Purdue University Graduate School Recommendation For Admission: Fill & Download for Free

I don't think there is a single criterion. Admissions officers look at many things to decide if an applicant will do well here. Scores on standardized tests, records of past performance in classes (e.g., transcripts), and letters of recommendation are probably the top 3 criteria.

The answer to this question likely depends on your discipline of interest. Having recently applied to graduate school in computer science, I can offer the advice I received while writing applications for research-oriented programs:A research statement.This should comprise the majority of your essay. The reader is likely concerned with your ability or potential to conduct research, so hopefully you have a successful track record of research and coursework. Discuss what research you've done and things that you might be interested in working on as a graduate student.Explain what motivates you to pursue graduate study.Are you looking for a career in academia or research? Did your previous research experience convince you to pursue a career in research? This is the place to say so.Convince the admissions committee that you're qualified.You should have already done this while covering the above points, and your recommendation letters and CV serve this purpose as well. Even so, address any remaining red flags that might be on your application. For example, if you are switching fields, you might want to explain why, and if your background doesn't have an obvious alignment with your new interest, discuss what makes you qualified to enter the program (eg. a non-technical person entering computer science would likely require remedial courses to make up for the lack of technical undergrad training).Explain why you're applying to this particular school.What does this school offer you that others do not? If there are individual professors whom you're interested with working with, you might want to mention them and which projects of theirs interest you – this is a good way to nudge your application to their inbox even if they're not on the admissions committee. Are there research papers from this school that have interested you? (If you put school-specific things in your essays, be careful to submit the right copy with each application!)Beyond these general points, I highly recommend that you ask fellow students and friends in your discipline for their personal statements. If you're working with students who are currently applying, volunteer to review each others' drafts. In addition, get advice from people who are already graduate students.Good luck!

[A2A]Your profile is good for Purdue. The only thing that can be a deciding factor in your case would be the SOP and LOR. LORs are of much importance because it will validate your entire profile as well as the things you will be putting in your SOP. So my advice would be to choose your recommender wisely who knows you well in your entire academic context and can present you in a well fashioned way before the admissions committee.You might want to have a look at this page by Prof. Shriram Krishnamurthi of Brown: Advice to Graduate School Recommendation Letter Writers before finalizing on your recommender.Hope this helps. All the best!