Searching for a graduate program that will best fit you can be stressful. By now, if you are looking towards entering grad-school, you have a field of interest and know what you want to study. But where to study, is the next big question. Knowing how to find the school that has the best program for you that is in your financial range can be difficult. Here are some tips to help.
Prioritize Faculty and Research Fit: For your graduate degree, you want to be aligned closely with your professors. Learning background information on the professors in the department that you want to study in at a school is a great way to know whether or not the school will be a good fit for you. If you do not align with multiple professors on your field of study, that is an easy way to determine not to attend that institution.
Evaluate Curriculum and Resources: Course catalogs are typically always posted online and available for any potential student. Checking these potential classes is an excellent way to see if you will gain experience in what you are interested in.
Assess Funding and Costs: Investigating tuition, the cost of living either on campus or in the surrounding city, and what financial aid may be available is important when deciding what school to attend. Some schools may not provide that information readily, but will send that information to you if you fill out an email subscription form.
Staying Organized: The best way I have found to stay organized when searching is creating a spreadsheet. You can use a spreadsheet to track what schools you are searching, deadlines, application requirements, and even faculty contact information if your plan is to network.
There are 3 tips to narrow down your list:
- Start broad
- Identifying 15-25 potential schools based on just your first initial search is a great step
- Filter by Fit
- Your next step is to narrow down to 5-10 schools based on your research.
- Evaluate Responsiveness
- Poor communication from either the department’s faculty or admissions staff is a major indicator to whether or not that school will be a good fit for you.
Set goals and keep on track with them and you will find a school in no time!
One Response
Great post Kendall! This is helpful because I am interested in possibly getting my MBA after I graduate from Grove City and it is important for me to know how to best search for potential schools. I like your method of using a spreadsheet to stay organized. It can help you easily sort through your options but also helps you to compare them easily.