I’ve actually already survived the grad school process—I’ll be starting a PhD program in September 2009—but I still decided to write a blog about it anyway. I know when I w
as going through the grad school application ordeal I searched for websites that could give me some insight into the experience AND help me feel less alone and overwhelmed.
I’ll start my blog off my discussing different aspects of the application process and then I’ll continue by recounting my real-time experiences in grad school. I will be a PhD student in Public/American History so my experiences will be more along the lines of Humanities programs.
Deciding on graduate school and a program:
The decision to go to grad school should not be taken lightly. Most grad schools offer partial or full funding—I personally think you’d be a fool to go to any program but a funded one. You need to be certain grad school is something you want because if you change your mind, you’ve cost a program and possibility other students to lose money. Remember, the program is investing in you. It’s in bad form to drop out or to change programs if you accept a funded package; you could even hurt your future employment chances, especially if it is a small and competitive field.
First thin
gs first, you must come up with a list of schools you would like to attend. There are some helpful search engines that can assist you. For example, U.S. News (http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schoolssnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools) keeps a ranking of various graduate schools and it’s a useful sight to find schools in your field. However, remember programs are ranked according to general fields. A school may receive a low ranking for your field (e.g. History) but might actually be ranked high in a narrower field (e.g. Public History).
It’s a smart idea to pick a variety of programs. It’s one thing to be confident in your abilities and potential to attract top programs, it’s another to assume you’re the only desirable candidate out there. Furthermore, the current economic situation WILL adversely affect your application outcomes. Universities, especially in struggling states like California and Arizona, are cutting back on funding and admissions. A university you may have gotten into two years ago may not be able to accept you this year due to a decrease in funding.
Choose a combination of dream schools, intermediate schools, and safely schools. Note: when it comes to safety schools, you should still choose programs that you’d be willing—even happy—to attend. You may end up at a safety school (like me) so be certain you’ll be satisfied attending (like me). Make a chart of the schools so you can easily find pertinent information. My chart included the application deadline, the application fee, average GRE scores of the past cohort, writing sample requirements, number of letters of recommendation, etc.
If you are near a university with a grad program in your desired field, I would consider calling the department and asking if you can sit in on a seminar. Grad school IS NOT like undergrad so it’s necessary to know what a true graduate seminar is like.
Of course, you need to make sure you’ve taken all required entrance exams before applying. Give yourself enough time to be able to take an exam over if you do not get an acceptable score.
Okay, I think that’s enough info for choosing a program. Talk to friends and family throughout this process. You need to have a support system in place because you will need bolstering many times throughout the long, life-changing, spirit crushing, emotional rollercoaster experience of applying to grad school.
Scared? You should be!
as going through the grad school application ordeal I searched for websites that could give me some insight into the experience AND help me feel less alone and overwhelmed.I’ll start my blog off my discussing different aspects of the application process and then I’ll continue by recounting my real-time experiences in grad school. I will be a PhD student in Public/American History so my experiences will be more along the lines of Humanities programs.
Deciding on graduate school and a program:
The decision to go to grad school should not be taken lightly. Most grad schools offer partial or full funding—I personally think you’d be a fool to go to any program but a funded one. You need to be certain grad school is something you want because if you change your mind, you’ve cost a program and possibility other students to lose money. Remember, the program is investing in you. It’s in bad form to drop out or to change programs if you accept a funded package; you could even hurt your future employment chances, especially if it is a small and competitive field.
First thin
gs first, you must come up with a list of schools you would like to attend. There are some helpful search engines that can assist you. For example, U.S. News (http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schoolssnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools) keeps a ranking of various graduate schools and it’s a useful sight to find schools in your field. However, remember programs are ranked according to general fields. A school may receive a low ranking for your field (e.g. History) but might actually be ranked high in a narrower field (e.g. Public History).It’s a smart idea to pick a variety of programs. It’s one thing to be confident in your abilities and potential to attract top programs, it’s another to assume you’re the only desirable candidate out there. Furthermore, the current economic situation WILL adversely affect your application outcomes. Universities, especially in struggling states like California and Arizona, are cutting back on funding and admissions. A university you may have gotten into two years ago may not be able to accept you this year due to a decrease in funding.
Choose a combination of dream schools, intermediate schools, and safely schools. Note: when it comes to safety schools, you should still choose programs that you’d be willing—even happy—to attend. You may end up at a safety school (like me) so be certain you’ll be satisfied attending (like me). Make a chart of the schools so you can easily find pertinent information. My chart included the application deadline, the application fee, average GRE scores of the past cohort, writing sample requirements, number of letters of recommendation, etc.
If you are near a university with a grad program in your desired field, I would consider calling the department and asking if you can sit in on a seminar. Grad school IS NOT like undergrad so it’s necessary to know what a true graduate seminar is like.
Of course, you need to make sure you’ve taken all required entrance exams before applying. Give yourself enough time to be able to take an exam over if you do not get an acceptable score.
Okay, I think that’s enough info for choosing a program. Talk to friends and family throughout this process. You need to have a support system in place because you will need bolstering many times throughout the long, life-changing, spirit crushing, emotional rollercoaster experience of applying to grad school.
Scared? You should be!
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