Gearing up for grad school
For alumna Monique Achu, sitting at her computer at early morning hours became quite normal last year. Although she had looked forward to graduation since the summer before her junior year, preparing to enter graduate school became a grueling and timely process with an uncertain outcome.
“It was out of control,” said Achu, now studying for her master of communication degree at Boston University. “I didn’t know how I was going to get those applications in on time.”
Achu’s room, never known for its tidiness, became more hellish as the application process continued. Papers littered not only the desk and the bed, but also covered the stereo, filled the corner next to the trash can, and lay stuffed behind picture frames on top of the television. Stuffed in the corner – her application to Savannah College.
“This was what my life had become,” she said.
But Achu was like many other undergraduate students who opt to attend graduate school following graduation. Senioritis sets in, but there is still work to be done and requirements to be met in order to meet grad school deadlines.
Many students wait too late to begin the process for applying to these schools and receive very little guidance in the struggle.
However, the process of applying to graduate school does not have to be a time of extreme stress nor do senior’s grades have to suffer. Graduating seniors, admissions counselors, and how-to Web sites emphasize that preparation, time-management, and being well-informed are essential to getting into graduate school or at least making sure applicants have met the requirements.
Get started early
“Plan ahead of time,” psychology student Aronda Green said. Green now attends the University of Houston. “The biggest thing is knowing what your school needs and wants from you, and expects from you ahead of time, so you don’t get caught with last minute deadlines.”
She admitted to waiting too late to begin seriously looking into graduate school.
“I got frustrated halfway through the process and decided not to go [to graduate school], just because there’s so much to do and you’re on your own,” Green said.
Career Services at Cornell University offers a helpful timetable for applying to graduate school on their Web site at www.career.cornell.edu.
Rather than waiting until one’s senior year to being the process, it suggests becoming familiar with graduate school admission criteria and degrees offered as early as the spring of junior year.
“It’s never really too early to get started,” Achu said. “Knowing that you want to go to graduate school isn’t enough.”
By senior year, the site recommends that students be simply finalizing the application process. Obtaining letters of recommendation, critiquing personal statements and essays, submitting financial aid forms, and mailing applications should be the only task at this point. Just getting started at the beginning of senior year puts applicants in a very difficult position.
Admission Requirements
Just as critical as starting early is knowing the admission requirements of the university or school.
“The usual criteria are GPA, letters of recommendation, test scores, application essay, an appropriate undergraduate degree and evidence of a creative talent,” according to Cornell Career Services.
Most programs are looking for students with at least a B+ average. Looking at it on a 4.0 GPA scale, schools usually consider applicants with a GPA in the minimum range of 2.5 or 3.0.
Letters of recommendation also play an essential part of the application and should be written by those who know the applicant well or have high ranking within the university or field in which applicant is applying.
“Everything for my schools was due in mid-February to late March, so I asked people to write my recommendations at around Thanksgiving,” Achu said. “But even if you ask them early, you have to constantly remind them.”
Like a minimum GPA, examination scores are required. However, few institutions base their decisions purely on numbers. Most fields now have specific test. Some of those offered are the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, and the DAT.
Due to the growing number of applicants, admissions boards must have something to look at. Cornell Career Services suggests that applicants take these examinations as early as possible in case they must take them multiple times.
“I think the application essay is coming to be the most important part of the application because it is the only part that allows the admissions board to see you as a person through your words, and not just numbers,” said Kimberly Jessie, who recently went through the law school application process.
But the increasing number of essay-checking resources that have recently surfaced are an indication of the fear that many applicants have about their essay.
Cornell Career Services urges that before writing anything, applicants should stop and consider what your readers might be looking for. Applicants must make sure that they are writing their essay on the assigned topic.
The extras
Although the requirements must be met in the application and turned in on time, there are still other things applicants can do to improve their chances of being selected and making a more informed decision. A personal interview helps students who feel that they are better represented in person than on paper. Going for the interview also provides an opportunity to see the campus and the surrounding area.
But even without an interview, Green recommends visiting the university.
“It doesn’t matter how many brochures or pamphlets you look at, the school could be and probably will be totally different,” Green said. ” Make sure that you take the time to understand as much as possible about the application process-from the terminology to the different types of degrees.”
Achu had the same feelings.
“You have to make sure that the university and the city are suitable to your needs,” she said.
Applying for graduate school is not easy, just as applying to an undergraduate program is not a simple task. But with preparation and planning, the road becomes smoother.
