Feature Interview for July 2009
The Interview of the
Month for July, 2009, features
Dave Mumby, Associate Professor of Psychology, at Concordia University. He is
an undergraduate and graduate student advisor, and author of the bestselling
eBook, Graduate School: Winning Strategies for Getting In With or Without
Excellent Grades. © 2004
Posted July 6th, 2009
We asked Dave Mumby (DM)
for his thoughts on several topics related to the process of preparing for
graduate school, and some of the mistakes that some students tend to make
during the application process. Part 1 of the interview appeared in May,
2009. Here is part 2:
MGS: You mentioned
earlier that many students overestimate the role of grades and
grade-point-averages in determining who gets accepted into some graduate
programs. What other miscalculations do students frequently make?
DM: I think most students overestimate the degree
of objectivity, in general, that goes into making final decisions about who
gets in and who doesn’t. Numerical indicators, such as GPAs or qualifying-test
scores, often play a significant role mainly in the preliminary stages of the
selection process. Because these measuring tools simplify the job of comparing
applicants in certain aspects of academic background and preparation, this is
where a selection committee or individual professor will often begin the
process of ranking a group of applicants. But many other factors still come
into play after that, and when it comes to the final selections, the most
heavily-weighted factors are often character attributes, such as judgment,
emotional maturity, or the ability to cope under pressure. The successful
applicants are usually those who make the best impressions of character.
MGS: How is that
accomplished? I suppose the applicant’s letter of intent or personal statement contributes to those impressions?
DM: Yes, indeed. The personal statement goes a
long way toward displaying a student’s judgment and maturity, for example, by
virtue of what she chooses to say and how she says it. Unsuccessful applicants
sometimes fall out of the competition because their personal statements send
unintended messages that make a bad impression about some aspect of character.
For example, some applicants come across as too naïve about the true nature of
their chosen field. This might happen quite inadvertently, for example, if they
display unrealistic expectations about the career opportunities that are likely
to follow a Masters degree or Ph.D.
The personal statement
must also be crafted in a tactful manner. By that I mean its not just about
what you include -- its also about how you state certain things. Stating the
right things in the right ways can make you appear confident and knowledgeable,
but saying the same things in the wrong way can make you appear smug and
arrogant. No one wants smug and arrogant people around, so this is a legitimate
basis for rejecting an applicant.
MGS: That makes a lot
of sense, and its not really surprising. So, why would anyone underestimate the
importance of how they come across as a person?
DM: No, its not surprising
that these things matter, and I think most students are aware that how they
come across as a person is important. But I think many fail to realize just how
important, and that’s partly because of the tendency to assume that final
selections are made on the basis of academic credentials, research experience,
a portfolio of creative achievements, or some other objective criteria. It
seems like that would somehow be more fair and impartial than making selections
based on personality. I think, though, that even if it can be considered more
fair, it might not a reasonable thing to expect. The fact is that in the
majority of graduate programs -- especially at the Ph.D. level, but also in
most Master’s programs – a single person makes the decision about the acceptance
or rejection of a particular applicant. That person is the potential graduate
advisor, the faculty member who has the most at stake in the decision, because
he or she will have to spend a lot of time with any new graduate student for at
least a few years. Meanwhile, most faculty members are not required to accept a
new graduate student in any given year, and for a lot of us, the number of
graduate students we supervise has little or no impact on our salary. Of
course, supervising and training graduate students has its rewards, but not
when the interpersonal relationship with the student is difficult. Given all
these considerations, it seems unreasonable to expect that objective qualities
alone would play a significant role in the decision-making process.
MGS: Letters of
recommendation can also contribute to a student’s character impression, at
least if the writers of those letters choose to mention relevant things. But
that is not under the student’s control, is it?
DM: But its not entirely out of the student’s
control, either. Students who plan to go to graduate school need to somehow get
involved in the research or other scholarly activity of faculty members at
their college or university. This is how most faculty members get to know a few
students well enough each year that are able to then write effective letters of
recommendation. Students need letters from professors who actually know
relevant things about them, and this requires some type of interaction outside
of the classroom.
Students who are
proactive about placing themselves in situations that allow a professor to get
to know relevant things about their character usually end up with effective
letters of recommendation. Setting them up properly takes time, though, so
students need to act several months in advance of when they will actually need
the letters. Most students do not figure this out until it is too late to make
the most of the opportunities. In those cases, the student is lucky to end up
with even one effective letter, and will probably have to ask other professors
who hardly know them for the others. Even if the letters say positive things
about the student, they are unlikely to be very convincing for the person
reading them. Comments about the strengths of a student are most convincing if
they are backed up by relevant anecdotes, but those will not be available if
the person writing the letter has no relevant experiences involving the
student.
MGS: What if the
student is in an academic department where only a few of the faculty members
are active in research? It might be hard to find good opportunities to
volunteer to help with research. Are there other ways
to get experience and allow professors to get to know you outside of the
classroom?
DM: Students who are serious about pursuing
graduate school should make a habit of attending events hosted in their
academic department, such as lectures by invited guests. Everyone sees notices
for these kinds of presentations posted on bulletin boards around campus all
the time. Few undergraduate students pay much attention to these notices. I
think many just ignore them because they assume that guest lectures are only
intended for professors and graduate students.
But
serious students who plan to go to graduate school themselves someday should
also attend these events. It is an excellent way to gain some insight into the
kinds of work done by experts in particular disciplines or fields of research.
