Graduate School Materials

This page includes the materials I used when I applied to graduate school, for you to use as a format.  I will post some more tips when I get some free time.

Cirriculum Vitae- A CV is the antithesis of a resume.  Do not base your CV on your resume, start from scratch.  A good CV takes 20-30 hours to write.  Make sure you allow enough time.  You will need to refer to transcripts, have lists of all your jobs and presentations (if any), etc.  It should be 3 pages (approx. for an undergrad) but the longer the better (without including BS stuff).  There are many CV guides, and your school probably offers services.  Here are some things to remember: 1) Avoid typos at ALL costs 2) Do not use sentences, use lists 3) Put important information first (e.g., publications and posters before research, research before computer skills, etc) 4) Avoid high school awards/information 5) Do NOT include superfluous information, such as gender, age, religion 6) Don't list irrelevant jobs (e.g., cashier at Target) 7) I've heard it helps to list GRE and GPA if they are good (say, above 1300 and 3.75). 8) It doesn't help much to have irrelevant positions (e.g., VP of student council, volunteer at Big Brother, Psi Chi involvement) so put your time into research and studying for the GRE instead. 9) Likewise, don't waste money by joining every honor society that comes your way.  A high GPA speaks for itself.

Personal Statement- Everyone says you have to write a different statement for each school, changing things to fit, such as research interests, professors you want to work with, etc.  Is this true?  ABSOLUTELY.  If you aren't willing to put the extra hour into the statement, do you really want to go to that school?  Most importantly, do you really deserve to?

Letters of Recommendation- REUSE YOUR FACULTY.  You are absolutely encouraged to have your faculty write multiple letters.  This is easy for them, because once the letter is written, it is easy to change.  Choose faculty members who know you personally.  Getting an A in the class is not sufficient for choosing a recommender.  This is another reason research experience is so important- it is hard to get good letters without them.  NEVER submit a non-faculty letter unless the schoo specifically asks for it.  Provide your recommenders with an organized list of the schools you are applying to, including the addresses, department (e.g., psychology, counseling), and degree type (e.g., MA, PhD).  Give them at least two weeks, preferably a month.

Timeline- How to prepare for grad school