Applying to graduate school is quite an undertaking.  If you have taken the time to do your research, you have arrived at a list of master’s or doctoral programs you believe would meet your educational and career goals.  Now you are ready to prepare your applications.

Having worked in the field of enrollment management for 28 years, and having been the decision maker on applications for some very selective graduate programs, including Columbia, University of Chicago and Northwestern, I have witnessed quite an array of behaviors on the part of applicants.  Based on that experience, here is a suggested list of ten do’s and don’ts when applying to graduate school:

1. Do your research and don’t rely solely on rankings or word of mouth.  So many prospective students rely on two sources in deciding where they will apply:  1) word of mouth and 2) rankings.  And that is it – they go no further!  This is extremely dangerous.  Just because someone else thinks a certain program is great doesn’t make that program right for YOU.  Just because a program is listed in the “top five” or “top ten” doesn’t mean that is the best option for YOU.  This is YOUR graduate experience and no one else’s.  There are literally hundreds of excellent programs out there – please do you homework and check them out.  Browse websites.  Read.  Visit the campus via cyberspace or in real time.  Then talk with current students and recent graduates.  After doing that, then you take a look at rankings.  All of these criteria together should be part of narrowing your “list” down to the institutions to which you will make application.  Remember:  Your success in life is not ultimately dependent on where you attended graduate school. It’s about who you are, your communications and other skills, your level of integrity, and a strong work ethic. 
2. Do read instructions carefully and don’t rush.  This can make or break an application.  Not following directions, whether intentional or not, does not a good first impression make.  The admissions committee will assume one of several possibilities, none of which is in your favor:  You are deliberately not doing what was asked of you (which could be interpreted as your trying to hide something); you are not very thorough in reading and responding to instructions; you are not able to understand what you read; you are not that interested in their institution. 
3. Do apply when you are ready and don’t sacrifice quality for speed.  Most prospective graduate students complete more than one application.  This is time consuming and requires a considerable amount of organization, patience, time, and attention to detail.  Most admissions offices utilize application deadlines or rolling admissions with one final deadline.  Be sure you allow yourself enough time to complete your application(s) with a degree of calm, as opposed to waiting to the last minute, rushing to meet a deadline, and risking missing something or making mistakes.  Remember: An outstanding second round application is much better than a mediocre first round application.
4. Do evaluate customer service but don’t forget that you too are being evaluated.  The application process is really a two-way evaluation:  You are sizing up the institution, and they are doing the same with you.  How you are treated as a prospective student and applicant is a good indicator of how you will be treated should you enroll.  Likewise, your behavior is being observed, believe me.  At one of the institutions where I served, we had an inner office policy known as the “orange sheet.”  Any staff member could record her/her impressions of an interaction they’d had with an applicant.  This information was written on a bright orange sheet and placed in front of the applicant’s file.  When it came time to make a decision on this application, the first part I saw was the orange sheet(s).  If the information recorded was negative, that applicant was waitlisted at best. 
5. Do be assertive but don’t be arrogant or argumentative.  It is one thing to be sure of yourself and to speak up if necessary.  It is quite another thing to act is if you are the expert, or to start an argument with a member of the admissions staff.  It is possible that something in your application file will be accidentally misplaced or lost entirely.  It is possible that a mistake will be made in recording information about you.  It is possible that the admissions office will be late in notifying you of a decision on your application.  The way to handle any of these situations is to be assertive, and calmly state what you believe to be the truth.  Raising your voice, becoming angry and accusatory, and berating a member of the admissions staff does not solve anything.  It makes matters worse, and greatly lessens your chances of being admitted even if you are in the right. 
