By admin, on February 12th, 2012  If you are thinking of attending grad school in the fall immediately after graduation, here are 16 tips to keep in mind:
- Start the application process in the spring of junior year.
- Get to know the graduate school program secretary or coordinator! They can be hugely helpful throughout your application process.
- Generate a list of potential graduate programs. Be certain to consider grad programs that are both local and national.
- Identify faculty from whom you would requests letters of recommendation. Though you won’t request letters until the summer or early fall, it can help to plant the seeds with your faculty in the spring by letting them know you hope to ask for a letter. If you haven’t taken a class with the professor for a few semesters, the spring of junior year is also a good time to reconnect.
- Graduate review committees are usually looking for letters of recommendation from faculty, particularly those in a field related to the program to which you are applying. The strongest letters are usually written by professionals who know you and have observed or supervised your academic work. Depending on the nature of the graduate program, one letter from an employment supervisor who can speak to your fit for the field would also be appropriate. (Applicants who have been out of college for several years would be more likely to request letters from employment supervisors.)
Continue reading 16 Tips to Ease Your Grad School Application Process »
By admin, on December 24th, 2008 When applying to graduate school, your GPA, exam scores and personal statement carry a lot of weight. For many graduate admissions committees, however, your letters of recommendation carry as much, if not more, weight than any of the other criteria. Here are a few quick tips for requesting letters of recommendation for graduate school:
- Many graduate programs will ask for three letters of recommendation. Therefore, you should request letters from at least four individuals, preferably faculty, who have closely observed/supervised your academic work and can speak strongly about your qualifications.
- If you have been out of school for several years, consider asking professionals from your desired field of study who know your professional work or can speak to your qualifications for pursuing graduate work in the field.
- When asking someone for a letter, ask if they are able and willing to write a strong letter of recommendation for you to get into ___ program. Give that person every opportunity to decline gracefully from writing a letter for you. If, for whatever reason, the person is unable or unwilling to write a strong letter on your behalf, thank them for their time, then move on to the next person – the last thing you want is a wishy-washy, lukewarm letter.
- Give your recommenders plenty of notice. Do not expect anyone to be able to write you a strong letter of recommendation if you have given them less than two weeks notice.
- Create a packet of information for each recommender, including a copy of your transcript, a draft of your resume, your personal statement (or at least a draft of one), and a brief description of the program(s) to which you are applying. Also include addressed envelops or specific instructions for how to submit electronic letters.
- Follow up with your recommenders periodically. Don’t nag, but gently “nudge” them – ask if there is any additional information they might need from you to assist them in writing the letter; give them finalized or updated versions of your personal statement and/or resume.
- Finally, remember to send a thank you card or a small token of your appreciation to each of your recommenders shortly after they submit the letter and keep them updated on your application status.
By admin, on December 19th, 2008 “I am horribel when it comes to testing. I can do practice exams and score well, (like on the ACT, I scored really high on the practice test but bombed the real test), but always do terrible under real testing settings. I want to take the GRE in a real test setting as a practice. Then take it again. What do you think?”
Generally speaking, I would not advise you to take the GRE more than once in a five year period. ETS sends all of the test scores you have received in the past five years to each institution you have indicated. Unless you are certain that your scores will be significantly different the second time you take the GRE, then it is best to only take the GRE once.
Since the practice tests that GRE offers through its PowerPrep software emulate the real exam, you may want to “re-create” testing conditions by having a friend or family member “proctor” your exam – making sure you are being timed and that the conditions closely resemble a real testing environment.
It sounds like you have significant test anxiety. If you haven’t done so already, you might consider checking with your school’s academic advising (or similar) office. Many schools have professional staff that can assist with a variety of study and test preparation needs.
Best of luck! I hope this helps.
By admin, on December 3rd, 2008 I was recently asked whether it was better to have a strong letter of recommendation for graduate school from a professor in a different major (who has observed and supervised your academic work), or a positive but not strong letter from a faculty person in your major.
Personally, I would go with the stronger letter, even though the faculty person is from a different discipline. Letters of recommendation carry a lot of weight when it comes to applying to graduate programs. Ideally, you will have 3-4 letters written by faculty in your major. However, if a professor from a different discipline has observed your academic work, (perhaps you switched majors, completed a minor, or conducted research in a different field), then their letter would be preferable to a lukewarm or “wishy-washy” letter from a professor in your major.
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