How to apply and survive while
avoiding common pitfalls.
Why might someone want to
go to grad school?

 Grad school is not for everyone.
 What should you ask yourself to determine if it’s
right for you?
 What type of career am I seeking?
 What are the degrees required for this career in my
field?
 Where do I see myself in five to ten years?
Why should someone choose
to go to grad school?

 To learn more
 To enhance his or her marketability
 To obtain a particular job after graduation
Reasons NOT to go to Grad School

 It is your default decision if you don’t find a job.
 Caviat: largely depends on the state of the economy
 You are burnt out on school when you graduate.
 You want to put those coveted letters after your
name.
 You want to be called “Dr. (your name here) ”.
Advanced Degrees:
Pros and Cons

Pros
 Become more specialized
within your field  more
expertise (valuable
knowledge)
 Can defer undergrad loan
payments upon proof of
full-time enrollment in
graduate program
 Can be paid to go to
school
Cons
 Become more specialized
within your field 
overqualified for some jobs
 limited employment
 (Potentially) accrue more
loans in lieu of pursuing
advanced degree
 Can often earn much
higher salary in industry
So I think I want to be a
grad student…

Application Process: How to manage
your time and optimize your success!
Application Timeline
Application Timeline

Beginning Application
Process

 Decide what type of program you want to apply to
 ME: Master of Engineering, basically just take more classes
in your interest (no thesis, but maybe final project)
 MS: Master of Science, take classes and do research (thesis)
 PhD: Doctor of Philosophy, some classes, but lots of
research
 Decide on ~4 (realistic) schools
 Don’t overload yourself!
 Determine requirements and make a spreadsheet of what
each school wants and when it’s due.
Standardized Tests

 Most common: GRE
 Verbal Reasoning (800 pts, minor trig, no calculus)
 Quantitative Reasoning (800 pts, large vocab words,
written by walking dictionaries)
 Analytical Writing (meh…)
 Shoot for around 1300
 Can take GRE once every 30 days, but not more than 5
or 6 times a year.
 Others: GMAT, LSAT, MCAT
Application Materials

 Transcripts (degree-granting institution and transfer
credit institutions)
 Reference letters (at least 3)
 Professors
 Bosses
 Organization faculty sponsors
 Statement of Purpose
 Other essays may be required, depending on school
and program applying to.
Funding

 If doing research for the university, you can be considered an
employee or staff.
 RA: Research Assistantship (usually given by a professor who
will fund you to work for him/her)
 GA: Graduate Assistantship (could be given by a professor, but
usually involves more departmental duties, i.e. maintaining
department computer networks, being a grader for a class, etc.)
 TA: Teaching Assistantship
 May be given to students in ME as well as students in MS or PhD
 Requires some form of teaching and grading assignments
 All typically involve tuition remission as well as some form of
health insurance.
Funding (continued)

 Fellowships are packages of funding, usually nationallyawarded
 Some departmental or university-wide fellowships exist
as well
 Advantages of fellowships
 Typically larger stipend than assistantships
 Independent funding
 Choose your own research
 Not tied to a specific professor or grant
 Health insurance and sum of money to be used to travel
expenses (conferences, etc.)
Preparation Starts as
Early as Freshman Year

 Objective: gain as much experience as possible to make yourself as
marketable as possible before applying to grad school
 Things that selection committees like to see
 Solid GPA (at least 3.0, 3.5 or above is preferable)
 Various schools will post the stats (GRE and GPA) for previous
successful applicants on their website.






Involvement in student organizations (like SWE!)
Volunteerism (like Girl Scout Day, Habitat for Humanity, etc.)
Undergraduate research of some kind
Internships (especially research-based)
Study abroad
Anything that shows you are a proactive, responsible, intelligent
person!
Resources

 Undergrad research opportunities



http://essap.tamu.edu/usrg/
http://www.cse.tamu.edu/reu
http://cyclotron.tamu.edu/reu/reu2011.php
 Fellowships


http://www.gradschools.com/article-detail/graduate-fellowships-1676
http://graduateschool.ufl.edu/files/nsf-grfp-2012.pdf

NSF-GRFP
 Statements of Purpose


http://www.statementofpurpose.com/colleges.html
http://www.graduatingengineer.com/higher-education/20021120/The-Statementof-Purpose
 GRE prep


http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/about?WT.ac=grehome_about_b_121009
Fun games!


http://gre.tyrannosaurusprep.com/Vocabulary/Quiz-Games
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/vocabmania.htm