moody

Either ask a letter writer to mention it, or include something supplemental (perhaps a brief note on your cv?). I would term it as "health issues" and leave it at that. I wouldn't discuss it in your SOP – the statement of purpose should be about research and what you plan to do in the future (academically speaking); the past is only relevant when it's about specific courses you've taken and research projects you've been involved with. While these issues can be really difficult, and I completely sympathize, the admissions committee doesn't know you personally (yet) and you want to avoid coming off as "whiny" or as someone who makes excuses. (I'm definitely not saying that you're making excuses, but there is unfortunately still stigma attached to mental illness and you don't know how people will react.) Good luck!

Detail is good. It's best if you can clearly lay out previous research you've done / a research project you're currently working on, and then talk about the questions it raises that you would like to pursue in your PhD (+ why University X is the ideal place to continue this study). At the same time, you don't want to be soooo specific that you sound like someone who has only one interest. For example, say you did some type of analysis of some type of documents from a particular historical period. You could describe what you found out, and how it fits with the field in general. Then you would discuss what questions this made you want to answer next. Maybe you want to look similar documents from a different historical period, or maybe there are other sources of information from the same historical period that you want to compare. Remember that you will only have 2 pages or so, what it can't be too long or too detailed... but including things like reference to specific texts helps to show that you are serious and have some real sense of what the field if all about.

Letters really must be from professors. One possibility in some situations (e.g., you took a large lecture from a professor that was accompanied by a lab led by a PhD student) is to ask for a joint letter, or to have both of them write for you. The letter from the PhD student, though, would be "extra" unless it is also signed by the professor. The thinking is something like: "We want a letter from someone to attest that this student will succeed in our program, so the letter writer should be someone who truly knows what goes into that kind of success – i.e., should have a PhD and (ideally) have taught PhD students." "3. I know one highly relevant academic very well but he hasn't taught me - he's more of a mentor. Would he work?" Potentially. If you've discussed research with him (i.e., the relationship is not just social), then this might be a good bet. "4. I also have a professional working relationship with the Dean, who is a very well respected academic. He wouldn't be able to write about my academic ability but certainly write about my working ability etc. Would he work?" This is more doubtful. They really want someone to attest to your research ability, not your personality (though I'm sure that's great too ) "I've got my academic advisor who's a pretty well-established academic and who would write a very good LoR." Definitely ask this person. "Then there's the person I'm hoping will supervise my undergraduate dissertation next academic year. But the problem here is that he will only have known me for 3 months by the time I'm applying, which is next to nothing. He is the key figure to get a LoR from as he's been at my top two schools either as a PhD student or a Professor, so he'll most likely know a large percentage of the faculty, including admissions tutors." Assuming you've established some relationship with this person before letters are due, ask this person as well. It actually seems sort of odd to not receive a letter from the undergraduate thesis advisor.

Mentioning POI can be tricky. It's helpful to the department, because it allows them to see who you might imagine yourself working with - especially if it's not immediately obvious. Overall, you generally should mention POI but *be sure to do your research first.* Look at the webpages and research interests of all of the primary faculty members (assistant, associate and full professors); you may be surprised to discover that someone you wouldn't expect has areas of interest that overlap with yours. Two things to avoid: - It can work against you if you mention people who either no longer active advisors in the department (on the verge of retirement, taking up some type of administrative position, etc.). Applications that *only* mention people who are no longer active tend to be pretty much automatically rejected because the department won't feel able to advise you. - It can also work against you if you offend people by failing to mention them even though they would be an obvious advisor or committee member given the research interests expressed in you SOP. Skipping obvious people makes you seem poorly prepared. (Plus, you never know who is on the admissions committee.) This is why doing your research is important. Don't mention everyone, but it's completely OK to mention 4 or 5. Explain your research interests in your SOP, and then indicate why University X would be the best place to continue this research - Prof. A has done work on xxx, which is related in the following way. Prof. B has done work on yyy, etc.