New to All Things Grad School?

[Finwë]

Hello all! I've been lurking for a couple weeks (and learning so much! thanks to all of you for all of your help so far!) but I think I may be waaaayyy earlier in the process than most here so I wanted to ask directly for advice. 

Basically my situation is that I'm an undergrad, currently on leave and will be going back to school in the Fall. I've done two years, but due to a whole string of health issues I basically will be a sophomore when I go back (I've been taking reduced course loads, etc.). I recently have started considering a degree in a bio-related field, perhaps cognitive science or something similar. I started as a computer science major, but I'm really doubting that decision for personal reasons now. All of a sudden, grad school may be in my future which is something that I had never considered (CS majors in my department *rarely* go on to grad school and those are only the ones dead set on academia - usually it's a few years in a startup/industry before they decide to go back). Obviously I don't know one way or another yet, but I thought I would start to "learn the language" of grad school so that I wouldn't have to play catch up (as much) later especially since it seems *everyone* at my school already is preparing/dead set on it and I literally only figured out what the GRE in the past month. I'm a first-gen student and hadn't ever really had a personal relationship with anyone with even a BA/BS before going to university, so I am really starting from zero both in actual knowledge and cultural understanding of all of this. I know I'm way far away from worrying about specifics like where I want to apply, doing actual GRE prep, etc. but do any of you have advice/resources that are more along the lines of "Grad School 101"? Basically, what are the things that I should be thinking about at this point? What should I be considering when thinking about whether grad school may or may not be for me? Are there any good books/websites that cover the necessary jargon that I need to know?

Sorry that this is so broad, but I thought it might be worth an ask since everything seems to be targeted at people who have already decided on grad school. Also, I hope this is the right place to post this, but if not, a pointer in the right direction would be appreciated! Many thanks in advance

[Extra Espresso]

There are several things you can do now to set yourself up well for your future applications if you end up deciding to apply to graduate school later down the road. 

1. Keep your grades up! This goes for getting a job post graduate school as well, but GPA tends to be a reasonably large factor in the admissions process. The most important classes will be those related to your field of study, but you will also want to have the highest overall GPA you can manage. 

2. Start/maintain strong relationships with a few of your professors. Talk to them during their office hours, go above and beyond in their class, chat with them regularly, create relationships with them. When the graduate school application process rolls around, you are going to need professors to write recommendation letters for you where they vouch that you are an amazing student and have strong potential to succeed in graduate school. The best letters come from professors that actually know you well and can speak to their personal relationship with you. 

3. If you end up in a lab research-centric field (like biology), start in undergraduate research as soon as you can. The best way to do this is to poke around on professor and department websites and search for their research blurbs. Read through those until you get a feel for the types of work that interests you. Obviously your interests are going to be broad and undefined at this point - that is absolutely fine. Just find a few things that sound fun and roll with it!

Reach out to those professors (either by email or by actually going to their office) and ask if they have any openings for an undergraduate research assistant. Be persistent! It is HIGHLY unlikely that you will be able to get into the lab of the first person you talk to (depending on your department/university), but you will get absolutely no where if you don't try.

The easiest professors to get in with are ones who you have had class with and already have a good relationship with (see #2), so you can always start there!

4. Use your summers wisely - do something with your summer breaks that is meaningful. This can be a summer internship, a volunteer experience, an outreach program, a study abroad term, or something similar. Whatever you do should be something that gives you a new experience and helps you grow as a person. Get out there, explore, try something brand new, broaden your horizons, all those cliches. Not only will you grow, but you'll get a better feel for who you are and what you want you want to do, and you'll also have something to talk about in that beast of a personal statement you eventually have to write.

Summer internships are an amazing way to get some research experience. If you are having difficulties getting into a lab at school, look for an internship that typically takes students with little research experience and use that as your springboard into the field. Internships are also a great way to explore research that's different from what you are doing at school and can help you narrow your broad research interests!

