Four Lessons I Learned From Applying to Graduate School

This inaugural essay here on Medium is on a process in which I am still in the middle and have already gone through. When I went to school overseas, I already had in mind applying for a Ph.D. program. It was easier said than done, and when I first tried, it did not turn out well. What is right for this process applies to life in general, and this essay will focus on the lessons I’ve learned.

Lesson One: Invest the Time

I was reading a guide on applying to graduate school, and there was the story of someone who did not do well in her quest to apply to it. She did everything possible, but it was all so-so. Her Graduate Record Exam scores were mediocre, her writing sample was not quite good, and her statements of purpose were all over the place. In the end, she felt that she had to do better and took a year off and worked on all that she needed to do. She retook the GRE, worked on her writing sample, and got all her statements right. She got accepted to seven of the nine programs to which she applied.

I realized that this was the right thing to do. That was the first of the lessons I learned. Getting to a goal means, first of all, putting in the time. I had a similar story to the person whose story I recounted. I was in my final year of my master’s program. I invested time, but looking back, I felt that it was not enough. It was seemingly easy to put together a statement of purpose. It was supposedly easy building rapport with future faculty with whom I wanted to work. I went through the process almost on autopilot, but I now know that I did not know what I was doing. I’ll come back to that later.

This time around, I did not take any chances. When I finally came home from the US last June, I decided that I would start putting in the time to make my applications work. I spent time drafting and rewriting every statement of purpose for every school. I did more research, and my reaching out to people became more deliberate, often spread out over time. I guess that I spent as much time working on my applications as I did on my thesis.

A friend who used to work in graduate school admissions confirms that this time investment pays off. She told me recently that those who tend to succeed in applying for Ph.D. programs do have the time to work on them. She said it is hard to balance work in a graduate degree with the doctoral application process. In other words, one has to invest the time. Whether or not one is working, good time management is essential to a successful application.

Lesson Two: Know What You Want to Do

It is often easy to assume that one gets into a Ph.D. program abroad because one has reasonably good grades and test scores. Yes, those are just two of the factors. It turns out, however, that a significant factor is the statement of purpose. Two professors at different schools mentioned this.

The rubrics, or instructions, for such a statement, vary across schools. They often ask about why you want to be in the program and (often implicitly) what makes you a good fit for the program. Especially at the doctoral level, they ask questions about where you want to focus your research, as this is the orientation when you are aiming for a Ph.D.

Regardless of what they ask, they are meant to argue one thing: you know what you want to do and want to do this at their institution. That was my fatal flaw the first time I applied. My purpose statements were a pretty unclear attempt to “extend” my master’s research into anything. I later realized that part of the problem was that I did not know what shape my final research project would be, to begin with. It was like throwing spaghetti on the wall and hoping a noodle would stick.

So this year, I realized that something was nagging at me. There was a topic provoked by a question that someone asked me when we were talking. “You speak of ‘God’s future’ a lot. I don’t necessarily see the point. What do you mean?” I have been using that phrase since I was in my early thirties. It has to do with attributing what is to come to the divine. It turned out that she was on the right track. The meaning was unclear to me. This question was something about which God-talk (theo-logy) had something to say.

Every statement of purpose tries to answer this question and works out its implications for different aspects of theology, both theoretical and practical. How I would precisely express this depends on several factors. One is whether the school has people who could address some of those things. The other is whether they have the resources to support my research. One thing is for sure, though: my former academic advisor, who read one of my statements, said that I had a clearer vision of what I wanted to do from the last time around.

Lesson Three: Don’t Be Afraid to Seek Help

Pro tip: choose someone whose judgment you trust and who, like you, is willing to put in the time to help you succeed. I did seek help last time and tried to heed people’s advice, but something was not right. I did not heed their advice and ended up not doing well with my applications. This time around, I tried another strategy. I asked lots of people for help, including my former advisor, the same people I asked last year, and a former instructor. That instructor happened to be a writing coach in school. That became a huge plus for me.

I heeded the advice of the writing coach. He had, after all, finished a Ph.D. and knew what it was like to apply. I vetted every statement of purpose with him, and each time, the number of drafts got fewer to the point where he felt little need to comment on a first draft. I heeded his advice because I trusted his judgment. I also asked a graduate student at one of the schools to which I was applying. He gave me a valuable bit of advice that virtually unlocked the key for me to write a statement of purpose, something my writing coach agreed with. I don’t know if it will work, but I know I will help my readers!

