personal statement for physics phd

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Your Personal Statement for Graduate School

Starting from scratch.

The personal statement is your opportunity to speak directly to the admissions committee about why they should accept you. This means you need to brag. Not be humble, not humblebrag, but brag. Tell everybody why you are great and why you’ll make a fantastic physicist (just, try not to come off as a jerk).

There are three main points you need to hit in your essay:

• Your experience in physics.  Direct discussion of your background in physics and your qualifications for graduate studies should comprise the bulk of your essay. What research did you do, and did you discover anything? Did you take inspiring coursework or go to a cool seminar? What do you want to do in graduate school? There’s a ton to discuss.
• Your personal characteristics.  What makes you stand out? You’ve probably done a lot in college that’s not physics research or coursework. You need to mention the most impressive or meaningful of these commitments and accomplishments, and you need to demonstrate how they will eventually make you a better physicist. Are you a leader? A fundraiser? A teacher? A competitive mathematician? A team player? An activist for social change?  All of these not-physics experiences may translate over to skills that will help you as a physics professor or researcher someday, and you can point this out!
• Context for your accomplishments.  Is there anything else about your personal history or college experience that an admissions committee needs to know? The application form itself may only have space for you to list raw scores and awards, but graduate schools evaluate applications holistically. Thus they ask for the  essay  so you have a chance to tell your story and bring forth any personal details (including obstacles you overcame) to help the committee understand how great you truly are. Your application readers want to help you, and they’re giving you the chance to show how hard you’ve worked and how far you’ve come. But it’s up to you to connect the dots.

This type of essay is a lot more serious and a lot less creative than a college essay, a law school essay, or an essay for admission to a humanities PhD program. You’re basically trying to list a lot of facts about yourself in as small a space as possible. This is the place to tell everyone why you’re great. Do not hold back on pertinent information.

The following is going to be a general guide about how to write a first draft of your main graduate school essay. By no means think this is the only way to do it — there are plenty of possibilities for essay-writing! However, see this as a good way to get started or brainstorm.

If you’re completely stuck, a good way to start writing your essay is to compose each of the five main components separately.

• Your research experience
• Your outside activities or work experience
• Personal circumstances
• A story about you that can serve as a hook 
• Your future goals + why you chose to apply to each school

At the end, we’ll piece these five different disjoint pieces together into one coherent essay.

1. Your research experience (and scientific industry employment)

This is the most important part of your essay, so it’s the place that we’ll start. We’ll pretend we’re structuring each research experience as its own paragraph (you can go longer or shorter, depending on how much time you spent in each lab or how much progress you made). Let’s see how it might work:

• .Simple overview of research: what you worked on, the name of your primary supervisor (professor or boss), and the location (university + department or company + division). The first time you mention a professor, you call them by their first and last name: “I worked for Emmett ‘Doc’ Brown in Hill Valley.” All subsequent times, you address them by their title and last name: “Dr. Brown and I worked on time travel.”
• “My research group was trying to build a time machine. My specific project was to improve the flux capacitor needed to make the machine work. I was able to make the capacitor exceed the 1.21 gigawatts needed for it to work. In addition, I helped do minor mechanical repairs on the DeLorean in which we built it.”
• “When I came back, I decided to take two additional graduate-level courses on time travel, and I found a similar internship the following summer.”

Then you just jam it all together into a semi-coherent paragraph:

In 1985, I worked for Emmett ‘Doc’ Brown in Hill Valley. Dr. Brown’s research group was trying to build a time machine. My specific project was to improve the flux capacitor needed to make the machine work. I was able to make the capacitor exceed the 1.21 gigawatts needed for it to work. In addition, I helped do minor mechanical repairs on the DeLorean in which we built it. When I came back, I decided to take two additional graduate-level courses on time travel, and I found a similar internship the following summer .

You’re not a character from  Back to the Future , and it’s not beautiful prose, but you have to start somewhere. It’s more important to get all the facts you need down on the page before you work too hard on editing. Save that for after you have a well-structured and mostly-written essay.

2. (A) Your primary extracurricular activities or (B) your primary life experiences

(A) Tell the committee about any other major honors or experiences you’ve had in physics. Also write a paragraph or two about your interests outside of physics class and science research. Use this space to highlight the really impressive features of your activities:

• a second major or minor
• leadership positions in clubs, student representative to department/university committees, elected position in student government
• science clubs: Society of Physics Students, Math Club, engineering organizations, societies for students underrepresented in the sciences, etc.
• teaching activities: TA positions, tutoring, volunteer teaching commitments in any field of study, coaching a team, etc.
• other regular volunteering activities
• science advocacy and activism: political issues (government funding, global warming, nuclear policy, etc), improving diversity and inclusion in the sciences, science outreach on campus or in the local community
• a significant time commitment: varsity sports, heavy school-year employment, etc.
• other relevant skills: writing/publishing experience, public speaking, proficiency in other languages
• major fellowships, scholarships, honors, prizes, or awards you’ve won and if needed, an explanation of their significance/meaning
• attendance of physics conferences, symposia, summer schools, etc. that you haven’t already been able to mention in conjunction with the description of your research

If you have done many extracurricular activities, focus your 1-2 paragraphs on leadership positions, teaching, and service, particularly in the sciences.

(B) If you came to college a few years after you left high school, or if you are coming to graduate school a few years after you left college, then you need to write a few paragraphs discussing those life experiences. What did you do during that time? What experiences led you to choose physics graduate school as your next step? If you applied earlier but your application was rejected, how have you become more qualified since the last time you applied? You can feel free to ignore some of the advice we give later about how much of the essay you should focus on discussing physics experiences — structure the essay however you need to, to get the pertinent information across. Also, use Google extensively to find advice from other people who were in a situation similar to yours.

3. Personal circumstances

Now, look back at the various disjoint pieces of your essay that you need to fit together. What else might be relevant about you that you haven’t been able to mention yet?

Are there any major shortcomings in your application package? You need to address these, but do so INDIRECTLY. If you point your own flaws out to the committee directly, you are setting yourself up for failure. However, it is possible to leave pointed explanations for them in plain sight in your essay.  For example, if you have a GPA that might seem low by normal graduate school standards, you could explain the significant amount of time you devoted to other major activities or a job, or describe any obstacles you have had to overcome (with the implication that you did so while still maintaining a GPA and completing your degree).

Even if your raw scores are perfect and your research excellent, you need to make your application stand out by letting the reader know who you are as a person. More specifically, you need to give some indication of how you will contribute to the diversity in background, experience, perspective, talents, and interests of students in the program.

• To quote a CommonApp essay prompt, “Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.”
• What makes you  you ? What makes you interesting/fun/cool? What makes you stand out that won’t already be visible from your transcripts, recommendation letters, and application forms? How might you contribute to the diversity in background, experience, perspective, talents, and interests of students in a graduate program?
• How did you end up in physics? Why do you want to pursue physics? Is there some event, course, experience, or activity that was particularly meaningful for your life or that guided you into this path?
• Was there an extenuating circumstance that affected your performance in college? Think carefully about how and where you will discuss it. For example, you could frame it in a positive light so that you come off as resilient. An example might be “Despite [this factor], I was still able to [accomplish that].” You can also ask a trusted professor to mention it in their reference letter.

4. The hook

The final major piece of writing we’re going to do is a hook to open your essay. Do you have some anecdote, story, or achievement that will really grab the reader’s attention right away? They’re reading through nearly a thousand applications in hopes of narrowing down the pile to under a hundred, so what will make you be among those who stand out? Think about this as you assemble the rest of your essay.

5. Your future goals and why you’re interested in each graduate school

For every school you’re applying to, you need to write 1-2 paragraphs (~10% of the essay) about why you’re applying to that school.

Now this can be tricky. You need to gather some information via the Google about each individual school beforehand:

• What would you be interested in researching at that school? Are there particular professors who stand out?
• Does the school prefer if you have a fairly defined idea of the 2-3 people you’d want to work for ahead of time, or do they favor applicants who aren’t certain yet?
• Does the school evaluate all applications at the same time, or do they send your application to separate committees for the research subfield(s) you indicate on the application form?
• Why are you going to graduate school and/or what do you want to do afterwards? How will your five to seven year experience doing a PhD at a certain place prepare you for that path?

Even if you definitely know what you want to do or even if you’re completely sure you need to explore a few areas of physics, you need to write this section of your essay to cater towards each school. This involves a few hours of research on each school’s website, looking up the research fields in which the department focuses and learning about the specialization of each professor.

Here’s a good way of compiling your first draft of this section:

• I [am interested in/want to] work on [one or two research fields you might be interested in]. Specific professors whom I would want to work for are [three to four professors].
• My life experiences that led me to pick these choices are [something].
• I am especially excited about [university name]’s [resource/opportunity] in [something to do with physics].

6. Compiling your final essay

By now, you should have written (most of) the disjoint individual pieces of the puzzle. You might be under the expected word count, you might be over the expected word count, or you might be right on track. You can forget about all that for now — it’s more important to get something together, and we’ll fix all those details later.

Because you’re probably submitting about a dozen distinct essays, let’s ignore the “Future plans” piece of the essay and try to just get one main body of the essay put together with the other paragraphs. For each school, you’ll tack the “future plans” part of the essay either onto the end of the essay or in some spot you’ve chosen in the middle that helps everything flow. For now, ignore word count and just get words on the page. You can go back through and slice out sections of the main essay to meet smaller word counts for certain schools.

Look at the pieces of your life. How do they logically fit together? Is your story best told chronologically, with one research experience or activity falling logically after the other? Or is there something that makes you so unique and special that it belongs right at the very beginning of the essay? Sort the pieces so that they assemble in a good order.

Next, we need to check on the size of these pieces. At the very least, discussion of research activities/STEM work experience and your future goals in research should make up 75-80% of your essay. If you wrote many long, elaborate paragraphs about your time in your fraternity or on the women’s tennis team, now is the time to scale that back to only a sentence. Remember that the admissions committees truly only care about your potential to succeed in the future as a physicist. If you couldn’t give a clear explanation to your major advisor about how a tangential experience shows your potential to succeed in physics, you shouldn’t include it. (Note that “I got straight A’s in graduate courses while also involved in [major time commitment]”  is   an acceptable reason to include something and is beneficial to state.)

Did you talk about anything that happened in your childhood? (“I was interested in physics since in the womb”) Get rid of it. The only things that happened before college that are appropriate to mention are: (1)  some significant aspect of your personal background that your application would be incomplete without, or (2)  major college-level achievements: research leading to a publication, getting a medal in the International Physics/Math Olympiad, or dual-enrollment programs. However, mention items from (2) sparingly. You want to show that you’ve made major strides in the past four years; do not focus on your glory days in the past.

Do your paragraphs transition neatly from one to the next, or does your essay still feel off-kilter? A simple one sentence transition between paragraphs – either at the end of one or at the start of the next – can do wonders for your essay. Make sure it would make sense to someone who doesn’t know your background as well as you. Use the transition sentences to make your essay more interesting. Tell a story.

Congratulations. Now you have your first real draft of facts. Before you joyously run to your computer to submit your graduate application or run to your professor to give it a look over, go to one of your friends first.

The biggest danger with a graduate admissions essay is that you come off as really self-centered or boring. Nobody wants to read a thousand essays that merely list every single fact about a person’s life; they want to read a story. We helped you put together the bare bones of a graduate admissions essay, but did you tell a story? Did your personality shine through?

It’s a lot easier to go back and do an overhaul of an essay if you have something down on the piece of paper. Your friends might be able to help point out places that you can make your essay flow better or seem more interesting. They can tell you where to add more pizzazz in an otherwise boring research statement (“I worked on computational models of astrophysics during the month of July.” versus “I was so stoked when I found out I’d be modeling exploding stars that summer! That was the moment I knew I wanted to be a physicist.”). Take a day off, walk around, and then go back to your draft ready to show the world how excited you are to be a physicist and what an exciting physicist you are.

Our next section gives general tips for editing your personal statement, no matter whether you took our advice on how to start writing.  Go through these steps very carefully to make sure you have an essay you’re proud of to send off to the admissions committee. 

By the end of this process, you should have an impressive, interesting, factual draft of your qualifications that you’re ready to show a couple of trusted professors. You’ve worked super hard, and you’ve done a good job, we’re sure. However, professors are always critical, so don’t be upset if they tell you quite a few things to change. A young student reads an essay a lot differently than the older professors who are on the admissions committee, so it’s really important to get their perspective. Listen to what they say and truly consider making those changes. Edit once more, and repeat as many times as you need to.

At some point, you’ll finally be done with this long, difficult process and can proudly press “submit!”

General Tips for Editing

First things first: a step-by-step method for proofing your essay:.

Here’s what to do step-by-step once  you’ve followed our advice and have created a full first draft .

• Read your essay aloud to yourself.  Is it interesting? Would everything make sense to someone who doesn’t know you? Probably not…  See our advice below for making your draft better . You’ll probably need to repeat step 1 many times before you get to something you think has pretty good content and is pretty interesting.
• Check your grammar, spelling, and style. We have a guide to doing that at the very bottom of this page.  Also, pay attention to your word processor: if there are any bright red or bright green underlines, that should be your first warning sign!
• Have a trusted friend (or two)   in the sciences  read the essay  for style and voice. Do you have a good opening hook? Are there any passages that make you come off as arrogant, whining, or annoying? (You absolutely have to brag about yourself, but don’t say it in a way that makes you come off as a jerk — scroll down for advice on that.) Have them proof your rewrite for any final errors.
• Once you’ve gone through steps 1-3 and are completely certain that this is a nearly-perfect draft,  have a PHYSICS PROFESSOR or two read your nearly-final essay.  (D on’t send them an incomplete draft; they’ll get peeved. They’ll probably also only look over it once, so use your one shot wisely. They have a lot of students, you know. ) A graduate admissions essay is very different from a college essay. The physicists reading your application aren’t looking for the student with the most well-rounded course choices, the head of the most clubs, or the person who can write the most creative statement. They’re looking for evidence of the specific attributes that show you have the capability of being a future physicist. This is why you need to ask a  professor  in the field of  physics . Not just a biology professor, not just a physicist in industry; make sure you ask a  physics professor . Have we made this clear?
• Listen to what you’re proofreaders say and amend your essay, but you don’t have to follow every last bit of advice. If your gut tells you to ignore one or two of their suggested changes, that’s okay. That is,  it’s fine to make sure your essay sounds like you and says everything you want it to say. 
• Rinse and repeat. (redo steps 2-5)
• At some point, you’ll either get right up close to the deadline or have a draft you think is final. READ IT ALOUD before you press submit.

General Content Advice

You’re applying to a physics program!

Don’t forget this! The people reading your application care most about your background in, preparation for, and involvement in activities related to physics research. You should be spending almost all of your essay demonstrating your interests and ability to do physics.

It’s okay to mention substantial time commitments and achievements outside physics; however, pay attention to how you do so.  Your capacity and potential to perform scientific research are what you are mainly being judged on,  so description of physics-related research, coursework, and goals should make up most of your main essay (you should aim for 75%+). If an application allows you to write separate research and personal statements, then the former statement needs to be 100% focused on physics, and the latter should frame your physics experiences/goals within the context of your personal life.

