PhD Application Tips! | Advice for Applying to PhD Programs

I've been running PhD admissions for our department for years, and these are some of my best PhD application tips! Covers organization, reaching out to prospective advisors, personal statements/letters of purpose, tips for letters of recommendation, and how much GRE scores matter. This advice is most relevant for STEM and maybe especially Computer Science PhD programs, but a lot of it is definitely broadly applicable. 00:00 Introduction 01:35 Check application requirements 02:19 Know the faculty 03:59 Find potential advisors 08:16 Mention faculty in statement of purpose 10:56 Be smart with letters of rec 14:20 Don't stress about test scores 16:24 What I look for 18:20 It's not you, it's them The first video in this series was about whether you should get a PhD at all:    • Should You Get a PhD??? | Reasons to Apply...   RELEVANT LINKS + Template for reaching out to potential advisors:   / 1301907707579031555   Advice for new PhD students:    • Advice for New PhD Students | How to Succe...   More on "it's not you it's them":   / the-academic-job-search-its-not-you-it-s-them   I tweet a lot:   / cfiesler