TIP ON MATERIAL TO PROVIDE TO YOUR LETTER WRITERS 

1. One of your main letter writers for graduate school 
application is likely to be your research advisor. Thus,
before you start on a research project, discuss with your 
advisor about your plans to apply to graduate school and the
timeline involved.  Ask whether the project can lead to some
results, or a poster, or a publication by the time you start
applying to graduate school. Note that the answer to this
will depend primarily on your skills, effort, and dedication, 
but your advisor can also have a choice of which projects to
assign to you if he/she knows of your plans and timeline.

2. When you start applying to graduate schools, please provide 
your letter writers with the material that they need WELL AHEAD 
OF TIME.  The timescale and material depend on the specific 
letter  writer, so be sure to check with him/her. The example 
below is only meant as a typical illustration of timescale
and material.


Provide the material below, at least one month before your 
first deadline:

a1) CV and Publication list
a2) Research and Academic Statement  (while this is often called
    a personal statement or essay in graduate applications, the
    statement should make a case for your current academic and
    research achievements, and your future plans). If you want
    your advisor to give you feedback on this, then allow enough
    time (1-2 months) to iterate on it: it is well worth it.
a3) Transcripts of grades

a4) A simple text listing of all the places you are applying in 
   order of deadline. First give a summary (see A below) so your
   letter  writer can see at one glance what is ahead, and then a
   detailed listing of each place with a weblink (see B below).
   The latter information helps your letter writer  to quickly
   check the place and make a comment on how good a fit you are 
   to this place.

A) Summary of place and deadlines
   December 19 --Berkeley 
   December 28  --Michigan State University
   January 2 -- Yale
   January 5 -- Santa Cruz
   January 5 -- Wisconsin
   January 11 -- Arizona
   January 15 -- Caltech


B) Details of each position with weblink

Deadline:  December 19
Berkeley
Website:  http://astro.berkeley.edu/
Email:  dexters@astro.berkeley.edu
Submission is online.


Deadline:  December 28
Michigan State
Website:  http://www.pa.msu.edu/astro/
Email:  prater@pa.msu.edu
Please mail your letter (no form required) to:
        Director of Graduate Studies
        Physics and Astronomy Department
        Michigan State University
        East Lansing, MI 48824-2320

Deadline:  January 2
Yale
Website:  http://www.astro.yale.edu/
Email:  sarbani.basu@yale.edu
Submission is online.

Deadline:  January 5
Santa Cruz
Website:  http://www.astro.ucsc.edu/
Email:  sliwinsk@ucsc.edu
Submission is online.

Deadline:  January 5
Wisconsin
Website:  http://www.astro.wisc.edu/
Email:  gradinq@astro.wisc.edu
Submission is online.

Deadline:  January 11
Arizona
Website:  http://www.as.arizona.edu/
Email:  gradadmissions@as.arizona.edu
Submission is to the above email address.  No form is required.

Deadline:  January 15
Caltech
Website:  http://www.astro.caltech.edu/
Email:  awb@astro.caltech.edu
Submission is online.