Kevin Alarcón Negy
Cornell University
Computer Science PhD student
Expected graduation: 2024
Contact Information:
Email: kevinnegy@cs.cornell.edu
Address: Office 407 Bill & Melinda Gates Hall
(107 Hoy Rd, Ithaca, NY 14853)
Guide to the PhD Application Process
Essay Tips
There are two general types of essays in PhD applications: a research statement and a personal statement. A research statement normally asks you to outline your research experience, your research interests, and which professors you would want to work with. A personal statement normally asks you to write about yourself, who you are, and your background. Here, I will outline general writing tips and tips specifically for the research statement. (I have minimal comments about the personal statement since it will vary from student to student.)
General Writing Tips
- Avoid run-on sentences.
- Make sure each sentence logically flows into the next. A reader should not be blindsided by new ideas because there isn't a transition between sentences.
- Make sure each paragraph has only one topic or overall point.
- Use active voice to be more direct and confident sounding.
- Avoid contractions.
- Application essays typically have a page limit. Go through each sentence and ask yourself if there is a more concise way to say the same thing to help condense your essays.
- Have various people edit your essay, especially professors or administrators who are actively involved in the PhD process.
- Before submitting essays to any application, use an online e-reader to read your document out loud. Your ears will catch mistakes that your eyes will miss after having revised your essays repeatedly.
Research Statement Tips
- Use the introduction to state your purpose: What do you want to research and where do you want to conduct it? Include the name of the university and modify this sentence for each application you submit.
- Use each paragraph after the introduction to cover a single research experience. You should include the name of the program, the professor you worked with, a brief description of what you did, and what resulted from the experience (co-author? poster presentation?). Also mention what you learned from this experience and explain how it helped lead you to your current research interests.
- Include a paragraph explaining why you are interested in your desired research topic if your experiences aren't in relevant sub-fields. You will need to be specific. A generic interest is not enough to convince committee members you are committed to many years of graduate school.
- Before the conclusion, include a paragraph that states which professors you wish to work with at the university. Include the name of the professor, the subfield that they work in, and a brief (about one sentence) summary of a project they work on that interests you. After doing this for two professors, you can list a few other professors you'd be interested in working with. Limit the number of professors you mention in this paragraph to three to five. You must include a sentence at the end that says something like, "I would also be open to other opportunities." Committees must find you professors who would be interested in advising you before admitting you and this sentence gives them wiggle room to search for faculty you've overlooked.
- The conclusion should restate your purpose. You can use this paragraph to state other reasons for wanting to attend the university. Include a sentence about how you would enjoy living in whatever city or town the university is in. Especially for small towns, committee members want to feel confident that you would be happy attending their university for half a decade.
Updated as of January 2019.