Many people think about applying to graduate school but never follow through. Age, tuition costs and time are reasons some ultimately decide not to further their education.
However, graduate school experts say applying to and getting into a grad program isn’t as arduous as many think. Researching programs tailored to career aspirations and meeting application deadlines can help prospective students pursue a degree that’s the right fit.
Experts suggest checking out the websites of prospective institutions and the professional organizations affiliated with your program of interest. They also recommend reading everything about what schools offer and contacting faculty identified with your program of interest.
Joy Williamson-Lott, dean of the graduate school at the University of Washington, says there’s an institution and graduate program for everyone and many programs value holistic admissions, which means administrators look at multiple factors in the selection process.
“People shouldn’t be terrified if their GPAs were low,” she says. “There are even opportunities to petition to waive a low GPA to have that not be considered. I would say it’s not too hard to get in and people should try.”
[Read: Why Go to Graduate School? The Best and Worst Reasons.]
Here are four critical areas that graduate school experts say hesitant prospects should consider when deciding whether to apply.
Applying at the Best Time
“It’s always a good idea to apply mid-fall semester, between September and November,” advises Dana A. Williams, dean of the graduate school at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
“Very often, the most competitive programs begin their priority reviews late in the fall semester. So by mid-spring, they have their roster set with what they identify as the top students,” Williams says.
A good time to apply is when applicants know they have the level of focus required to complete a degree successfully, Williams adds.
“It might be immediately following an undergraduate program, after a semester off, or it might be after you’ve spent some time in the workforce. It also depends on the fields of study, to some degree, and also what you intend to do after graduate school.”
A bad time to apply is when you’re not clear about your career, says Emory Woodard, dean of graduate studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Villanova University in Pennsylvania.
“Do you have to have a specific plan in place? No,” he says. “But you should have a general direction because when you get into graduate school, you are moving towards specialization.”
[How to Get Into Graduate School]
Choosing Between Traditional and Online Education
The more aware students are of their learning style, the better decision they will make choosing between an in-person and online classroom for their graduate studies, Williams says.
“If you know that you have to be in a classroom with other people, if you know you’re a visual learner and you’re an oral learner and you learn well in the community, a traditional program is right for you,” Williams says. “But if you know that you can do it at your own pace, if you are a self-starter, if you’re self-disciplined, if you don’t have the resources or capacity or even the interest in moving to another place, then the online program is there for you.”
Recent opinion surveys indicate that many higher ed professionals, as well as students who have taken in-person and remote courses, view remote higher education favorably and suggest that it’s as good as and in some ways better than learning in a traditional setting.
While the online environment provides a degree of flexibility that a student won’t get in a physical classroom, Woodard says, the traditional in-person setting provides relationship development through face-to-face interaction.
“The energy of the graduate classroom is like no other,” he says. “These are folks who want to be there and are highly invested in learning. So being able to engage with them face to face is an incredibly rich opportunity.”
Some grad students choose hybrid programs that allow them to attend school both virtually and in person.
Struggling Financially
Woodard says applying to grad school early could benefit applicants who are economically disadvantaged.
There are scholarships and grants for grad students, and sometimes paid teaching or research assistantships are available. Financial aid directly from schools is limited and generally awarded as students are accepted.
[READ: 7 Critical Steps to Find the Right Grad School]
“Early applications tend to also mean early access to funding opportunities,” Woodard says, “because a faculty member who has a grant or a faculty member who is looking for a research assistant or a teaching assistant is also looking for a student who is a self-starter, a student who is on top of things.”
Students loans also are available for grad students. They can borrow a maximum of $20,500 a year in federal direct unsubsidized loans and/or Grad PLUS student loans up to the amount of the degree program’s cost minus any other financial aid received.
Applying at an Older Age
A prospective applicant’s work experience — which is often related to age — is likely to be an asset when applying to grad school, Williams says.
The average age of a graduate school applicant in the U.S. is about 33 and hasn’t changed much in recent decades, according to the Council of Graduate Schools, although the number of older nontraditional students has trended up in recent years.
Students who have worked at least 10 years in the field tend to add value to a program, experts say, adding that career insights from such students enrich the dialogue and classroom experience.
“Real-world applications give older students an advantage over students who are coming straight out of undergraduate,” Williams says. “Of course, there are plenty of things where undergrads stand out, like their speed is typically a little bit faster in terms of how they’re processing new information, and familiarity with certain technologies. But there’s no comparison to real-world application and an ability to understand why something is happening.”
Williamson-Lott says some employers pay the tuition of employees who want to go back to school and get a graduate degree.
So when deciding whether to get a graduate degree, she says, “prospective students should see it as an investment in their future earning potential, as well as professional growth that graduate degrees provide — knowledge and skills.”
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4 Things to Know About Graduate School originally appeared on usnews.com
