Graduate SchoolIt ain’t no thing!

Demystifying the trip to the “Other Side”

The Basics: What do you need?

Three recommendationsMission statementGeneral & Subject GREs*

Woot! This is so much easier than those millions of pointless essays written for undergraduate applications!

The Basics: What you don’t need

Taken all the hardest Cornell coursesIndependent researchPublications to your nameA perfect GPA (Jeff will explain)A perfect GRE score (Haakon will explain)Charm and wit

Hints & Tips

1. Have a reasonable spread in schools

2. Graduate school is about the department

3. 1 and 2 imply you need help from a Prof

4. Good recommendations are key

5. Write a concise mission statement

Once you get in

You party hard Talk to your current professors Visit the schools you are considering Party some more

Common Misconceptions

Common Misconceptions

1. Original independent research from start

2. You must commit to a specific branch

3. Graduate students are foreign geniuses from IIT or China

4. Graduate school will ruin your social life

5. Ph.D. students are one-dimensional

Beginning Grad School

1. Graduate school is about the research (not courses)

2. Start working with a professor early

The Bottom Line: Personal Growth

You will be intellectually challengedYour friends and peers will challenge youHour-long dinners spent debating

philosophy, sociology, gender roles, psychology, politics (essentially anything but your field!)

If you think you are the smartest one out there, your ego might be bruised

Thank You

ACSU and Cornell Engineering Career Services for sending out emails

Prof. Benjamin Pierce paid for Jeff’s foodPrinceton paid for everything elseJeff: vaughan2@seas.upenn.eduHaakon: hlarsen@cs.princeton.edu