• Absolutely mention  teaching and outreach experiences  if you have any. Grad schools  really do care  about these! It’s great too if some of your teaching experience is in a STEM field.
• Also, don’t be shy about mentioning participation in  activism , particularly related to  diversity and inclusion  in STEM or higher education.  These are generally not seen as minuses on a physics application, and there are fellowships/ programs related to diversity at some graduate schools.
• Mention of activities tangential/irrelevant to the sciences should only make up a small portion of your essay, and you should mainly highlight your biggest achievements/time commitments. For example, you shouldn’t make a long list of every one of the dozen intramural sports teams you participated on in college. However, it would be great to mention that you captained the club soccer team or that your volleyball team won a local championship.
• You need to make sure it doesn’t seem like you would prefer to pursue one of these activities as a full-time career instead of physics research. Remember, you’re applying to a  physics  program! (Perhaps you could frame non-physics activities as demonstrating good aspects of your character: you’re hardworking, a leader, work well on a team, can balance multiple commitments, etc.)

Your essay isn’t meant to be a restatement of your CV. 

The essay illuminates the how and why of what’s on your CV, and connects the dots between experiences.

• You need to describe your research experiences in depth. What did each of the labs you worked in generally do, and what were your specific contributions? What did you learn about physics in each lab or what new physics did you observe/discover/create? What skills did you develop that will be useful in graduate studies? What did you learn about your own interests and talents in each lab? Did you write any reports or publish any papers? Did you present the work anywhere? Were you listed as an author on someone else’s presentation? Do you have any papers in preparation for publication, or do you plan to in the near future?
• Second of all, the essay should connect the dots. How did you choose to do what you did in college? How did you choose the research experiences in which you participated? What do you want to do in your graduate studies and further in the future? Why?

Make sure you’ve included information specific to the graduate school you’re writing about. 

Why are you applying to this specific program? What general research area are you leaning towards, and are there any specific professors you would be interested in?  This isn’t a binding commitment. But don’t make yourself seem too narrow: if you say you only would want to go to a certain school if you could work for one or two people, that will severely hurt your chances of getting in.

Have you addressed your shortcomings adequately?

Are there any major shortcomings in your application package? You need to address these, but do so INDIRECTLY. If you point your own flaws out to the committee directly, you are setting yourself up for failure. However, it is possible to leave pointed explanations for them in plain sight in your essay. For example, if you have a GPA that might seem low by normal graduate school standards, you could explain the significant amount of time you devoted to other major activities (with the implication that you did so while still maintaining a respectable GPA and completing your degree)…

Have you fully explained your personal background?

…but even if your raw scores are perfect and your research excellent, you need to make your application stand out by letting the reader know who you are as a person. More specifically, you need to give some indication of how you will contribute to the diversity in background, experience, perspective, talents, and interests of students in the program.

Your essay should contain the highlights of your college career: your experiences, your activities, your awards. But an essay shouldn’t be just a two-page-long list: a good essay conveys a sense of who you are as a person, your personality, and why you are unique or a unique fit for the program.

The application essay is your chance to explain any aspect of your background that is not reflected elsewhere, but that your application would be incomplete without. This is up to you: only you can fully explain your own story.

Along the same line, graduate school admissions committees don’t just admit the set of 22-year-olds who attended the top high schools, then the top-ranked colleges, where they got the top GPA in the toughest classes and were SPS president. Admissions committees consider all criteria in light of where each individual student started out and any circumstances he/she faced along the way.

Students who followed nontraditional paths, came from disadvantaged backgrounds, or faced other extenuating circumstances during college might wish to either mention these in their essay or ask a trusted advisor to write about it in their letter. Some topics you may wish to address are:

• Factors from before WashU.  Normally, you’re supposed to mention your pre-college experiences only sparingly (or not at all) in an admissions essay. However, there are circumstances in which it may be beneficial. Do you come from an under-resourced background, and you started out college in pre-calculus, which set back your study of physics to sophomore year? Were you hyper-accelerated in math or science, which makes your transcript look very strange and uneven? Did you transfer from a community college? From another college? Does a high school research experience relate to your future interests? Are you graduating early, and why? Anything else? If it’s important, mention it and explain how it affected you!
• You’re not 22!  Did you take a few gap years to find yourself, work off loans, get married and have kids, or serve in the military? Are you super young? What exactly is your background? What would you want the committee to know to help them evaluate if you’re a good candidate for graduate school? What life experiences have you had that made you want to go to – and that will help you succeed in – graduate school? It would be  abnormal  if  everyone entering a PhD program were 22! If you came from a nontraditional background, explain it, and don’t take our advice too seriously. A different essay style/structure may be more suitable.
• Personal circumstances.  A parent lost their job mid-college, which impacted your enrollment. You or a family member faced a major health problem. Your hometown suffered a natural disaster. You worked a full-time job while still in school. Another major event in your life. Tips we’ve seen online? You only need to mention the pertinent details, don’t make it the focus of your essay, and be positive — phrase it as what you were able to accomplish in light of a circumstance (instead of describing it in a way that might come off as a complaint).   Another option is to ask a close professor to mention the situation in their reference letter instead. 
• You made a mistake.  You had trouble adjusting your freshman year of college, but things went up from there. You made bad choices on what to spend your time on a couple semesters. You faced university disciplinary action or committed a non-traffic crime. Talk to your four-year advisor, major advisor, or a trusted professor about what appears on your record, what you have to report on your application, and how to mitigate its negative effects on your future to the greatest extent possible through your personal statement and other minor essays on the application. Always be honest, but always be positive: show how you’ve moved forward and grown since then.
• Anything else.  The list above was by no means comprehensive! If there is something an admissions committee needs to know in order to understand how great of a fit you are for their program, then mention it. If you have any questions about your essay and it’s contents, please ask a trusted professor.

Make your essay interesting!

The science graduate school application essay may not seem nearly as freeform or fun as your undergraduate CommonApp essay, the paper your roommate’s submitting to an MFA program, or a law school essay. However, the physics professors spending hours reading literally hundreds of essays will appreciate if you make yours more interesting than a list of your achievements. Make your essay stand out as one they’ll remember.

Showcase your personality.  Once you’ve gotten all the necessary facts together in your essay in some sort of coherent order, it’s time to make sure the essay is actually interesting to read. Read it aloud, and have a friend read it aloud. Does the essay convey who you really are, or does it sound like you’re reading some really dry, boring report? Most likely it’s the latter at this point.

Pull out another piece of paper or a new window on your computer screen, and start writing a new version of each paragraph that sounds a bit more interesting, enthusiastic about physics, and fun. It’ll take time, but you can do this without going over the word count. See how different these two sentences sound, even though they’re about the same length and convey the same content:

• Boring phrasing:  In my sophomore spring, I worked in the theoretical kinematics laboratory of Sir Isaac Newton at Cambridge. We studied the manner in which balls roll down hills.
• Better phrasing:  Sophomore spring, I enjoyed the opportunity to study the fascinating theoretical nature of how balls roll down hills with Sir Isaac Newton at Cambridge.

Both students convey the necessary facts the graduate committees are looking for: (1) the student worked abroad in a famous person’s lab, (2) the student did theoretical research, and (3) the specific project regarded how balls roll down hills. The first example sounds like a true but boring listing of facts. The second example not only tells what the student did, but also shows the student’s appreciation for the opportunity, as well as that the enthusiastic student found that they enjoyed work of a theoretical nature in this specific subject area.  Instead of directly writing “I love and care about physics,” show it through the way you phrase your essay. 

Don’t come off as unlikable

By now, you have probably been advised a thousand times about what not to write in an application like this one – insults, complaints, or bigoted remarks; opinions on polarized topics distant from physics; any trouble you got into in college that you wouldn’t want your parents to know about; etc.

But sometimes we still say things in personal statements that are meant with entirely good intentions but that other people read the completely wrong way. Your friends and professors should be able to pick some of these out in your essay, but here’s a simple guide to help yourself too.

(1) Don’t name-drop unless it has to do directly with your accomplishments in physics.  Look out for areas of your personal statement that may turn off a reader because you come off as arrogant, spoiled, or out of touch with reality. Also remember that life is not a complete meritocracy. It is much easier to get ahead if you have lots of connections that help you along the way — but despite this, you should not overtly use your personal statement to pull connections that are not directly physics-related.

Here are some exaggerated examples:

Bad:  The summer after junior year, my best friend’s father, Albert Einstein, hooked me up with an internship at Princeton with Eugene Wigner. Better:  The summer after junior year, I took a research internship at Princeton with Eugene Wigner. You don’t have to tell someone you got the internship because you happened to have a great connection (nobody will care that you’re friends with a famous person). It’s better to just say that you did the internship. They will, however, care about the name of the famous person you worked for.

Bad:  I did not do as well on the GRE as I hoped because I crashed my Lamborghini on the way to the test. Better:  I did not do as well on the GRE as I hoped because I got into a car accident on the way to the test. It might be easier to have a friend read for subtle (or not-so-subtle) phrasing and word choices that might read the wrong way to a reader. Here, the mention of the luxury car brand makes it look like the student is trying to show off (and probably doesn’t realize that the car costs more than they’ll earn from graduate school all five years total). 

Bad:  Your university’s biggest donor is a family friend, and five generations of my family have attended your physics graduate program. Better:  When I visited my physics PhD brother at your campus, I enjoyed seeing X, Y, and Z facilities, which I think will be greatly beneficial to my physics education. Also good:  I spent a summer in the laboratory of Professor — at your university, and I would love to continue working for her in graduate school. If you have a connection to the university, don’t just state it. Find a way to phrase it to make you seem more like a better fit for their graduate program.

(2) Please remember that the admissions committee does not owe you anything for any reason.  So, please don’t claim that you deserve admission, honor and recognition, or anything else from them. Do not even make the mistake of phrasing something badly so that it seems like you think that way. It will only make them dislike your application.

Bad:  Given the fact that I won a Fields Medal, a Wolf Prize in Physics, and the Nobel Peace Prize, I am clearly the best applicant out there. Better:  Some of the highlights of my college experience include a Fields Medal, the Nobel Peace Prize, and a Wolf Prize in Physics.

Bad:  I worked so hard in college that I clearly deserve the opportunity to attend your university. Better:  I found the time and effort I put into physics very worthwhile and fun, and I hope to keep working in this field in the future.

Bad:  I am a great fit for your program. Better:  Your program would be a great fit for me.

(3) You got where you are because of hard work, not just raw intelligence.  Or at least, frame it this way. Nobody wants to hear how naturally intelligent you think you are — instead, your personal statement should demonstrate the achievements that your intelligence has earned you. Leave it to your reference writers to provide an external evaluation of your mental capabilities. Just trust us on this one.  Using the same reasoning, don’t tell everyone about qualities of your character. Show them.  Graduate admissions committees are smart. They can infer these things.

Bad:  Because of my natural intelligence and talent for physics, I won the “Best Physicist” prize. Better:  Because of my research efforts, I won the “Best Physicist” prize.

Bad:  I am a super nice person because I help people with physics all the time with volunteer stuff. Better:  Every weekend for two hours, I enjoy showing small children the wonders of physics at the Volunteer Science Thing.

Bad:  I am super smart because I have published three papers. Better:  I have published three papers.

(4) Claim credit for your accomplishments, but give credit to others too where it’s due.  We’re sure you did a ton of hard work in college, and that’s great. However, you need to recognize that it wasn’t just you. Your research advisers, graduate student mentors, classroom professors, and many others helped you get where you are today.  Acknowledge your own successes, but give credit where it is due.

Bad:  Last summer I built the first-ever time travel machine. Better:  Last summer I worked at a secret government agency with a team of twenty scientists under the guidance of Aristotle to build the 21st century’s first-ever time machine.

Bad:  I wrote and published a particle physics paper myself, even though there are three authors. Better:  Professor — guided me through the process of writing and publishing my first-author particle physics paper.

(5)  Don’t be overly negative  or critical of any of your physics experiences.  That is, be yourself, and don’t give opinions that are completely untrue.   If you didn’t like doing theory research, then you don’t have to say you did. But it’s not a good idea to express extreme distaste for any area of physics in your essay — try to find something good about every experience and phrase it in a positive light. Here’s an example of a fib, the way you might be tempted to fix it, and an even better way of doing so:

• Your original attempt to seem happy:  I worked on computational and analytical aspects of string theory at the Institute of Advanced Study. It was one of the most fascinating experiences of my life and I could see myself doing the exact same thing in graduate school at your great string theory program. I like experimental work too.
• The way you actually feel about things:  I worked on a project about string theory at the Institute for Advanced Study. My research advisor had me split my time between computational work and pen-and-paper problems. I absolutely hated doing pen-and-paper math. It sucked!
• A more positive way of phrasing the truth:  I loved the computational aspects of my string theory work at the Institute for Advanced Study. However, the next summer, I discovered that I more enjoyed applying my computational skills in a laboratory setting.

The mechanics of your writing: sentence and word choices

You can make a drastic difference in the quality of your essay just by checking on a few more mechanical aspects of your writing: sentence structures, phrasing, and even grammar. As you work on your drafts, continually try to improve these things. Here are a few of the many aspects to which you might want to pay attention…

Are all of your sentences good sentences?  Are all of your sentences complete? Do any of the sentences run on? Do all the sentences logically follow one another? Does your story make basic sense? Make sure that nothing you wrote sounds or seems awkward!

Make sure your sentence structures aren’t repetitive.  It’s very easy to get caught into the habit of writing, “I did this. I did that. I did the other thing.” Your essay is going to use the first-person pronouns “I” and “we” more than you’re probably used to, but that’s okay and not self-centered. You are writing about yourself, you know! However, there are ways to do it that seem less obnoxious or monotonous. Let’s look at a few examples of how we can rephrase or rearrange sentences so that we don’t get stuck in the same patterns too often.

• I did research about nuclear reactors under the supervision of Enrico Fermi at the University of Chicago last summer.
• This past summer, I researched nuclear reactors with Enrico Fermi at the University of Chicago.
• Enrico Fermi taught me about building nuclear reactors last summer at the University of Chicago.
• Nuclear reactors captivated me during my summer internship with Enrico Fermi at the University of Chicago.
• My first exposure to nuclear reactors was last summer, when I worked for Enrico Fermi at the University of Chicago.
• At the University of Chicago, I studied nuclear reactors with Enrico Fermi.
• When I was at the University of Chicago last summer, I studied nuclear reactors with Enrico Fermi.
• I want to study theoretical physics in graduate school.
• At graduate school, I want to study theoretical physics.
• My preferred area of graduate research would be theoretical physics.
• My graduate research interests are in theoretical physics.
• The theoretical physics research opportunities at [insert university here] excite me.
• Theoretical research most attracts my interests for graduate studies.

As you can see, there are seemingly endless choices for rearranging the words in your sentences or finding ways you can rewrite them that carry across the same (or more!) information.

Make sure your word choices aren’t boring or repetitive.  You might find yourself using only commonplace adjectives over and over again (good, bad, happy, sad, etc.). Or perhaps you do the opposite — you have a plethora of repetitions of the same unusual adjective (like plethora) used multiple times in the same paragraph, one after the other.

Pull out a thesaurus and find some good synonyms! Or better yet, be more accurate about what you want to say. For example, consider word replacements in the overused phrases:

Professor Bender’s least favorite word: interesting. As in, “That research is/was/seems  interesting .”

• intriguing, fascinating, inspiring, delightful
• appealing, enticing, exciting, fun
• novel, cutting-edge, exhilarating
• challenging, thought-provoking, stimulating

The verb around which your essay is centered: research. “With Arthur Holly Compton, I  researched …”

• worked on, studied, learned
• examined, analyzed, investigated, probed, observed, experimented, tested
• found [a result], discovered, came up with [an idea], unraveled, explained
• calculated, computed, solved, answered, evaluated
• formulated, designed, fabricated, planned, developed, created, invented, built, prepared

Be clear and concise.  Most graduate schools only give you two pages to tell your story, even if you think it would be easier to hand in a novel. If you find yourself sitting at your computer with an incredibly long draft, you’re going to need to take out some material.

