Científico Latino

Graduate School Mentorship Initiative

FAQ Graduate Admissions
December 2019

Frequently Asked Questions:

Graduate School Applications, Interviews, and Admissions
(Disclaimer: The following is not specific to a particular school, department, or program)

1) How are faculty admissions committees selected?

o During recruitment season for graduate school, departments will appoint admission
committee chair(s). The chair(s) are often junior faculty, faculty that are not
tenured or in their first eight years, to the department.
o The current committee chairs will invite 6-10 faculty members (depending on the
size of the department) to be on the admissions committee
o Some faculty members will also volunteer to be on the admissions committee.
o Faculty representation on the admissions committee
▪ Various career stages: junior and senior faculty
▪ Diverse research backgrounds
• Applications are distributed to faculty members who are best suited to
evaluate their interests
• For example, a neuroscience committee may include faculty members
who study molecular biology, pharmacology, neuroengineering,
computational theory, non-human primate, and cognitive neuroscience
research
o An applicant who listed interests in neuroengineering would be
assigned to be reviewed by a neuroengineering faculty member

2) What preparation do faculty members have prior to serving on admissions committees?

o Some departments require faculty members to participate in Implicit bias training
▪ Implicit bias, or unconscious bias, are the thoughts and feelings we have in
an unconscious and unaware state that affect – positively or negatively – our
actions and attitudes towards people or stereotypes.
▪ Implicit bias for admissions may cover race/ethnicity, gender, educational
background, immigration status, etc.
o The admissions committee will meet several times before the application deadline to
discuss:
▪ How many interview dates the department will host
▪ How many students will be hosted per interview date
▪ The admissions committee chairs will organize scientific talks and
presentation as well as social activities during the interview dates

3) How many faculty view one application?

o 2-3 faculty members view one application

4) What is the timeline to review applications?

o ~10-12 days after the department application deadline
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Graduate School Mentorship Initiative
FAQ Graduate Admissions
December 2019

5) Roughly how much time is spent reading ONE application

o The faculty member reviewing your application will receive your entire application,
this includes:
▪ Academic transcripts, Personal statements, GRE Scores
▪ TOEFL Scores (International students or nonnative English speakers)
▪ Letters of recommendation (LOR)
▪ Supplemental materials: Papers in preparations, Thesis documents, Diversity
statements
o One application will take ~20-30 minutes to review
o Faculty may review 2-3 applications per hour
o One individual faculty member will not receive more than 40 applications to review
▪ Number of assigned applications depends on department size and total
received applications

6) How are applicants evaluated?

o Some departments provide a scoring rubric with the following categories:
▪ Academic history
• GPA
• Diversity of classes
• Ivy league university, research university, liberal arts university/
college, and minority serving institutions are not weighed significantly
differently
o Faculty understand there are different (research?) opportunities
available at various institutions and will evaluate according
▪ Quality of personal statement
▪ Research experience
• Cumulative research experience i.e. 2 years in a lab at your home
institution
• Diversity of research experience i.e. participating in summer research
programs or REUs
▪ Letter of Recommendations
• Did your recommenders enthusiastically support and advocate for your
graduate school application?
• Did your recommenders submit a generic letter that was not personal
or did not highlight your academic/ scientific success?
• Who wrote your letters?
o Research professors
o Lecturers/ teaching professors (Non-research)
o Broader impact/ outreach leader
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Graduate School Mentorship Initiative
FAQ Graduate Admissions
December 2019

▪ Contribution potential
• How will this person contribute to diversity?
o Research interest, Educational and Personal background
• Probability of scientific productivity?
o Is the applicant compatible with research lab/mentor
o Will this applicant publish papers
o Will they earn grants and fellowships
o Will they present at research at conferences
o The final applicant score is usually on a 1 to 5 scale
▪ The categories are not weighted or evenly scored
• Faculty reviews have the discretion to decide the categories they value
most
• E.g. A faculty reviewer may overlook a lower GPA because the
applicant has comprehensive research experience
▪ A 1 score represents strong faculty support for an interview offer

