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Graduate school applications are a marathon, not a sprint. Taking it one step at a time is the key to not getting too overwhelmed.
You may be coming from a place where you have no idea what things to consider when thinking about applying to grad school, or if you should even go to grad school. This page is here to help with that.
Below is information to help orient you to what applying to a grad program would look like. I also provide a suggested timeline to when you “should” start to think about these things.
This website is made to be generally applicable to US Universities.
General Info
What is Grad School?: Graduate school is intense work and research to further your understanding of a specific subject. If you wanted a Masters in literature after majoring in English, it will be a curriculum all focused on literature. As you increase your education level, the more specific your work becomes. For example, if you majored in psychology in undergrad and want to pursue a PhD, there are programs for clinical, cognitive, social-personality, and developmental psychology.
You will have access to research opportunities, conferences, academic journal articles, authorship opportunities, and the development of a crippling caffeine dependency.
Graduate school prepares you for a wide range of possible career paths, but you will mainly hear this spoken about as either deciding to continue in academia or transition into industry. Industry is abroad term that includes, but is not limited to: non-profits, private sector research, tech, data analysis, public policy and other gov jobs, etc.
Why Grad School?: Graduate school is good for students who want a more advanced understanding of their subject of choice. If you ever thought “why do I have to do all these gen-ed courses? I just want to focus on my interests,” graduate school might be for you. It can also give you an edge on the job market and lead to higher paying positions.
Grad school is perfect for anyone who wants to do research as their career and/or teach at an institution higher than high school (e.g. community college or 4-year university). A PhD is needed to do any type of individual research.
Cons: A graduate degree costs time; Time you could be working and making money, but also time in your life. Depending on what stage of your life you are in, a long term degree could push some of your life milestones to later than you thought. The longer the degree takes, the more events it may push off for you. Some things may be inconvenient to handle while going through graduate school (such as a wedding), but it can be done! It just takes an evaluation of your priorities and a realistic understanding of how you handle stress. It’s a balancing act and full of compromises. Academics are notorious for having poor work-life balance. You may have to intentionally set boundaries for yourself and really focus on making sure you are still doing person things to maintain your well-being. Eating, sleeping, exercising, taking walks, and touching grass should still be prioritized when engaging in intense work. Research has showed that weaving these activities into your busy schedule improves your quality of life and reduces stress and burnout without effecting your grades.
The Application Process: The application process is time consuming and stressful. The acceptance rate is very low. I do not want this to scare you, it is doable. I believe that everyone is capable of getting into and completing grad school. If you are passionate about learning and are determined to succeed, you will be successful. The main traits I believe make a successful graduate student are: resilience, drive, curiosity, and critical thinking. You are right for grad school if you feel grad school is right for you. Reading the provided information on this page can help you understand what the process may realistically look like.
For masters programs, it typically consists of your initial application and no interview. Some masters programs invite you for a zoom interview, but I do not believe this is usual. It is usually you submit it and (attempt to) forget it until the decisions are made.
For PhD programs, you will submit your application, and if you are on the short list (one of the few the department/professor is considering taking into the program), you will be asked for a Zoom interview (usually in the early winter). If you are still being considered to be accepted after the Zoom interview, you will most likely be invited to an in person interview day (usually in the early spring) where you will meet current graduate students, interview with other faculty, and learn what life is like if you were to move there. The university will typically cover/reimburse you for travel costs and will provide food and housing while you visit, you basically get a free trip.
Cost: The cost of your graduate school depends on your intended degree and program. Masters programs are usually pretty expensive. Some programs have tuition free programs that I suggest looking into as well as searching for scholarships.
Many will be surprised to know that a large majority of PhD programs are tuition free due to a work-study agreement you make with the university. To waive the tuition, you’ll trade your time working either as a research assistant (RA) or teaching assistant (TA) for your program. Programs will also provide you with a monthly stipend, or payment. Stipends are usually low and schools don’t advertise the amount they give to students. I would suggest looking at the University’s Reddit page for an idea of what the amount would look like.
