Is Graduate School Right for Me?

So, you're thinking about going to graduate school. That's pretty exciting! There can be many advantages to getting an advanced degree, such as higher income potential and career advancement. Even so, maybe you're still left wondering whether you're making a wise decision. After all, going to graduate school is a huge investment of your time, energy and dollars.

Before you can say one way or the other, you should consider your responses to these six questions carefully:

1. Should I Go to Graduate School?
2. When Should I Go to Graduate School?
3. What Type of Graduate Degree Should I Get?
4. Where Should I Go to Graduate School?
5. Can I Afford to Go to Graduate School?
6. When Do I Apply to Graduate School?

1. Should I Go to Graduate School?
Maybe you're considering graduate school as a way to increase your salary. Or, maybe you're looking to stay marketable, keep your skills current, or get promoted. These all may be very compelling reasons to go pursue a post-graduate degree. But, no matter what your specific circumstances, perhaps the most important thing you need to consider is whether an advanced degree will help you attain your career goals. Do you have a clear understanding of what you want to do? If not, now is probably not the time to starting filling out grad school applications! Instead, focus on self-assessment and career planning as your first step.

If you have clearly-defined career goals, you need to evaluate whether a graduate degree will help you achieve them. Clearly, there are certain careers that require an advanced degree - psychologist or attorney, for example. Yet, there are many careers where an undergraduate degree is the norm. There are even some situations where a graduate degree may be to your detriment, if you have little or no job experience. On the other hand, if you are seeking to make a significant career change, getting an advanced degree may make a lot of sense.

2. When Should I Go to Graduate School?
Is it better to attend graduate school right after you finish your undergraduate degree or should you work awhile first? The answer to this question depends on your goals and circumstances. You should consider the pros and cons to both options carefully as they relate your specific situation. Of course, you should also keep in mind that there are some graduate programs that require applicants to have prior work experience--many Master of Business Administration programs, for example.

Option 1: Go Straight to Graduate School from Undergrad

Advantages:
- You're already used to studying, writing papers, taking tests, and being a student.
- You might not have some of the same obligations (financial, family or otherwise) in your early twenties that you are likely encounter in your thirties or forties.
Disadvantages
- You may be already paying off substantial student loans, and taking on more debt may be challenging.
- Without relevant work experience, it will be more difficult to apply what you are learning to real life situations. Subject matter may remain too theoretical.

Option 2: Get Work Experience Before Going to Graduate School

Advantages
- Prior work experience can provide you with a deeper understanding of your field and industry and can help you clarify your future career goals.
- You can save money to fund your education.
- Your employer may offer tuition reimbursement as part of your benefits package.
Disadvantage
- If you plan to go to graduate school full-time (working part-time or not at all), you may find it hard to give up that steady paycheck and live on a student's budget again.

3. What Type of Graduate Degree Should I Get?
Should you get a master's or doctoral degree? There are even many hybrid combined-degree or certificate programs out there. What's the best program for you? Again, that depends on your career goals and your particular situation. For instance, consider whether you need or want to work while in school. Generally speaking, it's fairly common to hold a job while pursuing your master's, but not while working toward your doctorate.

Also, different degrees have different purposes. For example, master's-level degrees, which typically take 2-3 years to complete, can be professional or academic. A professional degree (i.e., Master of Business Administration) helps you transition into or advance in a particular field. An academic degree is designed to enhance intellectual growth; it may also be a pre-requisite for doctoral work.

Like the master's, doctoral degrees can be professional or academic. Professional doctoral degrees are intended to stress the practical application of specific skills and knowledge. The Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) is one such example. An academic doctoral degree (Doctor of Philosophy or Ph.D.) is designed to advance knowledge through original research in a specific field. A Ph.D. may take anywhere from three to seven years to complete, depending on the field of study.

4. Where Should I Go to Graduate School?
To answer this question, you should begin by determining what criteria are most important to you in evaluating a school and its relevant graduate program. Some of the most common criteria are described below. Much of this information can be found on the school's website or graduate catalog. Some of it can also be found in online graduate school guides or directories such as Peterson's and College Board.

Accreditation: Be sure to determine the proper accreditation your field requires, if any. You could encounter some serious problems if the program does not have the necessary accreditation. For instance, if you attend an unaccredited law school, you may not be allowed to sit for the state bar exam - a requirement to be a practicing lawyer!

Admission Standards: Most schools publish information about their admission standards, including undergraduate GPA and standardized test scores; some also publish the number of applicants compared to the number of students admitted.

Career Assistance: It's likely that one of your main goals for earning a graduate degree is career advancement or career change. As such, you'll want to explore the career development and placement assistance each program provides to graduates. Even though this assistance should account for only a small part of your overall job search upon degree completion, it's still an important factor to consider.

Cost/Financial Aid: Be sure you examine all associated costs (e.g., tuition, books, fees, housing). Explore whether any financial assistance may be available to you for each program, including grants, loans, and fellowships.

Culture: Find schools with cultures that fit your style; by doing so, you'll increase your chances to excel. Talk with department chairs or faculty members to ascertain the degree of fit with the approach, the academic program, and the culture of the department.

