The decision to attend graduate or professional school is a very personal decision that usually follows from your career goals. This decision requires planning, preparation, research, and above all self-knowledge. The process of preparing for graduate school begins as soon as you begin your undergraduate career. Below is an example of steps that may lead to graduate or professional school admissions success:

Before your senior year

  • Begin to focus your career goals by familiarizing yourself with your major and area of interest
    • Talk to faculty members
    • Look at professional journals (through the library)
    • Visit the Undergraduate to Graduate Program Office
  • Gain experiential learning through: internships, study abroad programs, undergraduate research, etc
  • Establish relationships with faculty who share your academic interests
    • Ask for advice about graduate school
    • Ask for insight about particular graduate programs
    • Visit them during office hours and ask them about topics that interests you
  • Take challenging courses and get good grades
  • Develop your resume and continually update it
  • Maintain a journal to track the development of your professional/academic philosophy as it unfolds throughout your undergraduate career and maintain a portfolio of your achievements. These will be necessary for your personal statement.
  • Decide which type of graduate degree you want to pursue (MA, MS, PhD, JD, MD, MSW, etc)
  • Begin to compile a list of the top graduate programs that you would like to be accepted into. Consider questions such as:
    • Does this school offer the program I am seeking, at the time and location that fit with my financial and personal situation?
    • Does the faculty exhibit special strengths and research qualities through their graduate mentoring, published works, and funded research?
    • Is financial support available (including assistantships)
    • What is the program’s reputation versus the university’s reputation?

During your senior year (1 year before the start of your intended graduate program)

  • SUMMER
    • Begin applying for graduate fellowships
    • Explore sources of funding (assistantships, VA benefits, employer tuition benefits, internships, student loans )
    • Study for and apply to take standardized admissions exams (i.e. GRE, GMAT, LSAT, etc)
    • Request fee waivers (if applicable)
  • SEPTEMBER
    • Schedule campus visits to your top choices
    • Call the department to see if you can meet with faculty members and current graduate students
  • OCTOBER
    • Take your appropriate standardized admissions exam
  • NOVEMBER
    • Request that your official transcripts be mailed to the institutions that your are applying to
    • Contact your favorite former professors (usually 3) and ask for letters of recommendation
    • Send an info packet to those who write your letters: resume, transcripts, list of your accomplishments, description of the program you are applying to
  • DECEMBER
    • Write your personal statements. Have them proofed by professors and the UGP office
    • Finalize and mail applications and financial aid forms (consider sending through registered mail)
  • JANUARY
    • File your FAFSA (if applicable)
    • Confirm that professors sent letters of recommendation
  • MARCH
    • Accept and decline offers
  • APRIL
    • Celebrate!