Lesson Four: Learn All the Lessons and Live by Them

I am still in the middle of the application process, but I can tell you that what happened last time was disastrous. I applied to four schools, half of whom were tough to get into because of their reputation. The third was somewhat hard to get into, but not unreasonably so. The fourth was the school wherein I was enrolled. The outcome was a 25 to 50% success rate. Everyone predicted that I would get into the program at my then-current school. I didn’t get into the very selective ones. The last school decided to offer me admission to another program on a full scholarship. It was not bad, but not quite right.

This time around, I have applied to seven programs for fall 2021 admission: five in the US, one in Canada, and one in Europe. (Yes, there is one excellent theology Ph.D. program here in the Philippines, but the deadline is still so far off that I may apply next year for the first semester.) Except for one admissions file, most of my applications are ready for review.

Starting this month and into the first quarter next year, I am learning whether the lessons I have learned and applied have paid off. I do know that these lessons apply to the rest of my life. Investing time is true not only of graduate school admissions but also of any great endeavor. Seeking help is something that you can do that requires courage and humility. Knowing what you are doing makes it possible to get somewhere in life, despite the present time’s uncertainty.

I made it so far to one program, a research master’s program at the KU Leuven in Belgium. I hope to make it to other programs to which I applied. If not, I hope not to be too hard on myself. After all, sometimes decisions depend on whether those deciding had a good breakfast that day. My friend who worked at admissions told me that, and it still brings me a smile. The last lesson is not to take myself too seriously. True with grad school, true with life.

FAQs: What About Master’s Programs?

What should you include in your master’s program statement?

Like all graduate program applications, you are required to submit an application essay. As with doctoral programs, the instructions for such an essay vary across institutions. Do tailor your statement to the institutions to which you are applying. This means doing some research into what resources they have, what courses they offer, or who is teaching there. This then means persuading your school that you will be a good fit for them.

Do you need good grades and standardized exam scores to get in?

The minimum grade depends on the program and the country. Most programs state that they would be looking for a minimum grade average to be accepted. Because I am familiar with the US, I will say that they often look for a grade point average of at least a 3.0 out of 4 (B), or something around that number. If you feel that your undergraduate grades are not enough, some programs may be willing to take you in when you can demonstrate some work or other similar experience that shows your capacity to enroll in a graduate program. It may not hurt to ask the school’s admissions office or the relevant program director about this.

A word about grading systems: the US and Canada have largely shifted to a standard 4.0 scale, where 4 is the highest possible grade and grade point average. Some bigger schools have the resources to evaluate credentials from institutions that do not follow this, and some smaller schools can easily look up grading scales and interpret them. Be prepared for those that will require you to shell out roughly 200 USD for an educational credential evaluation from a third party company. I was told why it was necessary (it helps institutions make decisions based on uniform scales), but I am not convinced. My small graduate school where I took my MA managed to interpret some grades I got from schools that didn’t follow the 4.0 scale.

Standardized test scores are required for many programs around the world, especially for international students. The assumption is that Filipinos do not know English well enough to survive studying in those countries.[1] The TOEFL and IELTS are almost always required.

There are other tests one has to take, depending on the program. Most non-business, non-law programs require the Graduate Record Exam or GRE, though lately, many schools have decided to make this optional or not take them at all given the current circumstances. This might be the case with other tests; check the school’s admissions pages for more information or inquire with them.

Are there any allocated places and scholarships for people from particular countries?

Country-specific scholarships may exist for some programs, and the Fulbright and Chevening scholarship programs are good opportunities to pursue in that regard. However, there are no guaranteed quotas for people based on nationality. Most graduate programs will assess you on your merits, and the main criterion is potential success in the program.

Will most programs be offered online or in-person in particular countries and schools?

Check with the institution’s website or admissions office about this since it varies according to the particular program and institution.

How is it like applying at this time?

My experience is no different from what transpired last year because I was in contact with most people by email, to begin with. However, I think it is a different experience because one might have more time to think about what to do with applying, whether they are working or not. Having more time to work on one’s applications might be a good indicator of success, as the main article says.

[1] I often take issue with this, but that is another essay.