How to Write a Good CV?

Categories you should include:

• Education
• Research Interests
• Research Experience
• Fellowships & Grants
• Honors & Awards
• Skills & Certifications

Categories you might include:

• Community Service (or Volunteer Service)
• Extracurricular Activities
• Memberships
• Presentations
• Publications

See this blog post for more tips.

Goodness of Fit

Goodness of fit is how well the program matches with what matters to you. Neimeyer and Fowler write, “Are the facilities and support in place that you would need to be successful in the program? What are the faculty-student relationships like and how would you describe the program atmosphere? How about the current students (or other interviewees): Do they seem like people you would like and be able to work with productively? Look at the campus, at the community and at the lifestyles of current graduate students. Do all these features feel comfortable to you and could you see yourself as being happy and productive in this context? Remember, your goal is not to get into graduate school; it is to get through graduate school. So, be sure to evaluate how this program can help prepare you for the next chapter of your life.”

See this APA blog post for more info.

Finding a Program

There are three major levels in your search for a graduate program: (1) the university or institution where you will conduct your work, (2) the specific program/department to which you apply, (3) the faculty mentor(s) you will work with. If you know that you want to work with specific faculty mentors, you should search directly for the program and school they are in and whether they are considering graduate students for your intended year of entrance. It is also common that you may want to start by looking at various schools that interest you and browse through their application requirements. In this case, you may follow these steps:

1. Search for graduate schools or programs that interest you.
2. Visit each university’s graduate admissions page to check their application process (this may include general deadlines and other basic requirements).
3. Visit the department/program website(s) to check for specific admissions requirements, details of the program (such as courses, professors, costs, etc.), and information sessions for prospective students.
4. Contact departments/programs directly if you need additional information such as financial aid.

Specific Factors to Consider

• Admission Requirements (GPA, test scores, etc.)
• Reputation of the university and quality of research facilities
• Faculty’s research interests and accessibility
• Availability of financial aid
• Cost of living and the availability of affordable housing
• Career paths of the program’s graduates (look for career outcomes data, like these)
• Student Life – diversity, student organizations, and campus support services
• Geographic location

You can download this excel sheet template to keep track of schools, professors, and deadlines.

Contacting Faculty Advisors

The Department of Psychology at Tufts University School of Arts of Sciences shared very helpful information on how to contact faculty advisors, which can be found here and below.

Why should I email faculty?

“First: You can find out whether they are actually planning to take new students. You don’t want to spend money and time applying to a given program only to find out that the one faculty member of interest isn’t taking students this year (or is about to move to another university, take a job in industry, etc.). Information about this may be on the program’s website or the faculty member’s website, but websites are sometimes out of date, so it’s worth double-checking with an email.

Second: This email will get you ‘on the radar’ of the faculty. Most PhD programs get hundreds of applicants, and faculty are much more likely to take a close look at your application if you’ve contacted them in advance.

Third: You also might get other useful information. For example, a professor might write back saying something like ‘I’m not taking any new students, but we’ve just hired a new faculty member in the same area, and you might consider working with her.’ Or, the professor might say something like ‘When you apply, make sure that you check the XXX box, which will make you eligible for a fellowship that is specifically for people from your background.’ Or, if the professor accepts students through multiple programs (e.g., Psychology and Cognitive Science), you might get information about which one to apply to or whether to apply to both programs.

Fourth: You might learn the most current direction of a professor’s research. While professors usually have multiple interests, they might have a current priority area.”

What should my email look like?

“We recommend a subject heading such as ‘Inquiry from potential graduate applicant.’ For the main body of the email, your goals are to (a) introduce yourself, (b) inquire about whether they are taking students, (c) make it clear why you are interested in that particular faculty member, and (d) get any advice they might offer. Here’s an example:

Dear Dr. XXX,

I’m in my final year as a Psychology/Cognitive Science major at XXXX, where I have been working in the lab of Dr. XXX XXX. My research has focused on episodic memory distortion and I’ve used psychophysical and behavioral 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 Tufts. 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 2021. I’d also be interested in any other information or advice you have.

[Possibly add a few more lines here about your background and interests.]

Sincerely,

XXX XXXX”

What response should I get?

“You may get a brief response that says something like ‘Yes, I’m taking students, and I encourage you to apply’ or ‘I’m always looking for qualified students.’ This indicates that the faculty member will likely look at applications, and you don’t need to follow-up.

If you’re lucky, you may get a more detailed response that will lead to a series of email exchanges and perhaps an invitation to chat (usually on Skype or something similar). This will be more likely if you say something about what you’ve done and why you are interested in this lab.

You may get a response like ‘I’m not taking new students this year’ or ‘I probably won’t take new students this year.’ Or you might get something like ‘Given your background and interests, I don’t think you’d be a good fit for my lab.’ In these cases, it is probably not worth putting your resources into applying if you have that specific advisor in mind.

Finally, you simply may not get a reply. In that case, no information is no information. There are many reasons why faculty may not respond, and it is not worth trying to figure out why this might be. If you don’t get a response and you really want to work with the person, you may still want to apply.

You really don’t have much to lose by emailing faculty, and you have a lot to gain.”

See here for more advice on how to write a good email.

Writing a Personal Statement

Why is a Personal Statement so Important?

