Receiving a PhD offer is exciting! But before you accept, you want to determine if the program, the lab, and your advisor are actually the right fit for you. This post gives you some tips on how to carefully evaluate whether this offer is one you should accept. We'll talk about questions you should ask, who you should talk to, and things to watch out for. If you haven't read the previous post in this series on how to research a PhD program before you apply, it's worth startin

In the previous post in this series, I made the case that research fit matters more than simply getting accepted to a PhD program. If you haven’t read that post yet, I’d encourage you to start there. This post assumes you’re convinced and ready to start evaluating fit. So let’s get talk about what to do before you ever submit an application. Before you dive into evaluating a lab’s research, however, you should understand how graduate school admissions in the US work. I’ve wri

One of the most common mistakes PhD applicants make is prioritizing acceptance over fit. Getting into a program feels like the goal, but it's really just the beginning, and what you're getting into matters as much as getting in. I once knew someone who started their PhD because they didn't get into medical school. In a panic because the new school year was about to start, this person decided to do a PhD in the first lab they could find. On the surface, a PhD in a biomedical f

I recently reconnected with one of my former PhD students. We reminisced about his time at the university as well as how his time away provided some perspective into the whole graduate school process, student-advisor interactions, and factors that help students be successful. This conversation and conversations with my current PhD students underline the concept that the skills that make someone successful as an undergraduate do not necessarily translate into PhD success. Basi

I was recently invited to serve as a First Editor for the British Journal of Nutrition, which means I might be one of the first people to read your manuscript — before it ever reaches a peer reviewer. The cover letter for your academic paper is an important part of your submission. It’s your first opportunity to make a case for why your paper belongs in this journal. What Exactly Is a Cover Letter for a Journal Submission? When you submit a manuscript to an academic journal,

If English isn’t your first language, writing a grad school personal statement can be tricky. I have another post about writing personal statements in general. You can find it here. After you follow that advice, look at your draft again and see if you’re making these grad school personal statement mistakes: 1) Overly complex sentences Many international applicants write very long, complex sentences because they associate complexity with academic sophistication. In a per

I have sat on graduate admissions committees and dietetic internship admissions committees. I have read hundreds of graduate school personal statements. I only remember a handful because the majority of applicants failed to tell a story. For international applicants writing in English as an additional language, this problem is even more common, because so much energy goes into getting the language right that your story doesn’t come through. This post is not about grammar. I

Below is a sample email I asked AI to create. While the details are different, it looks almost identical to the dozens of emails I get from prospective students each week. I don’t bother to respond to these emails if they are obvious products of AI and they are not tailored to me, personally. Read each paragraph and note the mistakes to avoid, so that you increase your chances of getting a response to your PhD application inquiry. Dear Dr. [Last Name], I hope this message fin

While grad school admissions processes differ across universities and even across departments within the same university, in many cases, you will have to identify a possible PhD advisor. That advisor will decide whether to take you on as a student. I get dozens of these emails each week. I currently have three PhD students in my lab, so you can see the number of applicants and the number of placements are very competitive. Here are some things to consider when trying to make

The short answer is, it depends. In many cases, the professor you want to work with has to have the funds available to support you. These funds are usually through grants they have successfully applied for, but in some cases, money might come from the department or university. Regardless of where the money comes from, it must be available. This dynamic means that you could be an outstanding candidate, even the best in the country, but if the professor doesn’t have money avail