First Author vs Second Author Pubs

[nvseal]

Hello everyone,

I have a paper, for which I was the first and only author, which I submitted to an conference (26th CATA 2011) last year and was accepted for publication/presentation over the break. I have also been able to update most of my applications with this news though one is yet to reply. My question is how do admission committees respond to a first author publication vs a second author publication? I get the general sense that first author is, of course, to some degree better than a second-author; but to what extent does this really matter in practical terms. i.e. This will be my only published research when the committees review my applications (though I am currently working on a senior thesis) and I will be up against people who have several second author a (and perhaps several first author too). The only real benefit that I have going for me in this particular case is that -- while I had an advisor and got credit hours -- the project idea and execution where entirely of my own conception and direction, so the paper is essentially the work I did in my bedroom (otherwise known as my lab) during the summer. Does anyone have any experience with how these kind of issues are perceived by a grad committee? Does this help my chances a little? A lot?

Any insight would be helpful to ease the waiting.

[barber5]

I can't be sure, but after talking to some people who have been making admissions decisions in my department (granted the research group I was talking to is unusually prolific) I think that a first author paper is weighted quite a bit higher. At the same time, the quality of the conference can also have a large effect.

[starmaker]

A second-authored publication is excellent, a first-authored publication is even better.

Fewer grad school applicants have any publications at all than you might think. Even fewer have several.

Like barber5 said, the quality of the conference or journal also matters.

[timuralp]

First author is weighted significantly higher. Being a second, third, fourth, etc author is mostly useful to pad the publication count. The first author on the publication is understood to have conceived the idea and done the most work on it (most of the time it's true). Second author is usually either helping with editing or a section or helping with the evaluation. Congratulations on the paper!

[nvseal]

Thanks for the input.

[Jonathan Shewchuk]

I have a paper, for which I was the first and only author, which I submitted to an conference (26th CATA 2011) last year and was accepted for publication/presentation over the break. I have also been able to update most of my applications with this news though one is yet to reply. My question is how do admission committees respond to a first author publication vs a second author publication?

You're not asking the right question. When I read applications, I want to know exactly what ideas and actions the student contributed to his/her publications. It always surprises me how most students fail to convey this in their applications. The coauthors who write the letters of recommendation usually understand how important this is, but occasionally they neglect it too.

Of course, a sole-authored, refereed paper really is special, since there's no longer a question of whether you contributed anything important.

Jonathan Shewchuk

Associate Professor

CS Division

UC Berkeley

[Ujjawal]

You're not asking the right question. When I read applications, I want to know exactly what ideas and actions the student contributed to his/her publications. It always surprises me how most students fail to convey this in their applications. The coauthors who write the letters of recommendation usually understand how important this is, but occasionally they neglect it too.

Of course, a sole-authored, refereed paper really is special, since there's no longer a question of whether you contributed anything important.

Jonathan Shewchuk

Associate Professor

CS Division

UC Berkeley

Hello professor Jonathan,

Your posts are very enlightening. They are definitely going to help the applicants in the future. In majority of the cases international applicants like me wonder what exactly can make an impact for getting an acceptance in PhD . Its very nice of you that you took out some time and provided some useful information. Thank you.

[nvseal]

You're not asking the right question. When I read applications, I want to know exactly what ideas and actions the student contributed to his/her publications. It always surprises me how most students fail to convey this in their applications. The coauthors who write the letters of recommendation usually understand how important this is, but occasionally they neglect it too.

Of course, a sole-authored, refereed paper really is special, since there's no longer a question of whether you contributed anything important.

Jonathan Shewchuk

Associate Professor

CS Division

UC Berkeley

Hello Professor Jonathan,

Thanks for your response. I see what you're saying about being interested in details over who is the first or second-author. Even though my current paper was sole-authored, I think I also did a good job of describing the details of the work in my SOP.

You mention how often students fail to convey their contributions in their applications. Along these lines, could you give us an idea about what [missing] aspects of an application in your opinion generally send an otherwise good applicant to the reject pile?

Thanks,

nvseal