6. Do be confident but don’t be conceited.  Similar to #5, it is important that you be confident in the application process.  Put your best foot forward, and do nothing less that your very best.  Do all you can to portray your abilities, talents, passion, and interest in the institution.  You are one of a kind, a unique and special person.  Be proud of who you are and what you have accomplished.  But remember that you are not perfect, that you are not better than others, and that you will never know it all.  Sometimes applicants mistake conceit for confidence.  These are polar opposites.  Confidence tends to correlate with gratitude and humility.  Conceit is usually associated with self-promotion, a chip of the shoulder, and looking down on others.  The latter will definitely get you noticed, but not in the way you want to be.
7. Do be persistent but don’t be a pest.  Following up on your application(s) is most appropriate, especially if you believe misinformation has been communicated to you, or if a deadline for hearing from the admissions committee has passed.  However, contacting the admissions office every week, or repeatedly sending notes or letters can result in an impression that you are desperate.  During the application evaluation process, admissions staff members are overwhelmingly busy reading all of the files they have received.  The more selective the program, the more applications to be read.  This takes time, energy, and dedication.  You can rest assured that admissions staff takes their evaluation responsibilities very seriously.  You can also rest assured that what you have submitted will be evaluated.  If you have done your homework, and taken time to do the best job possible on your application, trust that.  Contact the admissions office only if you are asked to, you have question that is not answered on the website or other information, or if you believe something needs to be clarified or corrected.
8. Do be yourself and don’t try to fit some sort of fake image.  This is a major temptation for applicants.  Many make an assumption about what they think the admissions committee is looking for, and then they try to become that person in their application.  Others, who may be feeling interior and nervous about how their application will measure up against others being submitted, put on an act to cover up their feelings of insecurity.  Some try to sound perfect, with little or no hint of being human.  Let me ask you a question:  Can you usually tell when someone is not being her/himself?  Sure you can.  It is usually very obvious.  And what is your reaction when you observe this behavior?  Are you drawn to or away from this person?  Most would answer the latter.  So it is with the admissions committee.  If you come across as perfect, or as faking it, this will be detected, and the result will not be in your favor.  We are all human, and we are all unique.  Let both of these shine in your application.  The best applications I ever read were presented as if the applicant was saying, “Here I am – this is who I am.  I like myself, and confident of my abilities, and hope you will see in me a match with your program. But if you do not, I’ll be fine, and know that something else will open up for me.” 
9. Do lighten up and enjoy the process and don’t act as if this is “do or die.”  Have fun as you go through this process.  Focus on the outcome of what you want – a graduate degree.  There are many paths to earning that degree.  While you have one path in mind, do not become so focused on that one path that you cannot see any other possibility.  If the gate to that path does not open to you, all can seem lost.  The path to both my masters and doctoral degrees was quite a bit different than what I’d initially planned.  I deferred enrollment for both degrees, changed my focus of study in my master’s program, and ended up completing both degrees on a part-time basis.  None of this was part of my original “plan.”  But my career path was definitely impacted in the most positive ways due to the timing of completing both my graduate degrees.  It has been amazing for me to look back and see how important timing was in my educational journey.  Had I not be open to letting a different gate open at times, I would have had many of the opportunities that came my way.  Trust in the timing of things.  Let events unfold, and go with the flow.  You will succeed, even if the path of your success is different that you originally imagined.
10. Do put your best foot forward but never yield to the temptation to embellish or lie.  Of all of the sad experiences I’ve witnessed, having to revoke and application due to dishonesty has been the saddest.  How tragic and unnecessary!  You are a very talented individual, and you WILL succeed in your life if you are persistent and determined.  You will never succeed by being dishonest.  It will always catch up with you, some way and somehow.  Do not lie about any part of your application.  Do not send in letters of recommendation that were not written by the person(s) listed in your application.  Do not claim that you achieved something or received an award if you did not.  Don’t do it.  Just say no.  It’s heart wrenching to see a perfectly capable and promising individual lose out because he/she chose to misrepresent the truth.  We’re all human, and the temptation to do this will come to all of us.  Being tempted is normal; determining how you will respond is what determines your level of integrity.

 

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