Grad School Prep

Preparing for grad school starts while you are still working on your undergraduate degree. The average applicant has taken 2 years to enhance their application with further coursework, research experience, or field experience. Jumping into a graduate program without carefully considering all of your options may leave you highly in debt and frustrated with your coursework, your advisor, or your degree. Be sure the work that you pursue will hold your interest and passion!

Application Timeline

Applicants need to plan at least a year and a half for the application process. This timeline is assuming someone is still in their undergrad, but it can be applied to anyone with gap time as well: 

  • Spring Junior Year
    • Look into programs
    • Conduct informational interviews with alumni of programs you are exploring
    • If programs mention testing, start studying (you may need to start earlier depending on the test's requirements, like the MCAT for medical programs requires a lot of study time)
      • You also need to think about your scheduling of the exam
  • Summer between Junior and Senior Year
    • Finalize your list of programs 
    • Take any exams needed
  • Fall Senior Year
    • Gather application materials
      • Clear any holds to make sure transcripts can be sent 
      • Contact faculty, instructors, or others for letters of recommendation
      • Writing your personal statement and any additional statements 
      • Send test scores to your list of programs
    • Apply by the deadlines
      • Ph.D. programs tend to have a November-December application deadline
      • Master's programs tend to have a January-March application deadline
  • Spring Senior Year
    • Patiently await decision emails and letters
    • Choose a program of enrollment OR start a plan of improving your application if no acceptances this round

Questions to Ask Yourself

Ask yourself the following reflection questions to think about what is important for graduate school and you:

  • Where do my interests lie?
    • Knowing more about what interests you will help you select a program that engages your mind. 
  • What are my career goals?
    • Some careers require very specific degrees. Some careers don't. 
  • How does graduate school fit into other life goals I have for myself?
    • Do you want to take a break? Do you want to live somewhere new?
  • What level and type of degree would I like to complete?
    • Think about Master's vs. Doctorate-level programs, what type of people you want to work with, and more. 

Make Connections

You will need 2-3 letters of recommendation when applying to grad programs. There might be different requirements for programs depending on their focus. Some programs may be open to a work supervisor letter, while other programs may require all academic writers (especially for Ph.D. or other doctoral-level programs). Start asking your faculty early about grad school and writing letters. 

Testing

Some programs may require you to take a test for admission to their program. For a while, the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) was required by most graduate programs, but testing was suddenly halted when the COVID-19 pandemic started. Since then, many programs have dropped the GRE requirement, but some still require or accept it. 

If you do need to take a standardized exam, here are some resources to help: 

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