5. Do something with the research you're doing. Publications are the gold shining star of a graduate school application, but it can be extremely difficult to publish your research as an undergraduate (this depends on your lab). Whether or not you are going to be able to get a paper out of your research, try to find avenues to present it. Most research universities offer some type of undergraduate research symposium where undergrads present what they've been working on. There are also regional conferences as a part of the big national societies that students frequently present at. You can also present at a national conference (depending on your lab)! This is also an option with any research you do over the summer - be sure to talk to the people you intern/work with to see if that is an option. 

6. Get involved with something you are passionate about outside of the classroom. So now that I've harped on the huge importance of research, I can move on to the other stuff. Do something outside of your classes/research that you are excited about. This can be band, sports, outreach to local schools, volunteering at a food pantry, working for the school newspaper, photography, something.

Get involved and not just on the surface level. Show commitment to the activity/organization. Take on a leadership role, branch out and start a new organization, or something along those lines that shows it is important to you. The goal here is to show that you are a real person with interests outside of school and also that you are committed and motivated. It's much, much better to be deeply involved in a select few things you are passionate about than to be barely involved in twenty different activities. 

7. Look into awards, prestigious scholarships, etc. that you may qualify for. There are tons of awards and scholarships out there that will recognize you for all of the hard work you have been putting in. Depending on what your interests/fields are, you can join honor societies like Phi Kappa Phi or Phi Beta Kappa or field-specific ones. You can apply for the Goldwater Scholarship when you have one to two years of college remaining if you stay in STEM. There's also Fulbright, Truman, Marshall, Rhodes, Gates Cambridge, and a whole slew of other prestigious scholarships that you can look into applying to. A lot of professional societies also have undergraduate awards and scholarships that you can consider for your individual field.

Your university probably has an office/person to assist people in applying for these types of awards, and I definitely encourage you to find them and talk to them about your options! There are also specific awards for minorities if that applies to you and first generation college students. While these are not nearly as important to your application as a strong research background and recommendation letters, they can definitely be extra jewels in the crown. 

8. Keep track of everything that you are doing. You are going to be busy during college with lots of class, activities, research, and summer plans! Start a resume, CV, and list of classes (with course number, full title, number of credits, professor, textbook, your grade in the class, and a one-line blurb about what you did in the class). You can find good templates online for a resume and CV, or you can talk to the career office at your school for help. You will thank yourself later for starting early because it's so much easier to remember all of the details about your involvement when it's actually happening than three or four years down the line! 

9. Keep in mind the components of the graduate school application so you can plan ahead as necessary. For every field, your graduate school application is going to have several key components: GPA (major and overall), GRE scores (verbal, quantitative, and writing), two to three recommendation letters from faculty, a CV, and a personal statement. For some fields, you may also need a subject GRE score, a writing sample, and/or a portfolio of your work. This is why I said keep your grades up (#1), have good relationships with faculty (#2), do research (#3 - 5), and start your CV early (#8). 

10. Do your research! When you reach your junior year (probably the spring of your junior year), you should start thinking about what grad school programs you might be interested in, what you want to study, and what you need to prepare for your applications. You should also think about when you want to take the GRE and set up a study plan. I won't go into more detail here because there's TONS of information about both of these things on the site, and that's still a while away for you. 

11. Take a deep breath and enjoy college.  I gave you tons of advice here, but the last thing you need to do is stress out. By already thinking about what you need to do to prepare for grad school, you're way ahead of the game and you're going to be just fine. Take the time to enjoy your college experience because undergrad can be a whole lot of fun, and you don't want to miss out on that! GOOD LUCK!  

[Neist]

I, too, am a first-generation college attendee, and I've had to dig through quite a bit of information to educate myself. If you're looking for a really basic introduction to the graduate application process, I'd suggest a Graduate Admissions Essays by Donald Asher. It covers far more than essays, and I found it to be useful. The McNair program director at my current university held a graduate school prep course and this book was the course's only text.

Do you have any specific questions? I'm more than happy to tell you what I can, and if you want to do so privately, feel free to send me a private message.

Edit: Speaking of McNair Scholars, you should see if your university has a representative. Their incredibly useful, and often if you participate in one of their programs, many universities waive application fees. Their specific purpose to help people like you and me.  

