Alumni Career Services
Alumni Career Services: Graduate School Applications
Many UGA alumni consider attending graduate school to advance their careers. Deciding whether or not to pursue a graduate degree will take some serious consideration and navigating the application procedures definitely takes planning. Feel free to use the UGA Career Center’s resources to help you throughout the process.
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Frequently Asked Questions: Graduate School Applications
During your appointment with a member of our Alumni Career Services team, we will help you to plan your “to-do list” for applying to graduate school. For most applicants, this includes narrowing down programs of interest, making a plan to take entrance exams, writing application essays, and preparing for interviews. Additionally, check our newsletter for webinars that discuss the graduate school application process.
The decision to attend graduate school is definitely one to consider carefully and will vary depending on your personal and professional situation. We recommend making an appointment with a member of our Alumni Career Services team to discuss your career plans and to learn about resources that can help you to make your decision.
- Be sure to follow the application instructions carefully, and answer each question listed on the application.
- Ask a few people to review and proofread your essay. You definitely want to avoid spelling or grammatical errors, so having an extra set of eyes to review your document is crucial.
- Write the essay in a way that is personal to you. Keep in mind that your essay provides a great opportunity for the application committee to get to know you aside from your GPA and test scores, so your essay should convey your motivation, goals, and accomplishments that set you apart from the crowd.
- Practice effective writing techniques. Write a strong opening and conclusion, provide evidence to support your assertions, and vary your word choices to keep your writing interesting.
Graduate school and job interviews are more similar than they are different. Be sure to demonstrate why you are a good fit for the program, prepare examples of your skills and qualifications, and consider some insightful questions to ask. Prior to your interview, find out who will be interviewing you and the type of interview. For instance, some graduate programs use traditional one-on-one interviews, some use group interviews, and some use panel interviews.