| The Graduate School Search Process | | | | or four programs that best match your |
| | | | graduate school preferences. |
| Once you are close to achieving your | | | | |
| undergraduate degree, it's time to begin a | | | | Contact existing students - Now that you have |
| graduate school search to lead you to the | | | | a smaller pool of options, consider |
| next level of your education. Of course, with | | | | contacting current students participating in |
| degree completion activities taking most of | | | | the program you wish to join. Most schools |
| your time,you may find it difficult to launch | | | | will be happy to put you in contact with a |
| a comprehensive graduate school search that | | | | student who can answer your questions about |
| will net you the best options for pursuing | | | | the program's courses, instructors and |
| your career. Knowing how to establish your | | | | overall value. |
| parameters and search efficiently can make | | | | |
| the process easier and will lead to better | | | | Visit the campus - Along with making |
| results in a shorter period of time. | | | | telephone or internet contact with the |
| | | | schools you are considering, your graduate |
| Graduate School Search Made Easy | | | | school search should include a trip to the |
| | | | campus itself. Unless you are considering the |
| Know your objectives - The first step to | | | | prospect of online or distance learning, |
| finding the right program through a graduate | | | | getting a feel for the physical environment |
| school search is to write down exactly what | | | | can play an important role in your final |
| you want from a graduate program. Location, | | | | decision. |
| internship eligibilities, highly regarded | | | | |
| instructors - decide which factors are most | | | | Re-evaluate your choices - Once your have a |
| important and create a list of priorities. | | | | more personal view of each graduate program, |
| | | | take a minute to compare your field of |
| Consult an online graduate school search | | | | choices once more. Now that you have |
| guide - Before you can narrow down your | | | | additional information, it may be possible to |
| selection, you'll want to get as much | | | | eliminate some of the programs from your |
| information as possible on many diverse | | | | graduate school search. If you have a clear |
| graduate programs. Using an online search | | | | front-runner, it may be that you have already |
| program can help you to get a lot of | | | | found the school of your choice. |
| information in a short amount of time. | | | | |
| Request information packages from at least 10 | | | | Sleep on it awhile - Whether or not you |
| different programs to provide a variety of | | | | believe you have found the right graduate |
| options. Further research may provide some | | | | school program, take a little time before |
| opportunities that you wouldn't have been | | | | making your final decision. Choosing a school |
| aware of prior to your graduate school | | | | will affect your life significantly and you |
| search. | | | | don't want to be impulsive about it. If, |
| | | | after a week or so, you still feel confident |
| Narrow your options - Once you have obtained | | | | in your choice, your graduate school search |
| the information from the various schools you | | | | has ended! If you still need more time, or |
| contacted via the graduate school search | | | | more information, go back to the programs you |
| guide, you can perform a comparison based on | | | | most prefer or start over with step one. |
| your initial objectives. Select the top three | | | | |