Edited March 24, 2016 by Neist

[nutella]

@Finwë I'm a 1st gen citizen and although much of my family is educated, they don't know much about the US education system, especially at the university level. Since HS, I have relied on speaking with teachers about my education. When I was in my undergrad and wanted to learn more about career options and grad school, I first talked to my professors. They have always been so supportive and great sources of information. I studied then took the GREs, edited my writing sample, then started looking for programs to apply to. I would visit the websites of different programs to learn more about the program and see what they look for in an applicant, the degree requirements, if one or more faculty members have the same interests as me, and what the alumni have accomplished. I also contacted faculty at several programs to discuss the program in detail.

If you googled how to get into grad school, I'm sure you would find a few helpful pointers on how to study for the GREs, select schools to apply to, and prepare your applications so you can try and set a timeline for yourself. I would also consider how much money you have to spend on this - studying and registering for the GREs, sending GRE scores, application fees, and transcript fees. It can get very expensive!

Hope this helps!

Edited March 24, 2016 by catsandmarathons

[savay]

@Finwë Somewhat similar to Neist's grad prep course, my school had some sessions on graduate school -- what it was, why you might want to go, and the application process. I would look for similar informational sessions within your department or a department in the field you may be interested in studying. If you have a faculty advisor, or a faculty member you feel comfortable with, scheduling some time to talk with them about grad school is also helpful. As your interests continue to develop, finding faculty at your school who are doing research you find interesting, reaching out to talk to them about next steps is also a really good idea. They may also be able to help you identify programs that would suit your interests when you actually reach application time. 

[hippyscientist]

My advice would be have a look at the webpages of programs you might be interested in - see if it sounds like you'd like to do it. Find out if there's funding. Find out if you think you could see yourself in that program. If you decide it's not for you you've saved yourself a lot of drama, if you decide it is then you can have a look at GRE stuff and finding out more information. For the application process, a lot is going to be program specific but general outlines are all over these forums. But yes, my advice is: have a look at all sorts of programs in the area you'd be interested in. See if it excites you. Then talk to others. Talk to your professors to see if they think you're capable. Do you think you're capable? Do you need to work for a few years to save for application fees? I am not from the US, and am relatively unfamiliar with its processes. I've found everything I've needed online, just through google.

[hippyscientist]

5 hours ago, Extra Espresso said:

There are several things you can do now to set yourself up well for your future applications if you end up deciding to apply to graduate school later down the road. 

1. Keep your grades up! This goes for getting a job post graduate school as well, but GPA tends to be a reasonably large factor in the admissions process. The most important classes will be those related to your field of study, but you will also want to have the highest overall GPA you can manage. 

2. Start/maintain strong relationships with a few of your professors. Talk to them during their office hours, go above and beyond in their class, chat with them regularly, create relationships with them. When the graduate school application process rolls around, you are going to need professors to write recommendation letters for you where they vouch that you are an amazing student and have strong potential to succeed in graduate school. The best letters come from professors that actually know you well and can speak to their personal relationship with you. 

3. If you end up in a lab research-centric field (like biology), start in undergraduate research as soon as you can. The best way to do this is to poke around on professor and department websites and search for their research blurbs. Read through those until you get a feel for the types of work that interests you. Obviously your interests are going to be broad and undefined at this point - that is absolutely fine. Just find a few things that sound fun and roll with it!

Reach out to those professors (either by email or by actually going to their office) and ask if they have any openings for an undergraduate research assistant. Be persistent! It is HIGHLY unlikely that you will be able to get into the lab of the first person you talk to (depending on your department/university), but you will get absolutely no where if you don't try.

The easiest professors to get in with are ones who you have had class with and already have a good relationship with (see #2), so you can always start there!

4. Use your summers wisely - do something with your summer breaks that is meaningful. This can be a summer internship, a volunteer experience, an outreach program, a study abroad term, or something similar. Whatever you do should be something that gives you a new experience and helps you grow as a person. Get out there, explore, try something brand new, broaden your horizons, all those cliches. Not only will you grow, but you'll get a better feel for who you are and what you want you want to do, and you'll also have something to talk about in that beast of a personal statement you eventually have to write.

