Graduate School...?

If you have attended a college or university undergraduate program, at some point a faculty member most likely mentioned graduate education. There are a lot of things to consider when trying to decide if, when, and where to attend graduate school. However, graduate school is a serious decision and major consideration should be given to every facet of your life when deciding where to go. Below I will review some of the major considerations that you should think about when you are deciding where to go to graduate school. The below information assumes you have made the decision to attend graduate school already.

Where should I go? This is a question that everyone asks and is probably one of the most important questions to answer. In reality the answer is based on various criteria including stipends, tuition, living arrangements, research interests, program availability, and much more. However, first you need to decide what you are interested in. For this review I will base my explanation on psychology-based information, but it applies all the same to any major area.

Your first decision must be what you are interested in studying. I am not just saying “Decide on your major”. What I am saying is that specific research interests (or a specific industry focus) are important to decide before you make any decisions about where to look into as what you are interested in will narrow down the possible locations you can go. For example, if you are interested in studying a person’s attitudes, then you are most likely going to look into specific social psychology programs with faculty whose research interests are also in attitude-related fields. In the same way, your major area needs to be decided before you look for a potential graduate advisor, as matching research interests are one criterion that schools and programs look at when deciding on your admission.

Once you have decided what your interests are, then you can decide where to submit applications to. Deciding this should include considerations about tuition coverage, stipends, living expenses, and acceptance rates. It is fine if you want to apply to Princeton or Harvard, however, you must keep in mind that these places are expensive and very hard to get into, and so considering these factors, what are some other places you can apply?

Another consideration is the stipend. Most graduate students in the United States and abroad receive a graduate stipend in which they are paid to work for the department as a teaching assistant, research assistant, or in some other graduate assistant position. When deciding where to attend graduate school, how much money you will be paid for your time is important, as a graduate education is essentially a full-time job, often times even two full-time jobs. Because of this, pay is important as you may not have the time or energy to work outside of your program as any time you are not in class or working is devoted to research or homework.

Another issue, and one that my university is currently put on notice for by the graduate student population, is tuition coverage (often called tuition remission). Most graduate programs, who are serious about taking on graduate students, will offer full coverage of your tuition (and some will offer at least partial coverage) to encourage students to do their best on the work they accomplish during their program. Tuition is a major cost and ensuring tuition remission is a major consideration that you should make when deciding if a school or program is right for you.

In general, these are only some of the things that you should consider. Reality often holds many more issues when it comes to graduate school attendance as every person will put different weight into certain areas. The only thing that you really must decide is whether graduate school is right for you. If the answer is yes, or at the very least a strong maybe, then these considerations will come to you as you investigate programs and schools.