If you want to build on your education by attending grad school, you will have a variety of options available. While returning to your previous or current university might seem like the easy choice, another school might have a better reputation or curriculum. This page gives some tips on how to choose a grad school.

If you want to build on your education by attending grad school, you will have a variety of options available. While returning to your previous or current university might seem like the easy choice, another school might have a better reputation or curriculum. This page gives some tips on how to choose a grad school.

(CC photo by Rachael Voorhees)

• While you should apply to several grad schools, you might not be able to apply to all that interest you, if you have many different ones in mind. Regardless of how many schools you do apply to, you will eventually need to make a decision on which one to choose. Be prepared by having a priority in mind before the acceptance letters (hopefully) start arriving. For more information on how to improve the chances of acceptance letters in the mail, see Mahalo's guide on How to Get Into Grad School.

Before you even begin to look at grad programs and research them thoroughly, do yourself a favor and know exactly what the accreditation status is of the university, and of the program itself if there is any. Why? There is no point in discovering after the fact that your degree will have to be retaken because that university accreditation will not be accepted by other graduate programs or in the workplace for jobs you want. But that is not fair you say, I didn't know - well now you know that there could be a problem and this one step could save you a lot of money, time and headaches so you need to get it right.

This is further complicated by the fact that there are many accrediting bodies and how do you know which one is best? The one that is accepted for what you want to do is what you need. A simple way to do this if the accrediting body issue becomes too complex to figure out, to be sure simply ask your employer and other universities do they fully accept qualifications from that university or program?

For example almost all jobs for librarians need an American Library Association accredited degree. If yours is not you miss out on probably 90% of the jobs as an estimate and maybe more, or are paid less than a fully qualified librarian. I will add more information about accrediting bodies either in this section or below when I have the chance because it is so critical.

It is true that you may indeed be doing a final graduate degree and not need to use the qualifications for the workplace and that is alright. You may be perfectly happy with a regionally accredited program about a topic you like, in fact it may be the best choice for you personally and it also may not matter to you that online degrees may not be as readily accepted for some jobs as classroom degrees. Accreditation is an attempt to keep quality up and maybe the program you choose is high quality but cannot qualify for national traditional accreditation for various reasons that do not concern you. But what I am saying here is that you need to be clear about the facts so that you can make your decisions with the information you need to make the right choices. Remember also, that once you get into it you may decide to go on and do more education when you did not plan on it before so leaving your options open can be a good idea for some.

The grad school or schools you choose to apply for and hopefully get accepted at will change the entire direction of your life. It is therefore very important to really know who you are, what you want, what you are capable of, what resources do you need, can you get the support you need, what internal and external factors will impact your decision, and how do the program choices mesh with all of this to give you the best options for success and happiness too. A tall order! I will start a brief checklist of things to consider, which you can expand on to fit your own situation so that you can write down clearly on a page the pros and cons of each option you are considering to help you and relevant people recommend what is best for you.

• NOTE: Choose what fits your situation, some of these issues may arise more in doctoral programs due to their length, complexity and program variations: EG research or practical or creating future professors oriented. What are the universities/programs that interest me to consider?

• How flexible am I in choosing a program - what are my limitations?

• How is the funding situation - can I find funding to apply for early from the university website/offices and/or website and/or large library reference department? or find work there? what are funding guarantees and for how long? any conditions?

• How is the housing situation - can I apply for university grad housing right away early to guarantee a place to stay & not risk losing admission with no reasonable place to stay?

• What is my family situation? Will all possibilities be taken care of with support from others or am I the sole person responsible for others and how would/could that affect being at a distance or really far away for once or twice a year visits? or maybe no visits as you are too busy or have no money to travel.

• What does this program mean to me? Passionate about? Committed to taking it to the nth degree thru doctoral level, possible academic appointment, lifetime of research, publication, conferences, teaching and study? or non-academic CEO of possible charitable organization with a doctorate related to the field? or just to find a job that pays the bills?

• What program is best fit? Famous with reputation where I meet my thesis supervisor only 5 times in 6 to 10 years maybe and work through intermediaries? Small institution with hands on collegial community where students are treated more like peers or maybe the reverse as each program and individual is different but those are two important extremes to consider and watch for

• AND....you fill it in what you need to know and consider and check out......

• What do the registrars office/admissions office or national university association stats mean to me? EG. average program success 50% drop out considered good for doctorate, average program length running upwards to 8 to 10 years in some disciplines for doctorate, find university stats how many graduate a year and how many students total are there this should be available per program or department per university I think- do no graduates in 3 years in a particular doctoral program with many students ring an alarm bell for you for your chances there? not making this up, please check for your own benefit as this may not have occurred to you but it happens....and do you have the extra years you need to make it a success at an instituion with an average program graduation time to completion of X years also?

