By far, the biggest mistake prospective graduate students make is not doing adequate research/preparation before submitting their applications.

Graduate school is not something to take lightly.  It involves a major investment personally, intellectually, socially, emotionally, and financially.  Be sure to allow yourself enough time to do your “due diligence” and get all of the information you want and need.  

This is the first of a series on what to do in the 12 months leading up to submitting your graduate school application(s). 

12 months before applying:

1. Do an initial web-based search on graduate programs in the field of study you are pursuing, such as Psychology, Law, Humanities, Business, Medicine, Advertising, Finance, etc.  Make sure you do a couple of searches, so as many institutions matching your search criteria as possible are identified.   
2. Once you have done a thorough search, make an alphabetical list of all your options, regardless of what you presently know/have heard about them.  Write them all down or put them on a spreadsheet. Be very careful about accepting word of mouth or what you think you know as final at this point in the search process.  We are individuals, and as such, have different needs, expectations and experiences.  This is YOUR educational experience – not someone else’s.  You need to start by gathering a list of options that interest YOU.  Do not eliminate any of them at this point.  You want to get as much information as possible so you can decide what options are most appealing.
3. Go online and do some initial research on all the institutions you have on your list.  Assess not only the content of material on websites, but look at the way in which it is presented.  Is information easy to find?  Is the tone friendly and inviting?  Are there easy and quick ways to request more information?  Speaking of which, this would be a good time to request written/electronic information from each institution.  This will enable you to review what you receive any time you want.  It will also provide you an opportunity to find out just how responsive admissions offices are to you.  This can be very telling, and may shed light on the general level of responsiveness of those institutions about which you have made inquiry.  Give each institution a grade on their website, and on the level of responsiveness they provided to you.  Here is a suggested grading system:

Website                                                                       Responsiveness

A = easy to navigate, informative, captivating             A = had a response within 7 business days

B = well-done, good information, friendly                   B = had a response within 12 business days

C = fairly easy to navigate, not as helpful/friendly      C = had a response within 17 business days

D = difficult to navigate, not very informative             D = had a response within 22 business days

F = what were they thinking?                                          F = took three weeks or longer for a response

FF=no website, or close to nothing                                FF = no response

11 months before applying:

1. Based on the two items above (website and responsiveness), you are now in a position to narrow your search a bit.  But do not narrow it too much.  Obviously those institutions you have graded as F or FF could most likely be eliminated.  You may be surprised at some of the options you are eliminating should you rely completely on the grades given.  If you still have an interest in a college/university that you did not initially grade well, keep it on the list for now.  However,  if you continue to get the same treatment you did when first browsing the web and/or asking for information, ask yourself the following question:  If I’m being treated this way now, how will it be should I apply, be offered admission, and enroll?
2. Further expand the spreadsheet you created last month to compare each of the options that remain on your list.  Down the left hand column will be an alphabetical list of your options.  Across the top will be all of the areas about the options that you want to compare.  Here are some suggestions (there are a total of 26 in my book):
   1. Website grade
   1. Responsiveness grade
   1. Friendliness of admissions staff
   1. Interaction with current students
   1. Interaction with alumni
   1. Facilities
   1. Career services/employment percentages
   1. Financial Aid – scholarships, loans, assistantships, fellowships, work study

10 months before applying:

1. Work on completing your research spreadsheet, filling in every column for each option.  As you go along you will eliminate a few or quite a few.  That is okay.  As a consumer you are doing what you should be doing – comparison shopping.
   
   
2. After reviewing your entire spreadsheet, do a very general rank order of the options that remain. You could rank every option, starting with #1 and going to the end of the list.  Or, you could group your options:  top group, second group, third group, etc.  Whenever possible, you should have at least five options left.  Hopefully, you will have many more.  However, depending on the type of graduate program you seek, the number of options will vary.  The point is that you are still not at the place where you need to have a “short list.”  You are still ten months away from applying, and will have several opportunities to narrow down your list before that time.

 

REMEMBER:  PERCEPTION IS REALITY – IT’S WHERE YOU END UP AFTER DOING YOUR RESEARCH, NOT WHERE YOU START OUT. 

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