Applying for Graduate School

So I've decided to attend graduate school some time within a year of my receiving a bachelor's degree from my university. It took me a while to decide whether or not I wanted to go through with graduate school because of time, effort, job options, and the major possibility of having to move out of state. All of these were things I had to consider and consider very carefully before I made the commitment to begin the first part of the process for applying for graduate school.

The first thing I had to do was decide what my goals were. I've always loved to write and I wanted to include that aspect of my interests into my future career if I was able to. But with only a bachelor's degree, the most I could do with that was write articles for a magazine or a newspaper, or have to get a job either teaching high school and lower grades, or in an area that I didn't really want to be in. So I set my goals high for a specialized field that included what I like to do most: write.

Then, I had to start looking for a school that had the program I wanted. I could ask my professors for suggestions, and I needed several candidate schools to apply to because most programs were limited in the amount of people they admitted every year. So I asked my academic adviser and she told me a few schools that might have masters programs and doctorate programs in writing and literature, but suggested I go out for writing if I could with literature as my second best choice. I searched the web also and found several programs but had to read over them carefully to find out if they were really what I wanted, if I would be able to do distance learning or would have to move out there, and if it was going to be affordable as well.

So I started printing out pages that these schools had available, reading over them, and highlighting important things including different aspects of the program I was interested in and special attributes or achievements of that department. (Knowing and mentioning those things can look good on an application letter, or so my adviser tells me.) And I did this for several schools, not just one, because I wanted to always have my options open. Also, I did not exclude some schools right off the bat merely because they were on the other half of the country or because they were small or had a limited number of programs; I looked over each with attention then mentally made a pros and cons list to decide whether it would go into the "possible" category, the "probably not" category, or in the "I'll look it over again/I need to get more information" category. For the ones in the latter category, I will have to call up to the school and speak to a representative of that program or department one on one. There are just some things that can't be conveyed on a school website, or else the school may have left something out, even something on a FAQ page that you feel is important to know. So now I've made a "to call" list and have set a time period during which I will make those calls. I figure its handy to have the questions you want to ask written down already before you call, that way you won't have to call back as often because you forgot to ask something important.

Now that I have some information, I figure it would be best if I took a look over the web and referenced my professors once more, just for good measure, to make sure that there isn't a program or school more suitable that I over looked. All this seems like a lot of work, but I know it will pay off in the end. I already think I have found the school I want to really aim for, and I've got a list of professors and professional people that I know would be delighted to write letters of recommendation for me so I'll get the best chance I can of getting accepted. I'm trying to keep my options open, but just like when I just knew I would be going to my University now, I just know that the one I have my heart set on already is the one I want to go to. I know its not good to get my hopes up too soon, because applications don't start being received until later in the fall, but I can keep my fingers crossed all the same.

Now that I have all of the first steps done, I can meet with my advisor first thing in the fall, show her my completed list of schools I want to apply to, and begin the preparation process of the application.