Is Graduate School for You?

Graduate school admissions is a seasonal event. Although applications typically are due in December or January, applicants begin the steps entailed in applying months and often a year or more beforehand. It is this time of year that many students begin to think about graduate study and wonder what to do with their lives. Many are college juniors, thinking ahead to their senior year and beyond. Some are people in the work force wondering if they should apply to school this fall. If you’re one of these potential applicants, wondering if graduate school…

Go Back for a Second Graduate Degree?

At first glance, this seems crazy, no? Spend years earning a masters or doctoral degree just to turn around and go back for another degree? It’s more common than you think — and most returning students seek a very specific graduate degree for very specific reasons. Many wait to re-enter graduate school, until it’s clear that a new degree is what they need to enter a new career. Julie Miller Vick and Jennifer S. Furlong write about this phenomenon in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Honestly, I once very…

Juniors: Prepare for Graduate Admissions Now

Don’t wait until you’re a senior to think about applying to graduate school – often that’s too late! Students who are most likely to be accepted to graduate school amass experiences and develop skills over the college years. Reserve your senior year for preparing your applications, not filling in holes in your experience. If you’re about to begin your junior year of college, take some time to learn more about what you can do now to improve your odds of getting into graduate school later.

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How to Prepare for Comps

The prospect of studying for master’s or doctoral comprehensive exams can be overwhelming. Cramming all there is to know about a field into your mind and being able to discuss it at a professional level is a huge accomplishment. So where do you begin? Here are some guidelines for preparing for comps.

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Make the Most of Your Postdoc

Many new graduates with doctoral degrees (and sometimes advanced graduate students) embark on postdoctoral fellowships. A postdoc is a research position in which the fellow becomes part of an established scientist’s lab, providing postdocs with the opportunity to gain additional research and publishing experience, build their own research programs, learn new techniques, and get their feet wet at grant writing. A good postdoctoral experience can make a young scientist’s career. This Chronicle of Higher Education article by Zoe Smith and Ariana Sutton-Grier offers exceptional advice on making the most of…

Creative Writing MFA Programs

Love writing? Contemplating graduate study in creative writing? Take a look at these Master of Fine Arts (MFA) programs in creative writing to locate graduate programs and learn more about program requirements.

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The Summer is Not Yet Over

All academics, myself included, begin the summer with long list of writing tasks and goals. The first week of July, specifically after the 4th, left me with a sense of panic that my summer is slipping away and I won’t completely nearly as much as a hope. Yet I still have a month and a half, at least, off. What gives? Kerry Ann Rockquemore makes sense of this odd feeling and explains how to move beyond it to be a productive writer this summer.

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Becoming a Successful Principal Investigator

Research is king in academia. If you are planning on an academic career, especially as a faculty member in the sciences or social sciences, you’ll need to know how to get the funding to complete your research and advance your career. Although advanced for many graduate students, this important article by the Chronicle of Higher Education‘s David Stone, discusses how to become a successful principal investigator on a grant. Begin early.

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New GMAT Section: Updated Post with Link

A few days ago I rand the following blog post but neglected to include the link to the content I recommended. Ooops!  Sorry! Here it is:

The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), the standardized test of choice for business schools,is undergoing change. A new section on “integrated reasoning” will be added in 2012 and one of the current essay section will be eliminated.For example, the test taker will be presented with a spreadsheet, table, and other information and then asked a series of multiple choice questions. The new section is designed to tap…

Vacations and Your Health

Vacations- holidays from your usual routine – are not only fun but they are important for your health. Stress harms the body, increasing the likelihood of illness, poor mental health, and overall exhaustion. Vacations allow us to break free of stress, gain perspective on problems, and spend time with friends and family. Vacations are crucial to your physical and mental health – and also your ability to work. Take some time off this summer and you’ll feel rejuvenated. Psychology Today’s Susan Krause Whitbourne offers advice for taking a relaxing vacation, some of which may…