Graduate School Support
About Graduate School
- We recommend you choose the program that suits your personal and professional goals. Do a lot of online research. If possible, visit those schools that are the best match for your career interests.
- Having trouble selecting a graduate program that fits your needs? Check out
U.S. News and World for grad school guides and rankings.
- Once you have narrowed the list of schools to your top choices, begin the application process.
- Give yourself plenty of time to complete grad school applications and start well in advance of the due dates. Avoid rushing through your application and take the time to provide thoughtful answers and materials that showcase your best undergraduate work.
Watch the Career Short for more information:
Graduate School Application Timeline
Follow this general timeline to keep yourself on track. Time frames are approximate: Check the deadlines for your schools of interest and adjust accordingly.
Junior Year
- If your GPA is an issue, it’s time to pull your grades up!
- Start looking for programs and schools that match your interests.
- Investigate what kind of financial aid options will be available to you at the various institutions, including grants, loans, fellowships, and assistantships.
- Schedule your entrance exams. You may want to take these exams in the spring of your junior year so you get them out of the way (and have time to retake if necessary).
Senior Year
- Get your transcripts from all your post-secondary education institutions.
- Line up references and provide them with the information they need to write a complete reference.
- Schedule your entrance exams if you haven't already taken them or need to retake them.
- Fill out your applications and FAFSA before the end of the calendar year.
- Acceptance letters should arrive in the Spring.
Watch Self Made Millennial as she talks about her admissions board experience for grad school!
How to Ace Your Grad School Interview (USA Today, 2020)
Research your chosen profession and schools of interest. The more you know about your chosen field, the more you can demonstrate your passion.
Collect information about the interview structure. Each school is different, so review any information they provide carefully. In particular, assess the following: Who will I meet with and how will the conversations take place? Will interviewers have access to my application?
Be ready to break the ice. Interviews often begin by asking, “Tell me about yourself.” Summarize important aspects of your background that are relevant to your field of interest. Practice your response aloud to help it flow naturally.
Rehearse commonly asked questions. Identify your strengths and weaknesses. Review your past achievements to identify evidence you can provide about your qualifications and educational background, including feedback you have received from others, improvements you have made or challenges you have overcome.
Articulate your reasons for pursuing an advanced degree. Emphasize the activities you have engaged in to confirm your desire to enter the field. It's not enough to say that you're applying because you have a family member who works in the profession or because you want to “help people.” Take some time to reflect so you can address the specific aspects that appeal to you compared to other occupations. Reread your personal statement.
Put your best face forward. Practice in front of a mirror to assess your nonverbal communication. Are you smiling and maintaining eye contact? Do both your posture and gestures communicate confidence? You are interviewing for admittance into graduate school, not a rock band. Dress professionally, remove any body piercings, cover any tattoos and pull your hair back so it's out of your eyes.
Remember that you're always being interviewed. If you happen to meet with current students, continue to behave professionally. Students often make recommendations regarding admission, so avoid any causal conversations that you might have with your peers in other settings.
Manage any nervousness. Get a good night sleep and give yourself extra time to get to the interview. If you find yourself jittery, simply acknowledge it and move forward. Most people relax after the first few questions.
Close with class. Thank the interviewers for their time and convey your appreciation for their consideration. Reinforce this message by sending a written thank you shortly thereafter.
Don’t go it alone. Meet with a professor, speak with your advisor or visit The Exchange to practice your answers.
- Big Interview isn’t just a training course, it is a whole interview prep system. You’ll also get hands-on practice with mock interviews tailored to your specific industry, job, and experience level.
- Register with your Marian University account and get started interviewing today. Big Interview allows students to browse through thousands of pre-loaded interview questions, conducting and reviewing their own web interviews.
- Get started with Big Interview today!
- Purpose is to tell admission committee of your goals, aspirations, previous experiences and qualifications that demonstrates and describes you as a person.
- Your resume/CV may show the reader what you have done, but the personal statement explains why.
- A personal statement should be deeply personal, giving the admissions committee insight into your passions and ultimate decision to pursue a career in your field.
- A compelling and introspective personal statement can make the difference between getting an interview and getting a rejection letter.
- Shemmissian: Provides additional examples of medical school personal statements and analysis regarding personal statements.
