As the semester flies by, seniors who are just not satisfied with four years of college are frantically finishing up applications for more. Juniors of like mind should begin reflecting on the prospect of further study and planning ahead.
Here is a rough outline of the graduate school application process, and advice for juniors looking at it, from professors who have done it all before and seniors in the middle.
Spring semester junior year, students need to ask themselves seriously whether graduate studies are for them. This is not just the time to ask if grad school is required, or an obvious first step, for their intended careers. Juniors need to know that if the plan falls through, that they will not regret spending their twenties studying and specializing more precisely. What do you want to study?
“Don’t go into grad school because you’re not certain of what else to do,” Assistant Professor of Theology Jordan Wales said. “Grad school is not to be thought of as a holding pattern, it’s an investment, it’s a commitment.”
Or, as senior Mattie Vander Bleek puts it: “What I wish I knew as a junior is what I want to do with my life.”
Vander Bleek echoes professors when she distinguishes between a desire to be an academic and a desire to continue scholarly pursuits. The former demands graduate studies, while the latter may not and students need to ask themselves which applies to them.
“I wish I would have been more aware that academics could be something to do with the rest of my life so I could decide more quickly between that or letting it be preparation for private intellectual life,” Vander Bleek said.
Once students know what they want to study, the next question is, of course, where to study.
Talk to Hillsdale professors who have followed a track similar to the one your project yourself upon. Find at least one who can help shepherd you along. Look for professors you would like to study with and programs that you know can teach you.
Professor of Chemistry Chris VanOrman said that science students should consider a larger school.
“The Big 10 schools are great,” he said. “They’ll each have their own area of expertise.”
VanOrman pointed out that science graduate students are cheap labor for departments and are paid to do research for advisers. There is no out-of-pocket cost to further study for them. Students should look for professors who are doing research they want to work on and have enough funding.
In the humanities, however, state budget cuts makes funding at Big 10 schools and other state programs harder to find. But good pro- grams still fully fund their candidates.
Wales said students need to be willing to learn from a whole department, not just the professor they like at the school they are considering.
“If one has a program in mind, take seriously the fit between yourself and the program, especially if you’re applying to a doctoral program,” he said. “Don’t go to a grad school because there is one professor that you think would be great and all the other professors would be horrible.”
Of course, throughout all this research and consideration, there’s the GRE to take the summer before your senior year. Don’t make yourself have to study for it and classes at the same time.
VanOrman said science students need to figure out if the schools they are applying to require GRE Subject Tests. They are particularly difficult, he said, because of how many foreign students who already have Master’s degrees take them. A 50th percentile is a great score, he said.
Wales doesn’t think students should let the GRE intimidate them too much.
“I’ve met a lot of people who are nervous about the GRE,” he said. “It’s just better to take it. Download the practice test see how you do, and do it.”
Never cancel your scores, he said, because with the way the test increases in difficulty, it can feel worst when you are doing best.
In the fall, if you have taken the GRE and know where you are ap- plying and what you want to study, that leaves statements of purpose, letters of recommendation, and actual applications. It might be a lot, but should be manageable.
“I wish someone would have advised me to treat the application process as another class,” Vander Bleek said.
Wales said that grad school, as difficult as it may be, makes apply- ing for grad school worth it.
“Don’t be afraid of the requirements for applying to grad school,” Wales said. “Because if you enjoy the academic life, you enjoy what grad school entails, then your enthusiasm for that and your thirst for that will enable you and help you to rise to the challenge of getting in.”
