How to apply to graduate school

By Dorian Young

Are you currently looking to apply to graduate school?

It’s a never-ending cycle of what-ifs: What if I pick the wrong school? What if this program isn’t right for me? How can I stand out? Can I afford it? Most importantly, do I have what it takes for graduate school?

Who better to talk to than the Director of Graduate Admission for the Hood College Graduate School Tanith Fowler and the Dean of the Hood College Graduate School April Boulton?

Boulton has been at the graduate school for seven years, and Fowler for four. They are both women who work to make the Hood College Graduate School a beneficial place of learning for those seeking to continue their higher education.

“At the grad school, we typically look for qualified and well-rounded candidates,” Fowler said. “What helps an individual stand out is an overall strong application as demonstrated by their stated interest and experience or background and career goals.”

While it looks like graduate schools are considering a candidate’s entire application, a lot of decision making relies on the personal statement.

In recent years, graduate school enrollment growth has increased far more than originally projected before the coronavirus pandemic. In 2019, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) projected enrollment would increase by 0.2% yearly from 2020 to 2030. Instead, enrollment grew by 2.4% in 2020 and 2.1% in 2021. Now more than ever students are applying to graduate school.

Fowler and Boulton explained there are several advantages to attending graduate school, especially for individuals who will be fresh from her undergraduate programs.

Fowler said the biggest benefit graduate school has to offer is career development.

“The biggest response we get [to the question] ‘Why do you want to go to graduate school?’ is to further their professional careers,” Fowler said. “So we kind of try to target our programs to that.”

Internship opportunities and connections to staff and those working in the graduate programs’ fields of study are two major things the graduate school offers to help in this case.

The second major benefit of graduate school is for those looking to leave their post-secondary education with a higher salary.

“A lot of fields, if you look at the average or median salary for someone with a bachelor’s degree versus a master’s degree, you’ll see quite a jump in the master’s degree holder,” Boulton said.

There are some exceptions, however. It depends on the field of work.

“A number of computing and STEM fields [see] bachelor’s folks come out and earn six-digit salaries,” Boulton explained.

Without a master’s degree, many individuals are a step down from others applying to the same work positions in their respective field, earn less and lack certain qualifications for specific positions.

According to Boulton and Fowler, two of the biggest benefits for someone applying to graduate school as a current undergraduate student or recent graduate are time and money.

When you transition from an undergraduate to a graduate program, you don’t have to take as many courses and you’re waived from most introduction and foundation courses, Boulton explained. This reduces the amount of time you have to spend in the classroom, and it saves you money on credit hours

Fowler added that 4+1 programs are another way to save tons of time and money; with these programs you’re able to get your bachelor’s and master’s degrees in five years, instead of the standard six or seven.

Additionally, many schools, including Hood College, are working to adapt their programs to fit students’ needs. The graduate school is converting many of its programs to a hybrid format in order to benefit those looking for more flexibility.

From 2019 to 2020, enrollment in online programs grew by 63% and hybrid enrollments increased by 102%, according to the NCES.  Conversely, enrollment in in-person graduate programs declined by about 865,000 in 2020. It would appear that many individuals are taking advantage of online learning options colleges and universities are increasingly offering.

These institutes are also offering paid assistantships, teaching assistant positions and graduate assistant positions to help offset the cost of tuition.

Schools also offer positions that provide students with a stipend or act as financial aid to help pay for credit hours.

There are also research assistantships in which students assist professors with their personal research in their field of study in exchange for a small stipend.

What it all comes down to is making graduate school work for you.