Very Funny to see this video's title in March when acceptances and rejection are already coming out. My initial response was "No, I got in, it was a good statement believe me!" It makes sense though, both cause it's in response to a tweet from a professor reading them and also for students who want to apply next year.
@acollierastro
Жыл бұрын
Pinning this comment so people read the description and realize they need to work on these applications early. Congrats on your acceptance, I hope you enjoy grad school!
@cygfreas6934
Жыл бұрын
really enjoyed paleontology referred to as "dinosaur school" like maybe u are a dinosaur who is applying for dinosaur graduate school
@lakecityransom
Жыл бұрын
"Despite my shortcomings, I have a great interest in writing about this field." - Tyrannosauru S. Rex
@beryllium1932
Жыл бұрын
NCSU has a model farm with a sign, "Chicken Educational Unit" 😂 bok, bok, bah-ok...
@katiekawaii
Жыл бұрын
😂
@antonnurwald5700
Жыл бұрын
I was thinking the same thing. And how sad it was that the dinosaur graduate spent their formative years in a museum.
@roippi3985
Жыл бұрын
Professor, upon reading the dinosaur’s personal statement: “Clever girl.”
@matthartley6537
Жыл бұрын
I applied for a summer research program at a fairly good university my Junior year, and due to their application process being terrible I accidentally got accepted to their PhD program, but didn't receive any funding. I always thought it was a scam, but also that it was hilarious that a school like that would let somebody without a Bachelor's degree into their PhD program.
@kang4394
Жыл бұрын
This comment is to encourage the youtube algorithm to promote this video; the upvote is for the diss of Ohio relative to Kentucky.
@catmate8358
Жыл бұрын
Well, as a kid I was fascinated by stars (a cousin has built a 50x refractor with lenses and mirrors sold by a science journal as a kit and we would carry the heavy mf to the top of the hill to observe Jupiter satellites in freaking January), but when I applied for a film school, I said I liked westerns. I wasn't accepted until, in the third attempt, I said I was fascinated by the Dutch Renaissance paintings, so that's what you want to say when applying to a film school...
@MaraBumbuc
3 ай бұрын
In architecture school the equivalent was: please don't say you used to play with LEGOs as a child 😂
@skeezicksz
Жыл бұрын
I’m applying for grad programs this fall as a non traditional student. I can’t believe I happened on this, no one gave this info to me in my years up til now.
@bobsmith7439
8 ай бұрын
The reason they told you that you were their least favorite is because they wanted you to think that the slave labor teaching job they offered was your best option. They probably said the same thing to the other interviewees.
@culwin
Жыл бұрын
"Ever since I was a kid, I've hated space" -there, that's a freebie for anyone applying. Guaranteed to make you stand out!
@SmileyxKyley
10 ай бұрын
“I’m applying to this astrophysics program to hopefully destroy space from the inside out”
@GSBarlev
10 ай бұрын
Wait, isn't that the backstory of the main antagonists from _Life, the Universe and Everything?_
@sharkeysribjoint
9 ай бұрын
its insane how true this is
@violetsweet1660
4 ай бұрын
I learned fluid dynamics so I would have total mastery over my lifelong nemesis: fluid.
@clawsoon
Жыл бұрын
As someone who has never thought seriously about going to grad school, I have to say that the name "personal statement" is a dumb name given what you've described. You're basically saying, "Never put anything personal [in the normal meaning of that word] in your personal statement." For first-generation students, this is 100% a "gotcha, bitch!" name.
@seanbeadles7421
Жыл бұрын
Yea it reeks of a classist shibboleth
@scotty15002
Жыл бұрын
@@seanbeadles7421 Completely agree, this pretty much filters in those "in the know" at the exclusion of everyone else. It's a great way to lose potential qualified applicants and just end up with the children of academics.
@inevespace
Жыл бұрын
Agree, as a foreigner when I see requirement of personal statement I think like "WTF do you want? Everything important for the commission is in research statement already". And what is interesting, you can't find reliable information what it should be and "good" examples online. It's like University/employer ask you "Please, BS for us a little bit"
@gaerekxenos
Жыл бұрын
@@scotty15002It sucks, but on the other hand... it ironically makes sense. People who are children of academics will typically "know the rules" and would generally need a little less guidance on certain things because they would have already known those tidbits beforehand. An example I have on hand is... if you work in Tech, you *DO NOT* bring a camera into work, and you most certainly *DO NOT* pull out your phone and take pictures of your workplace to share on social media. People who grew up with someone who works in Tech would probably hear about these issues beforehand; people who don't are far less likely to hear about it. It is a *big deal*, as data leaks and the like can happen with the photography issue, and could lead to dismissal if it is seems like you could end up being a security risk that way I... don't like the personal statement thing either due to the veiled discrimination thing going on either. It's not even that veiled if you actually are aware of what's up =/
@ALEXGIBSONCMG
Жыл бұрын
Fellow star trek enjoyer i see. TNG?