Post Graduate School Testing
You may be thinking, "What test do I need?". Well, that depends on your graduate school plans. Check out the list of exams below for more information!
The Graduate Record Examination, or GRE, is a multiple-choice, computer-based, standardized exam. The GRE® General Test features question types. that closely reflect the kind of thinking you’ll do — and the skills you need to succeed — in today's demanding graduate school programs. It measures your verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking and analytical writing skills.
The overall testing time for the GRE® General Test is about three hours and 45 minutes. There are six sections with a 10-minute break following the third section. Fees are subject to change and are currently $205 for the test. There are free practice sites that can assist in your test prep. and additional prep for a cost. Use this link for further information on scoring. Fee waiver information and eligibility can be found here.
- The Graduate Management Admissions Test, is a multiple-choice, computer-based, standardized exam. If you are serious about business school, take the GMAT exam. Schools know that if you take the GMAT exam, you are serious about earning a graduate business degree. It demonstrates your commitment, motivation, and ability to succeed in business school and measures your critical thinking and reasoning skills. Fees are subject to change and are currently $275 for the test.
- There is a free GMAT Handbook, 8 week study planner, and additional prep for a cost. Use this link for further information on scoring. A competitive overall score for the GMAT is 650 or higher.
- The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is an integral part of law school admission. The test is designed specifically to assess critical reading, analytical reasoning, logical reasoning, and persuasive writing skills and is administered in two parts. The first part of the test is a multiple-choice exam administered at test centers throughout the world. The second part of the test is a written essay, called LSAT Writing. Fees are subject to change and are currently $200 for the test. There is a free LSAT Prep or a paid version, Khan Academy also has free prep. Fee waiver information and eligibility can be found here.
- Your LSAT (or LSAT-Flex) score is based on the number of questions you answered correctly — your “raw score.” To make it easier to compare scores earned across different LSAT administrations, your “raw score” is converted to an LSAT scale. This is the score you receive in your score report. The LSAT scale ranges from 120 to 180, with 120 being the lowest possible score and 180 being the highest possible score.
Competitive Score: 159-163
The Medical College Admission Test® (MCAT®), developed and administered by the AAMC, is a standardized, multiple-choice examination created to help medical school admissions offices assess your problem solving, critical thinking, and knowledge of natural, behavioral, and social science concepts and principles prerequisite to the study of medicine. Fees are subject to change and are currently $320 for the test. There is a free MCAT Essentials Information Book, and Free Planning & Study Guides. A competitive overall score for the MCAT is 508 or higher. Fee waiver information and eligibility can be found here.
The Pharmacy College Admission Test is a specialized test that helps identify qualified applicants to pharmacy colleges. Check with your schools before, not all schools require this. It measures general academic ability and scientific knowledge necessary for the commencement of pharmaceutical education. The PCAT is constructed specifically for colleges of pharmacy.
There are five separate subtests on the PCAT:
Writing: Subtest includes a prompt involves a health issue, a science issue, or a social, cultural or political issue. Examinees are asked to present a solution to the problem in their original essay and are scored on how well they write an essay that is a sufficient length to adequately explain a solution to the problem.
Biological Processes: Items are presented either in a set accompanying a short passage or as stand-alone items that can be answered independently.
Chemical Processes: Items are presented in the same way as the Biological subtest.
Critical Reading: All items are in sets that accompany reading passages.
Quantitative Reasoning: Subtest consists entirely of standalone items with many of the items presented in a word-problem or problem-solving scenario.
Graduate Test Fee Reduction Programs
Financial Management Resources
- Mint: See where your money goes and keep track of your budget.
- Feed the Pig: This site provides tips and interactive tools to remind you to feed the piggy bank.
- Job Seekers Salary Calculator: Get a good understanding as to how much money you can expect to make after you graduate based on your location, experience, and education.
- MoneyGeek: A Step-by-Step Guide to Negotiating for the Pay You Deserve.
- IN Reality: Explore your career choices based on how much you could earn.
- FinAid: The SmartStudentTM Guide to Financial Aid
- StudentAid.gov: An office of the U.S. Department of Education with a wealth of information from applying to colleges to learning the many plans a borrower can utilize to best repay their loans. In addition, directions, tips and definitions are provided for filling out the FAFSA, assessing loan eligibility, and deciding how financial aid can make college a reality.
Graduate test fee reduction programs:
