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How to apply for a PhD in the US
Have you always wanted to see the letters Ph.D. after your name? Heres how to apply for graduate study in the US, with an emphasis on Biological Sciences and on foreign applicants.
Steps
1. Choose your major. This will be determined by your past research experience, your
interest and your undergraduate coursework.
2. Get hold of a list of universities with those programs. There are several helpful
websites listed below under External Links. Or, you can try searching the web for "NRC
rankings."
3. Assess your chances of getting into a particular school of your interest. You will need
to take into account the following factors:
- funding
- your college GPA
- your research experience
- your citizenship status
- geographical location preferences
- whether you want to go into a research institute or a full university
4. Take the GRE General Test, TOEFL and the GRE Subject Test as needed by the
programs that you are thinking of applying for. Visit the ETS homepage (also listed
below) for more information on the pattern of the examination, scoring and score
reporting.
5. Choose the people you want to write the recommendation letters for you. Ask them if
they want to do it online or on paper. Some universities do not offer the choice
between paper and web-based recommendation letters. Inform your references well
in advance and keep reminding them till it is done.
6. Write a statement of purpose (SOP) for your interest in each program. While it might
be a pain, its better to write out a different SOP for each school, indicating a fit
between you and the program. In your SOP, you can also explain any shortcomings
or issues that cannot be dealt with in rest of the application.
7. Arrange for transcripts from each post-school institution attended.
8. Have the scores reported to your university. You will need the institution codes,
department codes, your credit card number and its date of expiration and of course,
our test registration number and date of testing.
9. Use a Calendar program and an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of what documents
are needed, which ones of them have been sent and which ones are pending. Also
keep a list of the tracking numbers, date of posting and the contents of every packet
that you send to universities.
Tips
- Some schools/programs are not so popular on rankings but have great grad
programs. Why they are not popular is because they are post-doc places. Examples
from biology are Scripps Institute, Salk Institute, Sloan-Kettering Institute.
- The UC (University of California) system has very little funding for international
students.
- Get an international credit card - you will need it for the GRE/TOEFL registration and to
pay application fees.
- Often people ask the order of importance of GPA, GRE scores, research experience,
reference letters in the application. Well - there is none. Grad admission committees
typically look at the candidate as a whole, and see if he/she can withstand the rigors of
graduate research.
- Unless absolutely urgent, do not email/call your university regarding petty issues. All
you will receive is an automated reply or an answering machine. Try to find the answers
on the university website.
Warnings
- Use a reliable courier service to send documents to universities
- FedEx, DHL, UPS etc. Do not use a service for which you cannot track your
package.
- The December season is a rush season due to Christmas, so postal delays occur quite
frequently. Moreover, a lot of the graduate offices remain closed from Dec 23 to Jan
2.
- Wherever possible, put everything into one packet and send. If you are sending your
documents in different packets, clearly mark your name, address and any reference
number on each of them. Underline your last name.
- Keep your address consistent throughout
- do not abbreviate or introduce variations. This makes it all the more difficult for the
graduate office to file your documents.
- Do not make errors in writing your institution/department code while reporting scores.
This may seem very obvious, but this mistake happens more often than you might
think!
Things Youll Need
- GRE General Test Score
- TOEFL Score (often)
- GRE Subject Test Score (sometimes)
- At least 3 Recommendation Letters from scientists and/or teachers who can assess
your ability to perform research.
- Transcripts from all post-high school institutions attended.
- A credit card (preferably Visa or Mastercard; Discover doesnt work on some
websites).
- A passport is needed for taking the GRE in some countries.
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