A few questions on grad school in the US

Graduate School
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<p>Firstly, sorry if this is in the wrong place, or if my questions are a bit uneducated (I haven't done proper research yet - have actually only just been mulling the idea over the past few days - and am looking for some ideas prior to doing proper research, but sorry for any stupid questions in advance).</p>

<p>So basically I'm graduating from UCL (in London, England) this summer and am looking to study a masters in something like business management in 2014/2015 (after taking a gap year). I have a few questions about applying for masters in the USA, but these are kind of disjointed and random.</p>

<p>What do I actually need to have in order to apply? I gather that for most schools (but not all) I need either a GMAT or a GRE. What else do I need? Is there a good online guide to applying for US grad schools which is known to the Americans but not the English?</p>

<p>I'm also wondering if a masters student can join a fraternity during the masters? If so, which universities are best for this?</p>

<p>On the basis that I want to be able to join a fraternity, will graduate with a 2.1 (GPA of something like 3.2-3.5 in US terms) and can probably get around 700 on the GMAT, (I also have worked for Goldman Sachs and a large European Investment bank for the past two summers if that counts for anything), which universities may be good to look at?</p>

<p>Sorry for the random questions again; if anything needs clarifying then please say.</p>

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<p>I have literally never heard of a graduate student being a member of a fraternity. Doesn’t mean it can’t happen, but basically, it’s not at all considered normal.</p>

<p>Also, pursuing an MBA is generally done after gaining significant career experience in the business world. In general, MBA programs will not accept students who do not have one to two years of full-time experience in business, absent a compelling reason otherwise. This is particularly true of the most competitive schools.</p>

3

<p>Thank you very much for your reply.</p>

<p>Okay, I guess that most people aren’t interested in that type of thing once they’re a grad student, so I might still be able to get in. Out of interest, are most masters courses in the USA 2 years long? Also, I read about associate courses; are these the same as masters or different?</p>

<p>I didn’t mean I wanted to study for an MBA (yet). In the UK we have masters courses in management where you study for 1 year (rather than 2) and you get a masters in science, as opposed to masters in business administration etc. I suppose that you don’t have them here? (This is the kind of thing we have in the UK - [MSc</a> Management](<a href=“Imperial College London”>Imperial College London))</p>

<p>My undergrad is in biology, and I essentially want to combine this with some sort of business knowledge, so I have been looking at MSc Biochemical Engineering, MSc Biotechnology etc. I guess that most USA universities would offer courses more like these? If they don’t offer the management courses like in the UK.</p>

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<p>

For most MS programs you will need the GRE (GMAT is for MBA!), 3 letters of recommendation preferably from PhD’s, a transcript, the time to complete the application, and the application fee. Applications are due in the fall, generally in December, with notifications going out the following spring, generally in February or March. As an international student you will also need to arrange your visa and may (depending) need to demonstrate the financial ability to pay for your education.</p>

<p>

Probably, although I would not know where to start. Please note that the life of a graduate students is very different than that of an undergrad, and fraternity life may be a very poor fit.</p>

<p>

2-3 years is about average.</p>

<p>

Very, very different - associate degrees are BELOW bachelor’s degrees, and are not what you are looking for.</p>

<p>

The MBA is meant to provide broad, practical, masters-level business skills, to prepare people for management or certain specialties (like finance or investment banking). There are definitely MS degrees in Business Administration but they are research degrees meant to advance your existing studies in a very narrow area. For an MBA you need no business background. For the MS, you DO need a business background.</p>

<p>Based on your statements, I do not think you would be competitive for MS programs.</p>

<p>

These are offered, but they are not business degrees, they are engineering degrees with little or no business content. I think there are some degrees out there that will offer what you are looking for, but they are going to be specialty programs that will be difficult to find. I would recommend either the MBA (which is expensive and of limited value without experience), a UK degree, or working for a few years and going from there.</p>

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<p>Thank you for your advice. I think that I need to concentrate on finishing my undergraduate degree and then can start with more research in the summer into different degrees; I won’t be able to apply for any masters programmes until the fall right? And there is no chance of starting a MS or MBA in this fall/the next semester right?</p>

<p>To put the fraternity/USA thing kind of straight, I almost want to do a masters to just extend university, enjoy life for a few more years, experience another country, extend my knowledge a bit etc, before I start work - I would prefer to go somewhere where I may have more free time to do things like sport/fraternity over somewhere like an Ivy (not that I would get into one) where I would have to work long and hard etc. I want to join a fraternity as I want to experience that before being tied down with a job and being unable to go to university in a different country etc. I think as I am graduating at the age of 20, I feel as though I don’t want to go straight into banking just yet, but would rather experience a different country, learn something more and make the most of free time and my 20s.</p>

