Applying to Graduate and Professional School

Although approximately 90% of Swarthmore College graduates pursue one or more advanced degrees, only about 20% of the senior  class enrolls  in graduate  programs  immediately  following  graduation.    Most Swarthmore graduates work  before beginning an advanced degree.  There are pros and cons to both choices.

Many students also find it easier to finance graduate school when there are no other major financial pressures in their lives such as marriage, mortgages, and children. Undergraduate loans are typically deferred while you are in graduate school (however the interest will continue to accrue on certain types of loans).  If you are certain about a career path which requires an advanced degree, choosing to go to graduate school right away will allow you to enter the profession sooner than if you took some time off.

If you  decide  to delay  grad  school  admission,  consider  a post- graduate  work-related  fellowship,  a post-graduate  internship,  or a wide range of employment  options  – Career Services and the Fellowships & Prizes office can help.  Furthermore, some graduate programs encourage or even require applicants to have relevant full-time work experience prior to applying (e.g. MPA/MPP, MPH, MBA).

This example timeline is for students planning to attend graduate school immediately after graduation, but can be adapted to personal timelines that could allow time working, post baccalaureates and such.

Freshman and Sophomore Years

• Do your best in your coursework
• Meet with academic advisors to plan your coursework and help you consider graduate programs
• Develop relationships with faculty
• Actively seek and participate in research and internship opportunities at during the academic year and during the summers

Summer between sophomore and junior years

• Apply for and participate in research and internship opportunities (many application deadlines are early in the fall and winter)

Junior Year (or one year before application season)

• Participate in research and internships if possible
• Identify graduate programs and fellowships that are relevant for your plans
• If possible, attend conferences in your discipline, especially if they include sessions for prospective graduate students or grad school fairs
• If possible, start visiting institutions with graduate programs that interest you
• If needed, prepare for taking the GRE general and subject exams
• Take the GRE exams if needed

Summer between junior and senior years

• Apply for and participate in research and internship opportunities
• Identify graduate programs and fellowships that are relevant for your plans
• Take the GRE exams if needed

Senior Year (or in final year during application season)

• Participate in research and internships if possible
• If possible, attend conferences in your discipline, especially if they include sessions for prospective graduate students or grad school fairs

August/September

• Actively seek and apply for application fee waivers
• Contact faculty members to seek their advice and ask if they are willing to write you a strong recommendation letter
• Identify graduate programs and fellowships that are relevant for your plans
• Gather information about required application materials and deadlines
• Work on personal and research statements
• If your discipline requires you to reach out to prospective faculty for your graduate program, start reaching out to them

October/November/December (depending on the application deadlines)

• Complete and submit application materials – APPLY EARLY
• Ask your letter writers to submit their recommendation letters, providing all the forms, information, and deadlines
• Order transcripts (if official transcripts are required)
• If needed, confirm that all of your application materials were received

January/February/March

• If appropriate, look into visiting institutions on your own
• Some programs typically include interviews (e.g., in bioscience fields) or recruitment trips for admitted students
• Admissions offers with financial aid packages are often provided around this time
• If you have been admitted into multiple programs, reach out to others to help you make your decision

April 15

• Most universities participate in the CGS (Council of Graduate Schools) resolution which allows admitted students to have time to make a decision and respond by April 15
• After you have made your final decision, thank all of your friends and colleagues for their assistance and inform them of your final decision
• If you declined admission from some institutions, remember to still thank them for their offers, because you’ll likely encounter the faculty and scholars again

Resources to find out about graduate programs:

• Professors
• Alumni
• Practicing Professionals
• OnLine Resources: Academic Journals, including citations & Industry Guides
• Friends & Family
• Staff

Consider what you need from a program to get the education and skill development you need for your career goals.

• The reputation/rankings of the department from which you hope to earn a degree – departments and programs are often more important than the school.

• The curriculum and types of courses and research required – do they focus on your interests?

• The faculty members in the department and their individual research interests (for PhD programs) – can you connect with a supportive mentor?

• The cost of the degree and types of funding available (grants, fellowships, assistantships)

• Statistics on the types of jobs and careers pursued by their graduates

You  will  need  to  provide  each  graduate  school  with  letters  of  recommendation  from  current  and/or  former professors and/or employers.  Typically schools require 3-4 letters.  Many schools provide online forms for your recommenders to complete. In choosing your recommenders, remember that above all, graduate admissions committees are evaluating your potential as a student. This is also true for professional schools; in trying  to choose  between  a professor  and  a former  employer  or supervisor,  most programs prefer letters from professors.

