Advice on graduate school
Many college graduates often wait few months before or after graduation to apply to graduate school. It is a big mistake as it is too late because deadline for applications for graduate school in the U.S. are typically due in December or January. Some schools start to accept applications as early as November. If you want to go to graduate school, you must prepare your application in September of your last year BEFORE graduation. Most universities have websites with all the admission information details so you must read them carefully and be prepared before applying.
Since graduate school admission is very competitive, you should apply early to at least, five to seven schools, to get better chance of getting in. Admission application form is simple but the most important part of the application is the "Statement of Purpose" where you explain why you want to go to graduate school and why you are interested in a specific area. This is the most important part of your application as it is used to determine your interest, your passion, and your idea on what you want to do with your career or what type of research that you want to conduct. As a member of the admission board at Carnegie Mellon, I have reviewed hundreds if not thousands of applications, and I can say that the “Statement of Purpose” is one of the key factors to accept or reject an applicant so you need to take time to write this part carefully. You should have your school advisor or professors who will write your recommendation letter to review it and give you advice. It is likely that you may have to rewrite it few times to get it right. Your “Statement of Purpose” should clearly explain what you want to do with your career, what type of work that you want to pursue for your future (Whether you want to do research or work in the industry etc.). Of course, some students may not know what they really want yet and have problem on what to write. My advice is to look at the website of the department that you want to apply to and read the vision or the program's mission statement in the field of study that you are applying then modify it into your statement of purpose. You may start with a few sentences or paragraphs based on the program's vision or mission and elaborate it to fit your profile. However, do NOT talk about your family, your personal view, or any non-professional interests. (What do you think members of the admission board, who must read hundreds of applications, are you looking for? How do they read through these statements and select which one that is really standout or fit their interests?).
Most graduate schools require two to four letters of recommendation from someone who know you. Typically these letters should come from professors in your school or managers in a company where you work. The important thing is you should get letters from people who really know your abilities and strongly recommend you. The bestletters always come from professors who know of your work and who write favorably about your work. Of course, if the professors do not know you well, they may write “so so” letters which are not helpful as I have seen many of them. My advice is if you want to have good recommendation letters then you should getting to know some professors by trying to get involved in their research as they will be able to write something impressive about you rather than something that anyone can write. It is possible to get good letters of recommendation from professors who teach classes that you did well if they know you well enough to write something meaningful about you. However, do not send letters of recommendation from your relatives, your girl friend or boy friend even though they may know you well as these types of letter are not considered favorably.
The Grade Point Averages (GPA) is another factor used to determine your admission but each school looks at GPA differently. Although good grades are important but most admission board members would often look closely at courses related in your major or to the field that you are applying to rather than every course. Some would consider your GPA in the last two years more important and may ignore courses that you get in your first or second year. Overall the GPA is mostly used to determine whether you could complete the graduate program successful or not. A 3.0 to 3.2 (on a 4.0 scale) is a minimum requirement for most graduate schools.
Graduate school exams such as GRE, GMAT etc. are another factor used to determine your admission. It is important that you take these exams early BEFORE graduation because you should have the score before applying to graduate school. Most admission applications require that you have the official score sent to them as well as you should fill in the score in the application form. You can get details of what exams are required from the school website or brochure from the graduate programs that you want to apply to.
If you are foreign students, you will need to have a good command of English because it is strongly correlated to academic success. Most graduate programs have a minimum English competency score requirement depending on the school. On the average, a total TOEFL iBT score of 95 (with no sub-score less than 23) or an IELTS score of at least 7.5 is preferred.
Most schools review admission applications in January or February so by March, you should be getting letters of acceptance or rejection. Some graduate programs do offer scholarships, fellowships, or financial aids and you should check with the school to see if you are qualified to receive them or not. (Most are for their citizens or permanent residences but some do offer to foreign students as well). Another way is to ask for teaching assistantship (TA) usually a part time job that can help you to pay for the school's tuition partially. For the Master program, TA is often offered in the second year after you have achieved a certain degree of academic competency. For PhD program, most schools offer research assistantship (RA) or fellowship to pay for your school but it often involves works for some professors during your time there. Fellowships, scholarships, TA and RA are competitive so do not expect to get them automatically as some students believe that they could get them as part of the admission acceptance. The important thing is that you should check with the school for these before acceptance.
If you receive several offers, you should seek advices from your school professors. Many students often make decision on the financial aspect alone and it could be a mistake. There is a big difference between receive scholarship from a lesser known school and the chance to study at the top school even without some financial supports as it may determine your future career. My advice is to carefully examine all factors and ask for advice from your professors or school advisors as they will probably be able to help you make decision. You should also check the graduate school's reputations and academic ranking as part of your decision process. Find out more about the program, their research as well as the students' placement rating. Make a list of questions and contact them to get answers to help you make decision. If possible, visit them and meet with professors who will teach you to understand more about the program before making decision. Contact students who are studying in the program to learn more and get their opinions before making decision. It is your future; it is your career and you need to get all the facts before making decision. Of course, graduate schools always want you to make decision because if you turn them down, they will offer your space to someone else who are applying. However, take your time to do your own research and learn more about the school because it is your decision and the right decision will determine your future career.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