• What are admission cutoffs/success levels for past years eg. Admissions/Registrars office/department should be able to tell you what the average grade average was for admission, or cutoff real admission average so if it is 85% in a particular program ask if people with strong references or work experience or other program strengths are possiblities if below that sometimes that can make a difference. If all programs had all applicants in the 80 percent average you can hope for a bad economy lowering the admission level but maybe you have a clear indicator early without waiting half a year that you may need a good plan B, C, or D to pursue if you are way off on grades for example.

• Persistence is the one constant for graduation success in graduate programs in all my reading about it and nothing else, however those who speak to others, orient themselves quickly and make themselves part of the community also have a better chance to last because there is a support network including academic staff to help you out.

• Can I apply early? I mean there are many who ask and watch and fill in the application in the same week it came out and submit it, and get early acceptance guaranteed offers BEFORE the official deadline to apply greatly increasing your chances of acceptance and missing the "oh the printer broke so your application form did not officially arrive by the deadline sorry try again next year" syndrome.

• Find and look at college rankings as they often have up to date descriptions of the university in addition to statistics. A good place to start is 2009 College Rankings (click on hilighted text to go to another page then use back button when done or bookmark/save this page url before leaving)

• Search through job listings for the kinds of job you may want after graduation. It will quickly show you what you need in qualifications and how many jobs are available. This is critical info if you wish to use your degree and prepare for the job market. A page with academic job links at the bottom is here How to Find a Job

• Grad school usually is at a higher level than undergrad. It is never too soon to start preparing and upgrade or refresh your skills. Find and take all orientations, library tours and workshops, and study skills courses available as soon as you can, in advance if offered. To start you off here are some pages How to Study in College or How to Write a Thesis Statement or How to Format Your Manuscript or How to Proofread a College Essay

• We live in an information age. Remember, you can find students/faculty information and blogs and chat on the web. Search for name of university plus course program. Start with university website, facebook, myspace, twitter, Google http://www.google.com search toggle blog search, regular web search, news etc.

• To choose between disciplines, to find out how well you need to read to do research, to learn what you need to understand your discipline, and to perhaps improve your grades substantially this classic is it. Mortimer Adler. How to Read a Book (also check out his How to Speak How to Listen) http://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Book-T...

• Do not choose a discipline or graduate school without finding the relevant association and reviewing the information they provide for those interested in entering the field and also asking them for recommendations eg. list of accredited programs if there is one, reviewing their website, looking at any of their relevant publications, perhaps getting a student membership, attending a conference/workshop, asking them specific questions you have etc. You will not regret the time spent because they should know what you are recommended to do or not do to join them as colleagues.

• EXAMPLES: of selected relevant association info Psychology Grad Programs from A.P.A. http://www.amazon.com/Graduate-Psycho... Library Accredited Programs A.L.A. http://www.ala.org/ala/educationcaree... Career Information M.L.A. Modern Language Assoc. http://www.mla.org/career_resources

• What motivates you? What do you care about? How can you stay positive and moving forward? Is it reading positive literature? authors? putting mottos or sayings up around you? learning a new hobby to stay refreshed? if you have no way to reward or relax yourself find some positive things even if they are the littlest details to help keep you mentally and emotionally recharged for your academic grad school quest and enjoy the journey because life is not all about the destination, take care of yourself and keep it up!

• Depending on your situation and budget, you might be open to any grad school or you might need to limit your choices to a state or area. If you have a family, attending the closest grad school might be your only option. If you don't have any specific limitations, consider the reputation of the school before the location. Grad school is for a few years, but you will make use of your degree for many years to come.

• Choosing a grad school is a process that includes several steps. Before narrowing your choices, you should research as many schools as possible.

1. Ask faculty at the university where you got your undergraduate degree for tips on good schools.
2. Research different schools' reputation in the field where you want to work after graduating. The reputation of the school will be of more importance to some fields than others.
3. Determine how much you can afford to pay for grad school.
4. Ask for information packages from schools that interest you.

• After researching the schools that interest you, it's time to narrow down your choices. Apply to several grad schools and expect several acceptance letters, but make a personal decision on which schools you would prefer to attend. There are several factors to consider.

1. What is the faculty's experience in the field they are teaching? For some academic fields, academic experience is the only experience necessary. In other fields, hands-on experience will provide faculty with better knowledge to provide you guidance and knowledge for your career path.
2. Find statistics on alumni, such as what types of fields they work in and how soon after graduating they find a job.
3. Does the grad school focus on theoretical or practical experience?
4. What kind of research do the department conduct? What area in your field to they focus on?

• Choosing which grad school to attend is an important decision. Consult the above recommendations as a starting point for making your decision.

• Remember that it is YOUR life and this decision could very well set the direction of the rest of your life. Make sure that you research it thoroughly, weigh the decision seriously, and consider it carefully to make the decision that best suits you and your own particiular circumstances, aspirations, and abilities - not whatever everyone else tells you that you should, could, or must do. You will have to live with this decision and not them. Also remember that THIS is only one opinion and you are free to choose whatever guidance and direction is best for you and good luck!

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• Introduction
• Step 1: Location
• Step 2: Research
• Step 3: How to Evaluate the School
• Conclusion