@zigoo
Жыл бұрын
I propose that instead of $100 everybody needs to enclose a 100mL bottle of blood with their application. All applicants should have a roughly equal amount of blood, and it shows an appropriate level of earnestness. Reviewers will open and confirm blood authenticity prior to dumping it into a big bucket and accepting the application for consideration.
@APSejuani
6 ай бұрын
And then the accepted students get all the blood to use in their research! (sadly not particularly useful if you're going for a PhD in like, linguistics or something)
@milesmartig5603
6 ай бұрын
@@APSejuani Donate it to a frat. They wouldn’t have to spend as much on goat blood.
@zornslemon
5 ай бұрын
How do you know it’s the grad student’s own blood? You have to send it for DNA testing. So then they also need to send you $1000 for the DNA test.
@koteghe7600
2 ай бұрын
@@zornslemon They can always take the blood from person's veins on spot or something
@KevinSmithGeo
16 сағат бұрын
@@APSejuani Clearly this is a sign that hematolinguistics is not getting enough attention.
@ukaszzbrozek6470
Жыл бұрын
Listening to you makes me grateful that I am a college dropout.
@tobiverrum
Жыл бұрын
same
@memer2694
10 ай бұрын
Same. I had a bad GPA in college but a successful career. I'm Thinking about grad school. This video definitely encouraged me to not waste my time and money. Such needless gatekeeping. To think you could do everything right, just to have your application thrown out because you never established a strong relationship with a professor.
@crimsontaints
Жыл бұрын
It's hard to understate how bad my Masters application was. I had been self employed for my whole working life. I did my bachelors 12 years ago and i couldnt contact any of my old Prof's and it was an unrelated subject. I had no references at all. My personal statement was basically "Trust me bro, i got this". They let me in though.
@mystomachhurt9312
Жыл бұрын
Good vibe, man
@KrazyKrzysztof
Жыл бұрын
money talks
@hamc9477
6 ай бұрын
Australia?
@crimsontaints
6 ай бұрын
@@hamc9477 england
@kevinxu4099
2 ай бұрын
@@hamc9477 Australia doesn't even ask for personal statement. I applied for masters at University of Melbourne and only needed past transcript and a CV.
@MrDerp72
Жыл бұрын
Damn, I just applied to a master's program two days ago and I literally did exactly that with my motivation letter. Now I'm even more sure they probably won't accept me :(
@amentrison2794
Жыл бұрын
Hopefully it goes well anyways. I'm sending you positive vibes
@acollierastro
Жыл бұрын
It’s such a common mistake, if your application is otherwise great im sure your personal statement won’t negatively effect you. Good luck!
@BramHeerebout
Жыл бұрын
Dear Mr Derp, I am watching this video 5 months late. Could you please give us an update? Did you get in? I hope you did! Best wishes!
@MrDerp72
Жыл бұрын
@@BramHeerebout Oh my god, just now I saw the notification of your reply. Sorry! But I DID get accepted!! Thank you so much for your wishes!!
@BramHeerebout
Жыл бұрын
@MrDerp72 Hey thank you for the update! That is positive news. Good luck with your adventure. Italy is wonderful!
@gentlebob2869
Жыл бұрын
Man I put off applying to graduate school specifically because of the application fees and the personal statement. First-generation means having none of the resources to be able to do either of those well and everybody around me had the same "well I dunno write about why you're interested in XXXXX" shrug. Thankfully I was able to find a master's program that had no app fee, no tuition, and no personal statement and decisions were based on grades in relevant coursework and CV. Most transparent and simplified application I've had and I love my program. Now that I'm looking at PhD programs, you have no idea how helpful this is to me. I'll probably come back to it when I apply but honestly, thank you for this. This video was the realest insight into grad school application committees I've gotten and first-gen students really need someone who knows what they're doing to tell them what's going on. We sure as hell don't. This is such important knowledge for us. Thank you!
@acollierastro
Жыл бұрын
This is really nice! The most important advice is to ask people in your field though. I'm sure you have some good mentors in your masters program. Good luck with your apps!
@charlietian4023
Ай бұрын
Whoa - no app fee AND no tuition? Can't be in the USA right
@music_YT2023
Жыл бұрын
I didn't apply to graduate school until I was in my 30s so I had no recent/current professors to ask. I'm lucky that my PI and my business office contacts were lovely enough to write glowing letters of recommendation because seriously, what other option is there? Still, I think my personal statement for my current graduate position boiled down to: 'I've published x amount of papers on these topics, and I absolutely love what I do, but there's more for me to learn and I am excited to explore '... even that felt too Disney hopeful for a statement, but 🤷🏽♀️.
@WhatTheFriedRice
Жыл бұрын
I think hopeful earnestness takes a lot more courage than bland cynicism
@Paralititan
Жыл бұрын
The 100 dollars is absolutely wild in my opinion. Promotes inequity.
@mallninja9805
4 ай бұрын
They want to make sure you understand the game is pay-to-win, so they make you ante up
@adashofbitter
Жыл бұрын
Acollierastro: "And I hope not to make a habit of making videos about tweets... because that's so pathetic" Little Joel: "Am I a joke to you?"
