Tips
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The graduate school application process IS not only mysterious, but downright enigmatic. Here we will try to give you a true "insiders" view of how the graduate process takes place at most universities.
On the surface, graduate admissions may seem very similar to undergraduate admissions, in that you fill out some form, send in some reference letters, pay the fee, write an essay, and then wait for a reply -- but in truth it is very little like the undergraduate process at all.
Let me put it another way. In PhD programs (not Med/Law/etc), for the most part, you will either *know* you are going to university [A] before even hearing the "official" answer -- or you will be not going to university [A]. This is because in graduate programs, the actual application takes place long before the formal application.
The actual application takes place in the year(s) prior to attending graduate school. During this time, you should have done research, contacted faculty, and networked in the field you think you are interested. Many grad school applications say that you don't need a clear statement of "purpose", but the truth is that had you done the necessary research, asked the questions, followed the leads, then you would have a clear statement of purpose. You would know about the field, why you are interested in it, and what your are interested in, because you would have done the basic research. This basic research comprises the test of whether you are qualified to do real research -- and in this basic research, you would have contacted faculty, and have gotten a clear sense of whether they will support your application or are interested in working with you.
If you have not done this work yet, don't despair. Just focus on the goal. Gathering information. Contact professors at your local university, ask questions about the field, ask for their recommendations of other universities, become more familiar with the universities' bias in the fields, see if those match with your underlying goals and beliefs. Decide for yourself whether an application the following year will have you more prepared wiser for the choices available, and more knowledgeable of your interests. Don't apply unprepared.
Many times graduate school admissions will say things like "you never know until you try". These comments are designed to increase the qualified applicant pool and convey a sense of "friendliness" about the department. But the fact is, if you don't know, don't try. You will only be wasting money. Gather more information and make more contacts until you do know.
If you still get in to university A without that preparation, you either got lucky or were overqualified. We assume that nobody wants to go somewhere they are overqualified for.
Having applied to graduate school ourselves, we have realized that there is much
more handwaving in graduate admissions that it might otherwise seem -- a seemingly
straightforward application can actually be any and everything but straightforward --
at least if you want to be admitted.
Therefore, we have collected a list of tips for you to help, and made some suggestions
of our own.
- Obscure tips, in no particular order:
- #1. Graduate schools and admissions very "funding" driven. That is, there are generally 2 applicant pools: students who will fund their own research/tuition, and those that will require research positions and assistanceships. Admissions almost always assumes the latter. This means that the former tends to be "less competitive". Make it clear which pool you are a member of. Rather, try your best to be in the self-funded pool. This does not mean you have to personally pay for everything -- apply for NSF research grants and fellowships. This will also show your initiative and your "fitness".
- #2. You have to be accepted BOTH through regular admissions AND have a professor who will take you on as a student. This means that you should get to know the professors both in the field at your own school, but also at the schools you want to attend. Depending upon the strength of how well they know you, they will either recommend you or agree to take you on when they see your application. In either case, contacting professors in the field is a necessary part of your information gathering and application process.
- Often Overlooked Point #3. Sometimes people treat graduate school like buying things on Ebay. You "have" to get accepted now, your bid has to be the highest, you have to get into this other program if this one fails. Like placing multiple bids. People then get carried away with the concept of "competitive" or "good enough". After a denial, often good -- or exceptional students will settle for school they are less happy with. Stop to ask yourself. "Do I need to go to graduate school THIS YEAR?" Many times you will find that the answer to that is "no". Even if you are an "average" student. Take an added year to "improve" yourself (job, travel, own research, etc), focus on your goals, network, do more information gathering. The next application year you will be MORE competitive and have a better chance of going to the schools you really want to.
- #4. Graduate school is a particularly stressful time. You may wonder
why, having observed that graduate students pretty much do nothing at all. This is something I've
wondered as well, but over my 2 years in graduate school, I've come to realize that it is not the "work" per se
that makes graduate school stressful -- rather, it is a somewhat self-inflicted psycho-social stress
that derives itself from uncertaintly about the future, and the lack of a social life. Essentially
what makes graduate school difficult is that there is much less of a physical and social outlet (body and mind
needs activity), along with a latent expectation that following this time of "research", the graduate
student will be closer to his or her goals, and be more of an expert in the field. But this is dependent
upon the thesis, which is undetermined, yielding a set of uncertainties both about the present and the future.
Having said that, one of the very important things to investigate in your graduate school search is the sense of community between graduate students and the activities available. Many pre-grad students expect to meet "the one" spouse in graduate school, but not all choose a place where this is conducive.
note for B: talk about the steps an application usually goes through 1. arrives 2. casually sorted 3. casually walked over when thought complete (things are frequently lost) 4. admissions committee reviews your application -- whether you are a potential candidate or not. 5. profile anonymously (maybe) prepared for faculty getting new students r.e. (you should know whether your interested faculty is even getting students) 6. names call out to faculty, they will know you or not. 7. if your application is not chosen, then you will not be admitted. likewise, faculty's "acceptance" of students is many times "funding" based. can they pay, support, etc or not? international, more fly-by-night, chance driven if you are not able to contact faculty and get more information.
