Applying to graduate school involves many steps that can be confusing to those unfamiliar with the process. This is in part because expectations for graduate students are so different from expectations of undergraduates. The purpose of this workshop is to elucidate the mystery of successfully applying to graduate school by giving participants knowledge on how to effectively 1) contact potential advisors via email, and 2) write personal statements for graduate school applications. This will be an active-participant workshop with discussions, writing samples, and Q&As. We will cover issues ranging from participants not being sure what they want to study as graduate students to how to write about non-academic personal experience without undermining their skills and research experiences. However, as this is a participant-focused workshop, it is designed to allow for changes in direction guided by participants.