Applying to graduate school time-consuming
Those who plan to enroll into a graduate school need to start their paperwork before they get into their senior year.
COMMENTARY
Emilee Baker

A word of warning for the seniors graduating in May or before: if you are planning on going straight into graduate school and you haven’t begun the quest, start now! I’ve been working on grad school for more than two months now, and I feel more behind than ever before.

I had no idea that so much information was requested and how long the application process is actually taking me. I have found that when I’m not studying, my hours are filled with forms, printouts, and essays concerning why I’m the best student to attend various graduate schools.

Also, I’ve been surprised to see how many of these schools require you to fill out a list of professors that you would like to work under. I had never considered that I would need to talk to professors I’ve never seen or from which I’ve never taken a class. Yet I am supposed to rank these professors in the order of which I think they would be most beneficial to my studies.

I don’t mean to complain about the process, but I simply wish that these schools could look at a student and say, “yes. She graduated with a double major in four years and she has a great GPA,” instead of “if you don’t have a 600 on each of the GRE sections, don’t even bother to apply.”

Granted, I have yet to take the GRE, and I know I’m a little behind in that area, but I never even contemplated having to take another version of the SAT during my senior year of college. Not only that, but I’m going to be held responsible for knowing algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. I haven’t had one of those classes since my sophomore year of high school. I can remember doing it, and doing it well, but looking at problems now is a little frightening.

I even bought a book to help me prepare for the GRE. All it has done thus far is show me how much I’ve forgotten in the past four years. I have been more focused on my specific areas of study and not even remotely concerned with those subjects we left behind in high school. Yet, they are almost one-half of the test that will determine which grad school I will attend. If I can get in.

Unfortunately for me, I cannot make up what I will be lacking in math with a GRE Subject Test. I have a feeling I would do even worse if I attempted physics, and it has nothing to do with my areas of interest anyway.

Basically, I just want to let everyone know that applying to graduate school is a serious business, and it should be started before your senior year. Look at those schools that you have even small interest in, and request information. Don’t wait until you begin your senior year of college. Trust me. The last thing you want to do is spend your free time filling out scads of forms. And for those of you who have yet to begin, good luck!

Emilee Baker is a senior anthropology and sociology major from Sheridan, Ark. She can be reached at (e.m.baker@tcu.edu).