<p>On a separate note, if I can get a 700 on the GMAT (friends of similar grades on my course have been getting upto 740) what kind of grade would this indicate I should be getting for the GRE (I know this is obviously flawed as there may be no correlation, but if I don’t ask, I won’t know that). On this basis, which sorts of grad schools should I be looking at? I know league tables are flawed, but what kind of regions should I be looking at? 30s-50s? or above/below? Thanks again.</p>

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<p>[iTo put the fraternity/USA thing kind of straight, I almost want to do a masters to just extend university, enjoy life for a few more years, experience another country, extend my knowledge a bit etc, before I start work - I would prefer to go somewhere where I may have more free time to do things like sport/fraternity over somewhere like an Ivy (not that I would get into one) where I would have to work long and hard etc. I want to join a fraternity as I want to experience that before being tied down with a job and being unable to go to university in a different country etc. I think as I am graduating at the age of 20, I feel as though I don’t want to go straight into banking just yet, but would rather experience a different country, learn something more and make the most of free time and my 20s.</p>

<p>I’m not trying to be mean, but this shows evidence that you don’t understand how graduate education works - and really should NOT do a graduate program.</p>

<p>Graduate school is not a way to “extend” undergrad. It is VERY different. It’s a lot more work, and it is very career-oriented. You will take 3 or 4 graduate courses, and I think each grad course (academically and work-speaking) is the equivalent of 1.5-2 undergrad classes depending on the department and professor. In an MS program, you would also be expected to do research as an RA with a professor and hopefully publish some papers. In an MBA program, you’ll have to network and do some summer internships.</p>

<p>Second of all, joining a fraternity is unlikely to be an option. First of all, many NIC fraternities (the governing body for fraternities in the US) don’t accept graduate students as members in their undergraduate folds; you often have to go through a separate process called alumni initiation, and it’s not like the collegiate experience. Second of all, even if you could join an undergrad chapter, you will be far too busy to live the undergrad lifestyle in a fraternity. You’ll have too much graduate work.</p>

<p>Graduate school is NOT the place to basically lay back and enjoy your 20s. I’m in grad school. Trust me, a 9-5 is actually more freeing. You will have more free time, even though it doesn’t seem that way. You’ll work from 9-5 and then when you come home, you are finished - no papers, no group work, no additional work to do. That’s unless you want to go work one of those 60-80 hour a week jobs, and honestly, sometimes grad school can get that intense - at least you’ll be getting paid for it.</p>

<p>If you want to experience a different country and travel, try a teach abroad program or a work exchange program where you can come work in the US (or another country) for a few years. Go teach English in Japan through JET or in Korea through EPIK. But don’t go to graduate school; it will not provide you with the things that you want, and you’ll be disappointed.</p>

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<p>Thank you for your reply; some very useful information there.</p>

<p>In the UK we have two types of master’s degrees; taught (MSc/MA) and research (MRes). The taught programmes are like an extension of undergrad, but within a more concentrated area (they also sometimes consist of internships etc); they last 12 months and consist mainly of lectures, ie: teaching you as opposed to you doing research. Do American universities not have these programmes? Is everything research based rather than teaching? I know people doing the taught masters programmes at my university, and they tend to have more time than I have to be honest, but of course, it may be completely different in the USA.</p>

<p>I do have a few offers for these taught masters in the UK but prefer the idea of going to the USA (provided you have the same programmes). My reasons are as above; I want to learn more around the subject (ie: why a taught mater’s degree is what i’m looking for) but also postpone going into my 60-80 hour a week job (which is the reality of what I am facing).</p>

<p>I have considered these gap year programmes and teaching programmes, but I am also wanting to learn more as well, hence why I am looking for more information on master’s degrees.</p>

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<p>You will find “coursework” vs “thesis” masters degrees in the US, but as was mentioned above, neither should be considered an extension of undergrad, especially when looking at MS. Coursework masters tend to cater to people who have been in industry 2-5 years looking for their next level of credentials. Research or thesis masters are often feeders into PhD programs.</p>

<p>The short (ish) answer to all of this is 1) there is no guide. every graduate program is different and 2) you should not start graduate school without a firm idea of what you are doing.</p>

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<p>Perhaps a MPH or a MHA should be doable if you want to work in public health afterward…</p>