@rubensmuse
Жыл бұрын
something tells me Little Joel would agree at his own expense
@bettievw
Жыл бұрын
This intersection of academic nerds and little Joel watchers is so funny to me. Are we all just the same person?
@joanabug4479
11 ай бұрын
@@bettievw huh when did I write this comment? I could've sworn I had no account by that name. Ah, good reminder to go check on Little Joel as well
@bkbland1626
10 ай бұрын
@@bettievwwe ARE all the same person. Cool, huh?
@DamienPalmer
Ай бұрын
Still waiting for Medium Joel.
@CaptTerrific
Жыл бұрын
ROFL as a former pastry chef, the number of "I love learning to bake pies with my grandma" we got on applications was unbelievable... But we loved it!
@thromboid
10 ай бұрын
Haha...I guess it's better than "I love eating pies". :)
@thromboid
10 ай бұрын
(I think a lot of gamers think wishfully that game development means getting paid to play games.)
@123370
Жыл бұрын
As a non-academic whose partner is a professor, i appreciate all these glimpses into that world.
@antoniomonteiro3698
Жыл бұрын
how about: "In high school I never read Michio Kaku because I knew even back then that he is a hack?"
@lunam7249
Жыл бұрын
❤❤❤😂🎉
@brendansullivan3408
28 күн бұрын
Genius!!!
@brendansullivan3408
28 күн бұрын
I'm so tempted to bring up some musical analog but that would be too cruel to the musicians.
@scribbitb.4519
Жыл бұрын
I'm not applying I just want my personal statement dissed retroactively
@meridian5536
Жыл бұрын
I love how you called this niche but you presented it all super interestingly for people like me who have no personal investment in higher education. I didn't even know what a personal statement was before this video but I watched the whole thing.
@robertvarner9519
Жыл бұрын
Angela! You are a first rate story teller. I'm not in the process of applying to graduate school but found this video interesting and entertaining. You gave people applying to graduate school great advice on how to go through the process. BTW, I only went as far as a masters degree in molecular biology. That was enough school for me.
@Igorooooleynikov
Жыл бұрын
Damn, it is actually good that im stupid so I dont have to be scientist and participate in hell you describe.
@cookiequeen5430
Жыл бұрын
Exactly what I'm thinking lmao
@cubedable
Жыл бұрын
You're really great at talking about things in a captivating way. I'm an undergrad and have no use for this information imho but it was interesting!
@cadosian078
Жыл бұрын
I’m a high schooler who wants to be an astrophysicist and this channel is a goldmine of horror stories and advice
@hamc9477
6 ай бұрын
How it going a year later into your undergrad studies? Is it relevant now?
@wilecoyote5757
11 ай бұрын
I had a friend who applied to NASA to become an Astronaut. He now has his framed Astronaut rejection letter proudly displayed on his living room wall.
@4thace
Жыл бұрын
I felt a little PTSD watching this not because of my own experience so much, which was a long time ago and ended up working out fine for me in the end, but for the part at the end with the adjunct/assistant professor thing. For me it's like a creepypasta story but in academia, and your delivery does not disappoint.
@heijd
Жыл бұрын
"it was 2019, so it was *before*"
@andresp.4583
Жыл бұрын
I really enjoy your stream or consciousness videos, it took about 25 minutes, but I think you might have answered your own question. That student from Sri Lanka who plans to go back to teach, well that’s what the statement is for. Most students won’t fall into the inspirational hardship category here, so they’ll default to a “I loved the stars when I was young” answer. And that’s ok. But not everyone will. And that’s why your idea of a lottery would miss out on this final level of decision making. Super analysis as usual :)
@none_of_your_business
Жыл бұрын
This is why I'll always prefer the industry over academia. In the industry you can literally come off the street, apply to a job, you get tested, and if you're a good fit you get the big bucks and if you're selective enough about which jobs you apply for, you'll have fun tackling problems that are just as interesting. Not to mention a lot of companies have a hard time finding people, so competition is rarely tough.
@nicklockard
Жыл бұрын
You also learn a lot more in industry.
@GSBarlev
10 ай бұрын
It _really_ depends on the industry. Oh so many places still have education requirements, and while the movement for abolishing them is gaining strength, there's a really practical reason for not: H1B visas-if a position doesn't require higher education in a niche field, you won't be able to recruit and hire international talent. And if you _absolish_ education requirements, you're putting at risk the immigration status of the people you brought in on those visas. *tl;dr-America's garbage immigration system ruins everything*
@mewho8057
6 ай бұрын
which field are you in? In mine it seems so often that academia is where the open-ended questions are, and industry mostly wants to improve the tech they sell.
@stevenklinden
Жыл бұрын
Now I'm trying to remember what the process was like when I applied to physics grad schools in 2005. I don't _think_ I remember writing a personal statement, just a research statement, so I'm wondering if these have become standard for grad school applications since then. But it's also quite possible I just blocked it out. I had done no research in undergrad, which was obviously stupid, but managed to get into a good program based on good grades and a good GRE. Also, I had never heard of grad students being asked to host prospective new students in their homes before, and now that I've heard about it I'm angry. That's totally insane. If someone had asked me to do that, I would have assumed they were joking and laughed in their face.
