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I am a master's student in mathematics and I'm applying for a math PhD position in US or Europe.

During my time as a Master student, I worked on a paper with several co-authors, but the majority of the contributions were made almost entirely by me.

Is it proper to write something like "In the research for this paper, I independently completed almost all of the proof for the main result." in my CV and personal statement?

I'm afraid that this might make me seem lacking in humility, or that the professor might mistakenly think I’m not good at collaboration because I completed almost all of the work independently.

(My fear is not unfounded. In our country, the culture places great emphasis on personal humility and collectivism. I’m not sure if the academic culture in Europe or the United States holds the same view.)

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Personally, I think it is a mistake for you to say such things. Not because it lacks humility (and collegiality), but because it can't be verified.

However, if someone else, such as a letter writer, preferably your PI says something like this it automatically has credence. Self praise is much less valuable than the praise of others, especially those who are in a position to know and judge. Ask one of your letter writers to give a sentence or two about this.

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  • Thanks for your answer! I think my advisor will wirte this in the letter for me. I divided my "research experiencement" part in my CV in 3 parts, where one of these 3 parts is Personal Contribution, because my friend told me some professors/communicaty want know how much contribution I do in the research. So if I write this in "Personal Contribution" part, do you think there will be some negative impression on my application? Thanks very much!
    – bc a
    Commented Oct 2 at 12:48

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