Graduate school is not for everyone and can be a big decision to make whether to go, or not to go.
Pros: getting a graduate degree gives you the potential to make more money, progress more rapidly in your career, change career paths or pursue your passion of learning.
Cons: it can be expensive, challenging (forget your social life), prevent you from earning an income and might include relocation. Discover some facts so you can weigh your options.
You can pursue a couple of different graduate degrees:
• A master’s degree typically takes between two and four years to complete. The programs usually involve lots of classroom learning and participation, and require collaboration and interaction with other students.
• A doctoral degree typically can take between five and 10– years to complete. A doctoral degree is usually more individual and research-based with less interaction with peers and faculty.
Considering graduate school may be the right thing for you, start your research. Important information to research is the department you are interested in joining, potential research topics, and the faculty in your program. In general this info is available through a school’s website and promotional materials they would love to send to you. It is essential for graduate school to consider the reputation of the specific department you plan to enter and not necessarily the school as a whole.
Subsequent to the research comes the application process. The application will require essays, transcripts, recommendation letters, and test scores (GRE, LSAT, GMAT, MCAT, etc.) These factors may vary slightly from school to school. You need to take the test that will be specific to your program. Entering business school you need to take the GMAT; for law school the LSAT, and so on. The GRE is Graduate Record Examination and the catch-all test for those programs that do not have specific tests.
The grad school cost can be steep but does not have to be preventative. Numerous schools present grants, loans, scholarships and employment opportunities. There are often available teaching and research assistantships for graduate students. This complement schoolwork by being limited hours each week and often result in tuition waivers or discounts and/or academic credit. Private loans, federal loans, subsidized or unsubsidized, are also available to graduate students.
So if you decide graduate school is for you, figure out what degree you would be interested in, do your program research, apply, and know that there are financing options available to you.
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