@pauforcadellcampos4452
Жыл бұрын
Omg I love your videos so much! I have just discovered you and I thought you'd have many more subs. I love the way you approach your content, I like a break from highly produced vids.
@mahakleung6992
2 ай бұрын
Angela - Most PhDs on KZitem are science communicators. How refreshing a real person; not just a scientist. I will never forget the start of your channel with the courage you showed to go on the record about sexual harassments. Your real person common sense style is greatly appreciated in world of false narratives and performers.
@amcentaggart574
Жыл бұрын
Hi, I applied to physics grad school last fall and had a couple of thoughts on points made in this video: 1. Most if not all top-tier programs just require a "personal statement" where you're expected to describe both your physics experience and your research interests at that program (i.e., no separate "personal statement" and "research statement"). 2. In general, I think the chronological story structure is safe and effective for personal essays, and many successful statements (including mine) follow it. So it's totally fine to kick off a personal statement describing how you became passionate about a field, including what interested you as a child. 3. Personal/family issues are absolutely relevant to a grad program application - in fact, many programs explicitly include a section outside of the personal statement where applicants may describe how an issue has affected them during college. In particular, if it led to a bad semester or a bad test score or something, it's important to contextualize that and most programs do consider it.
@allanwarsing
Жыл бұрын
Applying to a grad program needs PhD qualifications nowadays. Getting into a PhD program, you need to more like a successful corporate manager. It's madness.
@acollierastro
Жыл бұрын
Bonkers to expect new grad students to be fully functional researchers! If they already have the qualifications why should they sign up for six more years of training??!
@judychurley6623
Жыл бұрын
@@communist754 Depends how you spend your time in grad school and what you expected it to be. (It is not necessarily vocational school. Maybe you just found out that you are not an academic; no shame in that.)
@matthiascoppens2062
Жыл бұрын
Wait, I don't really understand American university lingo, so I thought that graduate school meant being a doctorate student. Am I wrong?
@PeteQuad
Жыл бұрын
@@matthiascoppens2062yes. Typically you would only be getting a doctorate after having completed a Master's degree. A graduate student just means anyone who completed the basic 4 year undergraduate degree.
@allanwarsing
Жыл бұрын
We have Associates (2yrs), Bachelors (2 more yrs), Masters [this is graduate school](3 more yrs), and PhD (2+more years). So, to go from high school to PhD is at least 8-10 years, then there is post-doc stuff.@@matthiascoppens2062
@26Sundrops
Жыл бұрын
This isn't what the people want to hear probably, but it's what they need to hear! Honestly putting all of this out in the open and saying what it's like without any extra idealism is more likely to help candidates get through more successfully. It makes a lot of sense; you're making a business pitch. You're making a persuasive argument.
@meekrab9027
Жыл бұрын
I got into a Master's program a while back (yes probably different from PhD but they required all the same docs) and my personal statement basically focused on what I had done in my work, why that related to the degree, what I would choose to study (degree had a few branches) and what I would do with that degree after I earned it. Which I'm now doing ^_^ I don't think I wrote a single sentence about my life before I turned 21.
@MattRemendaEnsemble
Жыл бұрын
You post so many videos that are, basically, the conversations that I have with my fellow (early career, young, and impoverished) academics... many of us understand... but I feel like the world of grad school (and academia) is (are) extremely foreign to out-groups (and those in grad school or academia who come from some level of "means"). Consequently, I like sharing your videos to give insight to non-academics (and academics of previous generations or those who are well off). So THANK YOU for making these! All the best, and PLEASE keep making these "niche" videos.
@lafanfarlo4872
Жыл бұрын
I had to read my personal statement that I wrote like 2 or 3 years ago. It holds up pretty well, at least I didn't mention anything about enjoying books as a child (librarian degree). I just wrote about my professional experiences that relate to the field and what I'd like to do in five years with my degree. And yes, it helps talking to other people who went through the same process and were accepted, it gives you a good indication of what your desired faculty generally wants. As for the reference letters, I just picked up teachers I liked, gave no fuck about their notoriety in the lib field. I think that was a nice bet. One reference letter, though, was talking about the librarian field as if it was an IT thing, which was weird but not far off. I have to say I didn't apply for post-graduate research, just a post-grad degree, so not as rigorous and not that many boots to lick too.
@Dominis.
Жыл бұрын
Doesn't it suck that you have to be the best of the best to study? We should strive to provide high education to anyone who wants it even if they underperform. That's what makes it interesting. Sharing it with others.
@GSBarlev
10 ай бұрын
I used to work in HR supporting recruiting and made this exact point-why should the focus be on recruiting the best (who will demand the best salaries and be at the highest risk of poaching) rather than on recruiting talent that's "good enough" while also bringing in valuable and diverse perspectives? I actually quantified this concept into a metric that could be optimized. I was shut down _extremely_ harshly.