To apply to a masters program or a PhD program, it costs money. The amount of the application submission fee can be found on the programs website. All schools have fee wavers that you can apply for to obtain reimbursement or total cost coverage.
Application Deadlines: It varies by department and program. They are typically due between Dec. 1st and early January. However, some masters are due as early as Nov. 15th and some as late as April. It is important to check for every school you plan to apply to.
Masters Vs. PhD
Choosing the best degree for you depends on what you want to get out of the education.
A Master’s degree is structured around taking specified classes for what you are obtaining your degree in. Your big projects will most likely be a first year project and writing and defending a thesis. A Master’s degree can help you make more money in a current job, make you more competitive in your field, and/or help you change career fields. Master’s are typically not funded and will probably require a loan.
As a graduate student, you won't be eligible for any need-based federal aid (Pell grant, work study, or Subsidized loans), however, you would still be eligible for federal Unsubsidized loans and federal Grad PLUS loans. I also suggest as you get further into your grad school consideration journey you contact the schools’ financial aid office to learn more about what (if any) state- and school-based aid you will be eligible for.
A Master’s degree is also a good stepping stone to get to a PhD if you want to continue your education. If your undergraduate GPA is not considered competitive (schools consider this to be ~3.5) a masters education can assist in showing the department how your study habits have changed. It also allows you to improve and gain more experience with your research understanding, writing, statistics, and overall expansion of the future direction(s) of your career.
Assessing Your Priorities
Assessing your life and educational priorities is the first step to begin your application process. There are many things to consider when looking into schools such as location, cost of living, name prestige, and program fit.
While there are no right answers to which areas you give more of a preference for, there are benefits to consider when weighing your options.
For example, if someone with family in California wants to pursue a degree in public policy but wishes to stay close to home, they will have to weigh the career benefits they may receive of going to a school in DC against their desire to stay close to their family.
In the example above, everyone reading this will have a variety of answers to which is the “better choice,” but remember, it is all about choosing the best option for you. This will be your life for the next 2-3 (for a Masters) or 5-6 (for a PhD) years.
However, these priorities may change as you move through the process. Grad school admission rates are low (~2%), and sadly, with the current administration, it is only getting harder to continue in education. I suggest keeping an open mind when searching for universities. You may end up loving a school that you originally thought you would hate.
Understand Your Field
Understanding how your field functions in academia is vital to your success in graduate school.
Some programs work in a mentor/mentee fashion, where you are essentially applying to work under one faculty mentor for your time in the program. Some programs work as whole cohorts, where you get in and work within the whole department. Some programs have labs rotations, some don’t. The program structure for your field is typically the same across all universities, though there are some outliers. Make sure you check this when looking for programs.
This is also important to know because it gives you information of how to structure certain parts of your application.
Who are you Applying to?
Once you figure out the structure of your field, you now have some critical information.
If your field works collaboratively within the department, your application will be read by a variety of faculty to decide if you are admitted or not. You will have to appeal to the whole department.
If your field functions in the mentor/mentee structure, typically the professors you want to work with will be the ones directly reading your application and deciding if they want to work with you. This gives you an edge to personalize your statement and application to what they may be looking for.
Either way, it is important to look at the different application requirements.
University
When looking to apply, University’s will have overlapping requirements, such as: having a Bachelor’s degree, proof of speaking proficient English through the TOEFL or IELTS, CV, and a personal statement.
Your application will also ask you to provide two-three professional references. This means they want references that can speak to your academic efforts and work ethic. Strong letters of recommendation can make your application stand out. I would suggest having two professors write your rec letters for you. Reaching out to old professors can feel daunting, but I have included more information about letters of rec and a template for this in the “email template” tab above.
Money could be a huge factor in this decision. If the school is in a big city, the stipend will increase (slightly) to reflect that. I suggest considering how these factors will effect your way of life: your savings, your partner’s career (if applicable), the lifestyle you are comfortable living, and if you could work a second job.
