This guide draws on six years of mentoring and teaching experience, during which I have supported many students through the application process and written dozens of recommendation letters. My students have been admitted to leading graduate programs, including top U.S. universities, the University of Toronto, the National University of Singapore, and Imperial College London.
Caution:
Admission to competitive programs is unpredictable. Even strong applicants can face rejections, and no set of recommendations guarantees success. The guidance here reflects my own experience and perspectives.
I wrote this guide because the questions that students ask me tend to recur, and this is a succinct way to consolidate my answers.
Note:
This guide does not address these very important considerations. You should address them nevertheless.
- Whether you should go to grad school
- How to choose a grad program
- How to fund a grad program
- How to organize the application process
- How to cope with rejection
Its focus is solely on the steps involved in preparing a strong application.
How to get into a top STEM grad program in North America
Most applications consist of the components below. While the essay is often the most influential, because a well-written essay can compensate for weaker areas, everything matters, and there is no way to predict what an admissions committee will emphasize.
The essay
Most essays look the same to admissions readers. For example, a capital sin is to start your essay with “I always wanted to be a {profession}”. Factually incorrect at best, derivatively banal at worst.
It is your job to make your essay different. You do this by answering the following question, ideally in the first few sentences:
What makes you unique?
Note that the answer need not relate directly to your desired field of study, but a good essay will find a way to exhibit a causal link to the purpose of the essay, for example through your motivation to go to grad school.
AI tools. The Botox of essays.
Be wary of using AI tools. Professional writers know that AI is not that great at writing, especially if used incorrectly. It is great for editing, fixing errors (typos are inadmissible), analyzing and adapting sentiment, and polishing the text, not for writing drafts. If you write your essay with AI tools, it will likely read like all the other essays that did the same, which neglects the benefit of doing the exercises presented here.
Before writing your first draft
Answer all of the following questions. Don’t bother to start writing if you don’t have an answer to most of them. When you actually use your answer to write your first draft, always keep in mind the following:
Show, don’t tell.
Don’t say you are passionate. Tell a story that proves this quality. Don’t say you are a hard worker. Present an anecdote demonstrates your values.
Your grades matter much less than whether you are a good fit. When writing your essay, it is your job to write in detail and manifest that you are a capable and driven individual.
Causation - they need to think your admission is inevitable
- What authors/professors and which works/courses in your field of study have had the greatest impact on you and why?
- What is the best piece of work you have ever written and why should others care about it?
- Explain the three most important concepts you learned in your undergrad.
- Arrange your academic and professional achievements sequentially.
Motivation - lack of awareness is a red flag
- What motivates you? If someone inspired you, write down the exact phrase they used.
- Describe the events that lead to your decision to pursue an advanced degree. Focus on the details of the progression (i.e. how and why your interests have changed over time).
- Account your experiences at work/volunteering/travels/friends/family in relation to your choice of getting a graduate degree.
- If you are rejected what will you do? What will you do while you wait for an answer?
- Disclose your 5- and 10-year goals.
Background - why you?
- What do you think makes you particularly likely to succeed in a graduate program?
- What skills, attributes or knowledge do you posses that contribute?
- How did you acquire such traits?
- Write a paragraph where you convince me by showing not telling that you are a perseverant person with remarkable drive.
- How would you handle stress during graduate study?
Fit - ignorance of the target institution is disqualifying
- Which specific faculty members at the target institution could supervise your research, how does their work intersect with your prior projects or intellectual trajectory? Have you contacted them?
- Beyond what is visible on the department homepage, argue why you would operate effectively within this academic ecosystem.
- How are your habits (self-management, financial, discipline, independence) a testament to your ability to function as a stable adult in the city where the program is located? If you can’t image yourself living there, neither will they.
- What features of the program (course structure, lab environment, research groups, seminar culture, methodology, pace) are genuinely suited to your way of thinking and working?
- Identify your most compelling value proposition to this department. You being there costs resources. Why spend it on you?
Exhibit your target audience by considering the university culture, areas of research and particular programs. List your undergraduate projects in order of interest to them. Pick a title for each project, mention the mentor/supervisor/advisor by name. If the writers of the letters of recommendation can attest to one or more of these projects, even better.
In case it was not obvious from the previous section, you are expected to write a distinct essay for each program if you wish to maximize your chances of admission. The essays need not be entirely different: your opening paragraph or core narrative may remain largely the same; but the sections addressing fit must be tailored with precision. Admissions committees routinely ask: “if this essay could have been sent to another school, why should we admit this applicant here?” If your essay fails that test, the committee will fail you.
Some of these questions are inspired by Donald Asher’s 4th edition of Graduate Admissions Essays, much recommended for more details on the writing process, especially past the initial draft.
The letters of recommendation
Give your recommenders ample time to write the letter: at least one month. Pick your recommenders in the following order of priority. (If it isn’t obvious, it is your job to figure out the answers to these questions.)
Does the admissions committee personally know the recommender? Does the recommender know you well? Is the recommender well-known in their field of study (did they win any prizes, awards, medals, etc.)?
Most of your recommenders will write a single letter and send it, perhaps with minimal modifications, to the different programs. The more institution-specific detail the recommender includes, the stronger the letter becomes. You cannot dictate the content, but you can should provide each recommender with a brief note outlining the faculty you hope to work with, relevant projects, and any institutional elements worth highlighting. If you make it easy for them to tailor, they are more likely to do it.
It can be advantageous to have one more letter of recommendation than what the application formally requires, even if the admissions office explicitly states otherwise. Determine how to submit it and be prepared to justify the addition. Many such prohibitions are bureaucratic formalities rather than inviolable rules.
The committee will expect letters from particular individuals depending on your background. E.g., if you wrote a dissertation, it’s a red flag if your advisor isn’t writing a letter for you. Did you work in a lab or company? The committee members will wonder why your supervisor isn’t writing you a letter, and silence is almost always interpreted unfavorably.
Waive your rights.
For an example, here is a letter I wrote that helped my student get into an Ivy League program.