How to Choose a Graduate School

[mic0]

Dear less than 100 hour board,

The title pretty much says it all. I was originally going to write a long thing about how it is so hard to choose, but you probably already know that. Thing is, before I got married I was pretty sure I wanted to go to graduate school abroad (either in the UK or China), but now that is pretty much out of the question. So, right now my graduate school search consists of occasionally googling "Linguistics graduate schools," then perusing school websites, then forgetting about my search for a few weeks until I get anxious about it again.

So, if you are in graduate school/are going soon/went to graduate school, what was your process? How did you choose? And did you already know what you wanted to study, or were you unsure? (I'm unsure...) Did you visit the school before deciding to go there? Did you talk with faculty there ahead of time? This seems so much more important than when I was a senior in high school thinking about college. Though I had a hard time with that, too. Thanks for your input and (hopefully) stories.

[Genuine Article]

I made a spreadsheet to help us figure out where we should go. Every school I researched got entered in and I had categories for things I thought were important to compare. Here were some of those things:

cost of tuition
weather/climate
closeness to family
cost/availability of housing
size of program
rank of program
possible funding
presence of LDS church

I did that for every school we were even thinking of looking at and then narrowed it down to a handful of schools he wanted to apply to. Then I had fields for deadlines, application fees, and all those sorts of things so we could have the info right at our fingertips without always having to check back to their websites. He already knew what he wanted to study, so that wasn't much of an issue. We also didn't visit any of the campuses, because that just wasn't something we really cared about. Now that we've decided though, I spend a lot of time on google maps checking out what the town really looks like. You know, making sure they have a Wendy's, that sort of thing. Heck, send me a list of schools that have a linguistics program and I'll put together a preliminary spreadsheet for you.

[Craig Jessop]

If you see a professor who has interests similar to yours, e-mail him/her! If they don't respond, then you don't want to go there; after all, who wants to spend time with somebody who can't take three minutes to answer the question of a future customer/cheap labor (because that's all grad students are sometimes)?

[Yarjka]

Look at the faculty/staff of the department. Write them emails. Get to know them. See if you can arrange a visit. If you're accepted to the school, they'll often pay for some of your expenses to come out and get acquainted, but since different universities accept you at different times, sometimes deadlines don't line up, so you'll want to visit before you're accepted for most of them. It will cost you money, but it's worth it. If you don't feel like they respect you as a scholar, you're not going to be happy there. See if they treat you well, if they talk to you as an equal (or close to it), or if they act like they don't have time for you. Another good thing to do is to sit in on a class, just to get an idea of how things are done in the department. Get to know some of the other graduate students - go out to lunch or just talk to them after class. Usually they'll be very honest about the good and the bad qualities of the department.

Only apply to schools that you know you'd want to go to. It costs too much of your time and energy (and money) to apply to graduate school. Really narrow it down. If you wouldn't move there to start studying today, chances are you won't want to in a few months either. I applied to, I think, 13 schools -- ridiculous. I got accepted to 6 and it made my decision that much harder (it also makes the buyer's remorse much worse, when you start having problems in your program and you say to yourself "maybe I should have gone there instead?" - better if you just assume it wasn't an option). Just apply to the three or four that you know you want to go to and that are likely to accept you.

Another crucial point: don't just look at how much funding they offer you, look also at the cost of living where the university is. What sounds like a better offer at one place might be a much worse offer, since it will barely cover the cost of living. Also, learn how much of that funding is given to you as a fellowship and how much you have to work for through TA positions. A lot of times they promise you funding, but it is contingent on working a ridiculous number of hours on top of your graduate work. It is awkward to ask about funding, but you really need to clarify these matters - too often it is left vague and you move into a new place expecting one thing and being told you signed up for another. The last thing you want is to be struggling to make ends meet while you get your bearings with new classes and assignments.

[Whistler]

I can tell you how not to apply for graduate school! Once upon a time I applied to PhD programs in clinical psychology. I thought I was pretty hot stuff, so I applied to the top five schools that looked interesting and a school by my sister and BYU. And I wasn't accepted at any of them. Part of my problem was that I didn't have a clear research interest, I think I just said I was interested in everything, or I picked a random professor who seemed cool that I said I wanted to work with. I had plenty of previous research experience, and good GPA, and an OK GRE score; I think my lack of specific research interest hurt me a lot. I also didn't realize that most people who apply to clinical psychology PhD programs sometimes have several years of experience working with mentally ill people or in social work.