Start with irrelevant details: you don’t need to tell us that last spring, you worked on a laptop with exactly 16 gigabytes of RAM, 2 terabytes of storage, manufactured by a small company from your homestate, that has exactly 6 bumper stickers decorating its case. Get rid of that paragraph!

Next, look at your research and activity descriptions. Only include the most relevant information. If you got second place in an international physics competition and fourth place in the local math contest, you can remove the latter from the main body of your essay. If you worked on four projects with your biophysics group, two of which led to a paper and two of which mainly consisted of cleaning your mentor’s Petri dishes, then it should be obvious which should deserve most (or all) of your essay’s attention. Don’t be afraid to be vicious with your red pen.

Once you’ve gotten rid of things that are very obviously unnecessary and have cut your essay down to a couple of paragraphs above the required word count, it’s time to start modifying the lengths of your sentences and paragraphs themselves. While it may seem like you’ve done everything right, and that every single thing in your essay is utterly necessary, think again! Remember the paragraph in which we discussed the many ways in which you could rewrite a sentence? (scroll up…) Time to use that same strategy to shorten sentences or combine two short sentences into one long, complex one. Also, if you’re trying to make your essay meet a page count, make sure that none of your paragraphs end with a single word on a line — try to fill up each line with as many characters as possible by changing word choices or phrasing. The best way to do this is to look at some examples.

Example 1 – using abbreviations

• Old essay.  I worked in the Compton Group at Washington University my freshman summer…The next summer, I went to Fermilab to work on particle physics…In junior year, I worked in an optics laboratory at Washington University…As a senior, I worked on biophysics at Washington University.
• New essay.   I worked in the Compton Group at Washington University (WU) my freshman summer…The next summer, I went to Fermilab to work on particle physics…In junior year, I worked in a WU optics lab..As a senior, I worked on biophysics at WU.

Example 2 – combining sentences

• Old.  At graduate school, I would like to study particle physics. I am deeply interested in this topic because of my experience working in Professor Compton’s research group.
• New.  My past work with Professor Compton has motivated me to study particle physics in graduate school.

Example 3 – choosing shorter words or phrases, even if you think they sound less fancy (scientists prefer clarity and conciseness over clunky phrasing)

• Old.  My research provides incontrovertible evidence for this.
• New.  My research proves this.
• New.  My research demonstrates this.

Example 4 – condensing information that can be grouped together

• Old.  Team experiences comprised a large and enjoyable part of my college years, both in the laboratory and outside.   My junior year, our math team was in the top ten in the Putnam competition. My senior year, my physics team got a gold medal in the University Physics Competition. I am also on the varsity underwater basket weaving team, which won the University Athletic Association title.
• New.  During college I enjoyed working with teams both in and out of the lab. Some of my notable team achievements include a top-ten finish in the Putnam math contest, a gold medal in the University Physics Competition, and winning the division title in underwater basket weaving.

There are many other creative ways you can cut down on space in your essay. It may be difficult and time-consuming to cut down your composition to an appropriate length, so be sure to budget enough days before your essays are due!

Look out for silly mistakes!  Make sure you didn’t type something careless like “form” instead of “from.” Double-check that you didn’t confuse your/you’re or there/their/they’re. Are all your commas in the right places? Carefully and slowly read through your essay. If you accidentally had one mistake when you submitted, it probably won’t be a big deal. But if you have multiple careless errors in your essay, the admissions committees might get the wrong impression that you didn’t care enough to write your essay properly.

Applying to Graduate School

Applying to graduate school can be confusing and overwhelming (and no one ever tells you how damn expensive it all is). SPS is here to help deobfuscate the messy application process.

Disclaimer : A lot of this advice is based on personal experience from a limited set of perspectives. If something in here doesn’t resonate with you, that’s absolutely fine and you should follow your own path. If you flat out disagree with what’s written here, you can bring up your issue here and we can change the content of this page to reflect what advice is most agreed upon.

What does an application consist of?

Pretty much any application to a physics PhD program will consist of four things: a statement of purpose (frequently called the personal statement), a resume or curriculum vitae (CV), letters of recommendation, transcripts, standardized test scores, and for some applications a diversity statement (sometimes confusingly also called a personal statement). Unforuntunately there is no “Common App” for physics gradaute schools (although please make one), so each physics department has its own application and process, requiring you to submit essentially the same biograpihcal information and documents to each and every program. What follows is some advice on tackling each part of the application.

Statement of Purpose / Personal Statement

The Statement of Purpose (SoP) is a 1 - 2 page essay written by you that outlines your intentions in applying to a certain graduate program. You usually discuss your prior research experience and the specific research interests you wish to pursue in graduate school. This is also a place for you to write about any parts of your application that you’d like to clarify for the admissions committee (e.g. a few bad grades in one semester, low physics GRE scores, etc.). Many dismiss the SoP as having little use, as people generally don’t really know what they’re going to study in graduate school, and people in STEM tend to not be the most eloquent writers (i.e. most SoPs are trash). However, the SoP really is the ONLY portion of your application that you have complete control over , and this is what makes it important. If you are a good writer (or you put enough time into your SoP), you have an opportunity to really impress admission committees with your ability to professionally present yourself. When reviewing applications, faculty are looking for future colleagues , which they would prefer would be mature and able to present themselves. A well-written SoP can get this exact message across, which is why it is an important part of your application.

The SoP needs to be contrasted and separated from the Personal Statement (or diversity statement). The Personal Statement is a 1 - 2 page essay that clarifies your personal history and provides you with a space to discuss challenges that you’ve faced in reaching the current stage of your career. The Personal Statement is really the only area of an application where you as a person enters into play. These statements exist because physics graduate admissions tends to favor those with an abundance of opportunities (i.e. rich kids at prestigious universities), and the statement allows admission committees to place your application in the context of your own life. If you’ve found yourself pretty advantaged throughout your life, you might be at a loss to talk about disadvantages you’ve faced. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t write anything. In these statements, admission committees are also looking for you to show how you can improve the state of their own community . For example, do you have a passion for teaching or outreach? You can discuss those passions in your statement and talk about how you focus on bringing opportunities to communities other than your own.

In general, both your SoP and Personal Statement will be different for each school you apply to. A SoP needs to provide specific detail about why you are applying to each program, and is thus inherently unique for each application. As discussed earlier, you generally want to emphasize how you can enhance a program’s community in your Personal Statement, so each statement needs to be customized for each application as well. Further, schools may request specific information in your SoP or Personal Statement that other schools do not require, which further complicates the writing process. However, this does not mean you need to write a new statement from scratch for each program you apply to.

A SoP will generally have the following structure:

• Paragraph 1: Introduce who you are and talk about your interests. Not like your name, but talk about your specific work interests, what your skills are, and what your interests in physics are. Make it interesting and make yourself sound appealing. You can talk about the specific parts of physics that fascinate you as they apply to the program you are applying to (e.g. it’s fine to talk about how dark matter fascinates if you want to work on cosmology projects in the program, but not if you’re interested in condensed matter theory). You can also use this space to quickly in 1 - 2 sentences explain away parts of your application that are weak (e.g. a semester of bad grades). In these sentences, try to take responsibility for the parts of your application that are weak and emphasize your growth as a student. For example, someone might say to explain away a low GPA, “Despite my rough start in the beginning of my academic career, resulting in a 3.0 total GPA, I was able to maintain a 3.7 GPA in my last two years of study in my physics and math courses, reflecting my commitment to obtaining a physics degree and continuing my studies.
• Paragraph 2: Now is when you start name dropping. Name at least 3 specific professors you would like to work with. Discuss why their work intrigues you and what you can bring to the table when working with them. This is where you can talk in specifics about the work you imagine yourself doing in graduate school. At minimum, this is the only area you need to change between the Statements of Purpose that you write for each applcation.
• Paragraph 3+: Talk about your research experience. Talk about the specific contributions you have made to the research you have been involved in. For each experience, mention who you worked with and where the work was performed. Each of these experiences you talk about will probably be written about in one of your letters of recommendations (some even underline the names of their letter writers as a cue that readers should cross reference what you wrote with your letters of recommendation), so you should write in a way to supplement what they may be writing about you.
• Conclusion: Wrap everything up. Discuss again, now that your reader knows more about your experience and intentions, why exactly you are applying to this program and what you want to do there.

You don’t have to follow this structure, but this outline provides a nice starting point for writting a succinct essay that gets the point across that you have skills the professors want and you have specific ideas about what you want to do. If you find it difficult to write in this manner, try a different essay structure that feels more natural to you. No matter what you end up writing and no matter what structure your essay has, just make sure you follow these two rules:

DO NOT WASTE MY TIME

This should be the golden rule of all writing. Write with purpose and clarity so that the admission committee gets a clear understanding of your intentions in applying. This will also show them that you are smart and mature, which are good attributes to have in a grad student. Also keep in mind that admissions committees have to read hundreds of applications. If you’re wasting their time with your writing, it’s more reason to just glance over what you write which might weaken your application.

Every sentence and paragraph should serve some purpose in constructing an ideal image of you as a grad student in the reader’s mind. Try to actively think about what the image the reader constructs of you is as you write your SoP.

DO NOT WRITE ABOUT YOUR EARLY CHILDHOOD

This is a big faux pas, and some still make the mistake of starting their application with their memories of falling in love with physics as a kid. Some applications will go so far as to explicitly request that you do not talk about this. If you start talking about how you’ve loved science ever since you used a chemistry set when you were 9, you’re already breaking rule number 1.

Resume / CV

Resumes and curriculum vitaes (CVs) are pretty standard. To get an idea of the expectation for how your resume should be formatted, take a look at the CVs of the professors you want to work with at the various schools you are applying to. In generally, they should list the following information:

Biographical and contact information

Your name, address, phone number, email, etc.

Your educational history

The universities you have attended and your dates of attendence (no high schools), your majors, and your GPA

Your research/work experience

List each of the research projects you have worked on and what your contribution was. If you don’t have enough research experience, supplement with relevant work experience.

A list of your publications/posters/talks

If you have publications (most don’t, but if you do - great!), you should list them with a full reference. Also list any posters and talks you’ve given on your work.

(Optional) Scholarships and awards

List all of the scholarships and awards you have received in college. Don’t be shy, make it seem like a bigger deal than it is.

(Optional) Teaching experience

This can be listed under work experience as well, but it’s good to include any TAing experience you have, as TAing is a core part of many graduate careers. If you have enough experience, this can be an entire portion of your resume.

(Optional) Leadership and involvement

If you have relevant leadership experience (on an exec board of a club) or outreach experience, it’s good to list these on your resume

(Optional) Technical skills

You can also advertise special skills on your resume. If you program a lot, you can mention the useful languages you know. If you have a lot of experience in the lab, you can write down your lab skills and what special software you are adept with.

Your resume should be either exactly 1 or 2 pages. It might look weird to make it 1.5 pages or something like that (use your own judgement). There is generally a 2 page limit that prevents it from being too long. To make formatting easier, you should use LaTeX to write up your CV. Word is fine, but using LaTeX produces a more professional looking document. You can use a template to make it easier. This one is pretty good.

Letters of Recommendation

Generally, you’ll need three letters of recommendation for your applications. For some applications, they will accept more than three letters, but three is all that is necessary. Well in advance of your application deadlines, you should begin reaching out to people who you’d like to write your letters of recommendation. Generally, professors are happy to write a few good words about their students. However, some might just not have much to say, or they might be too busy, so provide room for (and prepare for) refusal when you ask.

In each of your letters, admission committees are looking for good qualities, such as tenacity, intelligence, work ethic, and resolve, that their colleagues have identified in you. In general, you want to receive good letters of recommendation, so you should seek out people who will write great things about you in each of these areas. Primarily, you should be asking for letters from people you have worked under, either professors or post-docs, in a research experience or a work experience of some sort. These should be people that you’ve worked with closely and have a solid understanding of and high regard for the impact you’ve had on their research. If you don’t have three people who you’ve worked with, your next best bet is a professor who has taught you in a course. In this case, you should seek out a professor who knows you well and who has high regard for you. You may have visited them many times in office hours and impressed them with your work ethic. It’s not necessary that you were the best student in their class, but it is necessary that you impressed them and that they have something unique to say about you and your qualities as a person.

Your letter writers may ask that you send them your CV, so make sure you have one prepared for them. Along with your CV, send them a draft Statement of Purpose so they can understand your motivations for applying to your chosen schools and tailor their writing towards your goals. If you don’t have a draft SoP, then at least in your request to them let them know explicitly what you hope they can write about you (e.g. you might say “I was hoping you could highlight X, Y, and Z about our work/time together” when you talk to them). Providing some guidance on what should be in the letter is a much appreciated step when requesting a letter. Finally, send each of your letter writers a well formatted spreadsheet that contains information about all of the schools you’re applying to and a link to where they should submit their letter. Make it as easy as possible for them to not mess up when submitting your letter!

Transcripts

You will either need to send an official or unofficial transcript in with each of your applications. You can get an unofficial transcript easily through SIS, and you can get an official UVA transcript ordered through UVA .

Standardized Test Scores

In general, programs will require that you send BOTH your scores for the general GRE and the physics GRE to them through ETS’s official score sending website. You will want to do this in advance of the submission deadline for each application, so that you can ensure your application is complete by the deadline. Some programs may not ask for you general GRE exam scores or your physics GRE exam scores.

General Advice

It’s a good idea to keep a spreadsheet with all of the schools you want to apply to along with information about which information you’ve sent them (transcript, letters, etc.), and which standardized test scores they require.

How do I pick a program to apply to?

This is probably the hardest part to give specific advice on as which programs you should apply to depends on a lot of different factors, and is inherently a personal choice. In general though, you should go to the school where you will have the most opportunities to do what you want to do . “Most opportunities” can mean a lot. It can mean the school has a lot of funding and allows you to explore research freely. It can also mean that there is simply the largest number of faculty who’s research intrigues you. It can also mean that that school has a nice science facility (e.g. an accelerator) where you can do your research. “What you want to do” is also vague, and is up to each person. Perhaps you are hyper-focused on research, and you want to go to a school where everyone else is like that. Perhaps you find the people you are with is more important to your happiness than the work you are doing, in which case you would want to ensure the faculty and students in your chosen department are friendly and have similar personalities to you. Perhaps you are more interested in the city you will be living in or the hiking opportunities available to you in the surrounding area of the school. These are all valid perspectives to have on what you want out of your graduate program, and they will all enter into your choice of schools that you apply to.

To get an idea of where different schools lie in how “good” they are, you can take a look at rankings, like the US News rankings or other rankings which use other objective factors . GradSchoolShopper is also an excellent place to find schools to apply to, and also provides information about acceptance rates at various schools. Pick a few school off these lists (don’t automatically rule out MIT!), and look at their websites for more information. Go through their faculty pages and read up on their research. Write down in a notepad or document all the people who have research that stands out to you. Look for buzz words that you think sound cool , as that tends to be a good indicator of you’re own interests when you’re unsure of what you want to do. You can use this as a starting point to narrow down which schools actually have science that sounds interesting to you.

Finally, just ask around! Ask your friends who have graduated which programs they applied to and why. Ask the grad students in the physics and astronomy departments about their experience with graduate admissions as well, as they will be able to have a much more specific and tailored conversation about your thoughts in applying to graduate school than this website can provide.

Personal experiences

Below you can find some advice from previous SPS members who have been through this process and wanted to share some words of wisdom to make your life easier.

Understand your profile as an applicant. But you should shoot for the stars too because you’re worth it!

Every professor in the department has gone through this process. Ask them about the program they went to. If you’re interested in potentially going to an international program, talk to Baessler.

