Graduate School

Noah Paladino & Malina Desai

Based on a 2022 talk by Anthony Aportela & Noah Paladino

Disclaimer

Much of the advice given is based on our personal experience with the physics PhD program application process. Some of our advice is anecdotal and will not necessarily apply.

Noah Paladino

• Physics PhD Student at MIT
• Works on CMS & SpinQuest with Phil Harris
• Serves on the Graduates Advising Graduate Admissions for MIT Physics

Malina Desai

• First year Physics PhD Student at MIT
• Works on ML methods for LIGO
• Volunteering as a mentor for the Physics Graduate Application Assistance Program

Questions to ask yourself before applying

01

02

03

Do I enjoy research?

Will this help me pursue my career goals?

Do I want to continue taking classes?

Opportunities After Grad School

​

Postdocs

​

• Established Pipeline
• Path to Faculty
• Great for those wanting to pursue research

​

Industry

​

• Still viable even after a PhD
• Many skills will be transferable
• Might be less research oriented

https://royalsociety.org/~/media/Royal_Society_Content/policy/publications/2010/4294970126.pdf (pg. 14, fig 1.6 Careers in and outside science)

What is Graduate School Like?

• Experiences can be very advisor/group/location dependent
• Challenging but can be very rewarding
• Relatively low pay but relatively high job security
• Potential for travel
• First year classes are generally considered difficult
• A lot of schools require some amount of time as a teaching assistant

What is in a Typical Graduate School Application?

01

Statement of purpose

• Describe your experience and goals
• Explain why the school is a good fit for your research interests
• Mention specific groups that interest you
• More on this later!

​

02

Letters of Recommendation

• Most schools require 3 letters
• Research-related letters (from the PI) are often more important than academic ones
• Make sure you waive your right to see them!

​

What is in a Typical Graduate School Application?

03

Personal Essay

• Gives context to your application
• Can include cultural background, personal history, outreach, and leadership

​

04

Transcript

05

Standardized Test Scores

• Check unofficial or official requirements
• Might need to list in-progress classes in the portal

​

• Check requirements for general and subject GRE’s
• If optional, only submit if your score improves your overall applicaiton

​

Other things to consider:

• Consider getting into contact with advisors you are interested in to learn more about their research and see if they have openings
• Think about school location and culture - will you be happy there for several years?
• Apply for application fee waivers early
• Check for early submission deadlines for internal fellowships

Statement of Purpose

• Tell the story of your research journey
• Focus on what you contributed and what you learned
• Emphasize how this specific graduate program will be a good fit
• Indicate particular groups and their projects that interest you
• Cut the fluff!
• Let your voice shine through

https://mitcommlab.mit.edu/eecs/commkit/graduate-school-personal-statement/

01

Personal Essay

• Sometimes required, sometimes optional, sometimes not allowed
• Information in the Personal Statement and Statement of Purpose should largely not overlap

03

mit personal statement

Graduate Fellowships

• Good idea to apply when applying for graduate school
• Usually due before applications
• Often require similar documents, essays, and letters - helps you prepare
• Examples:
• NSF Graduate Research Fellowships Program (GRFP)
• DoD National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship Program (NDSEG)
• Hertz Fellowship
• Other field-specific fellowships

Typical Applicant Fall Calendar

September:

• Start asking people to be letter writers (especially for fellowships)
• Take the physics GRE
• Start planning the list of schools to apply for (target 8-10, more isn’t always better) (expensive)
• Start fellowship applications
• Start emailing professors

Typical Applicant Fall Calendar

October:

• Finalize and submit fellowship applications
• Finalize list of schools to apply for
• Start your graduate school applications
• Take the physics GRE (again)

​

November-December:

• Finalize and submit graduate school applications

After Acceptance

• If you are accepted to more than one school, wait until closer to the acceptance deadlines to make a decision
• If you get any advanced offers, like guaranteed housing, extra fellowships, etc, you can use this to your advantage to negotiate a better offer at other schools where you are in contact with advisors who want you there
• If the school offers a visitation, use that as an opportunity to grill the program
• They are trying to convince you to go there instead of going to another school or into industry

Picking a School and a Group

• You don’t just apply to the grad school, you apply to the groups
• Don’t just apply to “good” research but places you think you might be happy
• Vet your potential advisors at your potential schools
• Talk to students
• Ask hard questions
• What’s the culture like?
• Why did they choose to go there?
• Is there collective representation?
• Is housing affordable?
• Is there anything you wished you knew before going to this school?
• Is there a GRE/qualification/thesis dissertation requirement?
• Be sure where you go has a plan B for you

Questions?

Noah Paladino

npaladin@mit.edu

​

Malina Desai

mmdesai@mit.edu

​