74
votes
Accepted
Humor in a personal statement
It's less an issue that a personal statement can't be humorous and more that humor in a written context is very hard to get right. Timing and tone of voice are easily lost in written media, and self-...
- 98.7k
58
votes
Accepted
Should I mention in my statement of purpose that I did not attend lectures in my last two years of undergrad?
I'd shorten and tone it down if I were you. Being a researcher involves a lot of sitting in other people's talks, so we all know that lectures are boring. But we still do it, because those are an ...
- 7,601
54
votes
Humor in a personal statement
Here's a general rule: If you have to think about whether something is appropriate, it's probably wise to just not do it. I believe this rule applies to contexts far beyond just application documents.
- 87.2k
44
votes
How should I explain why I am leaving my current PhD and looking for a new PhD?
Yes, but keep it very short and neutral. Something like:
My advisor left my university soon after I joined the Ph.D. program. I did not join him. We tried to make this work by him supervising me ...
- 41.2k
41
votes
Accepted
Unintentionally disrespectful in the Statement of Purpose/Academic essay
The culture regarding the academic titles is quite country-specific. In some countries (e.g. Germany) academics are more often referred to by title and surname, Prof. Famous, even in a classroom. In ...
- 53.1k
34
votes
Is it a bad idea to say in my statement of purpose that I want to pursue a PhD in applied mathematics primarily to work in industry?
I have done graduate admissions for my math department. I am a "pure mathematician" but my department is just the math department: there is no formal separation between pure and applied.
Others can ...
- 130k
26
votes
Accepted
Is it okay to mention a mathematical fact that intrigues me in SOP when I don't understand its technical details?
Yes.
A major role of the statement of purpose is to allow whoever is reading your application to determine if there are faculty whose interests match yours and could serve as a suitable advisor. I ...
- 640
26
votes
Humor in a personal statement
I would advise caution. The particular example phrasing you suggest sounds off to me. A humorous way to connect your carpentry to your studies (other than that the one finances the other) might work....
- 30.8k
25
votes
Accepted
Childhood "story" on my master's SoP?
In physics culture, most people do not care what inspired you. Telling stories (in the sense of a narrative with a sequence of events) is not a popular activity among physicists. I would not include ...
- 95.7k
25
votes
Should I use bold text in my personal statement?
I suggest that you don't do that. This is a professional communication. If people read it at all, they don't need the emphasis, which is a bit like shouting. Make it as professional as possible.
- 332k
24
votes
Should I mention in my statement of purpose that I did not attend lectures in my last two years of undergrad?
First, I am sympathetic to your dislike of sitting in classrooms, at scheduled times, for artificially limited intervals, and too-often lecturers/teachers who add little to the textbook, or even to ...
- 85.4k
24
votes
Accepted
Life story on Ph.D SOP
(Context: I’m a computer science professor in Canada who’s been on the other side of admissions a handful of times.)
If I were reading such a statement of purpose: yes, in this case a brief ...
- 533
23
votes
My main research advisor refuses to give me a letter (to help for apply US physics program). What should I do?
Yes, it might look a bit weird, but you don't have control over that. And he is giving you good advice that he shouldn't write you a letter. Not every advisor is willing to be so honest.
But, I don't ...
- 332k
23
votes
Accepted
Do PhD admission committees prefer prospective professors over practitioners?
Yes (but it's usually an unconscious bias, and not openly stated).
Many academics consider failing to become a professor actual "failure". An academic career is supposed to be a vocation. ...
- 121k
22
votes
Accepted
Answering "Why do you want to become a research mathematician?"-type questions in a statement of purpose
I can't speak for all mathematics graduate admissions everywhere, but when I was on the admissions committee for my department (UGA) we generally did not take the statements of purpose all that ...
- 130k
21
votes
Reality check on advice for statement of purpose
All good advice. In addition, may I suggest that a statement of purpose should answer the question, what is your purpose in wanting to do this? What will you do if they admit you? It should be ...
- 30.9k
21
votes
Do PhD admission committees prefer prospective professors over practitioners?
Nearly all PhD students will never be professors. Some PhD programs might prefer to recruit PhD students who intend to become professors, but sensible PhD programs will realize that students who wish ...
- 95.7k
20
votes
What should one look for in a statement of purpose (from the admissions side) in mathematics?
Good question. I worked on graduate admissions at my math PhD program (at UGA, in the US) for several years, and after a few years off I am the new Graduate Coordinator, so I will shortly be wading ...
- 130k
19
votes
How negative to go in a statement of purpose?
In my opinion you should not "go negative" at all in a statement of purpose. A vivid description of what turned you off to a previous program seems only to give those considering your admissions case ...
- 130k
19
votes
Accepted
Is it appropriate to compare myself with other students in my statement of purpose for U.S. graduate school application?
This would be a bad idea and will likely have the opposite effect you want it to have. Especially in mathematics, people are turned off by bullshit.
Let me relate an actual exchange I heard a few ...
- 3,243
17
votes
Is it a good practise to involve a child in a statement of purpose?
No, the statement is about your motivation in doing research and about your research goals, not about your private life goals.
Having a child is undoubtedly a joyful event which can definitely change ...
- 55.3k
17
votes
Accepted
Statement of Purpose, should one say "I did X ..." or "My advisor and I did X .. "?
This is an XY problem. Saying "I did X" repeatedly is wrong and offputting, and saying "My advisor and I did X" repeatedly sounds weak and annoying to read. Neither is the right option alone.
You ...
- 3,807
17
votes
Childhood "story" on my master's SoP?
NO!!!
Telling stories about your childhood will not "grip the reader from the first line on," it will put them to sleep. Possible exception if something truly unusual happened during your ...
- 63.8k
17
votes
Will it hurt my chances if I state I want to study Theoretical Computer Science instead of something like AI/ML for PhD?
This is a US-based answer.
Theoretical computer science is indeed less well-funded, but it is also less popular, and the effect of this on graduate admissions is complicated. You should also consider ...
- 22.9k
17
votes
Humor in a personal statement
To me, that personal statement smacks of arrogance and rubs me the wrong way. There is no way to know how serious you are being, and I've known and interacted with many people who would say and mean ...
- 179
16
votes
I forgot to rename the school when applying my SOP to another school. How bad is this?
As a long time graduate program director, I've read thousands of these essays; this mistake happens in maybe 1 in 50 or so. I have already seen one this year, for example.
Here's the deal: If it's a ...
- 17.9k
16
votes
Unintentionally disrespectful in the Statement of Purpose/Academic essay
There is, of course, no guarantee something won't hurt your application. There are some people who care deeply about being addressed by their title, some for good reasons, some out of culture, and ...
- 51.8k
16
votes
Reality check on advice for statement of purpose
My research adviser and my academic graduate adviser at my undergrad aerospace engineering department provided similar advice as your professor when I applied to grad schools. They dread reading the ...
- 777
16
votes
How would PhD Admissions committee read Statements of Purpose?
When I was on my department's graduate committee (which dealt with admissions), I read ~120 applications per year. About half of these are "obviously" not competitive for some reason or ...
- 87.2k
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