Be sure that the research falls in line with your interests. However, your individual happiness is more important than anything, so be sure it’s somewhere you can flourish. When you visit, be sure to talk to the older graduate students about how they’re doing. Also try to get a sense of the community in the program. Grad school can take a toll on your physical and mental health, so it’s important that your superiors and colleagues are invested in you as a person.

As much as we don’t want to make money an issue, if the program doesn’t offer very much of it you should maybe consider another. Also look into the cost of living in the area.

Try to select a school that will make you happy in terms of every aspect, cause you don’t want to end up in a crappy situation for your life (which surprisingly exists beyond physics).

Online resources

• APS’s guide to choosing a grad program
• US News physics department rankings
• The Chronical astronomy department rankings
• GradSchoolShopper

How much will this all cost?

A lot. In total, one can expect to spend $1413 - $1921 on graduate school applications. One SPS student tallied up their own costs when applying to 12 schools, using fee waivers for applications, and spent a total of $1,141. So, make sure you have $1,000 - $2,000 saved up before applying to graduate schools!

Applications

Each application will cost you between $50 and $150 each to even submit them. Fee waivers can generally be obtained for applications if you qualify, and you should try to take advantage of those if money is an issue. Students usually apply to somewhere between 8 and 12 schools, which makes application costs ~$800 - $1200.

Standardized Tests

Taking the general GRE costs $205 each time you take it and taking the physics GRE costs $150 for each test . Considering many take the general GRE once and the physics GRE twice, you’re looking at a cost of $505 to just take the tests. Again, there are fee waivers for the GRE, however you can only claim one fee waiver for one test. The process for obtaining a fee waiver is needlessly complex and time consuming (including mailing a form !), so plan ahead and apply for a fee waiver well in advance of registering for one of the GRE exams.

Actually sending your scores to your schools is the last part of the financial burden. ETS charges $27 for each score report you send to a school (includes both general GRE and physics GRE). When actually taking a test, you will be able to send your scores to four schools for free . Take advantage of this to save $108! Again, using a figure of 8 - 12 schools, you are looking at a cost of $108 - $216 to send your scores.

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How to Write a Personal Statement for a PhD Program Application

Personal statement guidelines, general guidelines to keep in mind:.

• One size does not fit all : Tailor your personal statement to each program and department you are applying to. Do your research to learn what is unique about each of your choices and highlight how this particular program stands out.
• Yes, it’s personal : Showcase your unique strengths and accomplishments. Explain what influenced your personal decisions to pursue the program. Ask yourself, could this be applied to your friend or neighbor? If so, you need to be more specific and provide examples. Saying that you are a “good scientist” isn’t enough. Provide examples of your previous research experience, projects you’ve completed, and what technical skills you learned. Explain how you overcame any challenges along the way.
• Set aside enough time :  Although personal statements are generally short in length (approx. 700 words; 1-2 pages), give yourself ample time to write a strong, well-written statement. It takes more time than you think to develop a final draft for submission.
• Focus on your spelling, grammar, and vocabulary :  It’s important to present a well-written statement with good grammar and vocabulary. Write concrete, succinct sentences that flow well. Avoid flowery language. Visit the  Writing Center  for additional review and feedback.
• Proofread one more time:  Check your grammar and spelling again before submitting your final draft. Ask a friend, professor, or advisor to proofread your final draft one more time before sending it in. 

YOUR PERSONAL STATEMENT SHOULD ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

• Why do you want to complete further research in this field?  Write down a list of reasons as to why you are interested in pursuing further study in the field. When did you become interested in the field and what knowledge have you gained so far? Describe how your previous work provided the foundation and for further study.
• Why  have you  chosen to apply to this particular university ? Does the institution have a particular curriculum, special research facilities/equipment, or interesting research that appeal to you?
• What are your strengths ? Demonstrate how you stand out from other candidates. Highlight relevant projects, dissertations thesis or essays that demonstrate your academic skills and creativity. Include IT skills, research techniques, awards, or relevant traveling/ study abroad experience.
• What are your transferable skills?  Be sure to emphasize transferable skills such as communication, teamwork, and time management skills. Give examples of how you have demonstrated each of these with specific examples.
• How does this program align with your career goals?  It’s okay if you don’t know the exact career path you plan to take after completing your PhD. Provide an idea of the direction you would like to take. This demonstrates commitment and dedication to the program.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

For examples of successful personal statements, visit the  Online Writing Lab (OWL) .

Privacy Policy Accessibility Notice of Non-Discrimination Terms of Use

Graduate School Personal Statement

Criteria for success.

• Your personal statement convinces a faculty committee that you are qualified for their program.
• It convinces them that you are a good fit for their program’s focus and goals.
• You show a select group of skills and experiences that convey your scientific accomplishments and interests.
• Your experiences are concrete and quantitative.
• Your personal statement is no more than 2 pages.

Structure Diagram

The graduate school personal statement tells your story and demonstrates that you are a good match for a particular department or program. Matching goes both ways: they should be interested in you, and you should be interested in them. Your personal statement should make this match clear.

Analyze Your Audience

Your personal statement will be read by a graduate committee: a handful of faculty from the program. They’re trying to determine if you will be a successful graduate student in their department, a positive force in the department’s intellectual life, and a successful scientist after you graduate. They are therefore interested in your qualifications as a researcher, your career goals, and how your personality matches their labs and department.

The graduate committee probably reads hundreds of applications a year. To make it easy for them to figure out that you are a good fit, make direct, concrete statements about your accomplishments and qualifications. To make it easy for them to remember you, create a narrative that “brands” you.

Create a personal narrative

PhD programs invest in the professional and scientific growth of their students. Get the committee excited about investing in you by opening your essay with a brief portrait of what drives you as a scientist. What research directions are you passionate about, and why? What do you picture yourself doing in 10 years?

Close your essay with a 2-3 sentence discussion of your career interests. No one will hold you to this; this just helps your committee visualize your potential trajectory.

Describe your experiences

Experiences are the “what” of your essay. What experiences led you to develop your skill set and passions? Where have you demonstrated accomplishment, leadership, and collaboration? Include research, teaching, and relevant extracurriculars. State concrete achievements and outcomes like awards, discoveries, or publications.

Quantify your experiences to show concrete impact. How many people were on your team? How many protocols did you develop? How many people were in competition for an award? As a TA, how often did you meet with your students?

Describe actions, not just changes in your internal mental or emotional state. A personal statement is a way to make a narrative out of your CV. It is not a diary entry.

Explain the meaning of your experiences

Meaning is the “why” or “so what” of the document. Why was this experience important to your growth as a scientist? What does it say about your abilities and potential? It feels obvious to you, but you need to be explicit with your audience. Your descriptions of meaning should also act as transition statements between experiences: try to “wrap” meaning around your experiences.

Demonstrate match to your target program

Demonstrate an understanding of the program to which you’re applying and how you will be successful in that program. To do this:

• Read the program’s website. See what language they use to describe themselves, and echo that language in your essay. For example, MIT Biological Engineering’s website lists the department’s three objectives.
• Get in contact with faculty (or students) in your target program. If you have had a positive discussion with someone at the department, describe how those interactions made you think that you and the department may be well-matched.
• State which professors in the program you would plan to work with. Show how their research areas align with your background and your goals. You can even describe potential research directions or projects.

This content was adapted from from an article originally created by the  MIT Biological Engineering Communication Lab .

Resources and Annotated Examples

Annotated example 1.

Selected sections from the personal statement a graduate student wrote in a successful application to MIT BE. 536 KB

Annotated Example 2

Personal statement from a graduate student’s successful application to the MIT BE program. 9 MB

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Graduate Admissions: How to apply

General Admission Policy:

Before starting your application process please read this page. We also recommend that you continue to refer back to this page while you are working on your application.

If you have any technical questions about the application (e.g how do I upload..., how do I enter_______ information, or why haven't I received my confirmation email yet?) please contact the Graduate Admissions Office at [email protected]

Admission to the OSU Physics PhD program is done through an individualized holistic procedure that considers all parts of students’ applications. In addition to evidence of students’ research and academic accomplishments and potential, attributes such as persistence, creativity, initiative, collaboration, leadership, and potential contributions to a culture of inclusion can play a significant role. For the 2021-2022 application cycle, the general and physics subject GRE scores will not be used or considered for admissions decisions.

We only review and accept applications for Autumn term.  We have two graduate programs: a Master to Ph.D. Bridge program , and a Ph.D. program. We do not offer a terminal Master program.  

What are the minimum requirements that I need to meet, to successfully apply to the Physics Ph.D. program?

What are application deadlines?

What do I need to do to apply?

Detailed Graduate Admissions Policy/Application instructions

Crafting a competitive application webinar series - scroll to bottom of page

• Online Application
• Transcripts
• GRE  - The General and Physics GREs will NOT be considered for the 2021-22 admissions cycle 
• English Proficiency Test
• Statement of Purpose
• Letters of Recommendation
• OPTIONAL 'writing sample'

Is there an application fee?

What happens after I submit my application?

We offer financial support for all of our admitted students with a current minimum stipend of $2,364/month ($28,368/year). Therefore, the number of applicants admitted is limited to the amount of graduate support available. Support is available in the form of fellowships, graduate research associateships, and graduate teaching associateships. 

** Self-funded or externally sponsored applicants should contact us with your intent to apply to our program, as we consider these requests on a case-by-case basis .If you would like to apply and you have sponsorship from an outside source, such as a company or government scholarship, please contact the program coordinator directly for more information. Her email address can be found on the Physics Graduate Student home page. 

Minimum Requirements

Applicants to the Physics Graduate Program must meet the following criteria of the OSU Graduate School:

• an earned baccalaureate or professional degree from an accredited college or university by the expected date of entry.
• a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative point-hour ratio  (on the 4.0 scale used at this university) in the last degree relevant to the program of study earned by the applicant. For international students, the cGPA is calculated on the home institution’s grading scheme and the grade key on the transcript is then utilized to approximate an equivalent US grade based on the educational system of that country.
• prerequisite training that will enable the student to pursue the graduate program to which admission is sought, e.g., upper level physics courses, lab or research experience.
• TOEFL- 550, internet based TOEFL (IBT)- 79, Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB)- 82, International English Language Testing System (IELST)- 7.0

Program Requirements for Physics

For more information about Ohio State's Graduate School, please visit  The Graduate School at OSU .

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Application Deadlines for submitting your application

International applicants:  November 30th

Domestic applicants: December 15th

To have a better chance of winning a fellowship, please apply by December 1st . This deadline is not required but is preferred.

All supporting materials including official transcripts, letters of recommendation must be received no later than December 15th. We will continue to accept supporting materials through Dec 20.

Students with completed applications, a GPA of 3.6 or higher will automatically be considered for the University Fellowship Competition.  

 How to apply

Every applicant must start by completing an online application that can be found here :  http://gradadmissions.osu.edu/apply_online.htm . Many of the required materials listed below should be uploaded with your application. Please read carefully, and be sure to complete the entire application.  Special note: If you are not working in a blue application, you are not applying to the correct semester. Please click on the link above and select Autumn semester.

Additional, required , supplementary materials include:

• This includes schools you attended for only a short time (even if the transfer credit shows on another transcript). 
• Advising reports or PDF documents of web page listings of courses and grades are NOT acceptable.
• Once received, your transcript(s) will be uploaded to your application by the admissiosn office. Sometimes that doesn't happen so if it is still missing after 5 working days from the expected receipt date, please email the admissions office at [email protected] .
• For further information please see the frequently asked questions page on the graduate admissions webpage.
• Please do not send your transcripts to our department, or to the Grad Studies email.
• Please be sure to redact (black out) all U.S. social security numbrs if your transcript copy woudl use that number.
• Secured, electronic versions of transcripts can be sent to [email protected].
• Mailed transcripts can be sent here:

GP Admissions

Ohio State University

P.O. Box  182004

Columbus, OH 43218-2004

• ​ We will not accept any additional letters of recommendation beyond the required 3, even though the application system will allow you to request more.
• Although the new application system requires you to enter information for you recommenders, it does not automatically initiate your request for a recommendation. You will receive a confirmation email, after submitting your application, that will give you instructions about how to request your letters. 
• You will be able, and expected, to monitor the progress of your recommendations
• Please visit this link to the  Admissions FAQ on References for further information. 

The application requires a two-page Statement of Purpose (see below for Statement of Purpose prompt), and that you provide short answers to three questions.

o You will find this prompt on the application, "Please upload a Personal Statement (maximum of two pages): Please discuss your academic record, research experience, research interests, motivation for obtaining your Physics PhD at the Ohio State University, and your long-term goals after obtaining your PhD. Please address any substantial gaps or blemishes in your academic record. In addition to evidence of strong physics scholarship and research ability, we are also looking for other qualities in graduate students that would help them succeed and would support and add to graduate student culture and diversity. In addition to completing the short-answer part of this application, you may include other examples of these qualities in your Personal Statement."

o If you have any difficulties attaching your Statement of Purpose, you can email it to [email protected], and they will upload it to your application. (Plea

• Please limit to 1-2 pages   
• This document should be uploaded with your application.
• Please do not send this document to our department, or to the Grad Studies email.
• This is required of international applicants or those who have held the status of U.S. Permanent Resident for less than one year.
• The TOEFL IBT test is required unless it is not offered in your country
• Minimum scores required for admission consideration: TOEFL- 550, internet based TOEFL (IBT)- 79, Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB)- 82, International English Language Testing System (IELST)- 7.0
• If you do not meet the university minimum TOEFL IBT score (79) , you cannot be considered for our graduate program.
• We cannot waive the TOEFL requirement or consider scores near (but below) the minimum. 
• TOEFL scores are valid for up to two years following the test date.
•  Ohio State's institutional code is 1592. 
• Applicants who are citizens of, or who have received a bachelor's degree or higher (4yrs or more) from one of the following countries are exempt from the English proficiency requirement : Australia, Belize, the British Caribbean and British West Indies, Canada (except Quebec), England, Guyana, Ireland, Liberia, New Zealand, Scotland, the United States, and Wales.

​ Optional Supplementary Materials

• ​If you choose to further elaborate on any publications you may have (as publication should be noted in your resume) you may upload a list of publications, or an abstract
• In total, you should not submit more than 1 page for your 'writing sample'
• Please do not attach any papers, presentations, thesis, etc. They will not be saved, nor printed for your file. 
• You should upload your list or abstract(s) in the writing sample section of your application

  Please email [email protected] if you have any further questions about our program or application process. Email the graduate admissions office at [email protected] for any technical questions about the application.

Application Fees

First, please be sure to select "Physics" from the drop down menu on the application for what program you are applying for. The Department of BioPhysics is a separate department with a full application fee as is the Dept of Astronomy so please be sure to select the correct program from the drop down menu on the application. 

For the Physics program, at the end of your application you will be asked to pay an application fee. This is $60 for U.S. citizens and $70 for international students,   

Please see the Graduate Admissions page for information about possible fee waiver options and for the instructions to request one:   https://gpadmissions.osu.edu/resources/fee-waivers.html      

  -Please note that it can take up to 5 to 7 days for fee waiver requests to be processed so please plan accordingly for the due dates for submitting your application. 

Cal-Bridge students should please email [email protected]  to request an application fee waiver code.

If you do not qualify for any of the Graduate Admissions’ fee waiver categories but you have extenuating financial or other circumstances, please email [email protected] to explain your situation, and we will follow-up letting your know whether or not you qualify, or we will ask for further information.

Information from this web page: 

• Take the required actions for your fee waiver request well in advance of your program's application deadline to allow for processing.  If there are fewer than 10 business days left, we recommend you  do not  request a fee waiver.  Here's why:  If your waiver is denied and your program's deadline has passed, the application will be closed and you will not be able to apply for admission.
• We will not review your admission application until your waiver is approved  or the application fee is paid.
• All waiver requests will be verified.
• Only one fee waiver  is permitted per academic year.
• The application fee is NONREFUNDABLE.  If you pay the application fee, we can no longer honor your fee waiver request.