@MrInsdor
Жыл бұрын
yeah the process is different for everybody, but I'm surprised you didn't mention these statements of inclusion maybe it's very field specific, but a friend who recently applied to 5 linguistics grad schools in the US had to do some form of declaring what his hire would do for inclusion at the university some also had forms asking for way too personal information like sexuality, but you could leave them blank but leaving a field blank where you would've had minority status would then lower your degree of inclusion bonus I guess?! this was definitely the most surprising thing to us non-Americans to hear about
@acollierastro
Жыл бұрын
I don’t like the trend of graduate schools requiring DEI statements from incoming students. Instead it should be the schools proving that they actually allow a diverse group to thrive in their program.
@MrInsdor
Жыл бұрын
@@acollierastro maybe that's what they were there for and the data gets anonymized? at least for the ones which used forms
@eliana993
Жыл бұрын
This always felt like your students doing the work for you. However, I think trying to focus on boosting diversity in your programs by offering some special funding or extra help in the application process would not be a bad thing. I think there are a few nsf funded fellowships and such focused on mentoring for that purpose. First gen students and people without access to mentors who can get them into competitive programs (professors are usually not good at helping you do this, personally I felt a lot of them were very out of touch). I think trying to get students to write about their commitment to inclusion efforts is fake posturing but putting money into programs that help get into these programs is absolutely the right way to go about it. Universities snd governments should be spending the money to do this.
@Zilchmasta
Жыл бұрын
I’m happy my Computer Science masters program only required 3 letters of recommendation and a statement of purpose. This sounds rough. Not surprising considering the level of commitment required for a PhD versus a masters degree.
@timedebtor
Жыл бұрын
It's kind of interesting where personal statement falls in this process. In The industry research positions that I currently work at, we have decided that cover letter is the first thing read. We don't even really look at a resume until the cover letter has been approved. We want to measure two things, are they able to communicate clearly in written English and do they understand what they are applying to. This strategy seems to have very much helped us with DEI and also given us faster feedback on our quality of writing job listings
@perfidy1103
Жыл бұрын
Even when I was writing my personal statement for applying to do my undergraduate degree I knew the whole "I have loved X since I was a child..." thing was bad. The issue is, this just lead me to be paralysed with how I should start instead. I think in the end I went with "I have loved X since I was a child..." anyway, because it was that or spent weeks not knowing how to start it. When we had our subject Christmas party, the senior tutor explained that they basically didn't care about personal statements: it was all about exam results and the technical interview. I tend to agree with #abolishpersonalstatements. Also I didn't have to write a research statement for my PhD programme. Not sure if it's the case for other subjects in the UK, but for maths you essentially don't know enough pre-PhD to formulate anything useful, so a research statement would basically be a bunch of buzz words at best: elliptic curves this, Iwasawa Theory that...
@keithklassen5320
Жыл бұрын
It's so damn refreshing to see an intelligent person getting views on YT, and not only passively not being mean, but making deliberate efforts to not be mean! Really excited to watch your stuff, and also to see how this impacts my algo tbh, lol.
@marinecobra
Жыл бұрын
Love the channel! This talk finally clicked for me at the end when you broke down the perspective of a phd candidate (employee) vs professional masters (my perspective. I'm so floored by your experience interviewing for the associate professor role. Sounds like humanity is doing what it can to ruin scientific progress. You were so insulted and the whole system appears degrading. At least in the Army they attempted to reassemble us into something useful after dismantling us.
@merthsoft
Жыл бұрын
The "Research Statement" section resonates a lot as someone who's done a lot of software engineering interviews. I always ask about projects someone's done--things they've actually built. Often it'll be a group project, and it will sometimes become clear that someone(s) else did the bulk of the work. As you drill into the details of the project, they'll give you things that make NO sense, and be unable to explain what they mean. Only once has it been my inability to understand the domain, but they were able to answer my beginner-level questions about the domain to get me up to speed.
@GeekPhilosopher
4 ай бұрын
Thank you for clarifying. This is very useful information. I have written my share of personal statements, but it was never clear to me what was expected of them. Btw, I have watched several of your videos, and you make academia sound like hell. Makes me glad I didn't go that route, although I'm not sure I would have had the right stuff in any case.
@TheGeneralCase
Жыл бұрын
So 386/400 get the personal statement "wrong"? Maybe a sample personal statement should be offered by the university on their website?
@ericjohnson9623
Жыл бұрын
Seriously. Why should this information come from a KZitemr commenting on a tweet, and not universities SAYING this? You heard the term "Personal Statement" and that's what people think. It's like asking for fire and being frustrated when people come with lighters and fireword.
@watchdominion7356
Жыл бұрын
That’s insane that they tried to hire you as an adjunct for $900 after rejecting you
@dapha1623
Жыл бұрын
I'm not applying to grad school, hell I just graduated High School. But I applied to a scholarship which needs a personal statement (ish), and when I looked for references, every video on KZitem told me to show "how passionate you are about this subject" (which isn't really the format question for the personal statement). Like how your childhood connected to the undergrad major I chose, your experiences on the field in a high school level, and I didn't have any of those story/experience. And because the personal statement is so short, I decided to just fill it with my vision and goals when I get to pursue this major. Although at first it made me kinda insecure because the committee maybe would see me as not that interested in the field w/o any experience, but with time, I'm kinda content with it. (I don't know the result until 15th June so who knows if I made the right choice)
@mollyross888
13 күн бұрын
seeing your comment a year later, did you receive the scholarship?? : )
@MichaelMarquez-m3b
8 ай бұрын
The letter of recommendation for John Nash from his professor at Carnegie basically just says “He is a mathematical genius.”.
