Websites for grad school searches

[halliejo]

For undergrads there are several websites like College Board, Zinch, College Prowler, etc. to aid in searching, comparing, and compiling information.  I'll admit I didn't use these a ton when applying to undergrad, but as I'm looking for grad schools I wish there was something similar...I know Zinch does have some information on Master's programs, but I can't seem to sort for only Master's degrees.  Plus, I'm not sure if all schools are on their site.

 

I have a few field-specific resources for researching grad school and I've started my own spreadsheet, but I was just curious as to whether or not something like this existed.

 

Thanks!

[CagedBird]

gradschools.com...helped me out a lot when I was choosing programs

[LittleDarlings]

I used petersons.com

It was helpful with the demographic and the number of acceptances each year compared to rejections. I also looked at the schools websites and sent out emails with any questions I had.

[Vejas]

Do you think the acceptance rates reported on petersons.com are accurate? According to them, NYU Department of Psychology has an acceptance rate of 45%. That cannot possibly be true, can it? 

[microarray]

i personally think it's better to think about where you'd like to live and look at all schools in that state. Look at the departments you're interested in and at the PI's. Is anyone researching something you'd like to research? I fail to see how a generic website with stats will help you determine where to go.

[dat_nerd]

I started with the US News rankings, and then compiled information by hand from there. I also attended career fairs where grad school representatives were present and could provide me with more detailed information. My undergraduate advisors were also extremely helpful in helping me understand each school's department culture and research focuses.

[sarab]

I started by asking my thesis adviser to recommend me some grad schools (ended applying to 3 that he recommended). After that I looked at gradschools.com and graduate-school.phds.org

 

I recommend simply looking up people who have done significant contributions to your field and see where they work. 

[jellyfish1]

Sometimes academic/professional societies will have lists on their websites. As a historical archaeologist, I used the list on the Society of Historical Archaeology's website has in depth descriptions of grad schools that specialize in different types of historical archaeology (http://www.sha.org/students_teachers/higher_education.cfm), and I'd imagine other sites might have similar things. These can also be good places to look for fellowships/scholarships.

[Lisa44201]

Do you think the acceptance rates reported on petersons.com are accurate? According to them, NYU Department of Psychology has an acceptance rate of 45%. That cannot possibly be true, can it? 

That does sound a bit optimistic, doesn't it?

 

In my field US News rankings mean virtually nothing. People who are good research fits aren't necessarily at the big-name schools. Additionally, there have been a few news articles lately about colleges falsifying the data they report in order to get higher rankings. See http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/02/18/flagler-college-admits-vice-president-changed-admissions-statistics

[Vejas]

That does sound a bit optimistic, doesn't it?

 

In my field US News rankings mean virtually nothing. People who are good research fits aren't necessarily at the big-name schools. Additionally, there have been a few news articles lately about colleges falsifying the data they report in order to get higher rankings. See http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/02/18/flagler-college-admits-vice-president-changed-admissions-statistics

 

Unless they also included NYU masters programmes. I've heard of people being rejected for a PhD but receiving an offer for an unfunded masters (ha ha ha). It might be possible that NYU admits a lot of people knowing that only a small percentage of those will actually choose to enrol? 

[halliejo]

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

I have been looking at specific program websites and reading faculty bios but if I didn't have to compile basic information about the programs myself, that would be great.