If you would apply to the wrong program , please contact the admissions office right away and ask for their assistance in correcting your application submission.

After Submitting Your Application

After you submit your application you will receive a confirmation email from [email protected].   Please note that it can take a few days for this confirmation email to be sent. If you have not received it within 4 days of submitting your application, please contact the Graduate Admissions office [email protected]. You confirmation email will assign you an OSU ID and Internet username (lastname.#) with directions to activate your account. You must activate your account to electronically prompt your recommenders for letters, and to monitor the status of your application. Please monitor your spam/junk mail. and send requests for letters of recommendation. 

Once you activate your account you can monitor the status of your application at http://appstatus.osu.edu   There, you will be able to:

• Verify/update your contact information
• Check your application status by clicking the Application Status link on the main page, then the Status link for the application
• Review what items have been received (and what, if anything, still needs to be submitted) by clicking the Application Requirements tab

We begin our review process in early January. If we are missing any of your paperwork, we will contact you directly via email during that time. We receive a large volume of applications and it is difficult for us to respond to individual requests for confirmation of having received materials, therefore it is very important for you to take responsibility and monitor the status of your application and materials regularly on OSU's application system. 

If at any time you do not remember your ID, Username, or password, help is available at http://my.osu.edu . If you need assistance with the activation code request process, please visit 8help.osu.edu; or, contact the IT Service Desk by e-mail at [email protected] or calling (614) 688-HELP (4357). For those applicants who do know their current password, passwords may be changed or reset by following the instructions at: http://my.osu.edu , or by contacting the IT Service Desk.   

We are only able to make offers to about 20% or fewer of applicants based on budget and other considerations, and unfortunately, we have to disappoint many highly-qualified students interested in our program.  

Applying to OSU: Belong@OSU Series

Hosted by The Graduate School and our campus partners, this 8-week series of virtual information sessions are designed to guide prospective students through the graduate school application process. Webinars are held on Wednesdays from 12-1 pm EST beginning Sept. 29 – Nov. 17. Participants can register  here  for the sessions below:

• Crafting a Competitive Application   –   Sept. 29
• Financing Graduate School – Oct. 6
• College Spotlight: School of Social Work – Oct. 13
• Personal Statements and Program Interviews  –  Oct. 20   
• Successful Strategies for Acquiring Strong Letters of Recommendation – Oct. 27
• College Spotlight: College of Arts and Sciences – Nov. 3 
• How to Shine: Craft Your Best Resume/CV – Nov. 10
• Push Through: Getting to the Finish Line – Nov. 17

Last updated 10/19/2021

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Successful Personal Statement For Physics At Oxford

Last Updated: 6th April 2022

Author: Rob Needleman

Table of Contents

Welcome to our popular Personal Statement series where we present a successful Personal Statement, and our Oxbridge Tutors provide their feedback on it. 

Today, we are looking through a Physics applicant’s Personal Statement that helped secure a place at Oxford University. The Physics Course at Oxford is concerned with the study of the universe from the smallest to the largest scale.

Read on to see how this strong Personal Statement covers such a broad range of intricate topics. 

Here’s a breakdown of the Personal Statement (the applicant uses most of the 4,000 characters available):

SUCCESSFUL?

The universities this candidate applied to were the following:

Enrolling on our Oxford Physics comprehensive Programme will give you access to Personal Statement redrafts. 

With our  Oxford Physics Premium Programme, your tutor will give you regular actionable feedback with insider tips on how to improve and make your Personal Statement Oxbridge quality for the best chances of success.  

Click the button below to learn how you can enrol and triple your chances of success.  

Physics Personal Statement

An incessant curiosity about the laws of the cosmos has always attracted me to the study of physics. I am especially intrigued by theoretical physics and how its concepts are the foundations of all visible reactions one witnesses daily. My fascination with physics has led me to pursue my subject beyond the school curriculum and I have had a range of experiences which have confirmed my desire to study physics at university.

This summer I was selected for the Senior Physics Challenge at Cambridge University which enabled me to experience the level and pace of undergraduate classical mechanics, quantum mechanics and lab-work. In preparation for the course, I studied a quantum mechanics primer and familiarised myself with previously untaught mathematics. During the week, we tackled the Schrodinger equation, square well potential problems, Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle and learnt new aspects of mathematics such as eigenstates and SHM. The course was demanding thus highly engaging, and this encounter with higher-level physics has made me eager to extend my knowledge of quantum mechanics.

Selected to visit CERN with school on the basis of an essay competition on dark matter and dark energy, I attended lectures on particle physics and saw the LHCb experiment. The highlight of the trip being the coding activity organised by Liverpool University where, using real LHC data of a decaying kaon, we chose cuts to make in the data to improve the efficiency and purity of the signal. Gaining an insight into aspects of the research work undertaken by particle physicists was inspiring. Likewise, at a “Particle Physics Day” at Birmingham University, I had the opportunity to use computer software to identify different particles and collisions in detectors. Last summer, I attended the “Physics Experience Week” organised by Birmingham University that combined lectures, lab-work and a rocket-building session. I was fascinated by an experiment where, collaborating in a team with pupils from different schools, we counted cosmic ray muons using a scintillation detector and took down readings together.

Having chosen to study GCSE Astronomy independently, I learnt to use the Faulkes Telescopes to take photographs of Messier objects in order to determine the ages of 3 planetary nebulae. My interest in space has been enhanced by a 2-week trip to NASA with ‘Space Education Adventures’, visiting the Johnson and Kennedy Space Centres. I was astounded by the immensity of the space projects and their contribution to science and history. A work experience placement in a hospital Medical Physics department demonstrated to me the application of physics in medical diagnostic imaging and the importance of physics research for advances in medicine. The Engineering Education Scheme (year 12) enabled me to work with 3 other girls to design a hypothetical football training academy with engineer mentors from ARUP. We researched and presented a business case and technical plan to a panel of engineers from other companies, gaining the Gold Crest Award in Engineering as well as valuable presentation skills.

In complete contrast, this summer I attended the Joint Association of Classical Teachers’ Greek Summer School. In addition to intensive lessons, we performed Aeschylus’ Agamemnon in the original text; I was cast as Cassandra. This term I am giving a talk on Ancient Greek mathematics at my school’s Classical Society, having researched the topic over the summer. I enjoy performing arts: I belong to the Birmingham Young REP Theatre and I have performed in the Symphony Orchestra, a chamber music group and the Choral Society at school. Balancing academic work with other activities requires organisation and discipline. Physics is a demanding and highly rewarding field. The prospect of an unsolved problem which may not have an immediate answer is captivating. My wish to understand nature and the academic challenge this poses is the reason I aspire to study physics.

For more inspiration, take a look through our other successful Personal Statement a nalysis articles:

Successful Personal Statement For Natural Science (Physical) At Cambridge

Successful personal statement for economics at cambridge, successful personal statement for land economy at cambridge, successful personal statement for chemistry at oxford, successful personal statement for geography at oxford, successful personal statement for classics at oxford, successful personal statement for law at oxford, successful personal statement for classics at cambridge, successful personal statement for engineering at cambridge, successful personal statement for philosophy at cambridge, successful personal statement for veterinary medicine at cambridge, successful personal statement for psychological and behavioural sciences at cambridge, successful personal statement for psychology at oxford, successful personal statement for history at oxford, successful personal statement for cambridge mathematics and physics, successful personal statement example for computer science at oxford, successful personal statement for english at cambridge, successful personal statement for oxford english language and literature, successful personal statement for medicine at oxford university, successful personal statement for modern languages at oxford, successful personal statement for engineering at oxford, successful personal statement for natural sciences (biological) at cambridge, successful personal statement for economics & management at oxford, successful personal statement for ppe at oxford, successful personal statement for law at cambridge, successful personal statement for dentistry at king’s college london, successful personal statement for medicine at cambridge.

Download our Free Personal Statement Starter Guide 

Good Points Of The Personal Statement

This is a very well written, structured and excellent statement. The student has a clear motivation for physics and has achieved many things through extra hard work. The statement is easy to read, and the student describes their achievements yet does not brag. All points and experiences are expanded on and clearly explained. The final paragraph adds individuality to the statement, and all non-physics related interests are kept within this paragraph which is very good.

Bad Points Of The Personal Statement

The student uses the word ‘I’ a lot. Whilst it is important to emphasise personal achievements, using the same words over and over again makes the statement sound repetitive. The student mentions learning mathematics beyond the A-level syllabus prior to the Senior Physics Challenge at Cambridge University, however, does not expand on what this involved. The student has missed an opportunity to describe how they gained mathematical skills independently. The student does this again by failing to describe what they learned through writing their essay on dark matter. A sentence on each of these points would have added yet more value to this excellent statement.

UniAdmissions Overall Score:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 

This is an excellent statement. It is easy to read, well-structured and the student comes across as a very likeable individual.

This Personal Statement for Physics is a great example of a well written and effectively-structured Statement. The candidate’s interest and achievements are clearly shown which is vital to Admissions Tutors.

Remember, at Oxford, these Admissions Tutors are often the people who will be teaching you for the next few years, so you need to appeal directly to them.

There are plenty more successful personal statements and expert guides on our Free Personal Statement Resources page.

Our expert tutors are on hand to help you craft the perfect Personal Statement for your Oxford Physics application.

With our  Oxford Physics Premium Programme, we help you craft the perfect Personal   Statement , score highly on the PAT and teach you how to  Interview effectively .

Discover our  Oxford Physics Premium Programme  by clicking the button below to  enrol and triple your chances of success.

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How to write a personal statement for physics

Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not, say admissions tutors. You’ll soon be found out

"P hysics is a really cool subject because you can learn how to blow cars up." Not the most impressive opening to a personal statement Gary Barker of the University of Warwick has ever come across. More James May than Patrick Moore, he says wryly.

What would he prefer? "I would err on the side of formality rather than flippancy," he says.

Many admissions tutors look for two things in a personal statement: genuine enthusiasm for physics and signs of maturity.

Some statements border almost on the philosophical, which is absolutely fine, says Barker. "I like to think that there's a person out there who lies awake at night worrying about these things."

Demonstrating engagement with the subject is not difficult but do remember that some admissions tutors are looking for a richer knowledge of the subject than you get on prime-time TV.

"By all means mention what hooked you in the beginning, but do also mention what you are doing now to deepen your understanding," says Anton Machacek, a physics teacher who graduated from Trinity College, Oxford.

"Popular science programmes rarely develop your thinking skills in the way universities will want. In this sense, I would say that the influence of Nina and her Nefarious Neurons on you as a toddler might count more in your favour than Prof Brian Cox at age 16."

Think about which skills are relevant to your application: for example, computing experience will help you with a theoretical physics degree.

Machacek says it's a shame that students often forget to talk about their A-level courses in their personal statements. "It's no good saying 'I've studied A-level physics' – they already know that," he says. "But you can say what skills you enjoyed developing and which areas excited you."

And for a budding physicist it is well worth becoming a member of the Institute of Physics – membership is free for 16- to 19-year-olds.

Many physics undergrad hopefuls mention a lot of the same books, or say they read the New Scientist, says Professor Henning Schomerus, physics admissions tutor at Lancaster University. "This wouldn't put me off, but I would probably more or less ignore it," he says. If you want to talk about a journal you read, pick out an article and discuss why it interests you.

Be specific. If The Big Bang Theory sparked your interest in physics, explain why. Schomerus, for instance, likes the episode where Sheldon takes a job as an unpaid waiter to try to discover how electrons move through graphene – it's an area he's done research in.

"Make the statement truly personal," he says, a point reiterated by Machacek, who is also a visiting research scientist at the Central Laser Facility in Rutherford.

"It is extremely important to be yourself," he says. "If you are a quiet, modest type, and you force yourself to write an extrovert's personal statement to make you seem bigger, very odd things can happen if you are interviewed."

Most admissions tutors advise that content should always trump style or creativity, but stress that writing should be coherent because physicists must be able to communicate.

Physics admissions officer Kenny Wood points out that with over a thousand applications for tutors at the University of St Andrews to sift through each year, spelling and grammar can make all the difference.

Wood says competition is fierce, and urges students not to be disappointed if they don't get into their first choice. "Remember, all physics departments are accredited by the Institute of Physics and if you get a good degree from any department in the UK, this will keep the door open for postgraduate studies at other institutions."

Olivia Keenan, a physics masters graduate from the University of Southampton about to embark on a PhD at Cardiff in extra-galactic observations, urges more girls to consider physics.

"As a female, if you are as well qualified as your male counterparts and you can make yourself stand out, then you're often in a good position to get through the 'admissions game'.

"Having narrowly missed the grades to get on to my physics course, I'm sure that having a strong personal statement helped me," she says. "It displayed my passion for the subject, backed up with evidence to prove it – for example, I'd taught GCSE students about astronomy while in sixth form at school."

Extra-curricular activities can reflect passion – working at a science museum, being a member of a local astronomy society or having visited Cern, for example – but tutors realise that not everybody has these opportunities. Simply making the most of your school's library is fine if it gives you a deeper appreciation of physics.

Above all, don't get too worked up about it. At the University of Birmingham, Professor Andy Schofield stresses that the personal statement is unlikely to be the decider in whether or not you get an offer.

It's a chance to explain any unusual aspects of your application though, says Schofield – for example, why your past performance doesn't reflect your potential.

Not everyone knows what they want to study and it's okay to apply to more than one course, say, physics and natural sciences. "I'm quite happy to see a personal statement that talks in two halves," he says.

Whether your interests lie in the cosmos or computing, the most important thing is keep it personal and prove your enthusiasm for physics.

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Writing Your Personal Statements

Your personal statement must demonstrate to the admissions committee that you have considered graduate school and their specific program seriously. It’s your opportunity to summarize your academic and research experiences. You must also communicate how your experiences are relevant to preparing you for the graduate degree that you will be pursuing and explain why a given program is the right one for you.

The personal statement is where you highlight your strengths. Make your strengths absolutely clear to the reviewers, because they will often be reading many other statements. Your self-assessments and honest conversations with peers and advisors should have also revealed your strengths. But you must also address (not blame others for) weaknesses or unusual aspects of your application or academic background.

Your personal statement should focus on two main aspects: your competence and commitment.

1. Identify your strengths in terms of competence that indicate that you will succeed in the grad program and provide examples to support your claims. Start your statement by describing your strengths immediately. Because faculty will be reading many statements, it’s important to start off with your strengths and not “bury your lede.” Consider traits of successful graduate students from your informational interviews, and identify which of these traits you have. These traits could involve research skills and experiences, expertise in working with techniques or instruments, familiarity with professional networks and resources in your field, etc.

• Check your responses from the exercises in the self-assessment section. You may wish to consult notes from your informational interviews and your Seven Stories . Write concise summaries and stories that demonstrate your strengths, e.g. how your strengths helped you to achieve certain goals or overcome obstacles.
• Summarize your research experience(s). What were the main project goals and the “big picture” questions? What was your role in this project? What did you accomplish? What did you learn, and how did you grow as a result of the experience(s)?

My research examines the interplay between U.S. domestic politics and foreign policy during the Cold War. As a native New Yorker, I saw firsthand how dramatically my city changed after 9/11, which prompted my early interest in U.S. policy at home and abroad. As an undergraduate at the City College of New York, I planned to study international relations with a focus on U.S. foreign affairs. I also quickly became involved in student activist groups that focused on raising awareness about a wide range of human rights issues, from the Syrian refugee crisis to asylum seekers from Central America.