@toddapplegate3988
Жыл бұрын
When i looked up at the sky as a child i saw nothing and it didnt really interest me. Then junior year in college i took astrophysics and even though i was hung over i made an A
@veldin25
Жыл бұрын
My field is semiconductor physics and infrared optics, I'm having a difficult time imagining the childhood formative experience haha
@lunam7249
Жыл бұрын
sandcastles on the beach...thats silicon
@mamauu975
Жыл бұрын
I am really happy that I am doing my PhD in Germany right now. The process is so different. There is no "programme". There are mostly positions/projects where a professor hires one person for it. And the hiring process is more personal. The most important part of your application (apart from personal connections of course) is a 20-minute presentation of your previous research and then you are asked some questions.
@7177YT
Жыл бұрын
I thought I wouldn't get a phd because I'm too lazy, turns out I'd fail cause the academic process these days is too undignified and humiliating even for me. (;
@Caitlin_TheGreat
Жыл бұрын
I just don't like the methods commonly used in eliminating people as options for employment or education. I don't know that I've seen a process that isn't heavily biased in ways that do NOT select the best people for the position. Sometimes it'll just be the people with the most money or the most social connections, or those who know the right people, the people who are the best at lying/bullshitting, and certainly creates a favorable environment for sociopaths to excel. It sometimes seems like it's somewhat of a miracle that decent people get hired or get accepted to a given school or program. Except that I do believe that more people are (or try to be) decent human beings than not. Therefore the "it must work fine because _these_ are the people who got in" is not a valid defense. Also, sometimes those people are actively awful and focused on making things worse for the not-awful people. Just my opinion on the general use of hiring/admittance elimination protocols. I admit that I don't have any readymade solutions... but it's something that does need to be completely rethought in our society. And which won't be as long as the system remains as it is. Charging $100 just to apply is, I think, clearly meant as a barrier for the poorer potential candidates and not just an innocent way of whittling down the applicants. Also wouldn't be surprised if that fee is raised despite it not really being needed anymore. Who _is_ getting that money?
@taddaniel849
Жыл бұрын
This stuff is fascinating, I can definitely confirm that getting into grad school is way harder these days I don’t remember doing anything like the many steps you mentioned, I got in in 99 for chemistry and was accepted to multiple schools I got the impression that my experience was fairly common and not the exception. It sounds like that is far from true now.
@noelgarber4534
Жыл бұрын
I'm defending my biochem PhD this year, and I can confirm that this problem exists in biomedical research too. Most personal statements are vague with a lot of fluff. If you're reading this and you're applying to grad school, research the department, reach out to professors, chat with them, mention those conversations in the letter, and talk about why your background and interests are a great fit for the program. Be novel, be honest, and write in an impactful way.
@naytivlostlastname7632
5 ай бұрын
23:07 - this is exactly what has worked for me. i had drug, mental, family, blahblah problems in an earlier attempt at uni. I had to put in a little effort for it but was able to get a zoom meeting with a member of the committee(?) and explain the oddities on my transcript and why they would never be a problem again. In writing I never called any of it anything other than "personal problems", and eventually they wanted to set up a more personal interaction. That's when I think it would be best to explain more details, completely agree with not mentioning specifics on personal statements (and potentially subsequent emails, unless they specifically ask for that)
@nowhereman8374
6 ай бұрын
I was a returning student when I applied to graduate school. I had an employment history as a research engineer in the semiconductor industry, and I had the privilege of designing hundreds of experiments. In my research statement, I described the experiments I learned the most from, and the some where my bias caused the results to be hard to interpret. In my personal statement, I talked about my desire to learn how to write grant proposal. Returning students should definitely leverage their employment history if it is relevant.
@grapetoad6595
Жыл бұрын
I am one of those 5, very happy to be spoken to at the beginning of the video.
@LouigiVerona
Жыл бұрын
In my case, working in IT, it's a similar situation with cover letters. Some people focus a lot on cover letters, but actually nowadays many recruiters even straight out say that nobody cares for cover letters. I stopped writing cover letters when applying to a job like 5-6 years ago, if not even earlier.
@qwerty4324ify
Жыл бұрын
LOL! Liked the end cuz people don't talk enough about funding or how student count and funding affect tenure. When I applied I got into a department, but due to congress not passing a budget there was some huge shortfall in actual $$ and so after acceptance we all had to apply for funding from each professor with openings. I knew I had a pretty good chance, but when I applied through the portal (and found that I had gotten funding from someone I knew) I also found a public comment on my application... by a Prof basically saying "zero bias electron tunneling isn't a thing", which if I didn't already know the person who gave me an RA ride (and did BEEM) could have killed my chances. Obviously, decades later I am still pissed. So at the end of my stint as a grad turkey I get this request from my advisor to help another prof write a grant proposal to look at very short scale gravitational effects, for which I was preferred (and had opinions about how it might work or not)... and guess which prof it was? I'm like, "I don't think I can be impartial about this, you should find someone else". I went into corporate research, but both sides can burn bridges, or sit on NSF committees.
