College, Career, Life » grad school

The Wrong Reasons for Going to Grad School

collegecareerlife — Fri, 04 May 2012 14:24:24 +0000

Graduate school serves as an escape or easy choice for many students that lack direction or job opportunities. However, the decision to go to graduate school should be based on other factors and should not be a default option. Graduate programs are filled with students that went for the wrong reasons. Don’t invest your money and time on something that may not pay off.

Avoiding the Job Search

A job search is filled with rejection and uncertainty. It’s uncomfortable for anyone, but especially for recent graduates that must compete with more experienced applicants. Few employers are willing to train new workers, so true entry-level jobs are rare. This realization leads many students to continue with school, where things are more familiar and hard work is rewarded with good grades. Despite the appeal of an academic environment, one can only delay entry to the real world for so long. Going to grad school simply to put off finding a job is a bad decision that will cost you valuable time and money.

Lack of Career Direction

Rather than helping you choose a good career path, graduate school may bring you further in the wrong direction. Unless you’re sure that graduate school will lead you down the right career direction, don’t invest in an advanced degree. Once you’ve spent the time and money for a graduate degree, it may be harder to change career paths. Working for a few years might help you decide on a career path more than graduate school, and you’ll be earning money rather than spending it.

Graduate programs are filled with students that went for the wrong reasons. Don’t invest your money and time on something that may not pay off.

For more advice on success after college, read Getting from College to Career Rev Ed: Your Essential Guide to Succeeding in the Real World.

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Four Good Reasons for Going to Grad School

collegecareerlife — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 11:45:25 +0000

In this tough economy, you may have trouble landing a job, especially if you are a recent grad with no substantive work experience. During the worst of the recession, many students decided to ride out the terrible unemployment rate by going back to school. Now, many of those students have lost out on possible job experience, and have a relatively worthless degree and loads of student debt. Going back to grad school, it seems, may have been the wrong decision after all. Still, there are both good and bad reasons for going to grad school. If you are considering a grad school track, make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. Here are a few:

1. You’re seriously considering a career in academia.

Most graduate degrees, with the exception of professional degrees like law and medicine, are training specifically for academics (i.e., university professors and researchers). As such, say you are considering a Master’s degree in English. It won’t be English undergrad 2.0. It will be very specific study of a specific problem in English literature, coupled with pedagogy classes that train you to be a professor. As such, for most graduate-level degrees, especially in the humanities, you must seriously want to eventually become a professor. Otherwise the degree is essentially worthless.

2. Someone else is paying for it.

The best reason for NOT going to graduate school is the often exorbitant cost. Not only will you be losing the opportunity cost of being out of the job market and not making money, but if you have to pay for tuition yourself, you’ll be adding another significant cost. On the other hand, if you are independently wealthy, have parents who have agreed to front the total cost, or you receive scholarship money that covers tuition, it may be a good idea to go to grad school, if your heart is really in it.

3. Your dream job absolutely requires a graduate degree.

There are some career paths that do require post-graduate education, most notably law school and medical school. Other career paths that would require post-graduate degrees include library science, accounting, and certain school and government administration careers.

4. You want to go into a field completely unrelated to your undergraduate major.

Perhaps you may find yourself in the position of having completed undergraduate degree, but you’ve decided what you studied is completely removed from what you eventually want to do. For example, say you studied history but you want to go into website design, a field that requires quite a bit of technical knowledge of which you possess none. This may be an instance in which doing at least some post-grad schooling will be necessary.

By-line:

Mariana Ashley is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about online colleges. She loves receiving reader feedback, which can be directed to mariana.ashley031 @gmail.com.

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Post tags: education, grad school

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The Problems with Law School

collegecareerlife — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 11:42:17 +0000

For decades, law school has been viewed as a ticket to success and a solid career. And while many law school graduates do have great careers in the legal field, others struggle with crippling debt and no job prospects. The recent economic crisis has highlighted a problem that’s existed for years. A few key factors that are contributing to the problems law school graduates face:

The Default for Directionless Graduates

Many college graduates don’t have a career plan, and law school has become a default option for many of these graduates. One draw of law school over other graduate programs is that no specific degree or set of courses is required for admittance. Although there are plenty of jobs that don’t require a specific degree, liberal arts graduates often see a law degree as a ticket to wealth and their only chance at finding steady employment.

Too Many Schools and Increasing Enrollment

Between 1963 and 2009, the number of ABA-approved law schools increased from 135 to 200. Total law school enrollment rose by 104,997 (Source: http://www.abanet.org/legaled/statistics/stats.html). Law schools continue to admit more and more students even as previous graduates struggle to find jobs. Many graduates from top tier schools have trouble finding jobs in the legal field, and graduates from lower ranked schools experience even more obstacles.

Skewed Job Placement and Salary Statistics

Wealthy, connected graduates skew average starting salary and job placement statistics. Schools count any employment as a job, even temporary positions or jobs in completely different fields. Many students aren’t surveyed and those without a job may not be included at all. Prospective students may assume that every graduate is surveyed and that employment means a job in the legal field. Law schools don’t put much effort into clarifying these statistics.

What do you think? Is law school still a good investment? What should law schools be doing, if anything, to help prevent unemployment among graduates?

© Andrea for College, Career, Life, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: debt, education, law, law school, lawyers, legal

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Sites to Help You Choose a College or Grad Program

collegecareerlife — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 11:52:43 +0000

Choosing a college or graduate program involves consideration of many factors, including tuition and program rankings. If you want free information about thousands of colleges and graduate schools, try the following sites.

