Rex Chen, Ph.D.
PhD Admissions Committee Experience | Max Your IN-Rate to CS/AI Programs
Studied at Vanderbilt University
Works at KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Available tomorrow
Starting at 6:00 PM UTC
Questions? Start chatting with this coach before you get started.
Rex's Offerings
Custom hourly · $99/hr
Get help with Application Strategy, Data Analysis, and .
Rex’s PhD Programs Qualifications
I help prospective CS/AI PhD applicants build stronger, more research-focused applications for U.S. programs. I can help you identify the right schools and advisors, evaluate your current profile, position your research experience effectively, strengthen your SOP and CV, and prepare for faculty interviews. I also help applicants diagnose common weaknesses such as unclear research direction, weak advisor fit, or an application that lists accomplishments without telling a convincing research story. I bring experience from both sides of the process: I earned my PhD in Computer Science from Vanderbilt University, and I have participated in student admissions and helped faculty review and interview prospective PhD students. My goal is to help you understand how your application is likely to be read by researchers, and turn your background into a clear, credible case for your research potential and fit.
Rex can help with:
Application Strategy
Data Analysis
Data Collection
Defense Preparation
Dissertation Proposal
Editing
Essays
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Interviews
Letters of Recommendation
Research
Resume
School Selection
Secondary Review
About Rex
I help students turn “I’m interested in AI/ML” into a research profile that is actually competitive for top U.S. PhD programs. I recently completed my PhD in Computer Science at Vanderbilt University, where my research focused on trustworthy AI, NLP, and intelligent systems. My work has been published at leading AI venues, with multiple oral/spotlight presentations, and has gone beyond papers into real-world AI systems deployed with public-sector partners. Having gone through the U.S. PhD process myself, I know that strong applications are rarely about having the “perfect” GPA or checking every box. What matters much more is whether your experiences form a convincing research story: what problems you care about, how you think as a researcher, what evidence you have that you can do independent research, and why a particular group should want to work with you. That is where I can help. For PhD applicants, I can work with you on everything from program and advisor selection to CV positioning, statement of purpose, research statements, faculty outreach, interview preparation, and the overall strategy behind your application. I am especially useful if you already have some research experience but are unsure how to turn it into a coherent and differentiated profile. I also mentor students who want to become stronger AI/ML researchers. We can work together on identifying research questions, reading and critiquing papers, designing experiments, building systems, debugging research ideas, writing papers, responding to reviewers, or taking a project from “interesting idea” to something that could realistically become a publication. My mentoring style is direct and research-oriented. I will tell you what is strong, what is weak, and what I would change if I were in your position. The goal is not simply to polish an application or finish one project, but to help you learn how strong researchers think, communicate, and make decisions. If you are aiming for a U.S. EECS/CS/AI PhD, trying to break into AI/ML research, or already doing research and want a second pair of experienced eyes, I would be happy to work with you.
Why do I coach?
A large part of my own growth as a researcher came from having the right people give me honest advice at the right time. During my PhD, good mentorship helped me learn things that are rarely written down: how to recognize a research problem worth pursuing, how to recover when an idea does not work, how to position a paper, how to communicate with faculty, and how to make career decisions when there is no obvious “correct” answer. Often, a short conversation with someone more experienced saved me weeks or months of going in the wrong direction. That experience is a big reason I coach. I have also seen many talented students underestimate themselves simply because they do not have access to the informal knowledge that others pick up from experienced advisors, senior lab members, or well-connected peers. PhD admissions and academic research can be surprisingly opaque. Two students with similar potential can end up on very different trajectories depending on whether someone helps them understand how the system actually works. I want to make that guidance more accessible. What I enjoy most is not just editing someone’s SOP or giving them a list of programs. It is helping someone see their own trajectory more clearly: identifying what is genuinely strong about their background, recognizing what is missing, making better research decisions, and developing the confidence and judgment to operate more independently. The best outcome for me is when a student eventually no longer needs my advice because they have learned how to evaluate opportunities, research ideas, and their own work for themselves.
Work Experience
Postdoctoral Fellow
KTH Royal Institute of Technology
August 2026 - Present
AI research fellow
Epiq
May 2025 - August 2025
Data Scientist
National Basketball Association
May 2021 - August 2021
Education
Vanderbilt University
PhD, Computer Science
2021 - 2026
I help prospective CS/AI PhD applicants strengthen their applications, from school and advisor selection to SOPs, CVs, research positioning, and interviews. I earned my PhD in Computer Science from Vanderbilt University. I have also helped faculty review, screen, and interview PhD applicants, giving me experience from both the applicant and faculty sides of the process. My mentoring is especially research-focused: how to present your experience, demonstrate research potential, identify strong advisor fit, and build a coherent application for U.S. CS/AI PhD programs.
Georgetown University
M.Sci., Computer Science
2019 - 2021