The best graduate schools are very competitive. Their acceptance rates are quite low; some of these graduate schools only accept a small percentage of the applicants. However, students are still aiming to get into these highly reputable institutions to get the best possible education in their chosen field. They believe that the competitive nature of these institutions are the best training grounds for their profession.
Education
Graduate school is often directed toward a specific academic discipline. So, it is no wonder that education degree holders are keen to go for advanced degrees. People wanting to get advanced education degrees believe that they can improve their teaching techniques and pass on the love for learning to their students if they get their master’s degrees. As of 2008, the most competitive program is being offered by Teacher’s College of Columbia University. It has the toughest acceptance rate, at only 48%.
Engineering and the natural sciences
When it comes to the general sciences, the best programs are generally offered by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). It has an overall 14% acceptance rate, which ranks it as the most difficult to get into in the disciplines of engineering and the natural sciences. MIT is also looking for applicants with SAT math scores above 700. This is to ensure that the students can cope with the demands of the intense science programs.
Health
As of 2008, the University of Washington is known for its excellent nursing program. However, the University of Pennsylvania, ranked number three, is more competitive, with only a 21% acceptance rate. Washington, on the other hand, accepts about 67% of its applicants.
Social science
Social sciences is a broad field. So, for each graduate program, a different university excels in it. However, some top-ranking universities are noted for their highly discriminating student selection. For example, Stanford tops the Psychology program and is recorded with an 11% acceptance rate. Harvard presents a tougher acceptance rate, at 9%. It also offers the top-ranked political science program.
Humanities
The top humanities programs can be found in Princeton, Yale, Harvard, University of California – Berkeley, and Stanford. While Harvard tops English, Yale offers the best history program according to most people. Being accepted at Yale can be quite difficult, though. The acceptance rate is at 10%.
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A graduate degree is an investment because it enhances your existing potentials and it requires time, effort, and money on your part. For example, a bachelor’s degree may have already prepared you for a job, but a graduate degree ups your opportunities, performance, and knowledge.
Career advancement
Proceeding with the previous thought, a graduate degree can provide you with more career opportunities. Because of your advanced learning and better qualifications, you may get more job offers. You may also be promoted if you have an existing job. A teaching assistant, for example, can become a higher-ranked instructor in the university he or she is working for, especially after getting a master’s degree. If he or she proceeds to get a doctorate, that person will possibly earn professor status sooner.
Earning potential
With career advancement, higher earnings come hand in hand. A higher position can provide you a higher salary. Definitely, getting a graduate degree comes in handy when you apply for a higher position in the academe or the corporate world.
Another accomplishment…
Of course, do not forget that earning the degree itself is an accomplishment. Having a graduate degree is something to be proud of. However, for it to be truly an investment, you must maximize on the rewards it can give to you. Remember, most people are content with just having a bachelor’s degree, so you belong to a select few because you have an advanced degree.
Becoming specialized
Usually, graduating with a bachelor’s degree provides you with learning that spans a wider scope of knowledge. Graduate studies, meanwhile, can focus on a particular area. This way, you can better study that smaller scope in a more in-depth way. You can become an expert or a specialist in that particular area of your field of study.
Making connections
Being connected to important people, admittedly, can advance your career. You can establish healthy working relationships and respectable connections by going to graduate school. In graduate school, you get to know professors who are leaders in their fields; you also get to know fellow students who are, in their own way, important. Even if graduate studies are wise investments, you still have to make use of common sense and people skills to truly benefit from having it.
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The graduate thesis is possibly the most important part of graduate work. So, thesis preparation must be done with care, and, of course, with the proper application of knowledge at each stage of the thesis generation. After all, you are assigned a graduate thesis not just because it is a requirement but also for you to demonstrate what you have learned in graduate school. If you have learned well, you must be able to pose intelligent questions within your field and answer them through your graduate thesis.
Topic approval
If you are able to formulate intelligent questions, you can list possible topics for your graduate thesis. Present your chosen topics to your adviser for approval. Though you may personally believe the topics to be excellent, approval is still required in most cases.
