Applying to Graduate or Professional School

What is the difference between Graduate School and Professional School?

A degree from a professional school, whether a masters or doctoral degree, gives you a specific set of skills needed to practice a particular profession. These degrees include, at masters level, MBA (master of business administration) MSW (master of social work), and MAT (master of teaching), and others. A masters level professional degree is generally a final degree, and often involves some type of internship or fieldwork. At the doctoral level, professional degrees include M.D. (medical), J.D (law), D.D.S. (dentistry), D.V.M (veterinary medicine), etc. Professional degree study is usually followed by examinations for certification or licensure.

Graduate or research degrees, which are typically in specific academic disciplines, provide experience in research and scholarship. Masters level graduate degrees (MA, MS) may be a final degree or a step toward a doctorate. They involve less time and money than the doctorate while leading to a career with greater responsibility and better pay than if you have a baccalaureate degree alone. The graduate masters usually involves writing a thesis or taking a comprehensive exam. Graduate or doctoral degrees, Ph.D.’s, involve training in research and can prepare you for a wide range of careers. They are the primary credential for college-level teaching.

Masters level degrees can take 1 to 3 years, depending on the program. Doctoral degrees typically take 4 to 6 years of full-time study to get a Ph.D. The first two years usually involve classes, seminars, and directed reading. In the sciences you may also do independent research. This period of study is followed by written or oral exams. Following the exam, candidates usually work on a project that involves research and reporting through a dissertation.

Internet Resources for information about Graduate & Professional School

Graduate School Guide—www.GraduateGuide.com

A comprehensive guide to graduate programs of study including Doctoral, Masters and Professional degree programs.

Petersons Graduate School Guide—www.petersons.com

A great site that can help you search for, prepare for, apply to and pay for graduate and professional school programs.

The Princeton Review—www.review.com

Graduate, Medical, Business and Law school listing and search, financial aid info, admissions info, test info and preparation, and much more.

The US News and World Report—www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/eduhome.htm

Graduate and professional school search and comparison, financial aid information, and school rankings.

Kaplan—www.kaplan.com

Educational and career services, plus test preparation and information.

Association of American Medical Colleges—www.aamc.org

Includes application info, medical school search, a listing of teaching hospitals, and MCAT info and preparation.

Graduate Management Admission Council—www.gmac.com

GMAT test info and preparation, school search, financial aid info, application process, and more.

Law School Admission Council — www.lsac.org

LSAT info and preparation and the Law School Data Assembly Service.

American Sociological Association – www.asanet.org

American Anthropological Association – www.aaanet.org

American Psychological Association – www.apa.org

Biological Anthropology Web - www.bioanth.org/

Should I go to graduate or professional school?

· What are my career goals?

· Master’s or doctorate?

· Am I interested enough in the subject to stay with it for two or three or six years?

· Do I have the energy and commitment to work hard for as long as it takes?

· Can I take the pressure?

· Can I find the money to pay tuition, living expenses, and books?

· Can I make satisfactory arrangements for my family?

· Can I go without working full time and give up the income in order to remain a student or, if I am out, to return to college?

What do I want my life to be like a few years after completing the degree?

What should I look for as I try to select a graduate or professional school?

· Faculty—they are the people who admit you, watch over your progress, influence whether you get an assistantship or fellowship, and will shape your future career. They make or break a graduate program.

· Fellow students

· Requirements for admittance

· Requirements for graduation

· Your chances for being accepted

· Location

· Size of school and/or program

· Length of program

· Ranking of program

· Is it accredited?

· How graduates do on professional exams

· What percentage of graduates get jobs in the field?

· What your prospects are for getting financial aid?

·

Paying for the Degree

Two sources of funding:

Internal aid from your program—fellowships or scholarships, teaching assistantships, research assistantships, work-study programs and student loans. Also check into university-wide fellowships, assistantships, grants, work-study, and loan programs. You apply to these as you apply to the program.

External—fellowships funded by the government or foundations—you should apply to these during your senior year of undergraduate work. Sometimes if you are awarded a good external fellowship you may be granted a tuition waiver, just as you would if you were awarded an internal fellowship.

What is the difference between a fellowship and an assistantship?

Fellowships and scholarships are cash awards. You don’t have to work at any specific job for these but you must keep your grades up.

Assistantships usually require you to teach or assist in research or administrative work.

A few things to remember when applying to Graduate School

· When applying to graduate school you’ll apply to a specific program or department, plus the graduate school.

· Before you apply it’s a good idea to visit the campus and faculty with which you hope to work. To do this you need to make contact with faculty early on, via snail mail or e-mail. Before visiting you should call the department ahead of time to make an appointment or to make sure the faculty members you hope to meet will be available.

· It’s good to apply to several different programs or types of institutions.

If you have financial need you may be able to get application fee waivers. Check with your undergraduate financial aid office to see if they can furnish you with a letter or form that proves you have financial need.

Parts of an application

1. The application form that asks for personal data—make Xerox copies of applications to practice on. If at all possible, type your answers. Handwritten applications are generally unacceptable.

2. A statement of purpose or personal statement — why you want to be admitted to the program to which you are applying. This document is an extremely important part of your application. It gives faculty the most significant impression of your skills, abilities, interests, and suitability to the program. A great statement can balance mediocre test scores or GPA.

3. Letters of recommendation or recommendation forms — The forms are usually supplied by the institution and help to standardize the recommendation process. A recommender may attach a previously-written letter to the form.

4. Official transcripts of college level academic work sent by each institution where the credit was earned.

5. A report of any standardized test scores (GRE, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, etc.)

6. Financial Aid applications may come as part of your application or in a separate mailing. Make sure you are aware of and pay attention to deadlines.

While you are applying…

...keep good records of the status and progress of each application!

Time table for applying to graduate school

Summer before senior year (or year before you plan to start graduate school)

· Write a draft statement of purpose/personal statement

· Start browsing through guides to graduate programs, web sites, and college catalogs.

August-September

· Meet with faculty members that you know (from EC) to discuss your personal statement and learn about possible programs

· Ask for letters of recommendation

· Begin to develop your personal timeline for the application process

· Sign up and prepare for required standardized tests

October

· Take standardized tests

· Determine the schools to which you plan to apply, and request application materials

· Finish your timeline based on each institution’s deadline and financial aid deadlines

· Complete your personal statement, adjusting it to meet each application’s specific needs

· Order transcripts from all post-secondary institutions (if fall term grades are expected, then check with staff in the registrar’s office to see if a transcript including fall term grades can be sent in time to meet the deadlines of programs to which you are applying)

November

· Complete application forms (first, do a draft on a photocopy of the form)

· Give your recommenders all the information that they will need to write recommendations for you for each of your application schools

December/January

· Mail application. Even if deadlines are later, it is good to get the applications in early

February

· Contact programs about the possibility of visiting. Make trips if possible

April

If you are applying for need based financial aid programs, you may have to file a copy of your federal tax return