Personal Statement Workshop

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Slides by: Luis Santiago and CJ Sarabia

September 17 , 2025

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Outline

• Introductions

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• Graduate School Application
• Application Fees
• Letters of Recommendation
• Application essays
• CV
• Interviews

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• Q&A

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What is SACNAS?

• A national organization of scientists founded in 1973!
• Our name is a testament to our founding during the Chicano and American Indian civil rights movements.
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• At UCSF, our chapter is dedicated to building community for students of diverse backgrounds

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My Academic Journey (Sarina)

Graduate School Application Overview

• Application Fees – Fee waivers

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• Letters of Recommendation

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• Personal, Research and Diversity Statements

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• Curriculum Vitae (CV)

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• List of faculty or research interests

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• Interview Process

Application Fees

Ask programs about fee waivers!

• Grad school applications are expensive, but most programs offer fee waivers

Ask programs about fee waivers!

• Grad school applications are expensive, but most programs offer fee waivers

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• Search through the program website to find their requirements for a fee waiver

Ask programs about fee waivers!

• Grad school applications are expensive, but most programs offer fee waivers

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• Search through the program website to find their requirements for a fee waiver

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• Fee waivers may have their own application or require a statement to submit. Follow the deadlines!

Ask programs about fee waivers!

• Grad school applications are expensive, but most programs offer fee waivers

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• Search through the program website to find their requirements for a fee waiver

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• Fee waivers may have their own application or require a statement to submit. Follow the deadlines!

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• Contact the program admin if you need more info!

Great opportunity for fee waivers!

Letters of Recommendation

5 steps to a strong LOR

1. Deciding whom to ask

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• Picking the right time

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• Requesting LOR

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• Providing the right information

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• Following up

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1. Decide whom to ask

Someone who can talk about…

Academic performance

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Career aspirations

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Who you are as a person

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Course professor

Research mentor

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Volunteer work

One-on-one relationships!

2. Pick the right time

• Give yourself time to prepare your application materials!

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• Be ready to share drafts with your letter writers

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• Ask for LOR 1 month before the deadline
• Aim for November 1^st! (or mid-October if �applying to BMS)

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Remember:

They are happy to do it,

but they also need time!

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3. Requesting LOR

Email

• Gives the reference time to think and respond to your request
• Use it to schedule a time to meet
• Ask mentors/friends to check your email draft!

Request a meeting to discuss

• Share your research interests
• Review the programs you are applying to

4. Provide the right information

Your recommendation is only as good as the information you provide

-What schools you are applying to?

-What degree are you pursuing?

-Why do you want to attend graduate school?

-Do you have any extracurricular interests?

-A resume/CV

-Awards and Honors

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TellYOUR story!

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Email outline requesting a LOR

1. Introduce yourself

I had the pleasure of taking your course in Spring 2019.

2. Explain the application(s)

I am applying for Biomedical Sciences PhD Program at UCSF. Research Interest(s)

I am interested in continuing researching the role of regulatory elements in development.

4. Ask if they are willing to write you a strong LOR

Would you be comfortable writing a strong letter of recommendation for me?

5. Offer to send a spreadsheet with due dates and contact information

May I send you a spreadsheet with due dates? What materials would you like from …..me?

TIP: Ask somebody to read the email before you send it!

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How to provide detailed information to LOR writers?

How to close the email for a response?

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Close by proposing next contact and/or preferred method of communication.

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If you are willing to write a letter for me, I would happy to come to your office this week or set up a Zoom meeting? If you are too busy to meet I can email you my materials right away.

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5. Reminders and post LOR contact

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Didn’t hear back after asking for a LOR? Resend the email

Hello Professor X,

I know you are busy so I just wanted to bring my message back to the top of your email.

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They haven’t submitted your letter? Send them a polite reminder

Thank you again for writing my LOR, and I just wanted to remind you of the deadline this Friday…

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After they have submitted the letter or once you’ve heard back from schools

Handwritten thank you note! or at least an email

Let them know what happened!