7) What is the setting to review applicants?

o Individual review
▪ Faculty members individually review applications on their own time
o Group review
▪ Faculty members will submit a final score to the committee
▪ The committee will discuss applicant scores and decide which applicants to
offer an interview
▪ Faculty generally unanimously agree on applicants scored as 1 (strongest
support), consequently, 1 scores are usually not discussed in the group review
▪ Applicants with mixed scores are discussed (e.g. one faculty scored ‘2’ while
another faculty scored ‘5’)
• Faculty members are given the opportunity to advocate for or against
applications and provide rationale for their position
▪ Each group meeting takes ~2-3 hours

8) What are common features in applications that are not selected for interviews?
o Lukewarm letters of recommendation- At least one letter needs to be enthusiastic
support for applicant’s science and research interests
o Personal statements that are chronological lists of techniques/ research experience
▪ You need to engage the faculty
• What makes you excited about research?
• What did you learn?
• How do your past experiences inform your current research interests?
• What are your future goals?
• Why are you excited about this program?
o Limited research experience
▪ Future success in graduate school is linked to previous research experience
o Red flags
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Graduate School Mentorship Initiative
FAQ Graduate Admissions
December 2019

▪ Multiple lab switches without clear path - Is this person a finisher?

o Good fit for program
▪ Does the department have PIs who align with the applicant’s research interest
• Are these PIs accepting students?
• Will these PIs provide a good training environment?
o Some PIs have preference for senior personnel such as
postdocs or research scientists
o Some PIs travel often and may not be a direct mentor
• Limited number of PIs who can accommodate research interests

9) What is the size of applicant pool?

o Varies based on the school and department
o Many departments try to actively recruit
▪ Sending out request for applications from universities and colleges
• Department chair and director of graduate studies will email many
schools across the country
▪ Setting up tables and booths at field meetings (American chemistry society,
society for neuroscience, etc) and conferences (SACNAS, ABRCMS, etc.)

10) How much emphasis is placed on mental health of the student?

o Faculty look for ability to persevere and show grit
▪ How did you cope/ overcome a challenge?
o Faculty recommend applicants directly address mental health
▪ Past and current struggles are not a flaw or weakness in your application nor
are they indicative of your ability to succeed
▪ Without acknowledgement of mental health history, certain applications
elements could be considered red flags
• GPA/ Academic performance
o Graduate school/ university requires faculty statement for
GPAs that are lower than minimum
▪ Faculty can advocate on your behalf if you mention
extenuating circumstances in your application

11) Do certain faculty members get priority to review applications?

o There are two main categories of graduate school programs
▪ Direct admit program: applicants will rank faculty based on their interest to
join their lab as a thesis lab. If faculty think the applicant is a match, the
applicant will be admitted to faculty lab. The faculty directly assume
financial and mentoring responsibility of supporting the applicant.
• The department and admissions committee rank faculty in terms of
department acknowledgement for need to recruit
o Rank 1 as highest priority to review students
▪ E.g. junior faculty who need students to join their lab
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Graduate School Mentorship Initiative
FAQ Graduate Admissions
December 2019

o Faculty ranked as 1 (highest priority) may override other

faculty decisions regardless of seniority
• Direct admit programs are common for some engineering
(biomedical, civil, environmental, electrical, computer, etc.),
mathematics and statistics, and physical science (chemistry, physics,
astronomy)
▪ Rotation program: applicants apply to the general department. If the
admissions committee decide applicant is a good fit, the applicant will be
admitted to the department. The department requires incoming graduate
students to rotate in different labs for 6-12 weeks, with 2-4 faculty members.
At the end of each rotation, the incoming student can express interest in
joining a faculty lab as their thesis lab.
• There must be consensus, either majority rules or unanimous, within
the admissions committee
• Every faculty has equal vote
o Not even the chair(s) can overrule
• Rotation programs are common for life sciences (biology,
pharmacology, immunology, genetics, plant sciences, behavioral
science, etc)

