They say college is the best years of our lives—but what comes after that? For some, it means entering the workforce and finding the best job they can. Some may look for the jobs with the best pay while others look for the job that will make them happiest. Then there’s others—like me and you—who decided to keep going with our education and wrack-up even more debt.
Pursuing an advanced degree may be expensive, but it opens up a world of opportunities as you hone your skills in your field of choice. That being said, the process of applying to grad school can be a bit daunting. You have to apply to each school individually, which is very different from applying to countless undergraduate programs, all on the Common Application.
The first thing you need to do is decide what type of program you’re looking for and what you want your focus to be. Are you looking for a masters or a doctorate? What do you want to specialize in? Once you figure out the answers to these questions you can begin to narrow your search for schools and start asking other questions about things like location and tuition. Now you can start to assemble a list of potential schools and programs.
From there, I’d recommend making a spreadsheet with any schools that look appealing to you. On the spreadsheet you can include things like the name of the schools, the location, the program you’re interested in, application deadlines, whether they require the GRE, and whatever else can help you narrow down your schools. Now you’ll have all the information right in front of you and can start eliminating schools and shrinking your list. Since graduate schools tend to have small programs, it’s best to apply to a moderate amount of schools so you can keep your options open.
You should start looking for schools months before the applications open. This way you have plenty of time to narrow down your list. Also at this time, if not before, you need to decide whether or not you need to take the GRE. Since COVID-19, many schools have done away with the requirement for their programs. They have acknowledged that they are not necessary to assess applicants. They are also expensive. It’s up to you whether you want to take them or if a program you are set on requires them. I never took them, and I found that most of the schools I looked at didn’t require them. This can vary depending on your programs of interest.
Now that you’ve spent months finalizing your list and potentially taking the GRE, when applications are close to opening, it’s time to ask for letters of recommendations. It is very important that you ask for the letters months ahead of time and send the links immediately. You don’t want them to forget, and you can always hit the “remind” button inside the application. Additionally, you want to ensure that they have plenty of time to write and submit the letter of recommendation. They are doing you a favor afterall!
Once these steps are complete, you’re now ready to start on the actual components of your application. You should go to your college’s workshops and career advisors to work on your resume and personal statement. These two requirements are an extremely important piece of your application. It shows the people who assess your application who you are and what you’ve done—this is the make or break part of your application. You should go through several drafts of your personal statement and have several people review it, potentially even your recommenders if they are in the field you’re interested in. Your recommenders can also help answer any questions you may have about the process.
I hope this run through of the graduate school application process was helpful and can show you where to begin in your journey to graduate school. Good luck!