Application Timelines

TIMELINES AND PLANNING FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL

Getting into graduate school is a process and should be taken seriously.  Given the decline in the employment market, applications to graduate school have risen sharply.  Therefore, the competition for those hoping to be accepted has become greater.  Allow about a year before your anticipated start date to begin the process of applying.  If you are applying to schools of Medical or other Health-related fields, Dental, Law, or Veterinary Medicine, you will want to start 18 months ahead.  Here are some tips for your application process:

  1. Get started early.  Spend the summer after your junior year (or spring semester of your junior year) researching various programs, and eliminate those that don’t meet your needs.  Ideally, you should have a target list of graduate programs in September of your senior year.  If you are not planning to go to graduate school immediately after graduation, PLAN AHEAD.  You still need to allow 1+ year for the application process.

  2. Generate a solid list of those schools to which you wish to apply.  These should include a couple of “reach” schools (those schools that may be long-shots, but you may have experience that meets their admission criteria), a couple of schools where you have a good chance of being accepted, and a couple of schools that you are almost sure of having a place in the entering class.

  3. Ask for a course catalog (hard copy sent to you, or accessible online), application for admission and financial aid information from each school.  Carefully note the deadline for admission.

  4. Investigate what information you need to include with your applications.  In most (but not all) cases, you will need to take standardized tests, complete an application, write essays, get your transcript(s) from the Registrar’s Office of each college you have attended, and request letters of recommendation from faculty and others who can speak to your ability to work at the graduate level.  In some cases, you may need a resumé, so plan to attend a resumé workshop and work with a career counselor to polish it.

  5. Plan to have your applications submitted at least one month earlier than the deadline given by each program.  As most students apply within two weeks of the deadline, an earlier application has a much better chance of being checked for all materials by the admission committee, allowing you to provide any missing information before the deadline.

  6. Build yourself a timeline for the admission process.  This should include enough time to register for and to take any standardized testing that is necessary for admission (GRE, GMAT, MCAT, MAT, LSAT, etc.), and to have your scores arrive at the schools by the date required.  Either at registration for your exam or at the completion of the exam you will be able to choose those schools you wish to receive your test scores.

  7. Draft your application essays/personal statements/letters of intent.  These will probably differ slightly for each school.  If you do write an essay that you plan to use for multiple applications, BE SURE to change the name of the school in each essay before you send it out.

  8. Have someone review and proof your written work.  This is essential, as you will be judged not only on what you have to say, but how well you convey your ideas.  There is no excuse for typographical errors.  Remember that this work shows the admission committee your interest in an area of study as well as your ability to think and write clearly at the graduate level.

  9. Ask your reference writers if they will be willing to write you a letter for your applications.  Let them know you will be providing them with further information (your resumé, transcript, and a copy of the reference form) at a later date.  Give your reference writers plenty of time to complete your reference form (at least a month), as they may get more requests than just yours.

  10. Take the standardized tests required and arrange for any additional score reports to be sent to your schools.

  11. Complete your application form.  For a hard copy form, make a copy of the form first, fill out the copy to insure you have enough room for your answers, then complete the original form.  Have someone review this form for completeness.  If your application is online, reviewing the form yourself or having someone review it for you before you hit the send button is essential.

  12. Request that your transcript(s) be sent to your schools from the Registrar’s Office.  Plan enough time to have these arrive by the due date.  Inquire about obtaining original transcripts from a school where you studied abroad, or if your Saint Michael's College transcript including these courses will suffice. The process of obtaining a transcript from abroad can sometimes take months.

  13. Provide your reference writers with the forms from each school along with addressed, stamped envelopes for them to mail the letters either to you or directly to each institution.  This will vary depending on the needs of each graduate program, so make sure you know what each school expects.  You may also want to include a resumé and an unofficial transcript for each reference writer so they don’t have to hunt for that information.  If your reference writer is a faculty member, include a list of your courses/projects/papers/grades in the classes you took from them.  Also ask to have the letters prepared and sent at least two weeks before your application due date to allow for slippage time in preparation.

  14. Utilize the resources you have available here on campus – your faculty, the SMC Graduate Programs Office, and the Office of Career Development.

  15. If you are starting your graduate school search and application process later in your senior year, make an appointment to meet with a career counselor to discuss options and a condensed timeline for the process.