The more I learned about the crises in the present, the more I realized that I needed a deeper understanding of the past to fully grasp them. I decided to pursue a PhD in history in order to gain a clearer understanding of human rights issues in the present and to empower young student-activists like myself.

— Vannessa Velez, PhD candidate in History

Addressing weaknesses or unusual aspects

• Identify weaknesses or unusual aspects in your application—e.g., a significant drop in your GPA during a term; weak GRE scores; changes in your academic trajectory, etc. Don’t ignore them, because ignoring them might be interpreted as blind spots for you. If you’re unsure if a particular issue is significant enough to address, seek advice from faculty mentors.
• Explain how you’ll improve and strengthen those areas or work around your weakness. Determine how you will address them in a positive light, e.g., by discussing how you overcame obstacles through persistence, what you learned from challenges, and how you grew from failures. Focusing on a growth mindset  or grit  and this blog on weaknesses might also help.
• Deal with any significant unusual aspects later in the statement to allow a positive impression to develop first.
• Explain, rather than provide excuses—i.e., address the issue directly and don’t blame others (even if you believe someone else is responsible). Draft it and get feedback from others to see if the explanation is working as you want it to.
• Provide supporting empirical evidence if possible. For example, “Adjusting to college was a major step for me, coming from a small high school and as a first-generation college student. My freshman GPA was not up to par with my typical achievements, as demonstrated by my improved  GPA of 3.8 during my second and third years in college."
• Be concise (don’t dwell on the issues), but also be complete (don’t lead to other potentially unanswered questions). For example, if a drop in grades during a term was due to a health issue, explain whether the health issue is recurring, managed now with medication, resolved, etc.

2. Explain your commitment to research and their graduate program, including your motivation for why you are applying to this graduate program at this university. Be as specific as possible. Identify several faculty members with whom you are interested in working, and explain why their research interests you.

• Descriptions of your commitment should explain why you’re passionate about this particular academic field and provide demonstrations of your commitment with stories (e.g., working long hours to solve a problem, overcoming challenges in research, resilience in pursuing problems). Don’t merely assert your commitment.
• Explain why you are applying to graduate school, as opposed to seeking a professional degree or a job. Discuss your interest and motivation for grad school, along with your future career aspirations.

I am definitely not your traditional graduate student. As a biracial (Native American and white), first-generation PhD student from a military family, I had very limited guidance on how best to pursue my education, especially when I decided that graduate school was a good idea. I ended up coming to this PhD in a very circuitous manner, stopping first to get a JD and, later, an MFA in Young Adult Literature. With each degree, I took time to work and apply what I’d learned, as a lawyer and as an educator. Each time, I realized that I was circling around questions that I couldn’t let go of—not just because I found them to be fascinating, but because I did (and still do!) feel that my research could help to bridge a gap that desperately needs bridging. Because my work is quite interdisciplinary, I strongly feel that I wouldn’t have been able to pursue this line of research without the degrees and life experience I gained before coming to this program.

— Jamie Fine, PhD candidate in Modern Thought and Literature

Statement of Purpose: subtle aspects

• Think in terms of engaging faculty in a conversation rather than pleading with them that you should be admitted. Ask reviewers to read drafts with this concern in mind.
• With later drafts, try developing an overall narrative theme. See if one emerges as you work.
• Write at least 10 drafts and expect your thinking and the essay to change quite a bit over time.
• Read drafts out loud to help you catch errors.
• Expect the "you' that emerges in your essay to be incomplete. . . that’s OK.
• You’re sharing a professional/scholarly slice of "you."
• Avoid humor (do you really know what senior academics find funny?) and flashy openings and closings. Think of pitching the essay to an educated person in the field, but not necessarily in your specialty. Avoid emotionally laden words (such as "love" or "passion"). Remember, your audience is a group of professors! Overly emotional appeals might make them uncomfortable. They are looking for scholarly colleagues.

© Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305

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• July 14, 2023
• Personal Statement

A physics personal statement is an important part of your UCAS application . It is your chance to show universities what you are passionate about and why you would be a good fit for their course. Your statement should be well-written and engaging, and it should highlight your academic achievements, extracurricular activities , and your interest in physics. 

Additionally, it is wrong to make it sound like a fantasy. No! it is not a script but your chance to talk about your passion, your drive and reason for pursuing the course. You must present this as though you are trying to convince your readers that you are the best candidate for the course, in reality, that’s your aim after all

How do you write a statement of Purpose for Physics?

There are a few key things to keep in mind when writing your physics graduate school personal statement. We will address the most important points you should look out for:

Share your Motivation and Honesty

When writing your  physics graduate school personal statement, be honest and reflective about what motivates you about physics. Share your personal experiences and insights that demonstrate your genuine inspiration for the subject. 

As much as possible, do not write about facts you are not certain of and cannot defend. This is because, part of your interview questions may be drawn from the details provided in your personal statement. So, avoid whatever looks like a lie in your personal statement. This will provide tutors with evidence of your passion for physics and why you would be a good fit for their course.

• Share your Passion

Here is another fact you must not overlook when writing your physics graduate school personal statement, Passion. Be sure to focus on your passion for physics. What is it about physics that you find so interesting? Writing a  compelling description of your passion gives you an edge in your application process.

• Highlight Your Academic Achievements

Another way to write a great physics graduate school  personal statement is to ensure you highlight your  academic achievements. What are your grades in physics? Have you taken any AP or IB physics courses? By expressing your academic achievement with quantifying words and numbers, you stand a better chance of gaining the favour of the admission board.

Share your Experiences 

Your experiences are the “what” of your personal statement. They are the things that have shaped you into the person you are today. When describing your experiences, it is important to be specific and to quantify your achievements.

For example, if you were a research assistant, you could say that you “led a team of 10 people to develop 5 protocols.” This shows the admissions committee that you have the skills and experience to lead and to collaborate.

Furthermore, You should also avoid using passive voice. Instead of saying “I was responsible for managing the project,” you could say “I managed the project.” This shows that you are a proactive and self-directed individual.

Lastly, it is important to describe your experiences in a way that shows how they have shaped your passions and your goals. For example, if you were a volunteer at a homeless shelter , you could say that “the experience taught me the importance of helping others.” This shows the admissions committee that you are a compassionate and caring individual.

Adapt Wider Reading Technique

When writing your personal statement for physics, it is important to show your interest in the subject beyond the classroom. One way to do this is to discuss any wider reading you have done. However, it is important to be selective in your choices. If you do choose a popular book, you should give your own personal take on it or write about it reflectively

For example, I was particularly interested in the book “The Elegant Universe” by Brian Greene. This book discusses string theory, which is a very complex and challenging subject. However, Greene does an excellent job of explaining the theory in a way that is accessible to laypeople. I was fascinated by the book and it really helped me to understand the basics of string theory.

In addition to reading books, I have also been interested in following current events related to physics. For example, I have been following the debate about whether we should build more nuclear power stations . I have read articles about the pros and cons of nuclear power and I have formed my own opinion on the matter. I believe that nuclear power is a safe and efficient way to generate electricity, and I think that we should build more nuclear power stations in the future.

When discussing your wider reading in your personal statement, it is important to be specific. Don’t just say that you read “The Elegant Universe.” Instead, pick out one article or chapter that you found particularly interesting and explain how it impacted on you. You should also be sure to cite your sources.

Lastly, you want to connect your wider reading to your future goals in physics. In my case, I am interested in pursuing a career in research physics. I believe that my wider reading has given me a strong foundation in physics and has helped me to develop my critical thinking skills. I am confident that I will be able to use my knowledge and skills to make a significant contribution to the field of physics. 

However, while writing, keep in mind that some personal statements are not required to be too long. Ensure you do your research before you embark on writing your statement.

Share your Extracurricular Activities

Your extracurricular activities are a great way to show your passion for physics and to demonstrate your skills and abilities. When discussing your extracurricular activities in your physics graduate school personal statement, it is important to be specific and to quantify your achievements.

For example, if you were a member of a physics club, you could say that you “led the club’s participation in the regional physics competition, where we won first place.” This shows the admissions committee that you are a leader and that you have the skills to compete at a high level.

Additionally, you should also avoid using passive voice. Instead of saying “I was involved in the club’s outreach program,” you could say “I organized and led the club’s outreach program.” This shows that you are a proactive and self-directed individual.

Hence, it is important to discuss your extracurricular activities in a way that shows how they have shaped your passions and your goals. For example, if you were a volunteer at a science museum, you could say that “the experience taught me the importance of sharing my love of physics with others.” This shows the admissions committee that you are passionate about physics and that you are committed to using your knowledge to make a difference in the world

Sample Physic Graduate School Persona Statement

This is a sample Physics Graduate School Personal statement. Read for a quick guide on How to write a Physics Graduate School Personal statement 

Disclaimer : The sample provided is just to guide you in making your own draft, please do not replicate it for your personal use as this would result in fraud and possible rejection. 

Personal Statement for Physics Graduate Program

My passion for physics was ignited by a perfect blend of innate curiosity and early exposure to the wonders of science. From a young age, I found myself irresistibly drawn to books on astronomy, physics, and mathematics. The fundamental laws that govern the universe fascinated me, and the potential to unravel its mysteries captivated my imagination. Each time I gazed at the night sky, I was spellbound by the twinkling stars and the enigmatic dance of celestial bodies. These experiences, along with visits to planetariums and science museums, solidified my desire to embark on a career in physics.

Throughout my high school years, I was fortunate to be guided by exceptional teachers who nurtured my passion for physics and pushed me to surpass the boundaries of my understanding. Their mentorship laid a strong foundation in physics and fueled my ambition to explore the subject in an academic setting. As I advanced through my undergraduate studies, I found myself enthralled by the elegance and precision of the subject. I eagerly seized every opportunity to engage in research and push the frontiers of knowledge. During my undergraduate journey, I immersed myself in various research opportunities to gain practical experience and expand my knowledge. It was during an internship at a prestigious research institute that I experienced a truly transformative moment. Engaged in a research project on particle physics, I had the privilege of working closely with a team of esteemed physicists. Collaborating with these brilliant minds and witnessing the potential impact of our research was both humbling and inspiring. It solidified my belief that physics holds the key to unlocking the secrets of the universe and has the power to revolutionize our understanding of the natural world.

Now equipped with a solid foundation in physics, I am driven to pursue an advanced degree to delve deeper into my areas of interest and contribute to the scientific community. After extensive research and careful consideration, I am convinced that Princeton University offers the ideal environment for my academic and personal growth. The university’s rich history and esteemed faculty members align perfectly with my aspirations, providing an unparalleled platform for intellectual development and collaboration. Additionally, the vibrant research community at Princeton University and its state-of-the-art facilities will enable me to explore cutting-edge research areas and contribute to breakthrough discoveries in my field.

Choosing to pursue my graduate studies in the United States is a deliberate decision rooted in the country’s long-standing reputation for scientific innovation. The United States has consistently been at the forefront of pushing the boundaries of knowledge, with its universities and research institutions leading the way. I am particularly drawn to the multicultural environment and the rich diversity of perspectives that the United States offers. Interacting with fellow students from different backgrounds will expose me to fresh ideas and inspire creative approaches to problem-solving. Furthermore, the United States’ commitment to fostering a supportive and inclusive academic community resonates deeply with my values, ensuring that I will have the resources and support necessary to excel in my studies.

By joining the esteemed graduate program at Princeton University, I am confident that I will acquire the necessary tools and expertise to make significant contributions to the field of physics. My aspiration is to conduct research at the forefront of theoretical physics, exploring the mysteries of the quantum world and unraveling the complexities of the cosmos. I eagerly anticipate collaborating with renowned physicists, absorbing their wisdom, and challenging existing paradigms.

Furthermore, beyond my personal goals, I recognize the importance of science communication and outreach. I firmly believe that scientific knowledge should not be confined to the ivory towers of academia but should be accessible and relatable to all. Throughout my graduate studies, I aim to develop effective methods of communicating complex scientific concepts to a broader audience, inspiring young minds, and fostering a love for physics. By sparking curiosity and igniting a passion for science in young minds, I hope to contribute to a future generation of scientists and thinkers who will continue to push the boundaries of human knowledge.

In conclusion, my unwavering passion for physics, combined with my academic and research experiences, has led me to pursue graduate studies in the field. Joining the esteemed graduate program at Princeton University in the United States will enable me to explore my interests, collaborate with brilliant minds, and contribute to the scientific community. I am eager to immerse myself in the rigorous academic environment and embark on this transformative journey, driven by the pursuit of knowledge and the desire to unravel the mysteries of the universe while shaping the future of scientific exploration. 

Yours sincerely,

Casmir David

Need Assistance Writing Your Personal Statement?

If so, contact  Fasthire today . We’ll look into your application and compose a good personal statement for your application. We have professionals who are skilled in helping students compose their study and visa statement of purpose/explanation and we’ll be ready to assist you right away. You can either use our regular, or express service depending on the urgency of your need.

FAQs ; Physics Graduate School Personal Statement

1. how to structure a physics graduate school personal statement.

The structure of a physics graduate school personal statement should follow this format:

• Introduce yourself as a scientist and explain what drives you to study physics.
• Discuss your research interests and what you hope to accomplish in your graduate studies.
• Describe your relevant experiences, such as research, teaching, or extracurricular activities.
• Explain what you learned and accomplished in these experiences.
• Discuss how these experiences have shaped your goals for graduate school.
• Explain why you are interested in the specific graduate program you are applying to.
• Discuss how your research interests align with the program’s research strengths.
• Highlight any specific experiences or qualifications that make you a good fit for the program.
• Discuss your long-term career goals and how your graduate studies will help you achieve them.
• Explain why you are passionate about physics and why you want to pursue a career in the field.

2. How to Write a Personal Statement for Physics Graduate School

Here are some tips on how to write a personal statement for physics graduate school:

• Start by brainstorming your ideas. 
• Share your motivation and Honesty
• Describe  Experiences 
• Be clear and concise.
• Use strong verbs and vivid language. 
• Extracurricular Activities in a Physics Personal Statement
• Be personal. 
• Proofread carefully. 

3. How do you Summarize a Personal Statement for Grad School?

The best way to summarize your personal statement for grad school  is by restating your passion for your course, this should be placed at the end of your personal statement. It is important to reiterate your passion for your course. You can do this by summarizing your key points, including your skills and experiences, and then stating how these have prepared you for your course.

For example, you could say something like:

“I have always been fascinated by the natural world and how it works. This fascination led me to study physics, and I have since developed a strong foundation in the subject. I have taken courses in a variety of areas, including classical mechanics, electromagnetism, and quantum mechanics. I have also conducted research in the field of condensed matter physics

You can also end your personal statement with a call to action. This means stating what you hope to achieve by completing your course. 

Conclusion ; Physics Graduate School Personal Statement  

To ensure you get this right, you must do your assignment by comparing different samples of physics graduate school personal statements. This will guide you in writing a well-structured physics graduate personal statement. However, you would employ the services of a reputable Personal statement writer to save you the trouble of multiple rejections. You can contact Fasthire.org to get a creative and professional personal statement writer assigned to you today. Reach out to us today.

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Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics

Personal statement resources.

The personal statement is an important part of the graduate school application. This document allows the admission committee to get to know the applicant better and to directly connect the applicant’s interests and pursuits to our department. The applicant is free to address a wide range of topics. There are no rules or specific requirements. The personal statement is generally 2-3 pages in length. As guidance, personal statements often address the following questions:

• What motivates you to pursue a Ph.D. in astronomy and astrophysics? What field(s) of astronomy/astrophysics excites you?
• What are your interests and goals?
• What skills, experience, personal characteristics do you have that will help you succeed in graduate school (e.g. coursework, leadership roles, teaching/mentoring experience computer programming, employment, research experience, etc.)?
• What challenges have you overcome in your path toward applying to graduate school?
• Why would the University of Chicago in particular be a good fit for you?