Getting the background
Once you have your topic approved, it is time to research. Research may be done through extensive readings: you can visit libraries, read scholarly publications, and pore through reliable Internet information. Data to be researched can either be quantitative or qualitative. Research for qualitative data may be also done via surveys or interviews: you can get out there to prove or disprove your point through samplings, or find out more about a piece of information through interviews with experts.
Formulating an outline
For organization, create an outline of your thoughts. A graduate thesis can be very long. So, it is important to have a coherent guide to follow while going through the writing process.
Writing the draft
Of course, the writing process can never be skipped. You do have to write drafts of your graduate thesis. If you begin work early, you can create several drafts before starting with your final one. This way, you can better filter your thoughts and remove errors with each draft. As a suggestion, you can ask your colleagues to read your draft so that you can input their valid suggestions and comments on the next draft.
Proofreading for errors
Even if you have written several drafts already, what may be your last draft should still undergo proofreading. Even if your ideas are deep and your research is comprehensive, chaotic writing gives you the wrong image; sometimes a well-researched thesis can come out as something that has been sloppily done because of bad writing. If there are many grammatical lapses and other errors in language in your thesis, you may make people see you as a disorganized and an incompetent candidate for a graduate degree – as someone who has no eye for details.
Putting things together…
Of course, you need to print out your pages on clean sheets of paper. Make sure you follow your adviser’s instructions on binding and overall packaging.
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Becoming a professor’s research assistant is helpful to, and sometimes convenient for, a graduate student. This is because an advanced degree may mean more expenses for you after your college life. However, a full-time job that can finance your graduate studies may not be practical at all. Part-time jobs may be more feasible in the long run, but getting a job outside campus can be very stressful on you, because the commute will add to the stress brought about by completing requirements in graduate school. This is why many graduate students opt for research assistantship.
Assessing compatibility
As a research assistant, you will experience research work that may well be your future. Being exposed to actual research makes you see if you are truly compatible with the kind of work you are aiming for.
Going hands-on
Research work provides hands-on experience. This experience can be used to complement the theoretical concepts discussed in classes. You will benefit from being able to develop research techniques and strategies and to practice research application in relation to your field.
Salary on campus
Again, you will earn a salary conveniently with your position as an on-campus research assistant. You not only earn, you also learn through actual work. Though the stipend may be small, it is better than not earning anything at all.
Reduced rates for non-residents
If you are planning to study in another state, take note that tuition may be higher than if you were a resident. However, if you are a non-resident working as a research assistant, you may be granted the rates of a resident.
Scholarship opportunities
Your interest in the field may just land you a scholarship. If you perform well as a research assistant, professors may view you as an important contributor to the field. A scholarship will ensure that you will be graduating with an advanced degree so that you can better participate and be a productive practitioner in your field of interest.
Enriched learning
As your professor’s research assistant, you also get to read his or her materials before most people can. You may get additional insight from your readings.
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While there are valid reasons for enrolling into graduate school, the wrong reasons for taking up a graduate degree are plentiful. Some may actually sound noble and genuine. However, without involving the feeling of engagement or the need to meet your career goals, they may just be questionable motivations.
Job discontent
Find out what is wrong with your present career before jumping into the graduate school wagon. You may end up caught in a cycle if you do not study your options carefully. Remember that graduate school requires a lot of work to be sustained for years. If you make a rushed decision, you may end up with a graduate school degree but still with a job you hate.
Prolonged unemployment
Getting relevant job experience, and not taking up further education, may be the answer to your problem. Even if you have a master’s or a doctorate degree, having a limited work experience can still set you back. You may have used up valuable time that could have used for your career and getting relevant work experience.
The student outlook
Loving the student experience may not necessarily mean that you will do well in the academe. You will still graduate and have to go to work one day. This motivation will only work if you plan to have an academic career such as teaching and concentrating on research work for your chosen field.
Peer pressure
Just because your best friend decided that he or she is going to graduate school does not mean you have to. Not everyone is suited for graduate work. Also, some people, including your friends, may not be truly interested in the resulting career after getting the advanced degree.
