Tips Don Dewees Don was on a committee that evaluated OGS applications by domestic students. His committee was composed of 3 economists and they only considered applications by economics students. Applications are received from undergraduates who intend to go on to graduate study, students currently in their MA year who intend to pursue a PhD, and students currently enrolled in a PhD program. There are separate allocations of fellowships for each group. Don emphasized that the committee receives very little information about an applicant.
Referees can choose to provide a separate letter in lieu of the brief comment.
Graduate Co-ordinator's ranking of all applicants from that university. Based on this, Don pointed out that there are very few margins that a student can use to improve their chances so it is important to make the most of the few available. The referees' letters are very important. The graduate co-ordinators rankings matter a lot. A coherent, well-written proposal is very important.