If a student makes it a habit to attend some of these types of events, the
faculty members who also regularly attend will get used to seeing the student
around. Some will probably come to recognize the student as someone who is
committed and dedicated to the field, and who has enough intrinsic interest in
it to come listen to a lecture that won’t be on any test later on. This
reputation might make a big difference down the road when asking faculty
members for letters of recommendation for graduate school.
Students
might also be able to take advantage of some kind of mentoring program at their
school. These types of programs are usually run by the alumni association or by
student-placement services. A typical way that mentor programs work is that
students are matched with alumni who rely on their personal and professional
experience to give students advice about career options and insight into the
realities of the workplace. In some programs, students spend time observing or
helping the mentor on the job. The mentor, of course, may be a good reference
for the student later on when it comes for graduate school applications.
MGS: Beyond the
importance of character and personality factors, are there other important
factors that students tend to underestimate when planning for graduate school?
DM:
Students applying to
Ph.D. programs, or to Masters program that involve a thesis, typically have to
find a faculty member who will serve as their graduate advisor. Many students
underestimate the importance of contacting their potential graduate advisors
before they even apply to that program. There are so many reasons why this is
essential, but the bottom line is that both the student and the potential
graduate advisor need to know enough about each other before either one of them
can be certain that its a good idea to work together.
MGS: Any advice on how
to contact a potential graduate advisor?
DM: The first contact should be a brief email
message in which you indicate who you are, a bit about your academic
background, and your interest in doing your graduate studies . It should be
brief and to the point… but, you also want to make sure you invite this person
to find out more about you and your plans, in case they actually want to. The
message should also ask for some kind of reply, but remember that many
professors are bad at replying to messages, and many will need a reminder, so
if you don’t get a reply within a week, or so, try sending the same brief
message again. A third attempt might even be necessary if you still haven’t
heard back from your potential graduate advisor after another week. Make sure not
to become a pest, however, and if someone simply never gets back to you, it may
be revealing something about how they tend to deal with their students. Maybe
you should reconsider whether you really want this person as your graduate
advisor.
[Editor’s note: More on
this subject can be found in eChapter 4 of Dr. Mumby’s eBook].
MGS: Contacting a
potential graduate advisor seems a bit intimidating to a lot of students. No
doubt, it carries certain risks. What if you make a bad first impression?
DM: Well, that’s true… it is risky for that
reason. But failing to do it is even more risky. There are just too many
benefits to making this kind of contact with your potential graduate advisors
before you apply. Students need to consider that other applicants, with whom
they are competing, may take this step, and many professors are reluctant to
accept any new graduate student who has not made this kind of contact.
Even a few brief
emails back-and-forth can be enough to size-up a student, and potential
advisors may want to take advantage of the opportunity. They have a lot at
stake. They will be making a long-term commitment to any student they accept to
supervise. Many insist on having some assurance that the student is someone who
is enjoyable to work with, and many will never accept a new graduate student
without this assurance, no matter how impressive the academic or research
potential of the student. I follow that policy myself, and I know it has helped
me dodge more than a few bullets in my career.
MGS: You mean students
who looked good on paper, but lacked personal skills, would have probably been
unpleasant to have as a graduate student?
DM: Yes, that’s what I mean. But I also suspect
some of the students I choose not to accept are actually fine students and
wonderful individuals, and who would be great to work with -- its just that
they fail to convey that impression with the few opportunities they have. In
workshops and seminars on applying to graduate school, students and I often
discuss ways to make sure this does not happen. We discuss things to do and
errors to avoid when contacting a potential graduate advisor.
Still, a student can
never know exactly how that person will respond, and often there is no way of
getting around the need for good social intuition to avoid making a bad
impression. Some students still make a bad impression despite trying very hard
to avoid it. A potential graduate student who is basically a jerk will probably
not be able convey a different persona. But it happens to people who aren’t
jerks, too. Often, they are trying too hard to guess what the potential
graduate advisor wants to read or hear. What that person really wants to know
is the truth about the kind of person the student is.
MGS: Any special
advice for students who feel intimidated by the prospect of contacting
potential graduate advisors?
DM: Students
should remember that while professors do need to know about the character and
personality of potential graduate students, this is also something that
students should be out to discover about their potential graduate advisors,
too. Many students disregard this completely when choosing where to apply, and
its amazing how many students detect serious warning signals but chose to
ignore them. They end up in a miserable situation with a graduate advisor they
strongly dislike. This is one of the more common reasons why some students end
up dropping out of graduate school. It happens more often than students
dropping out because they fail to meet the performance requirements.
MGS: Your book, as
well as your eBook, has a large and rather detailed section on how to properly
prepare a cover letter. I have not seen that topic covered so extensively in
other books. Why do you put so much emphasis on the cover letter?
DM: Mostly for the much same reasons we have just
been discussing -- because the first impressions that students make are
extremely influential. And here, again, I’m talking about first impressions of
personality and character. For most people who review grad-school applications,
the cover letter provides the first view of the student as a person. Much of
the advice I give students about cover letters focuses on keeping it simple and
brief, but thoroughly informative about the purpose and content of the
application. Using the proper formatting conventions for a letter like this can
go a long way to convey some level of professionalism, and straying too far
from convention can make the applicant appear immature, sloppy, or just
ignorant about how to write a formal cover letter. Unfortunately, a lot of
students fit that latter description, and the cover letter can be a huge
challenge for them, as they try to figure out not only what to put in the
letter, but how to format it. I advise students to learn proper letter-writing
as a general skill, because its one that they will use often in graduate
school, and perhaps for a long time after that, too.
[Editor’s note: More on this subject can be found
in eChapter 8 of Dr. Mumby’s eBook].
MGS: Dr. Mumby,
thank-you for sharing your time with us.
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