Parental decision
If your parents have been making your decisions for you, it is time to say “no.” This is about your future career. If graduate school does not figure in your future plans, do not enroll. After all, it is you, not your parents, who will be facing the challenges of graduate school for the next two or three years.
The promise of big bucks
Money should never be the main reason for enrolling into a graduate program. In fact, when you enroll into graduate school, you have to spend thousands of dollars more after college. After graduating, getting back that money spent in graduate school quickly is not even a guarantee. As with any degree, even with a bachelor’s degree, your salary depends on the quality of your work as well. So, you have to really love your field.
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When things get tough in graduate school, a well-formed study group is a big help. The operative word is “well formed.” A badly organized study group will have little or no effect at all in your academic performance and the success of your group. Why are study groups so important, anyway? The promise of sharing and combining energies will provide a better way to learn. The teamwork will prepare you for future jobs, and the support group system gets you through graduate school.
Downsizing
As much as sharing and networking are important, chaos is the result of over-sized study groups. So, you should keep the numbers manageable. Also, you may sometimes ask your team members to tell you if they can’t make it a particular study session so that you can anticipate task reassignments.
Saying no to slackers
Study groups are for sharing and learning together. Having unproductive members defeats the purpose of putting ideas together. A study group cannot be a tutorial group for some people who are just there to listen and absorb what others are sharing. So, do your homework and come to the study group already prepared.
The question of leadership
For proper management, a leader must be assigned to oversee group study meetings. The leader can be an appointed president, or you can all take turns to be the leader of the study group.
Scheduling the meetings
Every member must benefit from the study group. So, if you are the assigned leader, make sure that meetings will be set at a schedule when everyone is free. Though the occasional absence cannot be completely eliminated, try to motivate your members to come in most of your meetings so that you get the most out of your study sessions.
Preparing an agenda
Even with the most willing of members, a meeting can end up chaotic if there is no prepared agenda. Prepare the topics you have to discuss instead of wasting meeting time with arguing about what topics to discuss.
Forming a group
If nobody has invited you to a study group yet, you can form your own. Do not wait for that invite; there are also others waiting for one. You can invite those who are not yet members of a study group.
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Though a graduate school admission interview is not the main basis for the final decision for being accepted, conducting yourself properly during the interview is still important. Some universities do not even conduct graduate admissions interviews. However, you can decide to request one if you want to get to know the school better. Whatever the purpose, you must present yourself well to what may be your second home in the next two or three years of your life. Your interview may be a confirmation of your claims in your graduate admission essay.
Before the interview
* If you have not been formally interviewed yet, read books on how you should present yourself.
You can visit the university’s website, or you can visit the university itself through a requested campus tour. This way, you get to know what to expect from the graduate school. Also, taking the initiative to know important information about the school says something about your determination to be accepted.
* Know more about the degree you want to enroll into, and your possible instructors. You can find out about the faculty through an informal interview with current students or through reading their published articles.
* Stage mock interviews with family or friends so can practice your verbal skills. Ask for feedback from your friends including answers that were unclear and unneccessary expressions that you exhibited.
* Read your graduate school admission essay and find points that may be touched on during the interview.
During the meeting
* Dress neatly and appropriately.
* Do not smoke or drink alcohol right before your interview. These can be detected by the interviewer especially if you will be seating near him or her.
* For interviews in social settings, drink little or not at all.
* Follow the rules of interviewing well. These include maintaining eye contact and displaying well-balanced self-confidence.
* Make sure you discuss your compatibility with the school’s program.
* Ask relevant questions that show your interest in the program.
* Make sure what you say is consistent with what is written in your graduate admission essay.
After the interview
* Immediately send follow-up thank you letters (or even emails), showing your appreciation for the interviewer’s time.
* Politely ask for an update on the status of your application after a week or so.
Graduate-school specifics
* Come to the interview early so that you can have time to assess different programs and universities.
* Find out the situation of present graduate students in your targeted field of study.
* Make sure you know how to justify your interest in your targeted field of study if your college degree is completely unrelated.
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