Grad School Admissions: Top Tier's #1 Tip Before You Apply...

Grad school faculty are finishing their research projects and soaking up the last rays of summer sun before heading back to campus. Soon they’ll be diving back into lab work, polishing up old syllabi that have been through the ringer (from on-campus courses to virtual and back again), taking on new advisees and working to push their veterans to dissertation defense dates. Phew!

MAKING THE CONNECTIONS

If you’re applying to PhD programs (and some Masters programs) this fall, it’s time to start reaching out to the faculty you hope to work with. Don’t let the emails fly haphazardly. Start determining your list of reach, in range and backup programs and pinpoint the faculty whose research interests align with yours.

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In the challenging graduate admissions landscape, you need to find a faculty member who will advocate for your PhD program application and take you on as an advisee. If you don’t do this, your graduate school admissions process will be a steep climb.

REASONS WHY

So, why email faculty before applying to grad school?

To determine if they’re taking on new students next year.
To find out if they’ll be on sabbatical, retiring, or traveling.
To get on their radar as an applicant to their program in a few months.
To stand out from the pack. Share information about yourself that is unique to you, your interests, and your goals.
To explore scheduling, if possible, an informational meeting when you visit the campus and to (ideally) meet with faculty from the department in person while there.
To get your CV read by someone in the department before your application is actually submitted.
To show a faculty member (or two) that you’ve read their research, you’ve connected with a recent article they published, you are attending a conference they’re presenting at this fall, etc.

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CONTACT POINTS MATTER

Successful “inquiry emails” to faculty are clear, concise, only sent to 1-2 faculty in the department at the most, and lay the groundwork for connection in terms of parallel research interests.

As you research your targeted departments, thoroughly explore faculty websites, bios and research.

For example, if you’re looking to apply to UC Davis for a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience, you’ll find an assortment of labs on their website, including Dr. Steve Luck’s. The lab’s website helpfully includes a successful sample faculty inquiry email template.

Here it is:

Dear Dr. X,

I’m in my final year as a Cognitive Science major at XXXX, where I have been working in the lab of Dr. XXX XXX. My research has focused on attention and working memory using psychophysical and electrophysiological methods (see attached CV). I’m planning to apply to PhD programs this Fall, and I’m very interested in the possibility of working in your lab at UC Davis.

I read your recent paper on XXX, and I found your approach to be very exciting. I was hoping you might tell me whether you are planning to take new students in your lab in Fall 20xx [or: …whether you are planning to take rotation students in your lab…]. I’d also be interested in any other information or advice you have. [Add a few more lines here about your background and interests.]

Sincerely,
X

What’s neat about this template is that it’s ubiquitous and a useful sample for ALL labs, ALL universities, ALL fields.

SHOW DON’T TELL

In your inquiry email, aim to connect with the professor and illustrate your interest in their recent and forthcoming work (versus just the department at large). Be prepared to show how you’ll be a strong contributor. Faculty who respond to inquiry emails from applicants (and not all will or can) click reply because the applicant has presented themself as someone who will be an asset to the faculty member, potentially the faculty member’s forthcoming research, and, more importantly, to the department. Let us be your “faculty finders” (and so much more) and help you craft your inquiry emails this month. Please reach out!

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Dr. Kristen Willmott

Senior Private Counselor & Graduate School Admissions Director at Top Tier Admissions

Having worked as an Admissions and Financial Aid Officer for Harvard University for four years, Kristen brings a depth of experience to Top Tier Admissions. She has over 20 years of experience working in higher education. Kristen has a PhD in Education with a concentration in Higher Education from the University of Rochester, an M.S. in Business Management from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and a B.A. in English from Ithaca College. Her PhD dissertation won the International Susan B. Anthony Institute Dissertation Award. In her role at Harvard, Kristen oversaw admissions for 17 departments and was also responsible for distributing funding from the National Science Foundation Fellowships Program and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Student Research Fellowship Program. Kristen has previously worked as a substitute K-12 teacher, as adjunct faculty at three universities in MA and NY, and as an educational researcher having recently (Oct. 2020) published a book on faculty in academia and in academic journals such as the Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education and Student Affairs, Academic Leadership Journal, and the American Association of Behavioral and Social Sciences Journal.

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