12) Is there a difference between applying to an umbrella program versus a degree granting
program?
• Umbrella program: Interdisplinary graduate programs with curriculums designed to
cover a variety of fields rather than learning topics in within a specialized field.
o Umbrella programs have several training faculty, faculty who are committed
to training and mentoring graduate students, that represent several different
departments.
o Students may rotate with any training faculty.
o After completion of classes and rotation, students will join their thesis lab.
o The department of their thesis advisor will determine their degree.
▪ For example, an admitted student to a life science umbrella program
will complete a variety of classes that focus on biology, chemistry,
genetics, statistics, neuroscience, immunology, etc. If this student joins
a thesis lab in the immunology department, this student’s Master’s or
PhD title will be in immunology.
• Degree granting program: Departmental graduate programs with curriculums
designed to cover topics within a specialized field.
o Degree granting programs have primary training faculty, faculty that are
appointed within the same department as your graduate school program, and
secondary training faculty, faculty that hold appointments in different
departments.
o Students may rotate with approved primary and secondary training faculty.
o After completion of classes and rotation, students will join their thesis lab.
o The graduate school program will determine their degree.
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Graduate School Mentorship Initiative
FAQ Graduate Admissions
December 2019

▪ For example, an admitted student to a computer science program will

take a variety of classes focused on topics within computer science
such as theory, artificial intelligence, programming languages,
algorithms, etc. If this student joins a thesis lab in the public health
department, this student’s Master’s or PhD title will be in computer
science.

13) Are there specific faculty member who only look at graduate school applications for
underrepresented minority (URM) students?
o No specific faculty only review URM students
o Track interview rate of URM students compared to non-URM students
o Two main ways to evaluate URM applicants
▪ Quality of URM application evaluated the same as every other application
(meritocracy)
• There is no department quota or number to diversify student body
▪ URM applications evaluated separately
• Interview rate/ acceptance rate reflect applicant pool
• For example, if 10% of applicants are URMs, then at least 10% of
applicants offered interviews will be URMs
• IMPORTANT: URMs students should not self-select out of
applying. Self-selection is the process of deciding ahead of time that
you are not competitive enough and therefore do not apply for a
position. You are an accomplished scientist and any school would be
excited to have the skills you bring to the lab
o Many departments are aware of different barriers URM
students may have faced and practice equitable admissions
o Some departments receive ZERO URM applications. You
cannot be interviewed if you do not apply.
▪ Many departments offer fee waivers to incentivize
URM applications.
▪ Faculty are conscious about the percentage of
applications that come from URM students and take
that into account when considering how to improve
representation within their department.

14) Is there a target size for the next cohort of trainees?

o Target size of cohort comes from the university
▪ University allocates a budget for the department to supplement training grants
from NIH/NSF/DoD/etc.
o The department negotiates with the university
▪ For example, the university says the department can accept 10 incoming
students, but department wants 13 incoming students. The department must
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Graduate School Mentorship Initiative
FAQ Graduate Admissions
December 2019

convince the university they will be able to financially support the 3 additional
students
o The department tries to carefully predict which applicants will accept
▪ Evaluate offers from other schools
• Ranking of schools /departments
o Many departments may ask you questions like “what other
schools offered you an interview?”
o Departments carefully track data of which graduate schools
applicants attend after they have rejected their offer of program
admission.
▪ For example, university Y is ranked the #1 physics
program in the U.S. If a student interviews at physics
program at university X and also has an interview offer
at university Y, university X will try to offer admission
BEFORE the applicant interviews at university Y.
▪ Departments are aware that applicants will sometimes
cancel later interviews (Late February/Early March) if
they are offered early program admissions (Early-
Late February).
▪ Compatibility with interests
• Do other schools have PIs that are more relevant to their interest

