Career Services
Choosing a Graduate or Professional School
Plans for many of you after graduation will undoubtedly include gaining further education in particular academic, professional, and sometimes vocational fields. Before you begin applying to graduate schools, consider some points important about preparation.
Setting Goals
The first step in locating programs which might possibly match your educational objectives involves reviewing the general texts in career services in Greywood. Having identified possible programs, review school catalogus in the career services library in Greywood. After compiling a list of possibilities, you will want to send for additional information and applications (a post card will do).
You will also want to have a discussion with faculty, and especially your thesis advisor, who knows your interests, aptitudes, and abilities in a particular discipline. Faculty can be very useful in directing you to appropriate programs that will offer you the kind of advanced training and experience that will move you along towards your goals. Often faculty are informed on what departments are doing throughout the country and they can give your search an important early focus.
Campus Resources
In addition to the directories which include Peterson's Guides to Graduate Schools at career services, Peterson's has a Web site as do many of the graduate programs you will be looking at. A list of former students, who have attended a broad array of graduate programs, is available so you can contact these alumni/ae for a first-hand scope on a particular school. Test applications are available in career services. Finally, take advantage of the opportunity to meet representatives of graduate programs that visit Reed by scheduling an appointment in career services.
Timelines
Ideally one should begin thinking about graduate school admission during the spring semester of the junior year, spending the summer researching schools and getting admission information. The first receipt date for Fall testing (GRE, LSAT, MCAT, etc) applications is in early September, and early application assures you a spot at the testing location closest to you. Take appropriate tests two to three months before graduate school deadline date and make application to the school 30 days in advance of that date. Application for financial assistance should be early as well.
Visitation
The following questions and areas of exploration would best be answered by visiting a campus where there is a graduate program of interest to you. Since all programs attempt to sound good in a graduate catalog, talking to faculty and students will be much more beneficial to you. Use the following standard format of questions whenever you have the opportunity to talk with the faculty and students. If, for any reason, you cannot visit the campus, you should ask some of these questions in letter form or by Internet.
Availability of faculty. Research the current faculty and learn about their specialty areas; would you be studying directly with them and what do students have to say about their experience with the current faculty.
Attrition. Do students of this graduate department frequently fail to complete their degree programs? Once again, this is not something you will learn from the catalog or the department brochure. Visit the campus and ask both faculty and students.
Depth and diversity within the faculty. How many faculty members does the department have? Does the department's reputation rest heavily upon the shoulders of just one or two professors? What if they should go elsewhere? Is there a variety of points of view in the department, or are most of the faculty members' approach to the discipline rather single-minded? Would you rather be a disciple or develop your own approach to the field? The number of women in the department might be an important factor.
What will I be doing three to five years after I complete my graduate program? It pays to find out what kinds of employment are most frequently taken by graduates of the program you are considering. Ask some of the near-graduates what they expect to be doing after they graduate. What percentage of graduates and degree candidates in this department succeed in finding employment? To what extent is the department helpful in enabling the graduate to find suitable work?
Faculty publications. What have the faculty members published lately? This will give you an idea of whether the faculty's interests are similar to your own. In many cases, what the professor publishes is what he/she spends the most time thinking about, both in and out of the classroom.
Internships and assistantships. Does the program have any planned practical experiences? If so, where would you be likely to work and what would you do?
Fellowships and funds. How much fellowship money is available? How many students receive fellowships? Are you likely to be among the lucky few? Look carefully at the school's funding policies and the availability of financial aid. (Career Office has a growing collection of directories that list funding options.)
Ph.D. production. How many Ph.D.s has this department produced yearly? What is the average length of time it takes to complete the degree?
Admissions preferences. Does the department prefer to have their applicants fresh out of the undergraduate school? Or does it tend to prefer applicants having work experience relevant to their field?
Versatility. To what extent can you use the degree from this department to get into other kinds of work? Is there latitude for applying this degree to other fields?
Student life. What are some of the non-academic services available to graduate students? Is there high morale and esprit de corps among the students?
Resources. Learn about the library, laboratory equipment, and facilities as well as computer resources for graduate students.
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For additional advice, read this article by Philip Agre, an associate professor of information studies at UCLA.
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