What is required to apply for admission to the Graduate School?
- Requirements will vary by institution
- Bachelor’s degree (or its international equivalent) from a regionally accredited institution
- Standardized test scores (e.g. GRE, GMAT)
- Letters of recommendation (usually three)
- Writing sample, portfolio or audition
- Additional graduate program application
- Prerequisite coursework
End of Junior Year / Summer Before Senior Year
- Talk with your advisor, other faculty/staff
- Talk to graduate students on your area of interest
- Make campus visits
- Consult college catalogs
- Think about who will serve as references
- Begin to narrow your choices for where to go to graduate school
- Know the requirements for each program and school of interest: GPA, prerequisite coursework, standardized test scores, internships, service hours, and experience/exposure to the field of work
Junior Year
- If provided, attend graduate and professional school recruiting fairs to obtain application materials
- Before attending, research schools that interest you
- Talk with Graduate School representatives and ask questions
- Use the Internet to locate information and obtain application materials
- Take the GRE or other graduate school exam as stated by the school and program
- Sign up to take GRE or other graduate school admission exam at www.ets.org
- Begin drafting your statement of purpose or other essays that are required
- Consider financial aid options and inquire about scholarships
- Begin work on application and be careful to proofread and follow directions
- Ask several people to review your application and statement of purpose before submitting
- Save or print a copy of all information submitted
- Be aware of deadlines and do not miss them
- Submit application, application fee, college transcripts, resume, and statement of purpose or other document requested
When writing statement of purpose, remember:
- Clearly state area of interest
- State long term goals
- Stay within the required word limit
- Tailor to the specific program; mention faculty with whom you would like to study
- Follow directions (i.e. answer specific questions)
- Use correct paragraph construction, spelling and grammar to demonstrate writing ability
- Length: brief but informative, and stay within any stated page limits
If a resume or curriculum vitae (CV) is requested:
- Opportunity to state educational/research accomplishments related to goals
- Include awards, literary prizes, publications
- Include work experience and especially any teaching experience
- List language skills, leadership roles and volunteer work
Senior Year
- Submit applications for graduate school
- Apply for financial aid and scholarships
- Begin preparation for interviews
- Wait for acceptance letters
- Once acceptance letters have been received, know the deadline to respond to confirm the offer of admission
Before accepting the graduate school offer, consider the following:
- Does the program closely match my interests and goals?
- Think about the cost of living and tuition expenses vs. availability of funding
- Location and housing
- Consider the quality of programs, rankings as well as employment upon completion of program
A few tips about letters of recommendation and references:
- Carefully choose references
- Ask faculty members who know you, your work, goals and accomplishments
- Ask the references to provide specifics in letters of recommendation such as comparison ratings or specific research experience
- Provide references with a resume
- Highlight accomplishments not readily seen in the rest of the application
- Give references as much lead time as possible. If a letter is needed, provide postage and address along with deadlines
- If references are completing information online, provide the website for them
- Arrange for one extra letter as “insurance”