If you are contemplating attending graduate or professional school and are trying to identify appropriate schools and programs, this handout, which is also available in The Career Center, will be most helpful.
 
Graduate School
 

Before applying for further study, students considering professional or graduate school should be fully aware of the working conditions, employment prospects, and physical and mental requirements of the fields they plan to pursue. While graduate school may enhance your prospects within a particular field by providing specialized, in-depth knowledge and experience, it may not be necessary (or desirable) in some other fields. Thus, it is important to research career possibilities that will be consistent with your long-term goals. Consider the field of study. Will it be the same as your undergraduate major or a different, perhaps more job-oriented discipline? For example, an English or history major may decide to pursue an MBA or law degree. Most graduate programs do not require a specific undergraduate major. You should also determine whether you plan to study for a master's degree or continue for a doctorate. The choice to pursue further education, where to do it and how to finance it, will take considerable thought and time. Begin the process as early as possible, ideally by the junior year of college.

In your decision making, faculty, advisors, friends, alumni, counselors and people with the kinds of jobs in which you are interested all can be valuable sources of information. You may also want to speak with graduate school recruiters who come to DePauw, consult books, articles, and college bulletins, write to individual departments asking for information and visit the school, if possible.

While you are reading and talking with people, keep in mind the following questions:

- What do I want to do with my life?
- What are both my short and long range goals?
- Do I feel my goals are realistic?
- Is graduate study necessary for me to accomplish my goals?
- Do I know where to get advice and help in career planning?
- How will graduate or professional school affect my future?
- Am I personally ready to tackle graduate school?
- Do I have the necessary ability and interest to be successful in graduate school?
- Has my academic training adequately prepared me to face the demands of graduate school?
- Why am I planning to attend graduate school?
- What do I hope to gain from the experience?
- Am I choosing graduate school to delay the decision about what kind of career or job I want?
- Am I choosing graduate school because I feel I have no options?
 
Choosing a Graduate School
 

There are over 250 graduate schools in the U.S. offering the Ph.D., not including professional schools which offer advanced degrees such as the J.D., M.B.A., M.D., and D.D.M. Not all schools will offer programs in the discipline you want to study, which automatically shortens the list of possible graduate schools for you. Take into account your personal background--in what type of setting and with what type of people you feel comfortable; whether or not you feel a change from your accustomed environment would be beneficial for your personal and academic growth; and, if you are married, whether or not your spouse will be able to find suitable education or employment opportunities. Other criteria include the following:

1.) Cost - Look for hidden costs. Find out how many times in the past few years a school's tuition costs and room and board have risen; you may face a big increase in the next year. How does the cost of living of the area compare to that of other places? What are the opportunities for fellowships and assistantships, including fee reductions or remissions? Do these opportunities extend beyond the first year?
2.) Location and Size - Take into account the location and size of the university and the city or town. How big is your department? How close will you be to family and friends? How available are recreational facilities? Are there residency requirements?
3.) Type of Program - Requirements vary significantly from institution to institution, so take time to compare what will be expected of you in each program under consideration. Factors to study include the number of courses required for a degree, the number and type of qualifying exams you will have to take, and whether there is a language requirement and how it can be fulfilled. Also determine the length of time required for different programs. Master's degree programs can vary in length from one to two years, while commitment to a doctoral program can involve anywhere from four to eight years.
4.) Quality of Program - Perhaps the most important factor to be considered is the quality of the overall program and of instruction. To evaluate the quality of the program consider: 1) commitment to research and scholarship by the faculty; 2) reputation of the school, department, faculty and alumni; 3) admissions standards and care taken in selection of the graduate students; and 4) by whom the program is accredited. Look also at specializations within the general area of your interest, at offerings of related departments within the institution, and at the library holdings in your field at the institution or nearby libraries.
There is no accepted rating of institutions, but there have been rankings of the quality of individual departments. Consult page six of this packet for resources that provide a general rating of graduate school programs, but keep in mind these ratings are highly subjective. Questioning the faculty at your undergraduate institution can give you more current opinions and, even more helpful, the reasoning behind their opinions. Plan to visit the school in question in order to develop your own opinion as to the quality of the program. You may also ask for a list of organizations employing recent graduates. After getting a good sense of the quality of a
number of schools, apply to several-- some highly selective and one or two less selective to increase your chances of acceptance to a program.
 
Admissions Procedures and Requirements
 

As you research each institution, keep a file noting admissions requirements and deadlines for application. Although deadlines vary, the majority are near the beginning of the spring semester. Researching programs in the junior year enables you to devote the fall of the senior year to completing and submitting the necessary application materials. A timetable for applying to graduate schools is outlined later in this document.