@brandonrobinson8169
Жыл бұрын
Maybe grad schools should clearly state what they expect on the personal statement (and everything else) and not rely on "you should know".
@dvuemedia
Жыл бұрын
I did not even know what "personal statement" is, but I watched the whole video, you are a great story teller. I'm not even thinking to go to grad school.
@winterturtle1596
Жыл бұрын
Hey! I know this is probably a shot in the dark but I’ve been enjoying your videos and this is a very relevant video for me! I’m trying to figure out how to get into graduate school for math and I have the unfortunate situation of having done my last 2 years of undergrad during Covid, and so I didn’t get any research experience, or get to build a relationship with my professors. I can’t find anywhere that’s willing to hire me for a technical position to get experience or make connections for a letter of rec without at least a masters, but I can’t apply without letters of rec. I know I probably could have been more proactive in making sure I had these during my undergrad, but now it feels like a catch 22. Do you (or anyone else in the comments) have any advice?
@leela6947
Жыл бұрын
Hey! Have you looked into post-baccalaureate programs? It seems like those might provide everything you're looking for. Obviously there's a cost consideration, but if you're really determined and/or can find good scholarships, those could work really well for you!
@thejackhammer1060
Жыл бұрын
Not on Twitter, and unlikely to ever apply to anything that requires a personal statement. 10/10, would watch again.
@falkinable
Жыл бұрын
I really appreciate the description of a personal statement because even the examples that I read when I was applying to a PhD (I dropped out eventually) had stories about how the subject shaped their childhood.
@kiddrone8336
Жыл бұрын
Sounds like a scary & stressful process. Glad I still have a few years before I need to worry about this
@mariosblago94
Жыл бұрын
you kind of have to start worrying about it from your sophomore year or you might not have enough research experience to get into your top choice schools. They practically want a fully fledged researcher to apply for the positions (and they get them, because there are many people doing just that).
@kiddrone8336
Жыл бұрын
@@mariosblago94 Fair enough. I'm in my first year rn and am working on getting some research experience. It's a bit tough though since I don't really know for sure what I'm gonna major in yet.
@mariosblago94
Жыл бұрын
@@kiddrone8336 it doesn't matter much as long as you're working in a lab... any lab. The academia machine runs on free labor, so the professors encourage volunteering to afford a living wage... 🫠
@magicmelody851
Жыл бұрын
Love the attention to detail and disclaimers, that said to me this feels like valid advice bc it asks ppl to consider context and complexity and not blindly do or not do something; also love the way you speak you're entertaining and fun ty, wouldn't mind another tweet response video
@diglyd
Жыл бұрын
This video and advice also applies to any high level job interview or career especially in any creative or highly competitive fields. The same criteria are used just in a bit different formats. At a job interview for example, when at the end they ask, "tell us something about yourself", that's the personal statement and the same do's and don't would apply here as well. Great advice all around for both getting into school and for getting past some panel interview for a highly competitive dream job. The general rule is also to talk about what "value" you can bring to the "organization" vs just listing your accomplishments without that context, without attaching them to how you can be a valuable asset and bring value or what you can do for them. The last thing any panel wants to hear is your personal bs you are dealing with, or feeling like they should owe you something because you think you are a star. Therefore it's wise to focus on what you can do for them and what value they can extract from you being there.
@ScottHess
Жыл бұрын
I take your point, but having interviewed many hundreds of software developers, one of the biggest holes, especially with fresh grads, was that I couldn't even convince myself that they wanted to be a software developer. A story about how they were fascinated with some demo they saw in 4th grade and that caused them to dive into learning the subject matter would totally give me a hook. This included people with master's-level degrees, and it was truly baffling how someone could get through a graduate program without finding at least one or two things that they could fake enthusiasm about.
@ypey1
Жыл бұрын
I like your style of ranting. Its lowkey funny and comforting to me 😅😅
@stormwatcheagle5448
Жыл бұрын
The peoblem is rhe personal statement for undergraduate applications ks very different from the statement for graduate school and that is not communicated very well. Perhaps it should be called a cover letter instead.
@sleethmitchell
9 ай бұрын
i've been militated against many times for following directions. never again!
Жыл бұрын
"I don't want to be a mean person." Famous last words.
@hc6157
Жыл бұрын
Time to send this to all my undergrad friends! Tis the season! I saw this video after I got accepted to grad school but i totally agree with it and definitely had the same ethos going about it. Loving grad school!
@tariq3erwa
Жыл бұрын
10:25 and Imagine being an intl. from a poor country that is currently at war, you only apply for the free ones :_)
@onehitpick9758
8 ай бұрын
Einstein realized that looking at the universe as if you were a child, is actually not stupid. But now, we have to be different.