In contrast, when I applied to the Master's program at BYU, I had a topic for my thesis (which wasn't what I ended up writing on, oh well), and a professor I wanted to work with and had talked to personally (but he ended up leaving the university). The people on admissions committees are real people and it matters how you interact with them. Ask professors you have now at BYU if they have an idea of a program that would be a good match for you. Your professors go to conferences and know some of these other people, and if they're writing your letter of recommendation it will be even more meaningful if it's someone the committee knows. Phew! I had opinions! I hope you find a program that caters to your passions.

[Katya]

I went to grad school for the type of program that is ranked by U.S. News & World Report, so those rankings helped me in narrowing down my options. Once I had a school in mind, I looked at their program, especially the areas of concentration offered and the research interests of the professors. When I applied, I cited a paper I'd read by one of the professors as being an area of study I'd find interesting. When I was accepted, they assigned him to me as an adviser. (And then I never talked to him once in two years . . . but that was my own fault.)

With linguistics programs, some programs will be more competitive or more highly regarded, but they're going to vary a lot more, depending on the research interests of the professors. I'd suggest thinking of the classes you enjoyed the most as an undergrad, and asking the professors of those classes which graduate schools are doing research in those fields. (E.g., if I was to do a master's in linguistics, I'd actually come back to BYU because I'd like to work with a couple of professors there.)

[Katya]

Also, Petra went to grad school for linguistics—do you want me to ask her some time which schools she applied to, and why?

[mic0]

Katya, sure, that would be great.

GA, I think I'll try making a spreadsheet. I was going to take you up on your offer but my husband convinced me I could do it myself. Sorry

Yarjka, thanks for the advice. Right now I have so many schools that I'm looking at... I really should narrow it down. I have tried to make/maintain friendships with my past professors, but I'm not really sure how to take it any further, besides asking them questions about the field. I always feel like a burden, but I guess I just have to get over it.

So, another question. When did you all apply for grad school? Was it at the beginning of your senior year (that seems to be the conventional time), after you graduated, etc.? My husband applied at the last minute to graduate school because his visa was about to expire - so he is really no help in this department.

[NerdGirl]

Both times, I started working on my applications the fall before the year I wanted to start (so senior year, and year 2 of my master's). I just applied everywhere that there was someone working on stuff I wanted to work on and that was somewhere I would want to live. The application deadlines were anywhere from December to March, if I remember right. I went to conferences to meet faculty members at the schools I was applying to, but I didn't visit any of the schools. For my master's, I only ended up getting into BYU, so I stayed there. For my PhD, I ended up getting into 4 places, so I picked the place that was going to let me pick my own research project rather than just assigning me to something. I don't know that I necessarily made the most well-informed decision, but I just kind of felt right about the place I picked and I was really just kind of desperate to get in anywhere other than BYU because people were telling me I'd never get a job if I got all of my degrees at the same place (and now I'm not even trying to get a job in that anyway, I'm going to med school). It certainly didn't end up being awesome, but I think it was better than it would have been if I had picked any of the other options. Also, if you have to take a subject GRE and not just the general GRE, make sure you find out about test dates right away so that you don't miss it. But the general GRE can be taken any time.

[Katya]

Katya, sure, that would be great.

Petra says: Illinois, Berkeley, Penn, Chicago, and Harvard.

So, another question. When did you all apply for grad school? Was it at the beginning of your senior year (that seems to be the conventional time), after you graduated, etc.? My husband applied at the last minute to graduate school because his visa was about to expire - so he is really no help in this department.

I had no intention of going to grad school when I finished my undergraduate degree, so I didn't apply until 18 months later.

[Yarjka]

So, another question. When did you all apply for grad school? Was it at the beginning of your senior year (that seems to be the conventional time), after you graduated, etc.? My husband applied at the last minute to graduate school because his visa was about to expire - so he is really no help in this department.

I had no intention of going to grad school when I finished my undergraduate degree, so I didn't apply until 18 months later.

Same here. I was thinking about graduate school, but wasn't too serious about it until about a year after my graduation.