These questions are intended to serve as guidance. They should not prevent the applicant from sharing other information or highlighting other experiences or aspects of their application.

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Physics Personal Statement Advice

A Physics personal statement is the part of your UCAS application that universities are clamouring to read. Yes, your GCSE, BTEC and A Level results are vitally important when applying for university, but your Physics personal statement is what makes or breaks your application. Your personal statement is your chance to show a university what you're all about and why you would be suited to their course. Your Physics personal statement doesn’t need to be an epic fantasy novel or the kind of length that has the reader yawning, it just needs to be a way for you to talk about yourself, your passions and your interests alongside your reasons for wanting to study the course you're applying for. Before you begin writing your Physics personal statement, you should look at some Physics personal statements beforehand. This will give you the chance to see what the structure, tone and feeling of the statement is before you write it. Knowing what to include can often be half the battle. Your Physics personal statement should only contain the essentials, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t start talking about some of the things you're passionate about! The three key points you should be focusing on are: Relevant work experience Extracurricular activities Your passion for the subject Make sure that your Physics personal statement captures what makes you you. Universities want to see personality in a candidate’s personal statement, so don't be afraid to show it!

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Graduate Admissions

The selection of the Ph.D. students admitted to the Department of Physics is based on an individualized, holistic review of each application, including (but not limited to) the student's academic record, the letters of recommendation, the statement of purpose, past accomplishments, and talent for research in physics. Applicants should keep in mind that attributes such as persistence, enthusiasm, and intellectual creativity can play a significant role in the evaluation of the aptitude of a candidate to graduate school. 

For the 2024-25 application cycle, the General GRE or Physics GRE scores will be accepted but are not a required part of a complete application.  

Applications must be submitted by the middle of December to be considered for the following Autumn Quarter. In January and February of each year, the Physics Department Graduate Admission Committee reviews each application. All applicants will be notified of their admission status by March 1st.

The Physics Department recognizes that the Supreme Court issued a ruling in June 2023 about the consideration of certain types of demographic information as part of an admission review. All applications submitted during upcoming application cycles will be reviewed in conformance with that decision. The Department does not offer a separate program for the M.S. degree, but this degree may be awarded for a portion of the Ph.D. degree work with approval from the Department. Graduate students have opportunities for research in theoretical physics, AMO physics, ultra-fast lasers, particle and nuclear physics, condensed matter physics, quantum information and control, cosmology, astrophysics, and gravitation. Opportunities for research are also available with the faculty at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in the areas of theoretical and experimental particle physics, cosmology and astrophysics, accelerator design, and photon science. In Applied Physics there are opportunities in the areas of theoretical and experimental condensed matter physics, materials research, quantum electronics, and novel imaging technology.

The application deadline for this academic year 2023-24 (2024-25 admissions cycle) is  11:59pm Pacific Standard Time, Friday, December 15, 2023 . The application submission deadline is a hard deadline and no late applications are accepted, no exceptions. We strongly suggest you do not wait until the last day to submit in case you encounter any difficulties.

• Three letters of recommendation, preferably including at least one from a research group.
• Upload one scanned version of your official transcript(s) in the online application (see File Upload Requirements ).   Official transcripts are preferred, however, if obtaining official transcripts is financially burdensome, we will accept unofficial transcripts at the time of application.  For those that are offered admission to our program, we will require submission of official transcripts for accepted students before matriculation.
• The TOEFL exam is required for applicants whose first language is not English. It must be taken within the last two years. The TOEFL is waived for applicants who have recently completed or will complete a Bachelor's degree, or a 2-year Master's program, in the U.S. or in another English-speaking country.  See the  Graduate Admissions GRE/TOEFL FAQ  for detailed information.
• The GRE General and Physics exam scores will be accepted but are not required in the 2024-25 application cycle (2023-24 academic year).

The Department of Physics welcomes graduate applications from individuals with a broad range of life experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds who would contribute to our community of scholars. Review of applications is holistic and individualized, considering each applicant’s academic record and accomplishments, letters of recommendation, and admissions essays in order to understand how an applicant’s life experiences have shaped their past and potential contributions to their field.

The department is interested in understanding and mitigating barriers to access to all of our programs, including barriers based on citizenship status, accessibility, or financial or logistical challenges.  If you are interested in our graduate program but there are barriers that limit your ability to apply given our current procedures, we would appreciate hearing from you.  Please fill out this brief form .  

Not all students have equal access to information on the graduate admission process. The department is interested in helping those who may need additional guidance in applying to graduate programs in Physics. If you are interested in attending a Q&A panel to hear from current graduate students about applying to graduate programs please fill out this form .

https://forms.gle/oY6y9L3dpHQe9XN47

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International physics personal statement example.

Since infancy, I have been intrigued as to how anything I came into contact with worked; however, the explanations I received were always either too vague or beyond my knowledge at the time, I have came to realize that the keyword for all my questions was physics, where the most complex phenomena of the universe can be explained by fitting small pieces of the puzzle into a structured theory. My passion for mathematics is another factor in my choice of physics as a degree subject. I find complex problems in both physics and mathematics very challenging, and this enables me to embrace physics as more than simply a major or a degree, but as a personal passionate.

Due to my school's offer of Core mathematics only in the AS and A2 level I am not able to study further pure maths in school, and therefore I'm self studying it at home. This would allow me to grasp the mathematical concepts in topics like the standard model which inspire me and motivate me to work harder; hence I approach the difficult most challenging questions with enthusiasm and an open mind.

I participated in extra activities where I did practicals like measuring radioactivity, & power generation. Additionally I have taught extra classes for weaker students, helping them to achieve higher grades, and I have being elected as a prefect at school.

In summer 2008 I managed to seize the opportunity of shadowing a radiologist in the radiology department at the International Medical Centre, I was also given the opportunity to observe the planning and modelling stages of a new building where I attended the construction site. Watching the application of the laws of physics being carried out before my eyes was fantastic and an extra motivator for me.

Beyond scholastic matters, I'm interested in activities that require thinking, such as computer programming, website designing, and scientific researching. I also enjoy reading, solving complicated questions, helping people, and "tamseer", the art of wearing an Omani turban plus playing table tennis and swimming.

I am preparing myself to do my AS exams in the January session 2009 and the A2 exams in the May/June session. I am very optimistic to achieve the high grades expected for me by my teachers.I also managed to represent the Sultanate in an international youth convention at the Seychelles. I was the head delegate. Moreover I have handled the Coordination of many charity gatherings. I am as well the MISMUN coordinator and Head delegate of the 2009 MUN delegation team.

In 2006, I was awarded the "International Student Award for the Middle East region" by the Council of International Schools, and during my scholastic years, I have been awarded the Certificate of Academic Superiority, Certificate of Merit with distinction and Principal's Honour Roll with High Distinction almost every year.

I intend to continue with my post-graduation studies for the future, in the fields of either Nuclear or quantum physics, and then continue to get a PhD. Thus I will be able to benefit other students at universities by being a lecturer to earn a living, in addition to conducting my own research in my field of physics in the same university or research centre to achieve my ultimate goal of doing something major in the world.

Profile info

This personal statement was written by yhs1991 for application in 2009.

yhs1991's university choices Cambridge University Imperial College London The University of Manchester The University of Nottingham University of Leeds

Green : offer made Red : no offer made

Degree Physics at Imperial College London

yhs1991's Comments

I would like to thank Studential.com and the previous users of this website for the amazing guide and example personal statment, it was a great help, which is why I decided to publish my statment as well. With this statment I got an interviews and offers from the Universities of Cambridge, Imperial college london, Leeds, Nottingham, and Manchester.

Related Personal Statements

Your statement is amazing,.

Wed, 29/06/2011 - 21:18

Your statement is amazing, though you have quite a few spelling/grammar errors, which I feel may have been the reason you were not accepted into Cambridge.

what grades did you get?

Sun, 21/08/2011 - 14:56

Hi exellent personal

Sun, 09/10/2011 - 19:28

Hi exellent personal statement. I am curently writing mine and I was wondering which university did you get into?

Cheesy and full of clichés.

Sun, 14/09/2014 - 20:56

Add new comment

Prospective Students

Biomedical Physics - an Emerging Interdisciplinary Field

• PhD Program

Why Apply Here?

• Writing Your Personal Statement
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The PhD Degree in Biomedical Physics

The Biomedical Physics Program (BMP) is joint effort under the Stanford School of Medicine Departments of Radiology and Radiation Oncology and offers instruction and research opportunities leading to a PhD degree in Biomedical Physics. The goal is to train students in research focused on technology translatable to clinical medicine, including radiation therapy, image-guided therapy, diagnostic, interventional, and molecular imaging, and other forms of disease detection and characterization with molecular diagnostics. These students will be prepared for a variety of career paths, including faculty positions at academic institutions, clinical physics roles in radiology and radiation oncology departments, industry, and roles at government and other private sector organizations focusing on medical- and bio-technology. Given the evolution of modern medicine towards technologically sophisticated treatments and diagnostics, particularly in the areas of imaging, molecular biomarkers, and radiation therapy, there is a need for well-trained leaders with this educational background and the skills to conduct meaningful and significant research in this field. Stanford University has a rich tradition of innovation and education within these disciplines, with advances ranging from the development and application of the medical linear accelerator towards radiation treatment of cancer to the engineering of non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging having been pioneered here. Accordingly, Stanford is home to a breadth of faculty with outstanding achievements. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, the close proximity and frequent interactions among the Stanford Schools of Medicine, Engineering, and Humanities and Sciences provide an ideal environment to offer students outstanding training in both the clinical and scientific aspects of this discipline.

The program can provide flexibility and can complement other opportunities in applied medical research at Stanford. Special arrangements may be made for those with unusual needs or those simultaneously enrolled in other degree programs within the University. Similarly, students with prior relevant training may have the curriculum adjusted to eliminate requirements met as part of prior training.

Prerequisites

As Biomedical Physics is a highly multidisciplinary area of study, we are seeking students from a variety of scientific backgrounds.  Undergraduates with strong quantitative skills majoring in physics, engineering, or the biological sciences are encouraged to apply.  No GRE exams are required for admissions.

Degree Requirements

The doctoral program is a full-time, residential, research-oriented program, with student typically starting in the fall quarter and spending an average of about 5-6 years at Stanford.

Candidates are encouraged to explore the various research interests of the biomedical physics core and affiliated faculty, with lab rotations during the first year expose students to different laboratories. Prior to being formally admitted to candidacy for the doctoral degree at the end of the second year of study, each student must demonstrate knowledge of biomedical physics fundamentals and a potential for succeeding in research by passing a qualifying examination. Students later complete and defend a doctoral dissertation.

Details of the curriculum and specific degree requirements are described on Stanford Bulletin .

All BMP PhD students who maintain satisfactory academic progress receive full financial support (tuition and a living stipend) for the duration of their doctoral program. However, the number of admitted students is limited by funding, hence applicants are encouraged, but not required, to apply for external fellowship support (e.g., NSF or Stanford's Knight-Hennessy Scholars program ) on their own.

Application Instructions and Deadlines

Applications are due late November/early December each year. See details on the Graduate Admissions webpage .

There is a $125 application fee . Applicants who need assistance with the application fee are encouraged to apply for a fee waiver . Preference is given to low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented minority students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

The Application Deadline: December 1, 2023 (11:59:59 pm PST).

• Complete the Biomedical Physics PhD application online. Note that only one Stanford PhD application per academic year is allowed, and that Biosciences, Bioengineering, and Electrical Engineering are not part of the Biomedical Physics Program.
• Submit scanned (unofficial) transcripts as part of the Biomedical Physics application. Graduate Admissions only requires admitted applicants who accept the offer of admission to submit official transcripts that shows their degree conferral. Please do not send or have sent any official transcripts to us at this time.
• See our page about the Personal Statement.
• Please include an up-to-date version of your CV.
• The GRE General Test score is not required and will not be considered if submitted. We do not require any GRE Subject Test scores.
• Application materials, including letters of recommendation, should be received by the deadline. We do review all applications, including incomplete ones.
• For materials that are mailed, please use our Contact Address.
• Please do NOT upload supporting materials, such as published papers, unpublished manuscripts, BS or MS theses, writing samples, posters, or class projects, with your application.
• Check the status of your application can be tracked through the Biomedical Physics status webpage . Interview invitations go out in early January, and interviews are in late February or early March. Offers of admission are made on a rolling basis starting in March. Finals decisions from admitted candidates are due by April 15.
• The selection of PhD students admitted to BMP is based on an individualized, holistic review of each application, including the applicant’s academic record, the letters of recommendation, the statement of purpose, personal qualities and characteristics, and past accomplishments.
• Deferral of admission: BMP generally does not allow deferral of admission to the PhD program, and it is better for you to apply when you are ready to begin your graduate study following the normal timeline. However, sometimes one's circumstances change; please contact us if that happens to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

It is highly recommended that you review our Frequently Asked Questions page.

The Biomedical Physics Program recognizes that the Supreme Court issued a ruling in June 2023 about the consideration of certain types of demographic information as part of an admission review. All applications submitted during upcoming application cycles will be reviewed in conformance with that decision.

The Biomedical Physics Program welcomes graduate applications from individuals with a broad range of life experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds who would contribute to our community of scholars. The review process is holistic and individualized, considering each applicant’s academic record and accomplishments, letters of recommendation, prior research experience, and admissions essays to understand how an applicant’s life experiences have shaped their past and potential contributions to their field and how they might enrich the learning community at Stanford.

Students are expected to enter with a series of core competencies in mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics or engineering, and computing. Students entering the program are assessed by the examination of their undergraduate transcripts and research experiences. Specifically, the department requires that students have completed mathematics through multivariable calculus and linear algebra, and must hold, or expect to hold before enrollment at Stanford, a bachelor’s degree in engineering or physical science from a U.S. college or university accredited by a regional accrediting association. Applicants from institutions outside the U.S. must hold the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree from a college or university of recognized standing. See minimum level of study required of international applicants .

Qualified applicants are encouraged to apply for predoctoral national competitive fellowships, especially those from the National Science Foundation. Applicants to the Ph.D. program should consult with their financial aid officers for information and applications.

The deadline for receiving applications is December 1, 2023. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is not required for admission to the Ph.D. program in Biomedical Physics.

Further information and application instructions for all graduate degree programs may be obtained from Graduate Admissions .

Application Fee and Fee Waivers

The  application fee is $125  and is non-refundable. You will be prompted to pay the application fee at the time you submit your application. The acceptable form of payment is via credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, JCB, Discover, and Diners Club) or bank transfer from a U.S. checking account. If you do not have a credit card then you should make arrangements with a family member or friend to use theirs. Checks by mail are not accepted.

Fee Waivers

Applicants who need assistance with the application fee are encouraged to apply for a fee waiver. Priority for fee waivers is given to applicants who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. International applicants who need assistance with the application fee are eligible to apply for the School-Based fee waiver. For a complete list of fee waiver options and eligibility requirements, please visit the Graduate Admissions  website .

Please note that fee waiver requests are required to be submitted 10 business days prior to the application deadline (December 1 at 11:59:59 pm PST); so please plan accordingly.

• Reputation and Environment . Amplified by the astounding intellectual and technological capital of Silicon Valley, Stanford University, one of the world's leading academic institutions, is dedicated to finding solutions to big challenges and to preparing students for leadership in a complex world. Integrating a premier medical school with world-class adult and children’s hospitals, Stanford Medicine fosters an unrivaled atmosphere of interdisciplinary exploration and collaboration that has produced many of the innovations that sparked a biomedical revolution. The Biomedical Physics program is an essential component of Stanford Medicine’s commitment to excellence in education, scientific discovery, bench-to-bedside research, and clinical innovation.