Get to know your recommender! Letters are best if they are from people who know you well and are in a position to evaluate your work. Sit down with your professor or supervisor to discuss your graduate school goals and how you think they can highlight your work. Ensure excellent letters of recommendation by providing your recommenders with the data they need – your resume, research papers, and transcripts – and be direct about asking them if they feel they know your capabilities well enough to write a strong letter on your behalf. Give recommenders time to write effective letters – at least 1 month ahead of when you must submit them.

• Personal Statements are essays on your engagement or relationship with the intellectual endeavor that you are attempting to pursue in graduate school.
• Statement of Purpose focuses on what you want to do during the period of time in graduate school, and not so much on where you came from and where you see yourself going afterward.
• Autobiography are intellectual essays very similar to personal statements.
• Diversity Statements are about how your background would enable you to bring novelty to the academic endeavor. Or, they can be about how you support diverse educational and socioeconomic world, in which all types of people can thrive.

Writing your personal statement:

Your personal statement must demonstrate to the admissions committee that you have considered graduate school and their specific program seriously. It’s your opportunity to summarize your academic and research experiences. You must also communicate how your experiences are relevant to preparing you for the graduate degree that you will be pursuing and explain why a given program is the right one for you.

The personal statement is where you highlight your strengths. Make your strengths absolutely clear to the reviewers, because they will often be reading many other statements. Your self-assessments and honest conversations with peers and advisors should have also revealed your strengths. But you must also address (not blame others for) weaknesses or unusual aspects of your application or academic background.

Your personal statement should focus on two main aspects: your competence and commitment.

1. Identify your strengths in terms of competence that indicate that you will succeed in the grad program and provide examples to support your claims. Start your statement by describing your strengths immediately. Because faculty will be reading many statements, it’s important to start off with your strengths and not “bury your lede.” Consider traits of successful graduate students from your informational interviews, and identify which of these traits you have. These traits could involve research skills and experiences, expertise in working with techniques or instruments, familiarity with professional networks and resources in your field, etc.

• Write concise summaries and stories that demonstrate your strengths, e.g. how your strengths helped you to achieve certain goals or overcome obstacles.

• Summarize your research experience(s). What were the main project goals and the “big picture” questions? What was your role in this project? What did you accomplish? What did you learn, and how did you grow as a result of the experience(s)?

Addressing weaknesses or unusual aspects

• Identify weaknesses or unusual aspects in your application—e.g., a significant drop in your GPA during a term; weak GRE scores; changes in your academic trajectory, etc. Don’t ignore them, because ignoring them might be interpreted as blind spots for you. If you’re unsure if a particular issue is significant enough to address, seek advice from faculty mentors.
• Explain how you’ll improve and strengthen those areas or work around your weakness. Determine how you will address them in a positive light, e.g., by discussing how you overcame obstacles through persistence, what you learned from challenges, and how you grew from failures.
• Explain, rather than provide excuses—i.e., address the issue directly and don’t blame others (even if you believe someone else is responsible). Draft it and get feedback from others to see if the explanation is working as you want it to.
• Provide supporting empirical evidence if possible. For example, “Adjusting to college was a major step for me, coming from a small high school and as a first-generation college student. My freshman GPA was not up to par with my typical achievements, as demonstrated by my improved  GPA of 3.8 during my second and third years in college.”

2. Explain your commitment to research and their graduate program, including your motivation for why you are applying to this graduate program at this university. Be as specific as possible. Identify several faculty members with whom you are interested in working, and explain why their research interests you.

• Descriptions of your commitment should explain why you’re passionate about this particular academic field and provide demonstrations of your commitment with stories (e.g., working long hours to solve a problem, overcoming challenges in research, resilience in pursuing problems). Don’t merely assert your commitment.
• Explain why you are applying to graduate school, as opposed to seeking a professional degree or a job. Discuss your interest and motivation for grad school, along with your future career aspirations.

Statement of Purpose: It’s a reflection of your professional self

• Think in terms of engaging faculty in a conversation rather than pleading with them that you should be admitted.
• With later drafts, try developing an overall narrative theme. See if one emerges as you work.
• Write at least 10 drafts and expect your thinking and the essay to change quite a bit over time.
• You’re sharing a professional/scholarly slice of “you.”

  Personal Statement Prompts the OUTLINE YOUR ESSAY FOR YOU!!

Check out Swarthmore Sample Personal Statements.

