> - Another item I have noticed was that an applicant's PhD thesis was very well written yet when I read the Masters thesis and any other written documentation

> - Another item I have noticed was that an applicant's PhD thesis was very well written yet when I read the Masters thesis and any other written documentation produced, the grammar is less than average, even poor! Which makes me think of potential 'help' involved that polished their PhD. So look for inconsistencies. Generally there are 3+ years between writing your Master's Thesis and your PhD, during which you spend a lot of time writing and editing and would hopefully get significantly better at doing so. I don't think there is any inconsistency in seeing an improvement in ability over that long span. It would be like looking at someone's code from the beginning of their career, comparing it to something they just wrote, and citing the inferior quality of their earlier work as a clear sign that someone else helped them with their most recent stuff. > - I found out that they registered a domain name Dr <Last Name> back even before they started. Who the heck does that? Why is this weird? Presumably if you're entering a doctoral program, you plan on finishing it (whether or not that happens). Whats wrong with getting a domain if you think you'll need it in the future?