As the job market continuously becomes competitive, many students are choosing to go to graduate school to get master’s degrees. However, master’s programs can be extremely expensive and difficult to get into. Besides those drawbacks, students have to find a program that is in their area of interest, which can be difficult since master’s programs tend to be highly specialized. This article will provide some tips for finding the perfect master’s program with minimal stress.
Before applying to graduate school, it is important to weigh the pros and cons for getting a master’s degrees. People get master’s degrees for the following reasons: a promotion, higher pay, to change careers, updated knowledge in one’s field, to make contacts, to stand out in the job market, and to simply enhance one’s education. Some drawbacks to get a master’s degree are: they’re highly competitive, students may have high student debt, an advanced degree may make a student overqualified for some jobs, location of school may be inconvenient, housing issues, writing a master’s thesis is extremely difficult, this degree takes away two to four years of one’s life, and most importantly stress.
If the pros outweigh the cons, then read on.
U.S. News, the publisher of the annual Best Colleges lists, recommends beginning the search for the perfect school six months before applying.
The first step to finding the perfect graduate school is to hit the internet. For this article, it will be assumed that the student knows what subject he or she wants to study. One good way to start is to search for “top (insert subject here) graduate programs.” This should generate several websites containing lists that some expert or experts put together of 10 to 50 graduate programs throughout the country or even the world. While someone could just start blindly searching on Google for master’s programs, not all programs are created equal. Some programs are not fully accredited, and they may not be accepted as valid degrees. Furthermore, colleges with better reputations are more likely to land students a job after graduation.
Next, look through the schools and see what jumps out. It could be the location (i.e. New York City), name of the university (i.e. Harvard), or anything else that strikes the student’s fancy. Location is very important in deciding on a program. Studying in a city environment means housing is more readily available, but cost of living may be higher and there could be more distractions than in a more rural location.
After making a list of about 20 to 25 schools, it’s time for some reading. Some master’s programs are designed to be terminal degrees which immediately prepare students for that particular profession. Terminal master’s degrees are less focused on research and more focused on actual career training and readiness. However, terminal degrees do not prepare students for a doctorate, which is a consideration, if the student would consider becoming a professor someday. Non-terminal master’s degrees are meant to prepare a student for a doctorate, usually at the same university. Students should talk to people in their prospective field to see if a doctorate or terminal master’s degree is preferred.
The next step is to find a program that suits the student’s interests. Graduate programs are more specialized than undergraduate programs, so it’s very important to pick one that fits. For example, if a student is trying to find a journalism school and is interested in broadcast journalism as opposed to print journalism, the student should select a school that has a broadcast program.
Then students have to look at some very depressing numbers: tuition and acceptance rates. The average cost of business graduate school for four years is $102,355 according to John A. Byrne at Poetsandquants.com, a site dedicated to helping students interested in business graduate school learn about different programs. That cost doubles for law students who end up paying about $285,000 for four years according to Am Law Daily.
Fortunately, at some colleges, fellowships are offered to some graduate students. Fellowships allow the graduate student to teach freshmen level undergraduate classes or be an assistant to a professor while the student takes graduate classes. The student can have tuition waived and be given a stipend. To apply for these positions, students have to fill out an additional application along with their master’s program application.
Unfortunately, online students who do not live on campus do not qualify for fellowships. For these students and those who didn’t get a fellowship, there are many scholarships and grants available through the school and from outside sources. As a last resort, student loans are an option.
Acceptance rates can also be a deciding factor when applying. Graduate programs are much more competitive than undergraduate programs. According to U.S. News, Ivy League schools such as Harvard and Dartmouth have an acceptance rate of less than 10 percent. It’s a good idea to apply to some prestigious and competitive programs as well as some “safety schools.” Safety schools are not a student’s first choice, but in case Harvard and Yale don’t work out the student will still have somewhere to go in the fall.
Once the field is narrowed down to about ten schools, try talking to some people who completed the program. A simple Facebook search should turn up pages for the graduate schools where students can contact current graduate students and alumni. Perhaps even more important is for the student to find people working in his/her field of interest and shadow someone at work. As mentioned before, graduate school is a huge investment so a student must be positive that this is the right field to get into.
Students at the University who are interested in graduate school should check out the Career Planning page athttp://www.saintleo.edu/resources/career-planning.aspx or see Career Planning in Saint Edward’s Hall room 102.
