Five Tips to Help Pass the Application Process for Graduate School - Best Value Schools

Grad School Application Tips

• Test Preparation
• Mock Interviews
• Fruitful Essays
• Recommendation Letters
• Review, Review, and More Review!

Going through the graduate school application process can often be extremely overwhelming and tedious. After all, it involves an endless and time-consuming research accompanied by a busy timeline where one must fill out, proofread, and submit their packages. So, what are some ways that people can maximize the odds of coming out of the application process victorious?

1. Test Preparation

The vast majority of graduate programs will require prospective students to demonstrate their knowledge. This step is utilized to quantify the student's capabilities as they most likely obtained their bachelor's degree from another institution. This is where the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE), which is the most common entry-level test for graduate programs, is going to come up. Thus, individuals that want to increase their chances of getting accepted should start by getting high scores on the GRE. This will help jump-start the graduate school application process and raise one's optimism!

2. Mock Interviews

Depending on the degree plan that someone chooses, they may have to attend interviews with their future professors, mentors, or advisors. Nearly all medicine-based graduate schools, per se, take advantage of interviews as they have a very limited number of spots that must be filled. Thus, prospective graduate students should do mock interviews that imitate the real process and use questions that are most likely to come up. Doing this will allow the candidate to become more familiar with the venture and get rid of any stage fright that may present itself during the real interview.

3. Fruitful Essays

It is practically impossible to describe a process for applying to a graduate school that will not include a few essay questions. In fact, it is not even likely to see an undergraduate college application that requires no essays from the candidate. After all, one of the easiest ways to evaluate the prospective student's maturity and knowledge is by employing open-ended questions that require genuine thoughts and effort. Consequently, graduate applicants should practice essay writing as well as do some reading on how to construct fruitful paragraphs that will intrigue the reader.

4. Recommendation Letters

Besides the mandatory essays, almost every graduate program will ask to see no less than two recommendation letters. Generally speaking, one should find people who know their academic capabilities and ask for a recommendation. For example, having a former professor write a letter of this nature will look much more impressive than asking a random associate to do it. In order to ensure proper timeliness is taking place, the candidate should request their letters at least four to six weeks ere the deadline for submission. This allows enough time to guarantee that they are properly turned in.

5. Review, Review, and More Review!

Ultimately, every graduate application package will include a long checklist that references most of the aforementioned factors. Thus, the student should review their entire submission at least two to three times before turning it in. This means proofreading all of the essays, ensuring that the recommendation letters are turned in, going through the questionnaires again, and so on. Moreover, the student should be aware of everything that has been cited on their application in case that the recruiter brings something up during the interview. That way, no discrepancies will be noticed and one's odds of getting accepting immediately go up.

According to the Forbes Magazine, the candidate's main goal should be to stand apart from every other student. Therefore, starting the graduate school application process with the previous five tips in mind should put one ahead of those who may not be familiar with the endeavor.