Part One: Selecting Your Schools
Especially for PhD programs, the university you attend is crucial because it is integral to the next 5-6 years of your life. There are many factors to consider when thinking about potential schools. It is tempting to apply to the top ten programs in your discipline but this is an urge you should resist. Many factors affect your chances of admission to each school. Knowing them is essential to shaping your list of preferred schools.
How many schools should I apply to? What are some things to consider?
The number of programs you apply to depends on whether you intend to pursue a Masters or doctoral degree. Since Masters programs are less competitive, most people typically apply to no more than 5 schools. For the PhD, however, the average number of schools is 7-8, with some people applying to even up till 12. These are good guidelines to follow, though the exact number will depend on your research project and the program you wish to attend. Ideally, the key is not to overapply to too many schools, because doing so reduces the time you can spend on each application. Instead, your goal should be to maximize your time on each application while minimizing your number of schools to the lowest reasonable number by taking into account which programs are excellent fits for you and which not.
When selecting universities, do not simply go by online rankings, especially as they change every year. Instead, talk to professors about the reputation of relevant departments for your broader field and, more specifically, for its research strengths and weaknesses as they relate to your specific project. Carefully go through the department’s faculty pages and look for professors that are a good fit for your work. Think about the department and the university as a community you will be joining. Would you fit in well here? Do you think there will be a range of people to support your work? Sometimes these questions can also be answered by scanning the webpages for current graduate students. Look at what they are working on. Do you think they will be good interlocutors for your work? These are the questions to think about, and it is significant that they directly connect the university to your intended research work.
Finally, you should also not apply only to top-ranked schools since it is extremely difficult to judge the competitiveness of your application before admissions season begins. Applying to only top-tier schools means you risk being shut out of admissions altogether. Instead, you should mix the schools you are applying to according to their competitiveness. About half of the schools should be those you feel you will be reasonably competitive for. Apart from these, the other half of your slots should go to a mix of “safety” schools you are reasonably confident of gaining admission to and “reach” schools that have the most competition for seats. At the same time, do remember that PhD admissions especially can prove very random every year as developments internal to departments can shape the kinds of students they are looking to admit. You can minimize the unexpected effects of such developments by contacting professors within these programs ahead of time, but do remain aware that true “safety” schools are very rare when it comes to the PhD.
How do I know if a school is right for me?
We have already seen above that key questions about potential graduate institutions should be asked at the level of the department. At the same time, you should also consider what role, if any, the broader university can play during your degree. Do the university libraries specialize in something related to your field? Are there any kinds of academic groups on campus you’d like to join, and which could help improve your work? Are there any centres established at your university that provide relevant resources and support? What about professors in other departments you could potentially also work with? Thinking about these things will complement the research you do on specific departments. It will allow you to be highly nuanced when selecting or choosing between schools.
Apart from the department and university’s resources, the other key factor in deciding your institution is its location. Universities often inhabit exceedingly different environments. To take but three examples:
1. The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, is located in a small college town an hour away from Detroit, a major U.S. city.
2. Cornell University is located in Ithaca, New York, a small college town in a predominantly rural setting, distant from most major U.S. cities.
3. McGill University is located within the downtown core of Montreal, a major North American city.
The above categories give us the three different types of campuses that you may expect to find in North America. Each location has its own way of life as well as benefits and disadvantages specific to it. While a rural environment may be energizing for some, it can alienate others. Similarly, for some it may be important to have mobility and a host of activities available in the city outside the university, whereas others may not mind a lack of accessible public transport since they own a car. Though these concerns are somewhat secondary as compared to your research fit with an institution, they should nonetheless be considered. You will likely be living in and around the university for the majority of your PhD. It is normal to not be perfectly suited to one’s environment, but a large disjunct between your preferences and your actual surroundings can also have adverse effects on your mental health. These are things to be mindful of when selecting potential programs, both when applying and after an offer is received. In the latter case, do try and visit campus should this be feasible. Universities often offer funding to cover the cost of a visit.
Apart from the environment you will find yourself in, the location of the university also has a direct effect on your costs. This is not to be underestimated as rent and the price of groceries varies greatly from college-town to college-town and city to city. Essentially, what this means is that all PhD stipends and other forms of funding are not created equal. $32,000, for example, will carry you significantly further in a cheaper city like Philadelphia versus expensive ones like San Francisco or New York. Moreover, owing to smaller supply, housing in college-towns is often—contrary to expectation—more expensive than in some major cities. Thus when deciding on your schools, and especially when comparing final offers from different universities, do not be swayed by superficial differences in funding amounts. Rather, compare these to the actual costs of living in these places and make an educated decision about the pros and cons of living in each place, both in terms of the kind of housing you will be able to afford (spacious or not, single or shared) and the amount of disposable income you may or may not have left over.
