<p>So, as a rising Freshman, what should I know about graduate school? I know absolutely nothing about graduate school or the application process. How do I even decide if I should go to grad school? I'm undeclared at the moment, but I feel like I should at least have some idea what I may be facing in a few years if I do decide to apply for graduate school.</p>
<p>I know this post will likely be hard to answer, but I'm just looking for general info on what graduate school is all about, how/when to apply, what I should be doing my first year to prepare, etc.</p>
<p>You go to grad school if you can’t get a job in your major. Either because you suck at interviewing or you picked a major that doesn’t have any jobs unless you have a PhD (and you might be screwed even at that). Some exceptions are if you want to be a professor, you need a doctorate. If you want to work at certain jobs, you need a grad degree or experience.</p>
<p>I’m only applying just in case I suck at full time interviewing (in EE).</p>
<p>I’m a freshmen, too, and this question has been daunting me all summer long - so I decided to do some researching, asking experienced people and such.</p>
<p>From what i’ve attained so far, graduate school is for people who want to get a specific job that requires one to have an MA or PhD; I believe there are also MFA and much more types of post-graduate degree(s) depending on what your concentration is. Grad school admission is much more different than undergrad. GPA and GRE/MCAT/LSAT/GMAT score(s),etc. are all crucial, but another crucial thing is EXPERIENCE. If you are looking into a research career, then you better have a lot of research experience because you will be competing with really competitive people, especially at the top programs. I also learned that letters of recommendations and personal statements are a big deal, they can make you OR break you.</p>
<p>If you’re like me and starting to prepare for grad school early on, just work hard and keep your gpa good. Also, join clubs and get involved with whatever is relevant to your endeavors. Go to the career service at your university and ask any questions you have about getting specific internships, jobs, studying abroad, etc. I hear grad schools really want to know what you specifically want to do. Anyway, freshmen year shouldn’t be too crazy. Just start the year off well with good grades and forming connections.</p>
<p>In a few years time when you graduate, if you can’t find a job or the job you want requires more education you go to grad school. A good and smart way to figure this out now is to find a major/majors and see what jobs are available with them. This makes it easy to decide early whether or not you should go to grad school. Some majors can only be used to the fullest if you get a masters or a phd.</p>
<p>Bachelors degrees are becomming increasingly commonplace nowadays. I interned with a government agency, and they are more likely to hire people with graduate degrees than those people solely with bachelors. Going to grad school just makes one more competitive in the process.</p>