THE BASICS OF WHAT YOU NEED & WHAT WILL SET YOU APART

Applying to Graduate School

WHO HAS TALKED TO THEIR STUDENTS ABOUT

GRADUATE SCHOOL?

WHAT DID YOU SAY?

Activity

Partner up!Each person must talk about their feelings,

aspirations, and hesitations about graduate school for one minute straight

Must maintain eye contactPerson listening cannot react (no laughing,

gasping or making any faces!)Person listening will repeat what their

partner said back to them.Then switch!

Why do people go to grad school?

Greater earning power Advance your career Career change Enhance your education Get community

recognition Get research

opportunities Upgrade your education Find teaching

opportunities Profession of choice

requirements

Work on advanced projects

Access to advanced equipment and tools

Higher potential for future promotion

Not being stuck behind a desk

Employer incentives Because you want to Realization of interest

Job Security

Pay off is right away and grows over time

Why do people not go to graduate school?

Highly competitiveRelationship

strainsStressfulMight take 2–7

years of your lifeExtra cost of

educationGraduating with a

large debt

Return on investment might be slow

Limited job opportunities

Undesirable job locales

Too qualified No guarantee of

higher salary

Convinced grad school is for you?

Masters in Ed. (MEd) Masters in Social Work

(MSW) Masters in Business

Administration (MBA) Masters in Public Health

(MPH) Masters in Fine Arts (MFA Masters in Family Therapy

(MFT) Juris Doctor (JD)

Doctor of Medicine (MD)

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Masters in Public Administration (MPA)

Masters in Public Policy (MPP)

Components of an Application

Transcripts

GREs or other standardized tests

Letters of Recommendation

Admission Essay

Interview

Transcripts

Who are you as a student / work ethicTake into account difficulty of classes, schoolContact Registrar (2 week turnaround)School is considering:

Your overall GPA Grades in your major subject area Grades in higher-level courses, particularly in last 2

years of school Patterns of improvement

Standardized Tests (GRE)

Computer-based (paper-based is option) (overhauled in August 2011)

1. Verbal section- 130-170, in 1-point increments ~30mins

2. Quantitative section- 130-170, in 1-point increments ~35mins

3. Analytical writing section- scale of 0-6, in half-point increments

4. Issue task5. Argument task6. Experimental section

Scaled score percentiles

Scaled score Verbal Reasoning % Verbal Prior ScaleQuantitative Reasoning %

Quantitative Prior Scale

170 99 760-800 99 800169 99 740-750 98 800

168 98 720-730 96 800

167 98 710 95 800

166 97 700 94 800

165 96 680-690 93 790

164 94 660-670 91 790163 93 650 88 780

162 90 630-640 87 770

161 89 620 86 770

160 86 600-610 84 760

159 84 590 82 750

158 79 570-580 79 740

157 77 560 77 730

156 72 540-550 74 720

155 69 530 69 700-710

154 64 510-520 67 690

153 62 500 65 680

152 56 480-490 61 660-670

151 51 460-470 56 640-650

150 48 450 53 630

149 42 430-440 49 610-620

148 40 420 44 590-600

147 36 410 40 570-580

146 31 390-400 36 550-560

145 28 380 32 530-540

144 26 370 26 500-520

143 21 350-360 22 480-490

142 18 340 19 460-470

141 16 330 16 430-450

140 13 320 12 400-420

139 10 310 10 380-390

138 8 300 7 350-370

137 6 290 6 330-340

136 5 280 4 300-320

135 4 280 3 280-290

134 3 270 2 260-270

133 2 260 1 240-250

132 1 250 1 220-230

131 1 240 1 200-210

130 1 200-230 1 200

Analytical Writing scoreWriting % Below

6 99

5.5 96

5 87

4.5 72

4 48

3.5 29

3 11

2.5 4

2 1

1.5 1

1 1

0.5 1

Have an awareness of the degree to which your program might emphasize the analytical writing score

About the writing section

Measures the degree to which the test-taker, regardless of their field of study could understand the task and easily respond to it

The task elicited the kind of complex thinking and persuasive writing that university faculty consider important in graduate school

The response was VARIED in content and in the way the writer developed their ideas

1. As people rely more and more on technology to solve problems, the ability of humans to think for themselves will surely deteriorate.Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.

2. A nation should require all of its students to study the same national curriculum until they enter college.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the recommendation and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, describe specific circumstances in which adopting the recommendation would or would not be advantageous and explain how these examples shape your position.

Letter of Recommendations

Who to ask?Faculty membersAdministratorsInternship/co-operative education supervisorsEmployers

* Beware of the “star search” fallacy

The persons you ask to write your recommendation letters should

VS.VS.

Provide Information to letter writers

Personal StatementsYour opportunity to sell yourself in the application process

Tell a storyBe specific, have a sense of directionFind an angleConcentrate on your opening paragraphTell what you knowDon't include some subjectsDo some research, if neededWrite well and correctlyAvoid clichésEdit, Edit, Edit

InterviewTHE INTERVIEW WILL PERMIT THE SCHOOL TO

DETERMINE:

1. If your personal attributes are as appealing as your academic record (this goes, of course, for a student who is already academically acceptable), and if your personal attributes will enable you to overcome any deficiency that may appear;

2. If your personal attributes will place you in the overall acceptable range (if you are borderline);

3. If you are considered to have some obvious academic or physical deficiency, whether you have the personal attributes to overcome the deficiency.

THE INTERVIEW WILL PERMIT YOU TO:

1. Have an opportunity to sell yourself by projecting as favorable an image as possible, and thus overcoming any deficiencies in your record;2. Familiarize yourself with the campus, its facilities, and with the members of its student body;3. Obtain first hand answers to questions about the school that may not yet have been answered.

What is the Interviewer Looking for?

Communication skills: Can you express your ideas clearly and intelligently?

Motivation: Do you have goals for yourself and do you seem interested in the program?

Maturity: Are you responsible enough to be successful in the field?

Interests: What educational, social, and cultural interests do you have?

Emotional Stability: Do you maintain composure under pressure?

Intellectual potential: Have you demonstrated superior intellectual ability?

Questions?

Useful Links/ Websites

http://www.gradschools.comhttp://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandrevie

ws.com/best-graduate-schoolshttp://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/regist

er