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Graduate School
Why should I go?
While some pursue a graduate degree simply for the learning experience,
few can afford the time and money for such an endeavor. For most, the
decision to attend graduate school is based on the desire to achieve a
specific career goal. It is important to first select a career goal and
then research graduate programs that will help you reach your goal.
Perhaps you want to be a professor, a doctor, an investment banker, or a social worker.
How do I decide on a school?
Once you have a specific career goal set, look for programs with strong reputations.
For example, if you are interested in Family Medicine, you would want to look at University of
Washington. If you are interested in finance, you would look into University of Pennsylvania's
MBA program. It is quite possible that the school with a strong reputation in your area of
interest is not a school with an overall national reputation. For example, University of Iowa's
creative writing program is ranked number one, but the university in general is not a top-ranked
school. The best way to find schools suited to your interests is to do research.
- Look at journal articles for your field and discover who is writing articles that excite
you and where the author is teaching.
- Ask professors for their recommendations.
- Talk to alumni who recently attended the schools that interest you and ask if they would
go to those programs again.
- Talk to the career services office at that school to learn where graduates find jobs.
Note: Be careful when consulting guides that purport to rank graduate and professional programs.
The criteria used are, at worst, often questionable, or at best, not tailored to your specific
criteria and goals.
You can also research graduate fields of study on-line at
www.graduateguide.com. Graduate school
profiles, financial aid and other graduate school information are also available at this site.
How do I get in?
You will need to submit several items:
Application Fee
Tests
Applications
Recommendation Letters
Personal Essays
Transcripts & Interviews
Two important notes:
- Apply early. Many schools operate on rolling admissions, which means that
they continually evaluate applicants and admit them. So, if you apply after
this process has begun, the number of openings available to you is smaller.
- If you are applying to graduate school, you will improve your chances of
admission by doing the following:
- The summer before you apply, study journals to find faculty who are doing
cutting-edge work in the field that interests you.
- Write to those faculty and tell them that you have read their work,
are very interested in it and plan to apply to their program.
- Send them a copy of your research papers and tell them that you'd like to work for them if you are accepted.
In most instances, these faculty will advocate on your behalf to the admissions committee.
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