All graduate schools and departments have some kind of admissions requirements, usually including a nonrefundable application fee, admissions tests, specific GPA, official transcripts and letters of recommendation. Some may require samples of previous work, a specific undergraduate major, a personal statement of goals or purpose (why you have chosen this field,
specialization, and institution), and a personal interview.

You will not have direct control over when parts of your application, such as letters of recommendation and official transcripts, are submitted. It will be necessary, therefore, to follow up on these requests to make sure that everything has been submitted well before the deadline. Provide professors who have agreed to be recommenders with copies of a statement of purpose, a personal data sheet or resume, recommendation forms, stamped envelopes and a list of deadlines. You will need to decide whether or not to retain your rights to see the letters. You may wish to use the CSC credential file service. In this case professors would return the letters to this center and, upon your request, copies would be forwarded by The Career Center to the schools to which you are applying.
 
Admissions Test for Graduate Schools:
 

Since practically all graduate schools require your test scores as part of the application process, you should find out which tests are appropriate for your particular field of study. Among the most common tests in usage at the present time are:

1.) LSAT (Law School Admissions Test)
2.) MCAT (Medical College Admission Test)
3.) GRE (Graduate Record Examination)
4.) NTE (National Teachers Examination)

See the Graduate School Entrance Exam Page for more Information

Be aware that deadlines for registering for these tests are well in advance of the actual test dates, and most are given only a few times a year.

As a graduate school receives the admissions materials that you send or request others to send on your behalf, they add them to the file created for you. Once all the required materials are received your application will be reviewed. Generally, a faculty admissions committee from the
department in which you plan to study reviews your application, reaches a decision and makes a recommendation to the dean.

As you can see, the individual department has the most significant voice in determining the outcome of your application. Many times a phone call or letter to the department staff or admissions committee can determine the value placed on various admissions requirements. However, they will most likely consider the best candidate to be one showing an overall strength in all the requirements for admissions, including undergraduate record, test results, recommendations and personal statement. The personal statement of goals should not be taken lightly. It indicates your writing ability and expresses your desire to become a professional in the field to which you are applying (for assistance consult the "Graduate School Essay" packet in CPPC).
 
Financial Aid
 

Are you seeking financial aid for graduate or professional school? Check out the Fellowship binder and the other financial aid resources in the Career Resource Library.

Fellowships are a form of financial aid that often cover the cost of tuition and fees plus a stipend to cover living expenses. Some are based exclusively on financial need, some on academic merit, and some on a combination of need and merit. Fellowships and scholarships often connote selectivity based upon ability - financial need is usually not a factor.

Fellowships are a form of financial aid usually granted to undergraduates, college graduates or graduate students that permit in-depth study in a particular discipline for a set period of time (as short as six months but perhaps up to two years). Fellowships are a form of financial aid similar to a scholarship in that they are based on merit or ability; financial need is usually not a consideration.

Fellowships may be tied in to academic work in a specific graduate/professional school program, but often they are independent of a specific school or program. A fellowship may be a terrific stepping stone for a student upon graduation from DePauw.

DePauw receives literature on a large number of fellowship opportunities. This material is filed in the Fellowship binder in the Career Resource Library in the following categories:

  • Arts
  • Philanthropy
  • Biological Science
  • Public Affairs
  • Government
  • Research
  • Health Physics
  • Science & Engineering
  • Human Services/Public Services
  • Travel
  • Journalism
  • Fellowships For Women
  • Orchestra
  • Outstanding Students

 
 
Resources
 

Many books have been written about graduate and professional schools and programs. Topics range from general accreditation listings to discussion of individual fields of study and information on the various admissions examinations. The following resources and many more can be found in The Career Center:

Graduate School Resources

1.) Peterson's Guides to Graduate & Professional Programs
2.) Peterson's Register of Higher Education
3.) The Gourman Report - A rating of Graduate and Professional Programs in American & International Universities
4.) Barron's Guide to Graduate Business Schools

Financial Information for Graduate School

1.) The Graduate Scholarship Book
2.) Peterson's Register of Higher Education

Entrance Tests

1.) BARRON'S - How To Prepare For The GMAT
2.) BARRON'S - How To Prepare For The MCAT
3.) BARRON'S - How To Prepare For The GRE General Test

Material for this packet was compiled from the Peterson's Guides and the Indiana University "Graduate School Information" packet.
 
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