There are many documents you may need to prepare for graduate school, including admissions essays and statements, resume or CV, and recommendation letters. Here are some helpful resources to get you started:
Personal Statement, Statement of Purpose and Other Admission Essays
A polished personal statement or statement of purpose is essential for a strong graduate school application. By effectively communicating to the admissions committee about yourself, your motivations, your goals, and how you prepared for graduate school, you help the committee determine how much of a fit you are with their program. Use the guide below to help you get started writing your admissions essays for graduate school.
Some graduate programs require additional admissions essays, such as:
- Research Statement
- Diversity Statement
- Personal Hardship/COVID Statement
- Program-specific questions or prompts
Regardless of the type of admission essay, the basic guidelines and structure stays the same. You would just need to tweak certain sections of content to fit to the type of admission essay. You can also schedule an appointment to brainstorm with a CNS Career Coach for your essay or get feedback on the content you have already prepared.
We also encourage you to get feedback from University Writing Center as well as your professors and current graduate students on your essays. Keep in mind that the University Writing Center is only available to current students.
Letters of Recommendation
Typically, you will need 2-3 letters of recommendation. Use professional references, including present or past faculty, supervisors or other academic references. Professors you worked with closely will be able to write the strongest letters for you. Start building relationships early in your college career! Remember to give your letter writers at least 4 weeks to write your letter as it can be a time-consuming process. Sometimes it is helpful to discuss with a coach who and how to ask for Letters of Recommendation. You can schedule an appointment with our coaches for help.
The following are commonly asked questions regarding letters of recommendation or letters of reference that will be helpful:
Who should write my letters?
You should have letters from people who can comment on your experience and abilities relevant to graduate study in your chosen field and relevant to later professional work. It’s best to have some letters from professors in your academic major. Some master’s degree programs appreciate letters from employers as well as from instructors. As Ph.D. programs focus a great deal on research and teaching, they put emphasis on letters from professors attesting to an applicant’s scholarly potential and past research experience. The strongest references grow out of established relationships. Start early! Visit your professor’s office hours and do research in a professor’s lab.
What can I give my letter writers to help them write a well-informed recommendation?
The materials you give your letter writers should help them address the field and programs you have chosen. Include a copy of your admissions essays (even if it’s a rough draft), your resume and any other relevant materials. You can also provide an outline of points you would like the letter to include and request letters to support a weaker part of your application. If you do poorly on the GRE verbal test, an instructor can praise your verbal abilities. Letter writers should be reminded of any special requests.
Is it better to have a high-profile professor write a letter even if they don’t know me well, or is it better to have a lower-ranked professor write it if they know my abilities better?
These letters should be as personalized as possible. That is more important than prestige or rank of a professor. It is better to have a strong letter from a junior faculty member that knows you well than a famous professor who taught you in a 500 person lecture. Admissions committees don’t view letters from graduate students or post-docs as very strong so if that is who you work most closely with in a research setting, you will want to ask a professor or principal investigator (PI) to co-write/co-sign your letter to give it more weight.
Is it better for me to waive my right to see letters of reference that are written about me?
Discuss your decision with your letter writers. Most graduate admissions committees prefer waived letters as they believe they have more credibility if you didn’t see the letter. Others give equal credibility to all letters. Even members of the same admissions committee may disagree. Members often change yearly so you may not know your admissions committee much less their opinions on this issue. Base your decision on your own values and concerns.
Waiving Your Legal Right to Review Your Letters
- Many admission committee members give more credibility to waived letters.
- Some letter writers prefer to send only letters that students will not see.
Not Waiving Your Right to Review Letters
- You can acquire a pool of letters and can select different letters for different graduate programs.
- You know the contents of all your letters.
- You can hold on to your own copies for your own purposes.
If a letter mentions a weakness of mine, will the letter work against me?
Always ask the letter writer if they can write you a “positive” or “strong” letter of recommendation. If a glowing letter mentions one or two areas for improvement, the letter may be taken even more seriously. The admissions committee is being assured your letter writer sees you realistically and is honest. But if the overall tone of the letter is not positive, this will likely count against you. If you are concerned it may not be positive, ask someone else to write the reference letter!
If I don’t apply to graduate school my senior year but I am planning to attend later, when should I get my letters of reference?
There are advantages to getting the letters before you leave school, but different advantages to waiting. Many students worry that their instructors will not remember them, but writing reference letters may not require so personal a touch. The materials you gave the instructor should be enough to remind them of your merits. Consider the advantages of each approach:
Getting Letters Before You Have Left School
- You know where to find the instructor.
- The instructor remembers you.
- Get a letter now, ask writer to refine it later.
Getting Letters at the Time of the Application
- You will have had time to clarify the specific field you wish to study.
- The information you give letter writers will differ from that given senior year.
- The letters will be more customised to the specific programs you have chosen.
If you choose to wait to get your letters written at the time of application, you can always ask your professors if they will write you a strong letter in the future before graduating so that your requests doesn’t surprise them after a gap year or two.
How and when do I ask someone to write me a letter of recommendation?
Many students are nervous to ask their professors to write them letters of recommendation, thinking that it is a burden. This is not true! Professors have built their careers on letters from other people and most are happy to pay it forward to the next generation. Reach out to your potential letter writers at least 4-8 weeks before the letter must be submitted to give them plenty of time to write a letter. You can start the conversation through email or by going to the professor’s office hours. Here’s a template you can adapt:
Subject line: [Your name] - letter of recommendation
Salutation
Dear [name of person you're asking, using their preferred title]
The Ask
I am writing to ask if you will provide a strong, positive letter of recommendation for me as I apply to [school or program or company and role].
The Schedule
Since my application is due [date], your recommendation needs to be submitted no later than [date needed]. If this timing is not feasible or if you’d rather not write a recommendation, I’d appreciate it if you could let me know as soon as possible so I may reach out to someone else.
The Context
[Write a sentence or two talking about your relationship with the person you’re writing and mentioning any details you think they may want to address in your recommendation.]
For example: I learned so much working with you on the [project name] project and I think you know me well enough to provide insight into my experience.
Conclusion
Thank you very much for considering my request. I have attached a copy of my [resume and/or personal statement] for your review. I will send you additional details and instructions for submission if you respond that you are able to write me a letter.
If you have any questions or need any further information from me, please let me know.
Closing
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Resume
You will likely be asked to submit a resume or CV as part of your application. Graduate school programs will look to assess your involvement with academics, student organizations, projects, and relevant work or internship experience. For undergraduates, a resume and CV are almost identical documents except that for graduate school, your resume can be multiple pages long, whereas you will want your resume to be 1 page when applying for jobs. Read through our detailed guide for writing a resume, templates and more info about CVs:
Interviews
Only a minority of programs require interviews, although this varies by field. Ph.D. programs in the sciences tend to interview prospective candidates. Prepare for interviews by researching the school, being clear about your goals, and be able to speak intelligently about your past experiences and how they have prepared you for graduate school.
Be prepared to ask well-informed questions whose answers could not be easily found elsewhere.
While every interview for every program is going to be different, you can learn more about interviews for graduate school here:
Take Responsibility
Even if schools say they will send emails to let you know what pieces of your application are missing, it is still your responsibility to make sure all your materials have arrived. Take charge! Check early enough so that if something is missing, you have time to get it in by the deadline.