@mewho8057
6 ай бұрын
In biology you get a lot of people with grandparents who died of cancer as their impetus to get interested in biology. Every field has its 'look up at the stars'
@stellasdoesstuff
Жыл бұрын
I'm applying for medical school rn, and this reminds me of a meme in the premed community: "I like science and want to help people". Basically, you should not say, "I like science and want to help people" on your med school personal statement because everyone likes science and wants to help people! Doesn't make you special
@TheRedKnight101
Жыл бұрын
The personal statement has always been the hardest part for me, I love talking about what I study but hate talking about myself. Unless I got poisoned or hurt by the things I study.
@frankmc8355
Жыл бұрын
...How in the world was I ever accepted to a grad school program? Also, "have your undergraduate research advisor read your research statement." Uh-huh, yeah, that research advisor I TOTALLY had applying after working in private industry in an entirely unrelated field for ten years... Like, 2 of 3 of my reference letters weren't even from academia. EDIT: And then I listened to the last part about what actually adds to a personal statement, and now I'm pretty sure I got accepted because I'm weird so my application stuck out.
@Rubbly
Жыл бұрын
Even with this not being my niche or applicable to me, your storytelling is great and this is good stuff!
@Entropy3ko
11 ай бұрын
Does the statement of all statements state itself? (I regret nothing!)
@ogbrettski
Жыл бұрын
Hi Angela. My son graduated from UIUC in mathematics in 5 semesters where most of the classes where online due to the pandemic and he never had a professor for more than one class. No real bonds were made with any professors so any referrals will be quite generic. He's looking to go to grad school for mathematics but doesn't have recommendation letters. Any suggestions to correct this? Thank you for the great video and your time with this question.
@acollierastro
Жыл бұрын
There are a few things but many of them are expensive --- First -- He should contact a professor or two that he got a high grade in an upper level course with and tell them what is going on. There might be specific resources or research opportunities in his department for post-bac students. Second -- post-bac research opportunity would be the words to google to find nearby opportunities to get research training outside of undergrad. UIUC is nearby Fermi lab and Argonne lab right? They may have these positions. Third-- He could take additional courses as a post-bac student with those professors he likes that do cool research and intentionally tell them that he is building his resume for a grad school application and ask if they have any research. Fourth --- He could apply for a masters in math (which would be unfunded) and then apply to phd positions after. Fifth -- He could shoot his shot and apply for math phd programs in the Fall. Smaller state schools might understand his predicament if his grades and research statement are good enough. Maybe have him watch my postdoc exodus video to get an idea of the loss of income and earning potential that comes with getting a phd though!
@ogbrettski
Жыл бұрын
@@acollierastro Thank you for your response and time. We'll certainly look into these. I am pretty sure at this point he isn't interested in pursuing a PhD, thought that could always change.
@stephanieparker1250
Жыл бұрын
I’m not applying to graduate school but I have run across this when applying for typical jobs so this is helpful!
@firehawk128
Жыл бұрын
I thought the first piece of advice for applying to graduate school was going to be don't apply to graduate school. lol One thing about the fee they could do is return it to successful applicants who choose to attend the program. It's a hundred bucks.... but some grad students, that's not nothing.
@tumm1192
Жыл бұрын
Does anyone have advice for recent graduates who missed the ‘you need to do research as an undergraduate’ memo until grad applications were due and didn’t apply. Asking for a friend 😐
@NateEngle
Жыл бұрын
After 40 years in the computer business I could probably write a barely-adequate personal statement. How does anyone possibly expect a 22 year old to do that?
@goatdwarfs
Жыл бұрын
How am I three years into a PhD and just realized all my advisors lauged at my personal statement?
@4ffff2ee
Жыл бұрын
god damn that's depressing. glad i'm not american
@a_8764
Жыл бұрын
As a European I'm confused about what exactly "undergrad" and "grad school" mean in your context. In Sweden you have a three year bachelors, 2 year master and then you can apply for a PhD position. Does "undergrad" refer to bachelor or bachelor + master? Can you apply for a PhD position after only three years of university education?
@stevenglowacki8576
Жыл бұрын
Generally undergrad programs in the US are 4 years long. Some people immediately apply to a PhD program after that, but some either don't want to commit to that, or more likely don't get funding, and at least stay in the field and move towards some additional degree that might make it more likely that they'll get into a PhD program later.
@cyclonasaurusrex1525
Жыл бұрын
Wait, there’s a dinosaur school???
@alancham4
Жыл бұрын
“higher education is a way to launder money into merit” - forgot who said
@liver6948
Жыл бұрын
only in Ohio ☠️☠️☠️ love the video and keep up the good work!! :D
@robertphillips9017
Жыл бұрын
A friend of mine from post-doc days had his application rejected because one of his glowing letters was from Halliday of “Halliday and Resnick”. The committee assumed it was forged. His boss then pointed out the papers that they had co-authored. He got in.
@Beastw1ck
Жыл бұрын
I have no intention of attending graduate school I'm just here for the Ohio dunks
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