The Graduate Application Assistance Program (GAAP) is a student-run initiative offered by PhD students in the MIT EECS department. We pair applicants with current student volunteers, who mentor them 1:1 through the graduate application process, meeting periodically with applicants all the way up to the deadline. Since 2020, GAAP mentors have helped ~1,000 applicants through the application process!
GAAP signups for applicants applying to graduate school in Fall 2024 are currently closed. Signups will reopen before next year’s application cycle.
Note: GAAP is a program primarily aimed at underrepresented groups, defined as those groups for which representation in the EECS PhD program at MIT is significantly less than representation in the general US population.
For current MIT graduate students
Mentor for GAAP
For just a couple of hours of time commitment, you can make a lasting positive impact on a young researcher’s career. It’s also a special opportunity to gain valuable mentoring experience, which is an important part of any academic or industry CV. All current MIT EECS graduate students are eligible to mentor. We will provide you with mentoring resources if you need them! Sign up here by October 8th!
Join the GAAP Team
GAAP is run by a team of dedicated student volunteers. We could always use some help! To join the team, reach out to the GAAP team (see Contact).
For prospective donors
GAAP is funded by generous donations from organizations and individuals committed to promoting equity in the graduate school admissions process. If you would like to support our program to ensure its long-term continuity, please reach out to the GAAP team (see Contact). We would like to thank the MIT/IBM Watson AI Lab, MIT Quest for Intelligence, and MIT EECS Department for their support over the years.
Some more resources for applicants
- The official MIT EECS graduate admissions website
- Helpful information on statements of purpose from the MIT EECS Communication Lab
- Quotes from MIT faculty about what they are looking for in statements of purpose
Meet the GAAP team
GAAP is run by a team of graduate student volunteers at MIT! Alphabetically, the 2023-24 team is:
Alan Chen (lead)
Eric Li (lead)
Haoyuan Sun (mentor training)
Peter Deutsch (finance)
Sharut Gupta (tech)
Abhishek Mukherjee (tech)
Yo Akiyama (office hours)
Hannah Schlueter (office hours)
Abhinav Agarwal (outreach)
Hannah Gold (outreach)
Shuvom Sadhuka (mentor training)