15) What percentage of applicants usually get offered an interview?

o About 25% get an interview
o Departments would prefer to interview more, but are limited by logistics
▪ Departments financially cover the entire cost of travel/lodging/food/hosting
for the entire interview days
▪ Difficult to create schedule for large number of applicants
▪ Departments want to match applicants with faculty they expressed interest in

16) What about students that do not get offered an interview?

o Admissions committee has to follow up with applicant or letter writer
▪ Letter of recommendations
• Missing Letter of recommendations
o For example, only 2 letters submitted instead of required 3
• Only letters from instructors but not research mentors
• Clear up question from letter writer
▪ These categories of student will maybe get offered an interview after
information is received
o International students
▪ Departments are very aware of the financial/time constraints of international
students
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Graduate School Mentorship Initiative
FAQ Graduate Admissions
December 2019

• Admissions committees will try to coordinate interview dates based

on when applicants are already going to be in the U.S. to minimize
stress for applicants.
o If applicants are not a good fit to the departments they will get notified quickly that
they are not accepted
o Waitlisted applicants
▪ Some applicants will choose not to accept interview offer, which opens up
slots for other applicants to come interview
▪ IMPORTANT: If you no longer want to interview at a university, tell the
department as soon as possible.

17) What percentages of interviewed students get offered acceptance?

o ~80% get offered an acceptance
▪ Department is selling their program to interviewees
▪ Faculty WANT you to accept and come to their program

18) What contributes to students that do not get accepted after interviews?
o Faculty reports on 1 on 1 meetings
▪ Applicants did not interview well
• Can’t describe research in person
• Operated as technician not an independent thinker
o Don’t understand why they were doing what they were doing
• Lacked ability to discuss experimental design/ rationale
o Graduate students’ concerns about social behavior
▪ Applicants were rude/ problematic/ offensive during interview week(end)
▪ Rarely schools allow graduate students to be a part of the admissions
committee
• Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) often limits
graduate student involvement in admissions to protect privacy of
applicant
• Varies based on institution/departments
▪ Graduate student(s) opinions might not override faculty opinion

19) How soon after interviews does the admissions committee discuss applicants?
o Days after interview days to keep the information fresh in the minds of faculty

20) Rolling admission vs. regular admission?

o Rolling admission: offer acceptance to program after interview regardless of total
number of interviews
▪ For example, department hosts 3 interview week(end)s but offer acceptance to
applicant after first interview weekend
▪ This is due to concern about offers from other universities
o Regular admission: offer acceptance to program after final interview week(end)
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Graduate School Mentorship Initiative
FAQ Graduate Admissions
December 2019

▪ This provides equity: every applicant needs to be seen before offering

admission to some.

21) For students not invited for interview weekends, do they still have a chance to be accepted?
o Not common but it is possible in extreme cases
▪ For example, a department may transfer your application to a different
internal department within the university.
• An applicant may have applied to an umbrella program at university
A, but the admissions committee recommended the application should
be reviewed by the genetics department at university A. If the genetics
department thinks the applicant is a good fit, they will offer admission
to the applicant, even though they did not interview the applicant.

22) How does the admissions committee decide which students will receive fellowships or
additional supplements?
o Admissions committee can make a recommendation for fellowship nomination
o Graduate school/university makes the final decision for applicants who will receive
fellowships/ supplements

23) Advice for interviewees

• Be personable
o Write your personal statement to be a reflection of you!
• Explain your research in a clear, concise, and coherent way
o Practice! Practice! Practice!
o Try to do mock interviews
▪ Most interview will be 20-45 minutes
▪ Practice having conversations in this time window
▪ Adjust your body language to be engaging and inviting
• Eye contact
• Posture
• Facial expressions
o Have pitch ready for experiments and rationale
▪ 5-10 minute summary of research
• Not in an arrogant way, but assume you will be offered an acceptance
• Dress appropriately
o Business casual/ Business