting. Some will let you visit before or after you are accepted/denied. The timeline varies from January to April.
    • Talk to many graduate students to gauge their “happiness” and if the environment suits you well.
    • Some programs might have interviews or they will be observing you during your time there.
      • Make sure to meet many professors while you are there and get a feel from the graduate students there.
      • Ask about the program, what they do for fun, and check out the area if all that is important to you.

Assess choices

    • This might have to be done up until you have received all of your acceptances and rejections.
    • Don’t count yourself out if they haven’t let you know yet.
      • I had a friend basically decided that he was going to go to the University of Wisconsin-Madison up until the final deadline date of April 15th when University of Washington finally got back to him and said yes. He is now at UW.

Make a choice

    • *The deadline for most programs is around April 15th to commit or not. If you know you are not going to a particular program, make sure to let that school know because you are holding that spot from someone else getting it. You will find out how annoying and stressful it is when a school contacts you on April 14th saying that you can or can’t go to their program.

Contact potential advisors at the place you have chosen

    • Some programs have this as a requirement for you to get accepted because a professor there has to be willing to take you in.
    • Some programs don’t require this from you as they expect you to go in without knowing who to work with.
    • You have to gauge this on a school by school basis and how the individual program works.
      • Example: UC Davis might require you to have an advisor going in for Chemical Engineering but not for the Chemistry as they might have a rotation program.

Pathway to Graduate School Toolkit