Considering Graduate School?
Most graduate programs are pretty specialized, so it’s important to focus your attention on just a few schools, rather than applying to everything under the sun. Not to mention that the costs can add up, just think back to when you were applying for undergrad.
When choosing a graduate program, you should:
- Create a targeted list of schools you wish to apply to and that you believe you will be admitted to. While it is great to have a dream-school that might be a long shot, you should also pick some “safety” schools which you are fairly certain you’ll get into.
- Consider program faculty since the academic experience is the most important piece and will impact your ultimate goals. Quality of faculty and the number of people who do research in your area of interest might be the deciding factor.
- Do research! Talk to faculty & students of that program. You should be able to get in contact with current students (or past ones) via the program director. Conduct an informational interview about why they chose that program, would they choose it again, and why. They are the experts.
- Make sure the campus meets your needs. Is their focus on their undergraduate or graduate population? Is that what you are looking for? Do they have enough labs, libraries, assistantships, fellowships?