Exceptional Graduate Applicants

During the last year, close colleagues and I took over management of a graduate program in Environmental Science that was in need of attention.  There were so many needs, that we worked to improve management on several fronts, from curriculum structure and design, to updating data on current students and graduates, to annual student reviews, to how we go about admitting new students to the program.  It is the last of these that I wish to focus on here.

The admissions process had not been managed much at all when we took over, and the program was suffering.  One reason was that the program was crowded with a variety of students, most of whom were considered “diamonds in the rough” when they were admitted.  Diamonds, however, are rare.  The result was that without a structured program, these students were not making progress and were ultimately not graduating.  They were clogging the program (often through no fault of their own).  Without graduates, the program was becoming viewed as a failure.  There are numerous reasons that we arrived at the state that we did; one of the main ones was a dramatic turnover in faculty in the late 1990s and early 2000s.  A program without faculty is weak.  We have replaced those faculty members, and now we are able to reinvigorate what used to be a strong program. 

Now that we are reinvigorated, we have become stingy about admissions.  In terms of admissions we regularly confront what we view as problematic student requests during the application process.  Potential students come to coordinators of the program asking for guidance on “how to get in.”  The problem is even more basic, however, and centers on “how to apply.”  Admission is never guaranteed in a good program, but there are a number of things applicants can do to improve their application.

One of the most important criteria for successful applicants to our program is whether or not she/he displays self-direction.  What does this mean?  We explicitly state in letters to applicants of our programs (ias.unt.edu) that we “do not hand-hold in the major professor-finding-process.”  A goal in graduate school is to become an independent thinker, researcher, decision maker.  Which of those is emphasized depends on the program, but all of them require dedication and a willingness to forge ahead without constant guidance.  For example, students regularly want to be told who they should approach as a potential major professor.  We rarely respond with specific guidance because the student should know their own interests enough to be able to identify appropriate scholars in their field.  Further, if the student wants to be taken seriously, they should be well-read and he/she should approach potential major professors prior to application.  From the professor’s point of view, mentoring is a serious investment that requires abundant time and energy.  The operating assumption of students should be that “faculty time is a scarce resource.” 

Most graduate programs require a writing sample from applicants in the form of a statement of interest.  Self-direction should also be transparent in this statement.  The goal is not to propose the thesis in this document.  Rather, it is to convey informed interest about a particular area of an academic field.  The statement has three goals: 1) to briefly introduce the applicant; 2) to state the applicant’s interests; and 3) to state why the program is an appropriate one for the student.  For step one, admissions committees are not interested in personal introductions; get down to business and introduce yourself as a person who has a background relevant to the program of interest.  If this is tough to do, then perhaps the wrong type of program has been chosen.  For the second, portrayal of one’s interests in a way that is brief but informed and engaging is difficult.  To do so, the applicant must be well-enough read in their area of interest to be able to take generalities for granted without seeming ignorant.  That is, accomplishing number 2 requires a good deal of background work.  For the third, do not oversell the fit.  Rather, state it in simple and clear terms.

Another part of the application package is the requirement for “letters” of recommendation.  Our graduate program provides a form with skills and ratings of those skills.  The easy thing to do is to ask a referee to fill out the form.  Better things to do are 1) meet with them in person or over the phone to state why one is choosing to apply to a particular program, and 2) send them a copy of the statement of intent (for their use and to receive feedback).  The problem with relying on a form is that just about every applicant has high checkmarks, thus the forms receive only cursory attention or are ignored during admission.  Letters, especially good ones, stand out.  Good letters suggest that an applicant has impressed those professors and experts they have worked with in the past, and they suggest that the student has done the work to assemble a complete application package.

Too often the application process is treated as if it is simply a formality.  Applicants convey in one way or another that graduate programs are there for their convenience.  From the perspective of the admissions committee, nothing could be farther from the truth.  Each application step should be treated with great care and respect, as faculty members are deciding whether or not to invest individual time in potential students during the applicant review.  If admitted, a graduate program should challenge the student and thus should be inconveniently beneficial. 

Source literature:

Gordon Davis & Clyde Parker.  1997. Writing the Doctoral Dissertation: A Systematic Approach. 2nd Edition. Barron's Eductional Series