Graduate Admissions Advice

Forum for the GRE subject test in mathematics.
Post Reply
Austin
Posts: 26
Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2012 9:32 am

Graduate Admissions Advice

Post by Austin » Wed Jul 18, 2012 1:35 pm

A new round of applicants is quickly on the way and in need of advice.

I've found that there are a lot of threads on this site from individuals wanting very customized advice. ("Can I get into these schools?", "Will my B in Linear Algebra keep me out of UCLA?") Many times the advice received may be helpful to that one person, but not to the larger audience of math grad applicants.

All of that said, my question is aimed towards users who are now on the other side of the admissions process. Looking back on the time you spend getting recommendations, sending out applications, and generally fretting, are there any words of wisdom you could impart upon those of us getting ready to endure the same process?

Responses might include (last minute) ways to improve your application, how to pick appropriate schools, who to seek out as letter writers, etc. I'm just looking for anything you learned that might ease the process.

Thanks!

Chris
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2012 2:18 am

Re: Graduate Admissions Advice

Post by Chris » Thu Jul 19, 2012 4:45 am

Although I haven't applied for PhD yet (only for masters so far), I'll speak my mind, as I am applying this year...

My personal take is that the most important part of your applications is the LORs. I believe the best strategy is to ask professors who know you well, preferably ones you have worked with (e.g. for a thesis etc.) and who can speak well about your potential to succeed in your chosen field of research. Of course, it helps a lot if these professors are well-known and have exellent research, but I think that it's a bad choice to prefer a "famous" professor who cannot speak about you in detail and will resort to generic comments instead of a less well-known one who knows you really well and can make detailed comments about your skills.

If you can do some research before applying that's great and I think it will help a lot with your application. Especially for pure math, it's not that common before PhD, so it might impress the admissions committee and it will probably help a lot, especially if you have a bad record somewhere.

I do not think that 1-2 bad grades are that damaging, especially if they are in low division courses taken in the first 1-2 years and you can justify them in your SoP. But I think grades in advanced/graduate courses are much more important, and doing bad on them might hurt your chances. At any case, if you can justify a bad grade you should do so in your SoP, but don't devote too much space into it and certainly avoid providing excuses (i.e. do it only if you have a serious reason which does not objectively look like an excuse, and which you can support with evidence if asked -e.g. if you had documented family problems or an illness or something).

For the choice of schools, you should first think about what you want to do (not very specifically, but not too generally either) and then ask around professors from your department. Some might recommend less well-known schools that are excellent at your specific field of choice, and where you'd have greater chances of getting in.

As for your timing, I think that you should aim to ask your letter writers at the very least one month before the date you plan to submit your application, although of course the sooner the better. Keep in mind also that most professors are really busy, so you may need to remind them once or twice, so plan ahead. Don't be afraid to ask if the professor can write you a good LOR; if s/he cannot, they will tell you so, and like I said a mediocre LOR migh hurt your application a lot.

Regarding deadlines in general, I think that it's best to submit your application at least 2-3 weeks before the stated deadline, especially if the school has a rolling admissions process (where of course it's better to submit it as soon as possible as the later you are, the less chances you have of getting in). Transcripts probably need to be mailed directly from your registry, so I'd recommend asking for them at least 4-5 weeks earlier for US students and 6-7 for international ones.

Finally, regarding GRE, I'd say take it at least 1-2 years before applying, so that you can retake it if necessary.

Of course, that's all my personal opinion, I may very well be wrong :!:

marco
Posts: 263
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2012 2:27 am

Re: Graduate Admissions Advice

Post by marco » Thu Jul 19, 2012 2:49 pm

Hello:

This thread seems highly felicitous at this moment. I am also going to apply this year for various schools and would like to hear from people who have had this experience. A very important question that I think would really help us out is how to correctly do the application process. For example, I am taking the GRE Subject test in October but I am not sure if I should start the on-line application process before or after taking the GRE. Can one register online in like August or September and gradually start uploading or sending the documents or scores needed? Would this be a good strategy?



Post Reply