The personal statement serves as a terrific opportunity to share with admissions committees an interesting and unique aspect of your life. How much should you tell, and how much is too much? When I applied to college, I wrote a personal statement describing some challenging family...

I was recently contacted about a fascinating new program at Harvard Medical School called HMX Fundamentals. I wanted to learn more, and I’m delighted to have AST listeners learn more along with me since I’m talking to today to Dr. Michael Parker, Harvard Medical...

Assistantships are a way of funding your graduate education. They are more often awarded to PhD students than to master’s students (though a department may sometimes have funding available for exceptional master’s students). You may be awarded a Teaching Assistantship (meaning you help teach a...

Writing the first draft of your personal statement is probably the hardest part of the whole application process. And it makes sense – it’s not easy to capture so much of your experience onto a single page. Moving Your First Draft from Just OK to Simply...

Today’s guest is Patrick Curtis, CEO & Co-founder of Wall Street Oasis. Patrick graduated from Williams College in 2002 and worked as an Investment Banking Analyst for Rothschild & Co for two years. He then joined Tailwind Capital as a Private Equity Associate in 2005...

Letters of recommendation are a key part of your application. Strong ones provide meaningful support, but a lukewarm one can really hurt you. Who should write in support of your PhD application, and how can you make sure your letters are as good as they...

Most admissions committees are looking for applicants who can demonstrate leadership. If you don’t have any formal leadership positions to discuss in your application essays, that doesn’t mean that all is lost. Watch this short video for Linda Abraham’s definition of “informal leadership” and how to...

Frequently, applicants in STEM fields are working on projects that are quite technical in nature. Field-specific jargon might show that you know the language of your field—which is important– but using too much of it can also make your SOP very hard to read. Aim...

Choosing the right PhD program is key to your success—not just in getting admitted, but in having a successful grad school experience. What makes a program the right one? First, it needs to fit your needs: you need to have access to a mentor who can oversee...

Many of you are planning ahead for your first application this summer and fall. Others are concerned that you may need to reapply because the news you’ve received so far isn’t what you wanted. In either case, if your grades are a concern, this podcast...