The main things to consider when assessing the University as a whole is the culture and the location. Is it in a large town or a small town? Can I do my hobbies here? Do their students seem to be living well?
Reputations for Universities and their departments are good to consider. This can be found on the university’s Reddit page or you can even ask if your friends have heard anything about the University.
Department
The personal statement requirement will look different at each school. This will depend on the department. Schools will have different prompts, word counts, and topics for you to include. You must meet all of the department requirements to be accepted into the program.
These can be found by going to basically any University’s [insert your field] department webpage. Try going to a few and cross reference requirements to see which ones are generally the same.
Some programs still require the GRE. You should check if this is required for where you are applying.
When deciding if you vibe with a university’s program, consider if the work being done is aligned with what you hope to get out of your time there. Is there another professor doing work that is interesting you could collaborate with? Is there a method you want to learn that is being taught? What certificates do they offer, if any? Does this university have another strong department in a field you hope to collaborate with? All of this will be good to think about adding to your personal statement. More information about this can be found in the “Personal Statement” tab above.
Professor
If you are looking to work with a specific professor, you should first find out if they are taking students for the year you plan to start. This can be a difficult task, since only a few schools indicate whether someone is taking or not taking a student on the department page. This is most likely going to be found on their lab website, either on their home page or “join us” tab. If there is nothing on their website indicating this, feel free to email them. More info on this can be found in the “Email” tab above.
Make sure that your interests line up with what they are currently doing. This should be found on the “research” tab of their webpage. Checking the professor’s CV also allows you to see their current publications and what grants they have received. This can give you a little more insight into what their research may look like for the next couples of years.
Prestige
Prestige is important, but maybe not in the way that you are thinking. Graduate school prestige differs from undergraduate prestige in a few ways. When applying to jobs out of undergrad, the name of the school may carry the majority of the weight of if you get an interview. With graduate school, the name carries weight a little bit less depending on your goals after graduate school. If you wish to continue in academia, the focus is more on the advisor you are working with.
Both R1 schools (a doctoral-granting institution with "Very High Research Activity") and accomplished advisors (your mentor in the mentee/mentor relationship) can give you access to more conferences, meeting other accomplished professors, expanding your network and collaborations, and provide overall more funding for your research.
During my application cycles (yes, sometimes it takes multiple attempts), I was told that there is no such thing as a “safety school” for PhD programs. I do believe this, but there is an element in assessing a realistic acceptance outcome. If you are applying to Harvard or a department that is ranked highly in your field (this can be found from a google search) and have never stepped foot in a lab before, you are not likely to receive an acceptance. However if you apply to a lower ranking department and explain well how you are taking steps to remedy not working in research, you may get an interview.
It doesn’t always work like that, there is an element—usually a large element—of luck. I have heard of people getting into an R1 school who were rejected form lower ranking schools. The most important thing for most programs is fit. You could have the best fit with a lab but someone else gets that position because the lab had a better fit with them. This is when it is important to remember that the perception of your application is contingent on who else is applying at the same time as you. This is why sometime it takes multiple application cycles.
Remember not to take the results personally, it is not a reflection of who you are as a researcher.
Thinking About Making Your List
When to start:
August-October
This is where your priority assessment comes back in. Now that you have (hopefully) done the research about your specific program works, you can start to make a list of prospective programs!
If you have the mentor/mentee structure, professors start to update if they are taking students as early as August, but usually around September/October. This is when you want to start reaching out. More information about emails can be found in the “Email Template” tab above.
There are many ways to find which programs or professors you want to work with. If you have been doing a lot of reading on your research interest, you can look for common names within the literature and see if they are taking a student. You can find a researcher whose work inspires you and look at students they have mentored that are now researchers. You can even go to University websites and go through faculty one-by-one.
I think the easiest way to do it is to go to Google Scholar and use the tags to find researchers studying the same topics you want to.