How to Decide Whether to Go to Grad SchoolJul 24 '02 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Educate yourself before you enter a graduate program; they may not be what you expect.
For me, the choice was easy. Around my third year in college, a light bulb just went off in my head, and I knew that sociology was the right major for me and that I wanted to go to graduate school to study it further. So, right out of college, I entered a Ph.D. program in sociology and, now about to begin my fourth year in the program, I’ve been loving it ever since. But for many people, choosing whether or not to go to graduate school is much more complicated. One of the major reasons people have trouble making this decision (or make the wrong decision) is that many people don't fully understand what graduate school is all about. Often, people think that going to graduate school is a good way to avoid entering the "real world" and getting a job. Or, people who really enjoyed their undergraduate studies go on to graduate school thinking that it will be more of the same. Neither of these are good reasons to go to grad school. A better understanding of the different types of graduate school and what they're like should make it easier to decide it graduate school is right for you. Types of Graduate Programs, What They’re Like, and Who Should Go to Them There are three main types of graduate school programs: terminal Master's degree programs, professional programs, and Ph.D. programs. Terminal Master’s degree programs are programs where you enter for a one- to three-year series of coursework, perhaps combined with some practical experience (internships, etc.) or research (a Master's thesis). Often, these programs are tied to particular career goals (for example, getting a Master's of Social Work). Terminal Master's degree programs are the closest graduate school can get to what it was like being an undergraduate. The courses may be more challenging or involve more work than undergraduate courses, depending on the institution you went to, but in general, you'll be focused on completing regular assignments for classes, just as you were as an undergraduate. Any research or “real world” experience you participate in will likely be closely supervised, and you may not get to choose the topic yourself. Professional programs (law school, business school, medical school) may take the same amount of time, or slightly longer than, some Master's degree programs, but they have a different kind of focus. Each of these degrees (although business school less so than law or medical school) a professional body of knowledge meant to gain you entry into some quite high-paying, high powered jobs. They are known for being intense, stressful experiences. Like undergraduate programs, law and business school programs are based mostly on coursework, although they likely include summer internships as important components of the training. Medical school, of course, involves not only rigorous coursework but also major real-world experience as well. Finally, Ph.D. programs are the graduate school experience that is least like being an undergraduate. When you’re a Ph.D. student, you do begin your time in graduate school by taking classes. However, the classes are only small parts of your work in graduate school. From the time you enter, you are expected to be doing independent reading to keep up with the most recent research in your areas of interest, planning and carrying out your own research, writing papers and submitting them for publication, planning ahead for what major project you might undertake as dissertation research, and, usually, spending 15-30 hours a week teaching undergraduates. In other words, Ph.D. programs involve a lot of independent work and juggling many different tasks at once in a way undergraduates don’t normally do. In my experience, it is students who entered a Ph.D. program based simply on enjoying their undergraduate courses in that field that ended up the most unhappy in graduate school, because Ph.D. programs just have a different focus. Depending on what kind of degree program you are considering, you should think about your strengths and weaknesses and your learning preferences to see whether that kind of program will really suit your needs. Will the lack of guidance in a Ph.D. program leave you feeling lost? Will the high levels of competition in many professional programs make you feel alienated and miserable? Of course, if you really want to pursue a particular career path and need this graduate degree to do so, such concerns should not deter you (although being aware of them might help you better choose which institution to attend, perhaps finding a program known for good mentoring or low levels of competition among students). But if you are considering graduate school in a more casual manner, as many people are, think seriously about these things. Graduate school is not the fun-and-games of being an undergraduate. In most cases, you will find a very different environment, one in which you are left mostly to find your own way, fend for yourself, and do a lot of independent thinking and producing. Many people are miserable when they begin a Ph.D. program, for example, because they expected to enjoy taking classes in a subject that interested them, but they didn't expect that they'd be pushed so soon to produce their own research and independent thought on the subject. If you just enjoy reading books about psychology, that doesn't mean you should enter a Ph.D. program in it. Other Factors to Consider in Deciding Whether to Go to Grad School There are other important issues to consider when deciding whether or not graduate school is for you. One important consideration for many people is cost. Depending on what sort of program you are looking at, you may incur major costs or be able to go to graduate school scot free. Many Ph.D. programs provide fellowships and jobs teaching undergraduates to defray the costs of graduate education, often covering the vast majority of expenses (paying tuition, providing health coverage, and also providing a stipend that covers a large part of housing, food, and other living expenses). This is more often the case at the more elite programs; if you are going to a second-tier or third-tier institution, you may not find such generous funding packages. Professional schooling generally requires taking out loans, although this may not be as much of a burden as undergraduate loans because the increased pay based on earning a professional school degree is substantial and should allow fairly quick payment on the loans. Finally, if you are currently working, look into your company’s educational programs; many companies will defray the costs of further education related to your field, allowing you to cheaply attain a Master’s degree or MBA. Second, consider carefully what the career benefits would be if you got this degree. Do you really need it? Graduate school is a lot of work, and there’s no sense in going if it won’t get you closer to what you want in life. If a higher degree is what’s keeping you from the job you want, go for it. But if what you really want is to pursue a different career, or are just generally unsure of what you want, it’s a bad idea to just use graduate school as a placeholder while you figure things out. Finally, consider your other life plans and how graduate school would fit into them. Depending on your age, you might need to consider whether and when you want to get married and/or have a family, and how going to graduate school now would affect that. Do you have other family responsibilities, such as caring for aging parents, that affect whether you’d be able to complete graduate school? Conclusions I have really enjoyed my time in graduate school so far, and I hope that I will also enjoy the dissertation process I’m about to begin. But I also know many people who have not enjoyed graduate school, either sticking it out and being miserable or dropping out having (perhaps) wasted a few years of time they could have spent otherwise. I also know people who finished graduate school just fine but then realized they really didn’t want to pursue anything having to do with the degree they had just spent so much time and money earning. These are costly mistakes to make. I’d recommend that before making the choice to go to graduate school, you really spend some time reading about it, talking to graduate students and faculty, and visiting graduate programs. If you really know what you’re getting into, you’re less likely to get into something you don’t want.  |
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