Creating a Strong Graduate School Application
How to Put Together a Successful Application for Admission
Sep 15, 2009
Applying to graduate school should be thought of as a competition. Limited spaces are available, and applicants have to set themselves apart from others. While a good undergraduate GPA is always an important part of an application, at this point in the process a GPA is set and cannot be changed. If the GPA is not as high as one might like, the applicant can use the rest of the application to make up for this.
Application Process
Most graduate schools now have online applications to fill out that are found at their websites. The majority of schools require applicants to sign up for an account and pay a fee to view and fill out the application. The application asks students to fill out basic fields like social security number and contact information, and then move on to details of the undergraduate career and the degree being sought in graduate school. Questions asked vary from school to school.
Test Scores
Each school is different concerning what test scores they accept. For example, applying to The University of Alabama for admissions into the MFA program requires a certain score on the GRE. A college fifty-five miles down the interstate, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, gives students a choice between submitting GRE scores or MAT scores for admission into the MA program.
The GRE is the most widely accepted test and spans through most areas of study, though some schools will accept MAT for admissions into an English field.
Applicants should research the target school’s requirements before starting to study for the test, and start studying well in advance. Kaplan and the Princeton Review have great study guides for both tests.
All schools will list either an average test score or a minimum test score that will be accepted.
Letters of Recommendation and Personal Statement
These letters are something an applicant should start working on obtaining before the time is here to actually send them in for an application. Building relationships with undergraduate teachers, club sponsors, and mentors is an important networking key. Having successfully built connections up to this point makes finding someone to write letters of recommendation fairly easy. Try for a teacher with a PhD or a strong reputation in his or her field. The more credible the supporter, the more sway he or she can provide.
It is widely believed the cover letter is one of the main deciding factors in the graduate school’s decision to accept or decline a request for admission. It should be well written and clean of grammatical errors, powerful, moving, and persuasive. The goal is to come off as sharp and determined right away and to prove the applicant is a desirable addition to the school. He or she should give specific reasons for choosing that school, as well as specific reasons for choosing that field. Explain future goals and how getting into this program is part of a larger plan. Have several people read over the cover letter for grammar or spelling mistakes, as it is crucial to the application that this letter be impressive.
Many schools will ask specific questions or give a guideline as to what sort of information should be in this letter.
Having a strong application, impressive test scores, convincing letters of recommendation and a persuasive statement of purpose will better chances of acceptance into graduate school.
For more information on getting into graduate school visit The Princeton Review's Guide to Graduate School
 |
