Prior to getting your acceptance and rejection letters, you were terrified that you weren’t going to get into any of the grad schools that you applied to. However, now you’ve gotten your letters back, and you have been accepted into more than one of the schools you’ve applied to. The decision between the schools can be daunting. If you need help deciding between schools, consider this advice from GradSchools.com:

Financial questions are the biggest explosions of light at the end of a great fireworks show. For many people, those grand explosions are the main reason they gathered to see fireworks in the first place. Consequently, the financial situation is often the biggest factor in a student’s ultimate grad school decision. If a school’s tuition seems too much, keep in mind there is always financial aid.

Talk to students and professors. See what they have to say about the school. Hopefully they will be happy with where they are, and if so, find out why. If they aren’t, you definitely want to know that. Learn what their personal experiences have been. What they like and dislike about the place. This may seem a bit obvious, but ask questions that relate specifically to you. If you like to shop, find out if there is a good shopping district in the area. If you are into science, ask about the quality and availability of the chemistry labs. Ask if there are good movies theaters in the area. Or good restaurants. Or any details that truly matter to you. Take this time to learn the intricacies of a school that brochures can’t address.

In the end, students should simply feel grateful that they were accepted into several grad schools rather than none. And, because you choose the school that fit you when you applied, don’t fret too much over the decision. Most likely, you’ll have a fantastic experience wherever you choose.

When you’re trying to distinguish yourself from hundreds of other candidates for the grad school of your choice, then you’re probably going to be better of with a remarkable GPA. However, there are other ways of distinguishing yourself in your grad school application. Macleans.ca offers the following advice on applying to grad school:
In general, even though we know that marks aren’t the only thing that reflect a student’s ability, they are the easiest way to compare one student to another when you have many, many applications and not very many spots to offer. So excellent marks are very important.
That said, someone without excellent marks can also be a great graduate student and can be convincing in their application that they would be a great … | Read the rest of this entry »

Every year, U.S. News and World Report ranks the best grad schools in 10 different fields of study. Their 2008 report ranks the following ten graduate law schools as the best in the country:

Yale University (CT)
Harvard University (MA)
Stanford University (CA)
New York University
Columbia University (NY)
University of Chicago
University of Pennsylvania
University of California—Berkeley
University of Michigan—Ann Arbor
Duke University (NC)

Their ranking consider many factors, including peer assessment score, assessment score by lawyers and judges, average student GPA, average LSAT score, acceptance rate, student-teacher ratio, percentage of graduates employed at graduation, and BAR passage rate in both the student’s state and jurisdiction.

It has been announced that the General GRE, the test that many students must take prior to applying to graduate schools, is currently being revised and will change as of September of 2007. According to CBS News:
The GRE General Test, the bane of many applicants, is about to get more challenging. A much-delayed revamp debuts in September with changes designed to make it more relevant-at least according to Educational Testing Service, the people who dreamed it up. The new exam will clock in at over four hours, up from 2 1/2. There will be more critical reading questions in the verbal section and more interpolation questions in quantitative reasoning, and, like the SAT, the GRE will jettison analogies.
One thing is certain: Scores will plummet. … | Read the rest of this entry »

While most law schools don’t have any course prerequisites, there are classes you can take as an undergraduate student that will better prepare you for both the LSAT and law school. Tara Kuther with About.com suggests that students take the following courses as an undergraduate:
Public Speaking
Accounting
Economics
Philosophy
History and Government
Composition and Literature
Psychology
Sociology
Political Science
Religion
Logic
Expository Writing
Beyond these courses, Kuther also suggests that students take several writing courses where your essays are critiqued by professors and other students. Writing is an integral part of law schools, and students should be well prepared by being able to write efficiently and coherently and be able to follow standard grammar rules.

If you’ve made the decision to attend grad school, the next step is deciding what degree you’ll pursue. There are many factors that determine which degree is right for your career goals. GradSchoolTips offers some advice on choosing which degree to pursue:
Which one is right for you? That’s a question you can only answer for yourself, but there are some things to consider before making the decision. For some careers, a doctorate degree is seen as having little use, and the master’s is the desirable degree. Of course, if you’re hoping to become a tenured professor at a college or university, you’ll want to go after the doctorate degree. You’ll want to research opportunities and requirements in the careers and areas that interest you to … | Read the rest of this entry »

Many students fear that their low undergraduate GPA will severely damage their chances of getting into graduate school. However, this is not always true. There are ways of recovering from a low undergraduate GPA and still getting into the grad school of your choice. The Princeton Review offers this advice on recovering from a poor GPA:
Choose a Realistic List of Schools—The GPA Scale Is All Relative
Have you made friends with your college’s graduate school (pre-law, pre-mba, pre-med, etc.) advisor yet? If not, hop to it! Their job is to help you compile a list of schools that will realistically suit your needs and strengths. He or she will be the first to discourage you from having impossible expectations and will coach you to be flexible. … | Read the rest of this entry »

A new website directory was launched this month that focuses solely on online schools that offer PhD programs. Doctorate-Degree-PhD-Directory.com recognizes the value of online education for individuals pursuing their PhD and scoured the Internet looking for the top online PhD programs for their database. According to EWorldWire Press:
The beauty of pursuing a degree online lies in its convenience. Chances are when students are pursuing a doctorate, they are already working in their field of study, full-time, and finding the time to attend traditional college classes can be a challenge. In fact, the challenge is significant enough that many students will not follow through with their desire to obtain a Ph.D. Thus, online degree programs can allow these frustrated students to gain their degree, with convenience. … | Read the rest of this entry »

Many students make the mistake of thinking that their graduate school education will be much like their undergraduate education. This is simply not true. The following excerpt taken from GradSchools Express News explains some of the differences between graduate and undergraduate education:
Unlike your undergrad degree, there are no general studies requirements in graduate school. There are no electives. Your field of study is narrower and delves deeper, forcing a mastery of your chosen field, and you will spend the length of your schooling on your specific subject. This is because your goal in grad school will be to gain the specialized training necessary for the career toward which you are working.
You will also find that your relationship with your professors will be much different. … | Read the rest of this entry »

Many people wait until their senior year of college to start thinking about what they need to do in order to get into the best grad school. However, making sure that you get into the best grad school is a process that starts as soon as you begin your undergraduate degree program. Tara Kuther, Ph.D., with About.com offers this advice on how to improve your chances of getting into the best graduate school:

Get to know your professors.
Get involved in research with a professor. If it goes well, you might present a paper at a conference or even get a journal article out of it. Research experience, presentations, and publications are the keys to graduate school.
Excel in your courses.
Take plenty of science and math, … | Read the rest of this entry »