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Choosing a Graduate School
Many factors will impact your decision to attend graduate/professional
school. Below are some guidelines and tips that will help you decide.
Should I Go?
You need to consider various factor in deciding whether to go to
graduate school or not. For some careers, you'll want to go directly to
graduate school after receiving your undergraduate degree (medical
school, for example). For some other careers, it's better to gain
practical experience before pursuing a graduate degree. And yet other
fields don't require graduate school at all. If you do decide to go,
note that graduate programs look for highly motivated students with a
strong sense of direction, so you'll want to be sure of your career
goals before you apply.
How Do I Pick a School?
It's important to choose a grad school and program that best fits your needs. With so many options, this may seem overwhelming.
Graduate programs vary greatly and you'll need to thoroughly research your options.
Below are general
guidelines to help you identify your needs, narrow your choices, and set a planning timeline:
1. Think about what you want in a graduate program/institution and make a list of your top criteria.For example, list out field of study, school size, geographic location, financial assistance, faculty (current research
and publications), and degrees offered. For more help in this area, see the CCLC handout Questions to Ask.
2. Research different programs, ask questions, and compare them to your
top criteria. Peterson's
Guide is an excellent resource containing information on both the
institution and its location. Most schools also provide all kinds of
online information about their institution and various programs.
3. Based on your research, make a list of graduate schools
that match your criteria.
Include about 10-20 school. If you'd like more information about these
programs, write to or e-mail the graduate schools and request their
graduate bulletin or any other materials they think would help you make
your decision. You can also contact the department chairpersons of
graduate programs that interest you. They can tell you more about areas
of current research by professors in that program. Armed with this type
of information, you may want to shorten your list of grad school to 6.
4. After you've finalized your list, write down
each school's admissions address and the date your application is due.
You may want to give yourself an application date that's 2-4 weeks before the official
deadline. That way you'll be extra certain to have the application done and mailed in time.
5. Decide on your timeline for each step of
the application process (ie: testing, application, personal statements,
letters of recommendation) and begin the application process!
Need More Help?
CCLC has all kinds of resources to help you figure these things out!
Stop by our Resource Room in 135 Johnston Hall, where you can browse
books and handouts that help you address these issues. Talk to a Peer
Advisor in our Resource Room for on-the-spot advice without an
appointment. Or make an appointment with one of CCLC's professional
career counselors to talk about career and graduate school options.
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