• Curriculum . Our core courses span a wide array of topics, including radiation physics and therapy, imaging sciences, molecular imaging and diagnostics, with much of the material based on cutting-edge research conducted here at Stanford.

• Interdisciplinary Research Opportunities . BMP in a new PhD program housed within the Departments of Radiology and Radiation Oncology. Leveraging research and clinical expertise at Stanford Hospital, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, and Stanford Clinics, the BMP program also includes faculty from the Stanford Biosciences , Bio-X , ChEM-H , Wu Tsai Neurosciences , Bioengineering , Electrical Engineering , and Computer Science programs, all of which are in close physical proximity on Stanford's main campus.

• Related Stanford PhD Programs . As the scope of medical physics has expanded, students pursuing careers in this field have been distributed throughout a number of training programs ranging from physics to engineering to bioengineering to biology. Situated within the clinical departments of Radiology and Radiation Oncology, the BMP program integrates novel technical developments in radiation therapy, imaging, and molecular diagnostics with the unique challenges of clinical medicine.

• Location . Situated in the heart of entrepreneurial Silicon Valley, Stanford University's campus occupies over 8000 acres, bordering Palo Alto, CA and provides easy access to the amenities of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Instructions for Writing Your Personal Statement

You are required to submit a Personal Statement as part of the Graduate Application for the BMP PhD degree.

The BMP program is designed for students interested in the application of physics and engineering principles to problems in clinical medicine, with an emphasis on translational science. The Admissions Committee will read your Personal Statement carefully to determine how well your aspirations align with the mission of the BMP PhD Program.

In your Personal Statement, please tell us how your schooling, work, research, and life experiences prepare you for study at BMP, describe your passion for research, current research interests, and career goals, and explain how our training program will enable you to achieve them.

The Personal Statement should be 1-2 pages. Please do not append class projects, research proposals, draft manuscripts, published papers, posters, or other ancillary materials.

Questions about the Program

Where can I find the details about the program?

Please review this website, and our program listing in Stanford University Bulletin .

What is the best way to see if my interests align with the program?

Review the details of our curriculum and summary descriptions of core and affiliated faculty . You should also do web searches to find the faculty websites and check out their most recent publications on PubMed . 

What is the difference between Stanford's BMP program and medical physics programs in other universities?

Students pursuing careers at the intersection of technology and medicine can enroll in a variety of related Stanford programs ranging from physics to engineering to biology. Situated within the clinical departments of Radiology and Radiation Oncology, the BMP program uniquely integrates novel technical developments in radiation therapy, imaging, and molecular diagnostics with the unique challenges of clinical medicine.

How do BMP graduate students pick a lab and faculty research supervisor?

Students do up to 3 rotations the first year in labs chosen through mutual agreement by the student and the faculty member.

How long does it take to get a degree?

Is the Stanford BMP PhD program CAMPEP accredited?

This is a new Biomedical Physics PhD program and is not yet accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs (CAMPEP). 

What kind of jobs are available for Stanford BMP graduates?

Students who successfully complete  the BMP PhD program will be capable of pursuing careers in academia, clinical medicine, and industry.  Graduates will be competitive for faculty positions in nationwide medical physics programs, as well as in related university departments including Bioengineering, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, Radiology, and Radiation Oncology. In addition, a variety of industrial positions at companies developing medical and imaging technologies would be available to graduating doctoral students. They may, for example, work for a Fortune 500 company like General Electric , a large-cap company like Varian Medical Systems , or a publicly traded company like ViewRay . All of these companies have a substantial need for Ph.D. scientists in biomedical physics as they provide unique expertise in translational medical imaging and medical therapy that is distinct form their engineering colleagues. Medical companies developing imaging, radiation therapy, and molecular diagnostics, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and non-medical companies with a focus on technology development could each exploit the unique skill set of BMP graduates. Examples include Siemens Healthcare , Philips Healthcare , Canon Medical Systems , Bruker , Accuray , Elekta , IBA Worldwide , Bayer , Guerbet , Hologic , Genentech , Agilent , and Google Health . Trainees may also find professional opportunities in the federal government working at either the NIH or FDA , both of which seek scientists with the precise training provided by our program. Additional career opportunities would be available at the intersection of tech and medicine by way of local start-up companies and consulting firms.

Questions about Applying

Should I apply to the Stanford BMP Program?

Only you know enough about your circumstances to make this decision. We encourage all applicants to consider their personal and career goals, their background and abilities, financial constraints, and reasonable alternatives, before applying.

What is "Biomedical Physics"?

I'm interested in several departments in Stanford. Which one should I apply to?

This is a very important decision, so it is worth your time to explore and consider your options carefully. Stanford Biomedical Physics is very interdisciplinary; if admitted, you will be able to pick research supervisors from among multiple faculty having a wide range of research interests. You should select a PhD program on the basis of your background, your interest in a particular curriculum, your fit with the program's research, and your career plans. In general, we recommend apply to BMP if you are primarily interested in the application of novel developments in radiation physics, imaging science, and molecular imaging to solve clinical problems. See also the next few FAQs.

What is the difference between Stanford Biomedical Physics, Biosciences, and Bioengineering?

Can I apply to both BMP and other Stanford PhD programs at the same time?

No. You are limited to one PhD application per academic year.  The Biomedical Physics PhD program is distinct from degrees offered by other Stanford programs such as Biosciences , Bioengineering , and Electrical Engineering . Therefore, it is important to decide which program best fits your background and career goals. Note that if you are accepted into another program, you are welcome to take BMP courses.

How do I apply?

Review our website to see if our program is a good fit with your goals. The specifics depend on the degree program to which you are applying. You can find instructions for each degree under  Prospective Students .

When can I apply? What is the application deadline?

Applications to the PhD program are accepted each autumn from (roughly) mid-September to late November/early December for admission the following Autumn. For details of timing for the other degree programs, see their respective webpages. All PhD applications are reviewed together, so there is no competitive advantage in applying early; however, we very strongly recommend that you not wait until the last minute (or day).

I missed the deadline. Can I apply late (or early) to the PhD program?

No. We do not accept applications to the PhD program out of the normal cycle, as it causes problems both for admission’s process which is coordinated with the other Stanford programs and for arranging funding.

Does Stanford BMP offer conditional admission?

Is my application good enough?

We are unable to answer that question for specific applicants. The BMP admissions committee considers many factors, including grades, letters of recommendation, the personal statement, prior research experience, life circumstances, and fit with our program. The decision is based on a composite of these elements in the context of all the applications we receive each cycle. You should also note that admission to our program, especially for the PhD, is  very  competitive, so it is to your advantage to make sure your application is as strong as you can make it in all of the listed dimensions.

Stanford requires a TOEFL score (if needed) of greater than or equal to 100. If your score is below 100 and you are accepted, Stanford requires that you retake the exam to achieve that threshold. Unfortunately, we cannot make exceptions to this rule. See  here .

How many people apply?

This is a new PhD program, so we do not yet have reliable statistics regarding the number of applicants.  However, we anticipate the PhD application process will be highly competitive.

Is it okay if some of my application materials arrive late?

You need to submit the main application before the deadline.

Unofficial test scores (TOEFL) and unofficial transcripts should arrive before the deadline. Your unofficial transcripts and test scores will be validated when your official ones are received by the University, which can occur after the admissions deadline.

Outside of that, we strongly recommend against late applications, including letters of recommendation. We start reviewing applications immediately after the deadline closes. Incomplete applications will be reviewed, but incomplete applications are unlikely to be as strong as the complete ones, placing you at considerable disadvantage in an already very competitive application process.

What is the status of my application?

We realize that the application process is anxiety provoking, and it is natural to be concerned about the possibility of information missing from your application or wondering where you are in the application ranking. After the formal deadline, if something has changed, you may email the updated information to us. We ask, though, that you refrain from contacting us to request routine updates about your status. If your application is deficient in some way, we will contact you. However, you will have to wait for interview invitations and the final admission decisions on schedule.

Oops. I forgot to upload some of the supplemental materials for my application and now the system won't let me add them. What should I do?

Just email the additional materials to our  Contact Address .

What is the general timeline for admissions?

Applications are due late November or early December. Invitations for interviews (PhD only) go out in early January. Interviews are early March. Offers of admission are sent starting early March. Your final admission decisions are due April 15. Most students start in the Autumn (late Sept, Stanford is on quarter system).

I have been out of school for a while. Do you accept older students?

Yes. We anticipate some of our students will have gotten other degrees, worked in industry, or had other relevant experiences before entering the BMP program.

I was not admitted. Can I meet with someone to tell me why?

While we understand that situation is disappointing, we are not able to provide individual feedback to unsuccessful applicants.

Can I meet with BMP faculty before applying? Can I request an interview?

Due to time constraints, we are not able to accommodate all requests to meet one-on-one with our faculty prior to submitting an application, give individual tours, or meet to provide guidance about applications, the admissions process, and career planning.

We only interview a limited number of applicants. Top candidates for our PhD program will be invited out to visit us during the application process. We will contact you by mid-January if we want you to come for an interview. Note that the interview process is quite extensive; you will interview with multiple faculty and students, tour our campus, and meet with many of our current students in social settings.

I have contacted one of the BMP faculty about admissions. Will I receive a response?

Our faculty members receive many emails and requests for information. Unfortunately, they are unable to respond to all such contacts. Please email specific questions about the admissions process to us at our  Contact Address .

Should I contact faculty to get a research assistantship before I am admitted?

Generally, we only admit PhD students whose funding is pre-arranged by the BMP program or outside scholarship. There is more information about funding here . As part of the admission process, we will bring your application to the attention of the appropriate faculty. Just to be clear, you apply to the BMP program; you do not apply to individual faculty labs.

I have taken some coursework at Stanford before. Can I count those units towards another degree if I am admitted?

Generally, yes. However, you can't count the same course towards two different degrees. If you have extra units from a prior degree or a currently active degree program, then those units can count towards a BMP PhD if you are admitted. The total number of units required for the relevant BMP degree does not change.

Do I need any particular undergraduate major in order to apply?

No. We anticipate accepting students from diverse backgrounds, including those with undergraduate training in physics, engineering, biomedical sciences, and computer science.

If I'm accepted into the BMP program, can I work with a particular professor?

If you have already identified a possible research mentor, then you are one step ahead. However, be advised that even if admitted, there is no guarantee that that professor would have space in their lab, have appropriate funding, or be a good interpersonal match with you. In general, we recommend that you apply to Stanford BMP because your interests align well with our overall program philosophy and emphasis.

Does BMP offer a master's degree?

We currently only offer a PhD program.

Is there a part-time PhD degree program? Is there a distance learning PhD?

No. Our faculty believe that the PhD must be obtained on-campus, with full-time involvement.

I applied before. Do you need official copies of my transcripts again?

Can I transfer credit?

Transferring credit means using credit for courses taken  outside of  Stanford to reduce the number of credits taken  at  Stanford.

For the PhD degree: Yes. The PhD requires 135 units, of which 90 units must be taken at Stanford during the PhD program. Thus, you could transfer credits taken elsewhere or taken at Stanford in another graduate program. More information is  here .

Are the GREs required?

No. The GRE General Test score is not required and will not be considered if submitted. We do not require any GRE Subject Test scores.

Do I have to take the TOEFL?

TOEFL scores are required by Stanford University of all applicants whose first language is not English. There are some complications and exceptions. See the  official Stanford policy  for details. If you take the test near our application deadline, email the unofficial scores to us as soon as possible; the official scores can arrive after the deadline. Stanford requires a TOEFL score (if needed) of greater than or equal to 100. If your score is below 100 and you are accepted, Stanford requires that you retake the exam to achieve that threshold. Unfortunately, we cannot make exceptions to this rule. See here .

Can I take another language exam in place of the TOEFL?

No. Stanford only accepts the TOEFL.

Can international students apply to the program?

We welcome applications from international applicants. International applicants follow the same application process as other applicants, with additional rules and requirements listed here. 1)  You need to hold a four-year bachelor’s degree in order to apply. The exact requirements vary by country and are listed on the Office of Graduate Admissions International Applicants page . 2) Applicants whose first language is not English must submit an official test score from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Stanford accepts only ETS (Educational Testing Service) scores. We accept MyBest scores but at this time we are not accepting TOEFL Essentials test scores (see Stanford Graduate Admission Required Exams webpage). 3) We do not advise applicants about visas. The Bechtel International Center has information about how to maintain visas for international students. The US State Department has information about student and exchange visitor visas.

Do I need to have a master’s degree before applying to the PhD program?

Questions about Tuition, Fees, Program Costs, Funding, and Financial Aid

How much does it cost to get a PhD?

Tuition and other fees for Academic PhD programs are set by Stanford University. The most up-to-date listing is on the Stanford Registrar's  website .

What financial aid does BMP provide?

All BMP PhD students who maintain satisfactory academic progress receive full financial support (tuition and a living stipend) for the duration of their doctoral program.

Is there a fee for applying for admission?

The fee for applying for admission to any graduate program at Stanford is $125. However, the Biomedical Physics graduate program is committed to increasing the diversity of biomedical research and Stanford University. We will offer application fee waivers to a limited number of candidates. Preference is given to low-income, first generation and underrepresented minority students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Can I request an application fee waiver?

The Biomedical Physics graduate program is committed to increasing the diversity of biomedical research and Stanford University. We will provide application fee waivers to a limited number of candidates. Preference is given to low-income, first generation and underrepresented minority students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

• You should only request a BMP-based waiver if you do not qualify for the GRE or Diversity Program Participation fee waivers.
• Given the limited availability of fee waivers, only request one if you are sure you will be applying for admission this application season.
• Applications for fee waivers will be reviewed and approved on a first-come, first-serve basis.
• Acceptance or denial of your application for a fee waiver does not affect your likelihood of admission into a graduate program. 
• If the application fee waiver request is approved, the applicant will be sent a code to enter in the payment section of the online graduate admissions application.
• No refund will be given if you apply for a fee waiver and pay the application fee instead of using your application fee waiver code.  If we deny your request for a waiver, we will instruct you to pay the fee.

Waiver Application Form:

• In 250-500 words, describe your research experiences.
• In 250 words or less, describe how your research interests and background (in terms of race, ethnicity, culture, gender identity, socioeconomic status, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, disability/ability, veteran status, work, and life experiences) would contribute to the diversity (broadly defined) of students pursuing a PhD at Stanford.
• In 250 words or less describe why you believe you are eligible for and should receive a fee waiver.  Priority is given to students from communities that may be systemically minoritized in biomedical research, experiencing financial hardship, qualified for federal financial aid, are first in their family to pursue an advanced degree, or are from environments with limited access to university research programs. 
• List any research, honors, and diversity-related programs in which you have participated.
• Send the materials in items 1-4 above along with your name, mailing address, phone, and email address to [email protected] with the subject “Fee Waiver Request”.

All fee waiver requests must be submitted no later than November 10th. 

Other Questions

How much does it cost to live close to Stanford University or in the SF Bay Area? How can I find out about my housing options?

The SF Bay Area is expensive. Many graduate students choose to live on campus for convenience and to minimize costs. Please refer to Stanford's  Housing Office  for more information.

What do I do if I still have questions?

Send us email ( Contact Us ). We are busy keeping all the machinery behind the scenes running smoothly, but we try to respond to every inquiry within one to two business days. It is much better to email us questions directly rather than asking us if you can call.

Additional Resource (Video)

Information Session - Recorded September 14th, 2021 ( click lower right icon to expand )