A Guide to Organizing your Thoughts about Graduate School

Graduate school, or simply the thought of it, can be daunting, particularly for a first generation college student like myself. For anyone out there who is also navigating this process, this is for you.

I decided I wanted to go to graduate school while I was in college, but for some this decision comes later or even earlier. While I am not going to grad school immediately after I obtain my bachelor’s degree, I plan on attending after a year of service with AmeriCorps, which is also part of my grad school journey. I am going to describe some steps to organizing your thoughts about graduate school itself, including when to go, if you should go, and what to look for in schools and programs.

Note: This article primarily concerns PhD and Master’s degree psychology and education programs! However, it can be applicable to other fields.

What are you interested in?

The first step is to determine your general interests for a career. For me, this happened throughout college where I took various psychology and human development courses. I realized that I am interested in mental health, education, and social justice. If you’re in college, you can figure out your interests by taking introductory courses or simply courses that interest you and by participating in clubs. If you’re not attending or planning to attend college, then you could also take free online courses, volunteer, read, watch TED Talks, have conversations, anything to understand yourself and how you fit in the world around you.

What is your passion?

A passion is different from an interest. You want to find a career, something you can spend a long time doing/studying, and something you can make a difference by doing. For example, I am interested in Habitat for Humanity and equitable housing but I cannot see a future or career in this area; I am just not that passionate about it. Instead, I found my passion in education because I love learning about it, there is so much I want to improve, and I can touch many peoples lives. Really take some time and figure out what you love and never settle!

Graduate School is about the Program

Graduate school, unlike an undergraduate career, is focused on the program and the faculty rather than the entire institution. Particularly for a doctorate program, you want to look at the coursework, internship, dissertation, research opportunities, and conference opportunities. But most importantly, look at the FACULTY. You’re going to be matched up with a faculty member who you will do research with doing the program. They will mentor you and guide you through the thesis/dissertation. This is so important because you certainly want someone whose interests align with yours since you will be spending most of your time with them.

Get Organized: Use a Spreadsheet

I personally organized all of the graduate school programs and factors into an enormous spreadsheet, so this is what I recommend. I list each program I am interested in vertically and have various factors across the top. This step involves heavy exploration and I encourage you to look into any program you might be interested in. Putting it in the document doesn’t mean you have to go there, it just means you’ve looked at it and you can decide if it’s for you. I organize mine into into different tabs, and within those tabs different areas. For example, my PhD tab is sorted by area of psychology (clinical, developmental, school, etc.) then area of education (educational psychology, human development, etc.). You can organize yours depending on the area of graduate school you want. However, I think the most important thing is what you look for within the programs (the horizontal factors). Though you may add/remove some of these in your own document, I recommend these as a starting point (note: these are in no particular order):

• Faculty of interest: As I said earlier, this is very important. A good match between faculty and student is crucial to making the most of your graduate experience. However, make sure to keep updating this list of faculty. If you fill this out two years before attending school, different faculty may be available to admit students or the faculty member you wanted is no longer available.
• Coursework description: what types of courses and theoretical frameworks of the courses/program.
• Cost of the program: this may vary based on state residency status, number of years to complete, and full or part time status. For doctorate programs, be sure to see if the program is fully funded (tuition remission, health benefits, stipend) and list those benefits.
• Funding: Is the program fully funded upon admission? If not, what types of jobs, research or teaching assistantships, scholarships, grants, and fellowships are available? I like to keep a list or insert links to the pages with this information.
• Time complete: How many years on average it will take to graduate.
• Admission requirements: Do you need a previous graduate degree, standardized testing (GRE), research or professional experience, or letters of recommendation?
• Outcomes-careers and jobs available: What do graduates do with their degree? Is that something you want to do as well?
• Full/part time: Does it require full time academic status? Some, especially in graduate school, need or prefer to go through the program part time due to work or family obligations. However, some programs require you complete it full time.
• Location: This is important considering you will live in this city for multiple years. What is the cost of living? Is on or off campus living cheaper or better for you?
• Number of admitted students each year: I think this is important in deciding how many programs to apply to. If a program is competitive, then you may want to apply to more than one to increase your chances.
• Licensure/internship rates: If the end-goal of your program is licensure (for example, clinical psychology), then you want to know what percentage of the program’s graduates are actually licensed after graduation. If internships are required, it would also help to know how many students are able to obtain accredited internships.
• Notes about the current students: Most programs should have a ‘Current Students’ page. I like to explore this and see what current students studies, what they did after graduation and during undergrad, and what overall characteristics/qualities they have. This is so you can get an idea of what the program is looking for in a prospective student.

This spreadsheet is a great, concise place to keep graduate school information. However, remember that this information is subject to change, so make sure to update the programs you’re truly interested in before you apply/go.

Is it Time for Graduate School?

I find it beneficial to explore graduate school options before you decide if you should go. It may be the case you need more experience or you have more than enough experience. It’s just better to do the research early (but like I said, update the spreadsheet!). I think the primary factors in deciding to go to graduate school are: do you have enough experience, do you know what you want to study, and do you know what you want to do afterwards? If you can definitively answer “yes” to all of these questions, then I think you’re on the track to graduate school. If not, of course that is okay. I’m personally not ready to go. I still have things to figure out with the outcomes of my degree. So, I am doing AmeriCorps to help sort out my career goals. You can do a similar post-grad program, or you can do smaller, but still exploratory steps like volunteer at a research lab, read, take courses, and get involved in your community.

Choosing the Program(s)

When I choose programs to apply to, I will likely choose them based on faculty interest, what I will learn and program outcomes, and cost. You may add some factors that you consider important, such as location, but I think these three are a solid foundation for choosing a program.

Applying

There are many resources available to help you apply to graduate school. The first point of contact you should make is the program coordinator (or equivalent). They can walk you through what is required and tell you about the program overall. It is also crucial to contact faculty that you want to work with during or before the application process. Talking to the faculty can help you decide if you want to work with them and if the program is a good fit for you needs. You should also think in advance who you want to write your letters of recommendation and give them your application answers or research statement to help them write the letter. Also have a professional review your resume/CV!