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The road to graduate school is long
– and can be complex and sometimes confusing. To help
keep you on track, here's a calendar of what grad school
applicants should be doing, and when.
Maximize Your Chances: All 2009 grad school
applicants should use the summer months to
complete their school selection research and to begin
preliminary work on their applications. If you're hoping
for funding, remember that the deadlines for fellowship and scholarship
consideration often fall well before the application
deadlines do. You'll maximize your chances of
securing adequate support by starting your applications early.
School Selection:
-
Academic Qualifications. As
you consider your school choices, make sure that one of the first items you
look at in a program's profile are the academic qualifications
for admission. You will save yourself a lot of time
and frustration by choosing the programs that best fit your academic profile.
-
Creating a Checklist. There
are many graduate programs across the nation
that overlap in regard to academic concentration and
degree offerings. Create a checklist of the key
criteria that you
desire in a graduate program and use it to assess
how good a fit each school you're considering is for
you. Some of the criteria that applicants usually consider are
funding, publishing opportunities, alumni
networks, career services, and school location.
-
Faculty. One of the most crucial issues that applicants should consider as they narrow
their list of target schools is faculty specialties
and availability. Your graduate education will focus
largely on designing and conducting an original
research project. Having a network of faculty and
colleagues who can guide and mentor you through this
process is a key to ensuring an enjoyable and
productive grad school experience,
-
Campus Visits. Try to schedule
a visit to each
of the schools on your final target list. Try to
arrange meetings with
admissions staff, students, and – more importantly –
with faculty members who might be prospective
advisors.
Also consider attending an admissions
information session.
-
Deadline Considerations. Be
observant of upcoming deadlines.
Keep a detailed calendar of the various dates you should be considering,
including fellowship application deadlines and
regular application deadlines.
GRE:
-
Take the Test. If you haven't already taken the
GRE General Test, register for it now and begin
reviewing test material. Check the application
deadlines for the programs you're applying to and
make sure that your test scores will be reported to
the schools in time for those final deadlines.
-
Subject Tests. Some programs
require GRE Subject Test scores. Check the
requirements for the programs you're applying to and
make your test plans accordingly.
-
Not sure whether you need a GRE prep course? Call us at 703.242.5885 to discuss your situation. We're here to help you!
Academics
and Extracurriculars:
-
Alternative Transcripts.
Summer is a good time to take additional
courses at a local college or
university if you need to build an alternative transcript
to mitigate weaknesses in your official transcripts. Good
performance in graduate-level courses could reassure
admissions committees of your academic ability and
of your commitment to graduate study. See if the course
instructor would be willing to write a letter of
recommendation for you when the time comes.
-
Extracurricular activities
can enhance your grad school applications. Think
about the activities you participate in and the
organizations you belong to. Will those
activities and memberships support your case for
graduate study? Would you benefit by getting
involved in additional groups or activities?
(Beware, however, of starting a number of new
activities at the same time. Doing so could leave an
impression that you joined the groups in question
out of expediency rather than out of genuine
interest.)
Strategic
Positioning:
Consider Your Application Strategy. Before you begin work on your
actual applications it is useful to create an application strategy. By outlining
your strategy ahead of time, you'll find it easier to keep focused and on
track. A key part of devising your strategy is to identify the story themes
and 'wow' factors that you want to incorporate into your applications.
Remember that a confident and well-crafted application will take account of both your strengths and
your weaknesses. Once you have those
pinpointed, you can create a winning strategy that will mitigate your weakness
and capitalize on your strengths and achievements. -
Highlighting the 'Fit' Factor. Make sure your
application strategy addresses the issue of your fit with each school and
program you apply to. You will need to sell the admissions committees not only
on your
achievements but also on your confidence, your academic promise, and your
ability to make significant contributions to the school and the program. Securing an admissions offer
works both ways: candidates are looking for programs that will cater to their
needs and schools are looking for impressive future alumni who will work to promote
the school.
Applications:
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"Most of your application will come down to the telling your story. It's
critical that you communicate to the admissions committee your motivation and readiness for graduate study. That's
why it's important to provide strong letters of recommendation and essays that detail the unique skills and
experience you can bring to a graduate program. These are the elements of an application that often have the
biggest impact in admissions decisions."
- Senior Admissions Consultant
Heather MacNeill. |
-
Order Your Transcripts. Request copies of your official transcripts
for your own use. Make sure you remember to get one
from every institution you've been enrolled at. You'll use
your copies of the transcripts to refresh your memory about your school performance
and decide how to position yourself for grad school admission.
-
Review Your Resume.
Determine whether you should take the coming months
to obtain additional work experience. You may want to
consider taking on another project at work or
joining a professional organization, as these can
also help
strengthen your credentials. By starting early, you
have enough time to further build your professional
profile if need be.
-
Start Drafting Your Personal
Statement. Think about the issues or topics you
might want to include in your statements of
purpose or personal statements. Ask yourself how well
each one would serve to promote your candidacy at
your targeted schools. Oftentimes, you'll want to use different personal statements
for different schools or programs. After all,
different programs seek different qualities in their
graduate students. A well-crafted personal statement
is often the factor that makes the difference
between being accepted to a graduate program and
being denied.
-
Start Thinking About Your Recommenders. Start thinking about who you would
like to ask to write your recommendation letters. Take a moment
to double-check your recommendation strategy.
Identify recommenders who will be able to best
articulate your strengths and potential. Once you have chosen your
recommenders, be proactive and tell
your recommenders which points they need to make to
give your applications your best chances of
admissions success.
Our Graduate School Admissions Timeline
page will be updated on July 1.
Do you have questions about any of
the items you see here? Please call us at 703.242.5885
or
email
us if you do. Our consultants can help you with school
selection, application strategies, application and
interview preparation, and all other aspects of the
graduate school admissions process.
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