Summer internships are an amazing way to get some research experience. If you are having difficulties getting into a lab at school, look for an internship that typically takes students with little research experience and use that as your springboard into the field. Internships are also a great way to explore research that's different from what you are doing at school and can help you narrow your broad research interests!

5. Do something with the research you're doing. Publications are the gold shining star of a graduate school application, but it can be extremely difficult to publish your research as an undergraduate (this depends on your lab). Whether or not you are going to be able to get a paper out of your research, try to find avenues to present it. Most research universities offer some type of undergraduate research symposium where undergrads present what they've been working on. There are also regional conferences as a part of the big national societies that students frequently present at. You can also present at a national conference (depending on your lab)! This is also an option with any research you do over the summer - be sure to talk to the people you intern/work with to see if that is an option. 

6. Get involved with something you are passionate about outside of the classroom. So now that I've harped on the huge importance of research, I can move on to the other stuff. Do something outside of your classes/research that you are excited about. This can be band, sports, outreach to local schools, volunteering at a food pantry, working for the school newspaper, photography, something.

Get involved and not just on the surface level. Show commitment to the activity/organization. Take on a leadership role, branch out and start a new organization, or something along those lines that shows it is important to you. The goal here is to show that you are a real person with interests outside of school and also that you are committed and motivated. It's much, much better to be deeply involved in a select few things you are passionate about than to be barely involved in twenty different activities. 

7. Look into awards, prestigious scholarships, etc. that you may qualify for. There are tons of awards and scholarships out there that will recognize you for all of the hard work you have been putting in. Depending on what your interests/fields are, you can join honor societies like Phi Kappa Phi or Phi Beta Kappa or field-specific ones. You can apply for the Goldwater Scholarship when you have one to two years of college remaining if you stay in STEM. There's also Fulbright, Truman, Marshall, Rhodes, Gates Cambridge, and a whole slew of other prestigious scholarships that you can look into applying to. A lot of professional societies also have undergraduate awards and scholarships that you can consider for your individual field.

Your university probably has an office/person to assist people in applying for these types of awards, and I definitely encourage you to find them and talk to them about your options! There are also specific awards for minorities if that applies to you and first generation college students. While these are not nearly as important to your application as a strong research background and recommendation letters, they can definitely be extra jewels in the crown. 

8. Keep track of everything that you are doing. You are going to be busy during college with lots of class, activities, research, and summer plans! Start a resume, CV, and list of classes (with course number, full title, number of credits, professor, textbook, your grade in the class, and a one-line blurb about what you did in the class). You can find good templates online for a resume and CV, or you can talk to the career office at your school for help. You will thank yourself later for starting early because it's so much easier to remember all of the details about your involvement when it's actually happening than three or four years down the line! 

9. Keep in mind the components of the graduate school application so you can plan ahead as necessary. For every field, your graduate school application is going to have several key components: GPA (major and overall), GRE scores (verbal, quantitative, and writing), two to three recommendation letters from faculty, a CV, and a personal statement. For some fields, you may also need a subject GRE score, a writing sample, and/or a portfolio of your work. This is why I said keep your grades up (#1), have good relationships with faculty (#2), do research (#3 - 5), and start your CV early (#8). 

10. Do your research! When you reach your junior year (probably the spring of your junior year), you should start thinking about what grad school programs you might be interested in, what you want to study, and what you need to prepare for your applications. You should also think about when you want to take the GRE and set up a study plan. I won't go into more detail here because there's TONS of information about both of these things on the site, and that's still a while away for you. 

11. Take a deep breath and enjoy college.  I gave you tons of advice here, but the last thing you need to do is stress out. By already thinking about what you need to do to prepare for grad school, you're way ahead of the game and you're going to be just fine. Take the time to enjoy your college experience because undergrad can be a whole lot of fun, and you don't want to miss out on that! GOOD LUCK!  

Excellent and comprehensive answer! Do this @Finwë