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Summary

1. Deciding whom to ask

Most schools request 3 LOR

Make a list of 4-5 potential LOR writers

• Picking the right time

Request at least 1 month in advance (November 1^st)

• Requesting LOR

Send email and request a time to meet

• Providing the right information

Meet in person / over Zoom

Make a spreadsheet with all information needed

• Following up

Don’t be afraid to send follow-up and reminder emails!

Thank your LOR writer with a handwritten note or email

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Application essays

Personal Statement

• This is your “personal story”
• Your statement might include:
• Your background (race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status) and how it has shaped who you are
• Outreach or extracurricular activities: why you participated in them and how they have impacted you
• Restate career goals: you can go more in-depth about why you want to go into a certain profession

Statement of Purpose

• This is your “professional story”, but make sure it’s somewhat fun (faculty will be reading through lots of these, keep them interested)
• Your statement should include:
• How you got interested in science or your discipline
• Brief research experience(s) statement
• Fellowships, conferences/presentations
• Why you are interested in a specific program (tailored statement - feel free to name drop labs you’re interested in here)
• Career goals (why you want and/or need a PhD for this)

Research Statement

• Write about significant projects you have worked on and your contribution to them

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• Include a brief background, your hypothesis, methods, and summarize the results.

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• When writing about the methods, do not provide too much technical detail. Describe the purpose of the technique you used and the bigger picture.

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• Briefly mention faculty who you are interested in working and describe why you are interested in their work.

DO NOT DO THIS ALONE!

Get as many qualified people to look over and edit your essays as you can!

CV

Difference between CV and Resume

CV Resources

Lots of resources online!

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Recommend the Harvard CV and Cover Letters Resource:

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https://hwpi.harvard.edu/files/ocs/files/gsas-cvs-and-cover-letters.pdf

CV Resources

Ask for examples from mentors!

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Look at examples to learn the formatting and learn to emphasize your strengths

While you are working on grad apps...

• Reach out to the graduate programs you are interested in!
• Email professors you are interested in working with
• Reach out to students in their labs, even if they’re in other programs
• Use your connections!
• Check your Linkedin for connections in those grad programs
• Reach out to students from similar backgrounds as yourself and ask them how they like it there.
• Couldn’t find some info on the program website? Email and ask their program administrators!
• Programs usually don’t list all their classes, so email and ask to introduce yourself!

These efforts stand out when programs are discussing your application!

Grad School Interviews

General Timeline

• Notified late December - Mid January
• Interview will be 1-2 days in January - March
• Interview schedule is provided 1-2 days before interview itself
• Post-interview results are usually within a few weeks
• Universal deadline to accept or reject is April 15

Structure of Interviews (30 mins - 1hr)

• 3-8 interviewers depending on the school
• Interviews could be with main PI of interest, graduate students in the lab/program, and other PIs in the department
• Interviewer begins by asking you to tell them about yourself/ tell them about your research. Briefly discuss each research experience (around 3 mins total)
• Additional questions: what your interests consist of, what motivates you to do research, and your goals.
• Have questions ready! They expect you to have questions because it demonstrates your interest in the program/research.

How to Prepare for Interviews

• Main purpose of interview: Learn your interests, what drives you to do research (outside of learning), and your commitment to completing a PhD.
• Streamline your research experience! Practice a 2-3 minute review of your research.
• significance of your work, methods employed, results achieved, and further implications.
• Learn more about your interviewer
• Read the interviewers’ websites and draft questions for each
• Mock Interviews!

Mock Interview Example Questions

• Tell me about yourself.
• Tell me about your research experiences.
• Tell me about the challenges you have faced during your research and how you overcame them.
• Tell me about your current research interests and the faculty you are interested in working with at “this” school.
• Why do you wish to pursue graduate school?
• What are some of your career aspirations that you would like to pursue after completing graduate school?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Logistics

• Virtual interview followed by campus visit

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• All expenses are PAID

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• The program will arrange lodging, food, and usually air travel too
• Can ask them to book the flight to avoid paying out of pocket

General Etiquette

• The obvious stuff: be the best version of yourself!

• Dress business casual (no need for a suit)

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• Don’t speak negatively about other institutions

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• Have fun, but don’t over-do it

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• Ask questions! You are evaluating them just as much as they are evaluating you.

Q & A