Exploring Graduate and Professional School

Should You Go to Graduate School?
Making a decision about attending graduate school is not easy. It is a decision that requires complete honesty about your motivation, goals, and limitations. Pursuing further study immediately after undergraduate school is only advisable when you are clear about what you want to achieve, both personally and professionally.

When trying to decide whether or not to attend graduate school, your best resources are often people. Talk to your advisor, faculty in your department, alumni in the field, career advisors, and people with the kinds of jobs you are interested in about choosing a program. If you are seriously considering graduate school, stop by the Career Center and pick up a free handbook for an application task list and time table. In addition, the following books are among those that may be helpful to you:

• Peterson's Guide to Graduate Programs
• The Complete Guide to Graduate School Admission: Psychology and Related Fields
• The Complete Guide to MBA Programs
• MA and PhD Programs in Art
• So You Want to Go to Law School?
• Law School Unplugged (a video made by law students about law school)
• A Comprehensive Look at 300 Graduate Fields of Study

The Application Process
Most graduate programs require Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores as part of the application for admission. Other tests required for specialized fields are the Miller Analogies Test (MAT), Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT), Law School Admissions Test (LSAT), Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) or the Dental Aptitude Test (DAT).

Most programs also require three or more letters of recommendation, official transcripts, a resume, and an application essay. The essay typically involves writing a personal statement of purpose. You must be very clear about why you wish to pursue graduate school. The Career Center staff have a lot of experience with critiquing graduate school essays, so make sure you ask them or a faculty member to read your essay before you send it.

Financing Graduate School
Both the federal and state governments offer financial assistance programs for graduate students. Other aid sources come from private foundations, industrial organizations, service organizations, and financial institutions.

Fellowships are prestigious awards that cover educational expenses and sometimes include a stipend for living expenses. Grants are also given in the form of a stipend and are usually based on need. Both fellowships and grants require no work or repayment.

Assistantships are administered and awarded by individual academic departments or colleges and are common ways to finance graduate education. This type of aid is given in return for service, most often in the form of teaching or research. These activities are often integral to your education and can enrich it deeply. Residence Hall assistantships are another option that require living in a residence hall as a director or assistant director in exchange for tuition benefits. Tuition waivers are other common sources of support offered by graduate school.

Student loans are also available from sources such as the federal government, graduate institutions, and private banking institutions. These, of course, must be repaid.