The personal statement is a very important part of your application. It allows the admissions to get to know more about you as an aspiring scholar and as a colleague. Hence, it provides you with an opportunity to articulate your passion, explain your research interests,  and convey what you might be like as a future professional.

How to Write a Personal Statement?

Here we are selecting parts of a very good guide to writing a personal statement from Yale University:

General tips to consider:

• Demonstrate your intellectual passion for the field—what thrills or excites you about the research you’ve done or you would like to do?
• Provide concrete examples of your skills, interests, and previous research in the field, and how they might inform the research you would like to pursue in your graduate studies
• Show that you are familiar with the procedures and expectations of scholarship and professional training in your field, and that you have the character, qualities and experience to thrive
• Use the professional language of the field to describe your scholarly interests
• Graduate school is extremely challenging—intellectually, emotionally, and financially. Convey that you have the energy and perseverance to succeed through examples of challenges you’ve faced and how you’ve overcome them
• Avoid cliché: Statements like, “I’ve always wanted to help people,” “I have always loved reading novels,” etc., are both overused and uninteresting to graduate admissions committees. Using vague, clichéd phrases to explain your interest in the field undermines the seriousness and professionalism of the scholarly endeavor. Instead, try to provide a specific anecdote that illustrates what sparked and sustains your passion.
• The primary purpose of the personal statement isn’t to show how clever you are in composing the essay; it’s to present yourself as an interesting and potentially inspiring future colleague. For example, writing a humorous piece about how you want to study psychology because you were inspired by watching The Sopranos (which might be acceptable for an undergraduate personal statement) wouldn’t be useful for the graduate school application.

Specific questions to consider while drafting the personal statement:

• What event or experience inspired your decision to seriously pursue studies in your field?
• What research, scholarship, or experience in the last few years reflects your future scholarly interests? How does it show your knowledge, skills, and passion about the field?
• What specific line of inquiry or areas of research would you like to pursue as a graduate student/future scholar? Why are those issues of particular interest to you? Why might they be important to the field as a whole?
• What experience illustrates your ability to meet the rigors and challenges of graduate study?

Other things to consider:

• If you can, arrange a meeting with a professor/mentor in the field to look over your statement and offer suggestions
• Tailor each statement to the question asked by each graduate school.
• Tailor each statement to reflect your knowledge of that particular program and professors. For example, is there an archive at the university that you would like to take advantage of? Are there particular laboratories or specialties among the graduate faculty that would give you an opportunity to pursue your interests?

In addition, we strongly recommend that you read this article! It includes examples which students like you have written and explains in great details how to trim and fix these statements!

Writing a Diversity Statement

What is a Diversity Statement?

Diversity statements are statements explaining your beliefs, practices, and commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity. Most graduate school applications would require you to write a diversity statement. Just like the personal statement of your application, you should focus on describing your own experiences and values in the diversity statement.

How to Write a Diversity Statement?

To get started, here are some questions that may guide your writing:

• What does diversity, equity, or inclusion mean to you?
• In what ways is diversity important to you? Explain in terms of your personal experience and/or in relevance to your research interests.
• In what ways you contribute to diversity, inclusion, and equity? For example, are you involved in any service or work with diverse or underrepresented populations? If so, what?
• In what ways do you hope to diversity at the program/university to which you are applying?
• In your opinion, what behaviors and attributes promote equity in higher education?

Importantly, it is wise to tell a personal story in your diversity statement and avoid generalized statements like, “I love people of all backgrounds.”  Be specific and concrete in your writing.

Here are some sample diversity statements.

Interview Skills

Questions to prepare for:

• Please tell me a little bit about yourself.
• Why are you interested in earning a graduate degree? What do you plan to do after completing this degree?
• What do you like best about our program and university?
• How can our program support your research interests and career goals?
• What do you do in your spare time?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• Who is your favorite author?

Click here to see more examples of interview questions to prepare for.

Here is a list of interview questions for those interested in clinical psychology.

Below are some additional advice from Streufert from USA Today:

If you can, collect information about the interview structure. Since each school is different, you should review any information they provide carefully. In particular, assess the following:

• “Who will I meet with and how will the conversations take place? Programs often schedule several individual interviews. You might meet with a faculty member, an admissions counselor and alumnus from the program, for instance.  Another format is panel interviews, which involve three or four committee members at the same time. If you’re sharing your response with a group, remember to make eye contact with everyone when you provide your answers. Because teamwork is an essential skill in many professions, programs may also evaluate your ability to work together with other applicants to complete a task. If you find yourself in this third type of interview, actively participate and collaborate with others.
• Will interviewers have access to my application? If your file is closed, you may need to be more specific. For example, while you might generically refer to your ‘high GPA’ during the conversation if your file is open, you will need to share the exact number if it’s closed.”

What happens after the interview?

First of all, great job! You have made through the interview and now there are some important things to consider:

• Thank your interviewer! This can be done by writing a thank you letter or email. You may also want to follow up on any additional information that you still need about the program. However, it is not a good idea to bug the interviewer with too many emails and questions, so keep it short and simple.
• Keep in mind that the programs to which you are applying would also like to know how much you are interested in them. After the interview, you should continue to express your honest interest in the program.
• Try to get into contact with a current student so you can get a student perspective. This may be helpful when you need to make a decision of whether or not to attend a specific program. Due to social pressure, not all current students may want to share their experience with you, so be polite and let them know that you are aware of their circumstances!

See this APA blog post for more info.