Pointers for getting accepted into Graduate School:

The most important issues related to graduate school are the quality of the department and the faculty. The faculty are the professionals who approve your admission, who monitor your progress, who have a big influence on whether you continue and ultimately complete the program, and who help you to shape your future career. The faculty can make or break you in a graduate program.

Make sure your undergraduate GPA and entrance examination score(s) are as high as possible.  A perfect and well-constructed application is a must.  Strong, supportive references from faculty are absolutely necessary.

Be prepared for a rigorous interview from a selection committee that focuses on you as an individual, your professional knowledge, your future goals, your research interests, and your likelihood of completing and contributing to the reputation of their program.

Criteria that are important in selecting a graduate program are:

• reputation of the faculty,
• breadth and depth of class offerings,
• required entrance examinations,
• selectivity of the program,
• library resources, computers, technology and other facilities.

Additional questions you need to answer for yourself:

• What degrees are given in the field?
• How high does the program rate?
• Are the faculty good?
• Are they doing what I am interested in?
• How specialized is the department?
• What are the course and thesis requirements to get my degree?
• Do I have the prerequisites for the program?
• What are my chances of being accepted?
• Can I afford this program?
• What is the tuition?
• Are there fees in addition?
• How much will it cost me to live there?
• Does the university have suitable graduate student housing?
• What are the possibilities for financial aid?
• Are graduate assistantship/fellowship opportunities available?
• What is the average degree completion time period?
• What are my chances of getting a job after I finish?

1.      Make sure your application reflects your accomplishments, especially those related.  Make sure it is a good as possible, and includes great references.

2.      If you’ve published articles or conducted research be sure to note in your application and resume.  Be sure to include specimens of the work.

3.      Look into programs that are based on having a certain number of students enroll and follow a set curriculum path together. Such programs require a certain number of students to form a "cohort," and are not restricted to typical semester-to-semester schedules. If the cohort requires one or two more students to be able to get started, that's an ideal time to apply.

4.      Most fields will require you to spend a good part of your graduate school years focused around a thesis or dissertation and a specific faculty member (advisor). Determine the program you're most interested in, and zero in on a key faculty member whose work particularly intrigues you. Contact the professor via letter or email, and discuss your interest in getting involved with his or her work. Try to arrange an in-person interview. If the faculty member is impressed with your passion for the subject matter, he or she may recommend that you be accepted to the program.

5.      If possible, visit the universities that are on your short list, but don’t go without an appointment to visit the program director, chair, or key faculty.  Be sure to visit with faculty and graduate students in the program.

6.      In laboratory sciences such as chemistry, new graduate students are often assigned to a potential thesis adviser at the time they enter or very shortly thereafter. You may be offered a research assistantship in some professor's lab, and from there it is a natural progression to specializing in that area and writing a thesis under his or her direction. The initial assistantship may determine the course of your professional life, and it usually is very difficult to change advisers and/or labs. Since it is crucial for you to get a good adviser, you should try to be assigned to someone you have chosen rather than taking your chances.  In order to make a good choice, you have to know the strengths of the faculty and which professor would be the best fit for you. It is worth spending time on this effort by talking to people who know, including current graduate students.

7.      If you are seeking, or receive an assistantship, be sure to ask what are the chances that it will be renewed.  Some times assistantships are used to recruit new students; therefore they can be awarded for short periods (1-2 years) and then given to other new entering graduate students.

8.      Ask whether the assistantship pays tuition or waives tuition!  Most assistantships also are only for the 9 months of the school year – meaning there may be no money during the summer!

9.      Pay attention to fees.  Some universities keep tuition low (for advertising or political reasons) and therefore fees may be high.

10.  Traditional student aid is available to graduate students (loans, work study, assistantship/fellowship) except for Pell grants (only available to undergraduate students).