US News Rankings

Each year, US News ranks colleges and graduate programs. In addition to U.S. schools, the site also ranks the world’s best universities. You can find rankings by location or subject area. Although basic rankings are free, you’ll need to purchase a premium online edition for $14.95 to access detailed admissions and cost information about the graduate programs.

Princeton Review

Explore colleges and majors, prepare for standardized tests, and find scholarships at PrincetonReview.com. The Best Fit School Search suggests the best schools based on your qualifications and preferences. Princeton Review also offers a number of interesting rankings from student surveys.

College Prowler

Register at collegeprowler.com to search for matching scholarships, calculate the real cost of your education, and find schools that match your criteria. The site has thousands of student reviews and editorials, including what students say are the best and worst things about their schools.

Students Review

With around 70,000 reviews, StudentsReview.com is the place to find out what students really think about their colleges. There area also alumni reviewed majors, tips for getting in, and dynamic rankings.

My Plan

My Plan provides college statistics, including most popular majors and graduation rates. Use the query feature to search for colleges by student body, location, resources, cost, campus setting, majors and admissions. Colleges are ranked by overall satisfaction, prestige, school resources, and several other factors.

College Stats

Visit Collegestats.org to find colleges that match your criteria. You can view colleges with the lowest tuition costs, the largest colleges, and much more.

For both objective information and more subjective ratings, these websites can help you narrow down your college or graduate school choices. In an upcoming post, I’ll list specific questions to ask when choosing a college or graduate program.

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Post tags: college, rankings, websites

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Accelerated Learning a Great Option for Adult Students

collegecareerlife — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:09:00 +0000

This is a paid promotional post for Centenary College.

Do you have college credits, but never finished your degree? Are you afraid you won’t have time to attend classes while working full-time? If so, you should consider accelerated learning programs. Accelerated degree programs are especially helpful for those who have finished the core requirements, but haven’t completed their degrees. A few benefits of accelerated degree programs include:

Experiential learning. Courses in accelerated programs focus on real-world skills that adult students need. Discussions and projects emphasize practical problems and solutions. Assignments are designed to show your expertise, not to keep you busy.

Focus on non-traditional students. Because accelerated programs are designed specifically for working adults, your classmates and instructors will understand that you have responsibilities outside of school. Classes typically meet just one night a week and are offered in an ordered sequence.

Small classes. A more intimate class setting allows for better communication between instructors and students. In large classes, students don’t get to know their classmates and may not have the opportunity to ask questions or participate in class discussions.

Convenient locations. Most colleges offering accelerated programs have branch campuses specifically for adult students. Where main campuses offer mostly daytime classes, branch campuses offer night classes for working students. You may also be able to take some courses online.

Centenary College is certified by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) as an accelerated degree provider. Centenary’s accelerated learning program provides students with immediate access to professors and instructors, and has convenient locations throughout New Jersey. It offers the following accelerated degree programs: an Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts with a Business Emphasis, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA), and a Master of Business Administration (MBA).

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Post tags: accelerated learning, college, degree, education, mba

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Trends in MBA Admissions Change with the Economy

collegecareerlife — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:29:13 +0000

The troubled economy has had an impact on almost everyone, and MBA applicants are no exception. Admissions trends are changing rapidly. Here are a few things that potential MBAs can expect from the current market:

Applications Are Up

Recessions almost always have an impact on grad school applications–particularly MBA program applications. When the economy gets tough, people tend to head back to school in hopes of securing a better degree. Business school provides a safe place for people to weather the financial storm. Everyone always hopes that by the time they earn their degree, the job market will be back on track and ready for new grads.

The Applicant Pool Is Different

Although MBA applicant pools do change from year to year, current pools are changing more rapidly than normal. Business schools are seeing more laid-off applicants than ever before, particularly from the finance sector. Applicants who are straight out of college are also on the rise. Some schools, such as the Johnson School at Cornell University, are reporting a 10 to 15 percent increase in domestic applicants. International applicants, on the other hand, have decreased due to the fact that many international students are having difficulty acquiring non-U.S student loans.

Competition Is More Severe

Changing applicant pools have led to stiffer competition than usual for MBA applicants. This is especially true for applicants who are applying to top-ranked programs. With more people interested in an MBA, business schools everywhere are realizing that they can be more selective than ever before. Individuals who bring less to the table (no professional experience, low GMAT scores, or less than satisfactory GPAs) are finding it difficult to compete with seasoned professionals who have worked in business for years and are still hungry for career success. This doesn’t mean that younger students do not have a chance–quite the contrary. Business schools around the country are actively courting younger students. In fact, the number of students admitted to MBA programs straight out of college has increased significantly in the last five years.

Admissions Committees Want Different Things

Every admissions committee is looking for something different in applicants. However, there are a few things that nearly every committee desires regardless of economic changes. The first is diversity. Business schools like to see cultural diversity in the applicant pool and among those who are accepted. The second thing that admissions committees like to see is good analytical skills. This can usually be demonstrated through a good GPA or high GMAT score. The final thing that every admissions committee admires is qualifications. Well-rounded students who can show that they are highly qualified through the use of essays, recommendation letters, test scores, and other aspects of the application are much more likely to gain acceptance than the average applicant.

Guest post from Karen Schweitzer, the About.com Guide to Business School. Karen also writes for OnlineDegreePrograms.org.

© Andrea for College, Career, Life, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: admissions, education, guest post, mba

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College, Career, Life » grad school

The Wrong Reasons for Going to Grad School

Related Posts:

Four Good Reasons for Going to Grad School

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The Problems with Law School

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Sites to Help You Choose a College or Grad Program

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Accelerated Learning a Great Option for Adult Students

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Trends in MBA Admissions Change with the Economy

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