Faculty: One very basic and commonly-used measure in this area is the percentage of classes taught by full-time faculty. However, also explore the reputation of the faculty. Consider, for example, faculty acclaim, professional experiences, and/or number of scholarly publications. For doctoral programs, identify faculty with whom you share mutual research interests and with whom you may want to work.

School Location/Surrounding Community: Sometimes the value of a graduate degree is greatest in the area where the school is located. Also, consider the type of area the school is in - do you want an urban, rural, or suburban setting?

Physical Facilities: Make certain that the school has the types of facilities you need. Say, for example, your specialization is market research. You'll want to find out about the program's computer facilities as well as their behavioral labs for activities such as focus groups.

Reputation/Ranking: There are several organizations that rank graduate programs, such as U.S. News & World Report and Business Week. Rankings can be a good indicator of quality, but you need to proceed with caution - make sure you investigate the source of the rankings and have a clear understanding of what the ranking is really telling you. For example, a particular school may have a high overall ranking while the program you are considering may be weak.

Research/Academic Focus: Some graduate programs possess a specific strength or focus in one or two areas within a discipline. It's a good idea to explore faculty interests and research areas of each program. For example, DePaul University has a nationally-recognized entrepreneurship program as part of its MBA offerings. Faculty research interests within the program are heavily centered on topics such start-ups and consulting. Your specific interests in entrepreneurship may differ from these areas.

Resources: As you assess a school's resources, don't just stop at learning about its library holdings. Think of "resources" as all those things that support your graduate program, such as endowments and foundations that help fund student research and publications.

Size: Certainly, you want to consider the size of the university, which can be important in terms of the resources available and the kind of environment you are seeking. But don't forget to look at the size of the graduate program as well. After all, that's where you'll spend most of your time. Find out about faculty/student ratios in the program.

State Regulations & Residency Requirements: If you are considering programs at state schools, look at admission requirements and costs for in-state residents versus non-residents. If your dream graduate program is located in a state other than the one in which you reside, you might consider establishing residency in that state before applying. Start by reviewing the school's admissions process, as time periods needed to establish residency vary by institution and can range anywhere from 6 months to 1 year or more.

5. Can I Afford to Go to Graduate School?
Paying for an advanced degree can be stressful. Depending on how much your life situation has changed since your undergrad days, the financial impact of graduate school may affect not just you, but also your family. Weigh the costs carefully in comparison to the benefits.

As you assess whether you can afford graduate school, be aware that there are several ways to pay for it. For example, fellowships, which are typically targeted to the upper 5% of students, usually cover tuition as well as some living expenses. More common ways to finance graduate education include teaching, research, or advising assistantships. Not only do assistantships usually pay between 25-100% of tuition costs, they also provide a monthly stipend for working approximately 20 hours per week. Also, if you plan to work while attending graduate school, you may be eligible to receive tuition assistance from your employer.

6. When Do I Apply to Graduate School?
We recommend starting the process early because it will take longer than you think. As a general rule, deadlines for graduate admissions, particularly for highly competitive programs, are usually in January or February. But, there are some schools with application and financial aid deadlines as late as April or May for admittance in the following fall.

Here's a general timeline for the graduation application process that you can use as you fine-tune your personalized plan:

June - September
- Research graduate programs and schools and select those to visit.
- Determine if the schools you are considering require a standardized test for admissions; if so, register to take it. Also allow time to prepare for the test through self-study or a test-prep course. Registration information and test dates are available at:

Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)
Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)
Law School Admission Test (LSAT)
Dental Admission Test (DAT)

- Write a draft of your statement of purpose/personal statement. If applicable, ask faculty members and advisors who know you well to review your statement.
- Identify faculty, staff, or mentors who can best assess your abilities and ask them if they would be willing to write a letter of recommendation. Let them know you will be in touch at a later date, once you have all the details about recommendation letter requirements.
- Begin to develop your personal timeline for the graduate application process.

October
- Finish your personal timeline for the graduate application process, based on each school's application and financial aid deadlines.
- Take the standardized test, if applicable.
- Determine the schools you plan to apply to, and request application materials.
- Finalize your statement of purpose/personal statement, adjusting it for each school's specific application requirements.
- Arrange for your official transcripts to be sent from all post-secondary institutions you attended to the schools you are applying to. (If applicable, ask the Registrar to hold your transcript until fall semester grades are available.)

November
- Download application forms from the university website and do a draft. (Submit your application materials to any schools with early deadlines.)
- Give those who have agreed to provide letters of recommendations all the information they will need to do so. Be sure to give them at least one month's notice. It's also a good idea to include your statement of purpose with your request for a recommendation.

December/January
- Submit applications. (Even if deadlines are later, it's a good idea to complete them early.)
- Send thank you letters to your references, and keep them updated on your progress.

February
- Follow up with Graduate Coordinators to verify all materials have been received.
- Send thank you letters to anyone who has interviewed you as part of the graduate application process.

Graduate school is not an impulsive decision. Aside from the myriad application activities, you may also have to negotiate changes in job and family responsibilities during graduate school.

When reviewing a timeline such as this, it becomes evident that a decision for graduate school has to be made long before your first classes begin. However, if you have thought through your reasons for earning a graduate degree, are convinced of its return on investment, and have literally "done your homework" - you can move confidently ahead.

© Copyright 2009, Career Vision. Article may be reprinted with permission.

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