 |
|
Home >
Graduate Student Information
We appreciate the magnitude of the decision to attend graduate school. Hopefully we can help provide information that will assist in your decision-making process.
There are three major goals that make graduate school a sensible choice.
- Beginning a career
- Advancing a career
- Learning for learning’s sake
Your practical concerns will likely relate to the cost of school and the likelihood of achieving your financial and/or lifestyle goals following graduation. To work through these practical issues, look beyond graduate school. You need to estimate the probable cost of your graduate program and study the state of the job market in your field. The most important aspects of the job market are the availability of positions and the salary range (or income potential for the self-employed). Together, these pieces of information will give you some idea of what your professional future might look like.
The personal pitfalls of graduate school are a little more complicated. They depend on your likes and dislikes, and your powers of endurance. In an informal survey of hundreds of graduate students, the top five lifestyle complaints students made were:
- It’s hard to make ends meet financially
- There is little or no free time
- There is not enough socializing in the department/school
- There is nothing to do in the community or surrounding area
- Fellow graduate students are too competitive
When making your decision, be sure to consider these aspects of graduate life as well as anything else that could have a substantial effect on your quality of life. When you can say exactly why you want to go to school – choosing a school that best suits your needs becomes the next challenge.
*Exerpts from Best Graduate Programs: Humanities and Social Sciences, 2nd Edition – by Jonathan Spaihts
Links
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
