Career Center

Graduate School Planning Timetable

Senior year activities for enrollment in the fall after graduation:

September/October

  • Define your career goals and potential areas of specialization.
  • Research areas of interest, institutions, and programs.
  • Write for application materials and make note of application deadlines. *
  • Register for graduate/professional school tests. Information is available in the Career Center for the GRE (graduate school), the GMAT (business) and the LSAT (law). Information on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) and the American Association of Dental School Application Service is available at the Health Professions Program Office, DH 1325.
  • Begin researching scholarships and fellowships and make note of deadlines. Contact the Fellowship Resource Advising Center at 8-1969 or go to their website.
  • Ask faculty members to write letters of recommendation.
  • Decide if you want to manage your letters of recommendation, if you want to utilize the Career Center Credential Service, or if each referral will handle recommendations directly.

November

  • Continue researching graduate/professional school options and funding resources.
  • Write your application essays.
  • Speak with advisors and alumni regarding program strengths and reputation.
  • List tentative decisions about your future and develop several realistic scenarios (whether or not to apply to graduate schools, what to do if the schools you are interested in waitlist you, etc.).

December

  • Conduct information interviews with any alumni who may have attended graduate programs that you are interested in attending.
  • Apply for assistantships, fellowships, scholarships and financial aid programs early; deadlines begin as early as September and continue through the academic year. Pursue both individual school and national programs.

Spring

  • Send in completed applications. A typical application packet includes the application form, an application fee, letters of recommendation, an essay/statement of purpose or bibliography, and test scores.
  • Check with all institutions before the deadline to make sure your file is complete.
  • Visit institutions that accept you.
  • Send a deposit to your institution of choice.
  • Notify other colleges and universities that accepted you of your decision so that they can admit students on their waiting list.
  • Send thank you letters to people who wrote you recommendation letters or helped you in the application process to inform them of your success.

* A few words about deadlines

  • Most applications deadlines fall between January and March (for enrollment in the fall).
  • Deadlines can be as soon as August for early decision programs of medical schools (for fall enrollment) using the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS), to late spring or summer (for fall enrollment) for a few programs with rolling admissions.
  • For programs with rolling admissions, it is to your advantage to apply early and NOT wait until the last minute.
  • Be sure to keep track of all deadlines and meet them.

** Career Consultants are available to meet with students to discuss career goals, the graduate school admissions process, and to review essays and personal statements. To make an appointment to meet with your Career Consultant individually, please call the Career Center at 268-2064.