**Disclaimer: This article is written based off of my experience and what I have found works best for me. This means, these things are not guaranteed to benefit everyone/every situation.
I am a senior at Bradley University, and my path after graduation is to receive my master’s degree and complete 1,000 hours of clinical experience. These steps will lead me to take my Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) exam to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) officially.
My current step is to apply for graduate schools, which is a complex and long process for me. First, I have to decide which colleges to apply to, but because I am very indecisive, I will change my mind again and again, which is totally fine because it’s important to be confident in my decisions.
For my career path, I have to apply through a program called Dietetic Internship Centralized Application System (DICAS), which has its pros and cons, but ultimately it makes things easier because I only have to enter all my information once. However, some schools do not use this program, and I have to go to each school’s website to apply individually. In total, I wrote everything down about myself, my classes, GPA, essays, etc. around four different times.
Being done does feel great! It feels like a weight is lifted off my shoulders, but now it’s a waiting game to see where I get accepted. There is yet another program for dietetics students to register which schools students officially applied to and I have to rate them in the order of most desired school to least desired school. Then, the schools have to choose the students in return, for the students are matched to the schools they have listed in the program. Once accepted into the selected schools, students have about 24 hours to decide where they want to go.
The process was complicated for me, but once I figured out all of the steps, I was good to go. If I were going to apply to grad schools all over again, some things I would change would be to save more of my money for them, for they can become expensive; ask for help from my peers and advisors, because they want me to succeed; and to time out my applications so I don’t wait last minute.
If you are currently applying or applying in the future, good luck with your applications! Treat yourself once finished, you deserve it.