<p>When should I think about Grad School ? I am in the class of 2012, and I found out how tough admissions were this year. So I know that getting jobs in a few years will only be as tough. </p>
<p>While at orientation, there was a lecture about getting a degreee and job vs. going into Grad school. Bascially, she said that you should ONLY go to Grad school if you are 100% sure you know what you want to do. She talked about a dentist who didn't want to be one and how he got a degree which he didn't even know what to do with. He had no planning and "wasted" time and money on grad school.</p>
<p>I'm starting in the fall and plan on major in engineering. </p>
<p>So my question is when should i start thinking about it ?</p>
<p>I would start thinking about grad school in the 2nd half of your junior year. However, make sure you know what you want to do. Sometimes, it’s more beneficial to work a few years before you apply. This is especially true for professional master’s programs and even the humanities PhD. The only programs that are even worth applying straight after college are law and medical schools and you know that’s what you want to do as a career.</p>
<p>Junior year once you’ve explored your options through your gen ed classes and different EC experiences. Although I can’t help but be amused at the thought of telling you that you shuold’ve thought of “grade school” back when you were 4 years old…</p>
<p>^^ haha, that was my reaction to the original title. </p>
<p>But back to the topic, I’m going to be a sophomore, and I’m looking into Grad schools right now. I say it doesn’t hurt, and I won’t have to be scrambling to look at schools and visit them during late junior year. Even if I decide this isn’t exactly what I want to do by then, I still think that my exploration into grad school options will have only helped me. Plus, if I’m supposed to have experience related to my future field, I might as well start that as soon as possible.</p>
<p>Think about it whenever you want… never too early I guess. I didn’t start till the end of my sophomore year, and it’s been on my mind for the past few months now: what do I want to do with my life? </p>
<p>Generally I’ve heard unless you are set on becoming a Doctor or Lawyer or have some other real interest that requires a graduate degree, you should work first. If you want to be a doctor and have the opportunity, I don’t see why you should work after UG, and if you really have a desire to do something that requires a degree for it then it makes sense to me to follow it up. </p>
<p>With something like engineering it can be to your advantage to work since you can then take advantage of employer tuition reimbursements (sometimes), so instead of paying for a masters you can have them pay, which is a plus.</p>
<p>I think the 100% rule is bogus, since these days BA/BS degrees are a dime a dozen and to set yourself apart you can get experience or go for an MA/MS; for some people the weight of tuition for a masters degree isn’t as significant as for others so the masters isn’t necessarily a bad idea. Jumping on board a PhD/Professional degree program without knowing for sure is another matter.</p>
<p>My plan entering undergrad was to do an engineering/business type route (everyone wants to be an entrepreneur, right?), but now I have shifted to medical applications of physics. A lot can change in two years I guess.</p>