For further details on how to apply for and consider funding, please turn to Part Five of this guide.
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To proceed to the next section, click here.
How many schools should I apply to? What are some things to consider?
The number of programs you apply to depends on whether you intend to pursue a Masters or doctoral degree. Since Masters programs are less competitive, most people typically apply to no more than 5 schools. For the PhD, however, the average number of schools is 7-8, with some people applying to even up till 12. These are good guidelines to follow, though the exact number will depend on your research project and the program you wish to attend. Ideally, the key is not to overapply to too many schools, because doing so reduces the time you can spend on each application. Instead, your goal should be to maximize your time on each application while minimizing your number of schools to the lowest reasonable number by taking into account which programs are excellent fits for you and which not.
When selecting universities, do not simply go by online rankings, especially as they change every year. Instead, talk to professors about the reputation of relevant departments for your broader field and, more specifically, for its research strengths and weaknesses as they relate to your specific project. Carefully go through the department’s faculty pages and look for professors that are a good fit for your work. Think about the department and the university as a community you will be joining. Would you fit in well here? Do you think there will be a range of people to support your work? Sometimes these questions can also be answered by scanning the webpages for current graduate students. Look at what they are working on. Do you think they will be good interlocutors for your work? These are the questions to think about, and it is significant that they directly connect the university to your intended research work.
Finally, you should also not apply only to top-ranked schools since it is extremely difficult to judge the competitiveness of your application before admissions season begins. Applying to only top-tier schools means you risk being shut out of admissions altogether. Instead, you should mix the schools you are applying to according to their competitiveness. About half of the schools should be those you feel you will be reasonably competitive for. Apart from these, the other half of your slots should go to a mix of “safety” schools you are reasonably confident of gaining admission to and “reach” schools that have the most competition for seats. At the same time, do remember that PhD admissions especially can prove very random every year as developments internal to departments can shape the kinds of students they are looking to admit. You can minimize the unexpected effects of such developments by contacting professors within these programs ahead of time, but do remain aware that true “safety” schools are very rare when it comes to the PhD.
How do I know if a school is right for me?
We have already seen above that key questions about potential graduate institutions should be asked at the level of the department. At the same time, you should also consider what role, if any, the broader university can play during your degree. Do the university libraries specialize in something related to your field? Are there any kinds of academic groups on campus you’d like to join, and which could help improve your work? Are there any centres established at your university that provide relevant resources and support? What about professors in other departments you could potentially also work with? Thinking about these things will complement the research you do on specific departments. It will allow you to be highly nuanced when selecting or choosing between schools.
Apart from the department and university’s resources, the other key factor in deciding your institution is its location. Universities often inhabit exceedingly different environments. To take but three examples:
1. The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, is located in a small college town an hour away from Detroit, a major U.S. city.
2. Cornell University is located in Ithaca, New York, a small college town in a predominantly rural setting, distant from most major U.S. cities.
3. McGill University is located within the downtown core of Montreal, a major North American city.
The above categories give us the three different types of campuses that you may expect to find in North America. Each location has its own way of life as well as benefits and disadvantages specific to it. While a rural environment may be energizing for some, it can alienate others. Similarly, for some it may be important to have mobility and a host of activities available in the city outside the university, whereas others may not mind a lack of accessible public transport since they own a car. Though these concerns are somewhat secondary as compared to your research fit with an institution, they should nonetheless be considered. You will likely be living in and around the university for the majority of your PhD. It is normal to not be perfectly suited to one’s environment, but a large disjunct between your preferences and your actual surroundings can also have adverse effects on your mental health. These are things to be mindful of when selecting potential programs, both when applying and after an offer is received. In the latter case, do try and visit campus should this be feasible. Universities often offer funding to cover the cost of a visit.
Apart from the environment you will find yourself in, the location of the university also has a direct effect on your costs. This is not to be underestimated as rent and the price of groceries varies greatly from college-town to college-town and city to city. Essentially, what this means is that all PhD stipends and other forms of funding are not created equal. $32,000, for example, will carry you significantly further in a cheaper city like Philadelphia versus expensive ones like San Francisco or New York. Moreover, owing to smaller supply, housing in college-towns is often—contrary to expectation—more expensive than in some major cities. Thus when deciding on your schools, and especially when comparing final offers from different universities, do not be swayed by superficial differences in funding amounts. Rather, compare these to the actual costs of living in these places and make an educated decision about the pros and cons of living in each place, both in terms of the kind of housing you will be able to afford (spacious or not, single or shared) and the amount of disposable income you may or may not have left over.
For further details on how to apply for and consider funding, please turn to Part Five of this guide.
-----
To proceed to the next section, click here.
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