Whether  you are applying  to law school, medical  school, business  school or a general graduate program many , but not all, programs require you to take  the appropriate  graduate  school  admission  test.   Be sure you know for certain  what exams your prospective  schools  require.

Graduate Record Examinations (GRE)

Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) for business school

Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT)

Law School Admissions Test (LSAT)

The following sites offer test prep info, including free downloads of sample tests:

• Kaplan

• The Princeton Review

Resumes or Curriculum Vitae: You may be asked to provide a resume or curriculum vitae with your application to graduate or professional school. Including a resume/cv in your application package – even when not specifically requested – can be a great way to share additional information about your experience and research interests. Check out our Resume and CV resources.

Transcripts: Know what kind of transcript your program requires. Official transrcipts can be requested from the Registrar’s Office. Unofficial transcripts can be obtained through your student link on mySwarthmore.

Most doctoral students receive financial support for the length of their doctoral program, including tuition and living expenses, while financial support for master’s students is often limited. Funding packages vary by department, depending on teaching and research requirements. Some resources and information are provided below.

1. FELLOWSHIPS

• Typically these are not associated with your program. An example would be a corporate-sponsored fellowship or the Swarthmore Fellowships for graduates attending graduate school. Check out Swarthmore’s Fellowships & Prizes Office for more information.
• Usually cover tuition and provide a stipend for your living expenses
• External fellowships can be used at most accredited programs
• Start looking early at opportunities such as the McNair Scholars Program and at websites that collect external fellowship opportunities such as these sites from Stanford, UCLA, and Columbia.
• Many are restricted to U.S. citizens/permanent residents
• Federal agencies, private foundations, corporations, and professional organizations offer awards for graduate study.
• Internal, university-sponsored fellowships, based on faculty/department nominations

2. RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIPS (RA)

• Usually provide a salary and cover tuition
• Perform research as directed by faculty
• Your work might not be directly related to your own thesis research

3. TEACHING ASSISTANTSHIPS (TA)

• Usually provide a salary and cover tuition
• Might include grading papers, teaching (lectures or TA sections), holding office hours
• Required by some departments for degree
• English proficiency may be required, or you might need to obtain additional language training

4. GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIPS (GA)

• Usually provide a salary and cover tuition
• Perform administrative and programming duties in non- academic areas including residence life, student activities, career services, etc.
• Your work might not be directly related to your own focus of study

**Federal Loans – Federal Student Aid is the website for multiple federal funding program.

1. Before the interview

• For campus visits, it’s OK to ask what is expected of you and how to prepare (e.g., if your travel expenses will be covered, how to dress, if you should bring your CV, etc.).
• Learn about the faculty and people you will be meeting or communicating with. Read about the research interests of the faculty, including abstracts or papers. Prepare at least 1-2 specific research questions for each interview.
• Review the research that you conducted. If it was published or presented at a conference, reread the paper, abstract, or poster. Prepare a brief (1-2 minutes) oral summary of your past work. What was the research question? How did you address it? What did you specifically complete and achieve? What are some possible questions that faculty might ask?
• Prepare detailed questions you have of the program you are considering. Generic questions (e.g., tell me about your program) indicate that you didn’t read the basics on their website, and so won’t leave a positive impression. Determine what’s important for you (specific research facilities, professional development activities, student groups, opportunities for collaborations, etc.) and research them online.
• Determine and list the questions you have about the program, university, and location of where you are visiting. What are you hoping to see and learn?
• Conduct a mock interview with a staff member at Career Services.

2. During the interview

• For campus visits, dress appropriately (usually business casual, but be comfortable); be on time; organize your papers (e.g., résumés/CVs, slides or images, questions).
• Be prepared to talk about why you are a good fit for the graduate program. Know what you’ll add to their team and how you can contribute and also develop yourself as a professional.
• Speak enthusiastically about your work. Highlight your research accomplishments and/or professional growth. If asked to speak about a weakness, phrase your answer in a forward-looking manner to demonstrate learning and growth, and awareness of your weaknesses.
• Listen actively to your faculty interviewers as they talk about their research.
• Ask questions, using your prepared lists. Take notes to remember comments and suggestions.

3. After the interview

• Email your interviewers and Thank them for their time. Follow up if you promised to provide any materials. Even if you determine that you don’t wish to work with that faculty member, this isn’t the time to burn bridges, and you might bump into them in the future.
• Summarize your perceptions of the program, university, and environment. Make a table listing the pros and cons. List the people whom you met on your visit, and write a brief comment for each person to help you remember your interactions. Is it a good fit for you?