For many students, graduate school is the next logical step following the completion of their undergraduate degree. However, some students have no idea where to start when it comes to planning for their future in academia.
While not all students will embark on the adventure to further their education, some will. For those who have decided to pursue higher degrees, the question isn’t why graduate school, but where.
There are a lot of factors that go into picking which schools to apply to. For Dr. Victoria Seng, Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, she started with her professors.
“When I got ready to go for my Masters, I went to one of my professors. I was specifically interested in maternal infant nursing. I asked, ‘What are the top programs in the country?’”
Seng’s professors gave her a list of four potential schools for her to apply to. Of the four, she applied to two of them and ended up at the University of Alabama in Birmingham where she obtained a Masters of Science in Nursing.
While Seng still advises students to speak with their professors, she also says that looking for schools online is a great way to not only find a school, but the right school.
“Probably the most important decision that a student will make is [picking] a school in which they have a good fit,” Seng said. “It’s a chunk of time out of your life and if you are unhappy the entire time, you don’t do as well and you don’t get as much out of it as you possibly can.”
For Cameron Graham, a Union City native who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Tennessee at Martin in December of 2013, he knew that location would be a major factor for him.
“The location is pretty important, because that’s somewhere you are going to spend around two years in a stressed-filled environment,” Graham said. “You want to be somewhere [you can relax].”
The list of requirements for a graduate school will vary for each person. However, after you establish those criteria, you still have to find the schools that match it.
Like Seng suggested, Graham turned to Google in hopes of finding his next academic home. Using the popular search engine, Graham entered the types of programs he was looking for combined with the names of states he was interested in relocating to.
This was ultimately how he came up with the four schools he applied to.
After deciding what type of program you want, where you want to be geographically and finally, after all the hours spent staring at a computer screen and listening to professors recall their days at their alma mater, you have a list of schools to apply to.
What now?
Every program in the country has requirements for their applicants. However, not all schools have the same requirements. Some schools will require the Graduate Requite Exam (GRE) or some other type of test, different amounts of recommendation letters and, in some cases, a portfolio.
In the early stages, Seng says one of the most important things is finding out what is required from each school and when certain things are due.
As you go further into the process, it can be overwhelming, but Seng suggests making a calendar containing all the due dates so you can keep track of your progress.
When you get closer to the time of making a decision, some schools will ask you to come out for an interview. Seng says that these interviews are just as much about them making their decision on you as it is you making a decision on them.
“I went in to my interviews expecting to love the University of Florida and hate Birmingham and it was the complete opposite,” Seng said.
“As important as it is for you to make a good impression on the graduate program, it is equally important for you to check the place out to make sure that it’s the place you want to be.”
Once piece of advice Graham had for students who are considering graduate school is to not set limits in finding a school.
“Find what you’re good at, what you have a passion for,” Graham said. “Just start looking and don’t be afraid to branch out because you might find a program in a place that is unlikely from you imagined.“
