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So I recently finished reviewing a lot of graduate fellowships. Holy moly do we have an amazing talent pool in STEM.
A few thoughts* on what made applications stand-out to me. The gist: tell your story and keep it simple.
*one random person's opinion; ymmv. (1/10)
A few thoughts* on what made applications stand-out to me. The gist: tell your story and keep it simple.
*one random person's opinion; ymmv. (1/10)
Personal statements are an opportunity to tell your story--use it! This does *not* mean you have to share personal things (though you can if you want/think it's important).
What I mean is the statement shouldn't be a paragraph version of your CV. Connect the dots for us. (2/10)
What I mean is the statement shouldn't be a paragraph version of your CV. Connect the dots for us. (2/10)
I like statements that spell out the skills you learned from past work, why you chose to shift from opportunity A to B, and what *new* skills you want to learn to get to your final career goals.
The more precise you can be, the better. Shows you're thinking carefully. (3/10)
The more precise you can be, the better. Shows you're thinking carefully. (3/10)
And yes, we reviewers understand you likely don't know *exactly* what you want to do long term. That's ok. Be as concrete as you can based on your current understanding of your own goals. It's fine if things change. (4/10)
For research proposals, my biggest tip is Keep. It. Simple. I read many proposals outside my specific specialty. I only have a limited time to spend with each one. If there is a lot of field-specific info you don't unpack, I will probably miss why your proposal is amazing. (5/10)
A great way to simplify is holding the reader's hand a bit. Plainly spell out key points. You should always pretty directly answer these questions:
What's the problem?
Why haven't we solved it already?
How will you solve it and why will you succeed when others haven't?
(6/10)
What's the problem?
Why haven't we solved it already?
How will you solve it and why will you succeed when others haven't?
(6/10)
Towards the last question--why will you succeed?--take any opportunity to address how feasible your proposal is. For instance:
Say why you and your team have the right expertise to do the work
Mention alternatives you might use to show you have a clearly thought out plan
(7/10)
Say why you and your team have the right expertise to do the work
Mention alternatives you might use to show you have a clearly thought out plan
(7/10)
Also take opportunities to highlight why this proposal will be a great learning opportunity for you. Graduate fellowships are about training. What new skills will you learn by doing this work, and how does that set you up for career success? (8/10)
My main takeaway is the most successful applications tell a very streamlined and focused story about the person, the science, and why they go well together.
Note that GPA, pubs, and other accomplishments help give data to support the story but they are *not* the story! (9/10)
Note that GPA, pubs, and other accomplishments help give data to support the story but they are *not* the story! (9/10)
Hopefully this gives some concrete tips to achieve that hard goal of telling a clear story in a fellowship. I don't think there's anything ultra ground-breaking or controversial (hopefully) here. Would love for others to chime in with other tips, too! (10/10)
