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Graduate School: Choosing One, Getting In, Staying In
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Undergrad Life
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By kristimeyer
Posted Mon Jan 12, 2009 at 11:51:37 AM PDT
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At the Joint Math Meetings in Washington, DC, the Young Mathematicians' Network sponsored a panel on applying to graduate school, choosing one, and being successful. There were several requests for a posting of the questions to ask when applying to and choosing a school, so they're listed after the jump...
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When applying to grad schools, here are some things to consider:
- Begin early! Deadlines are usually late December to early February.
- When deciding where to apply, talk to your profs and look at the websites of schools.
- Apply to a range of schools, but keep in mind that application fees are expensive! You may want to apply to one school that you know you can't get into, one school that you know you can get into, and then a range of schools in the middle.
- Your personal statement is probably what the admissions committee will focus on. This is an opportunity to separate yourself from the rest of the applicants.
- When asking your professors for letters of recommendation, feel free to give them direction on what to say. They will probably appreciate a copy of your resume, your transcripts, and information on any special accomplishments that they might not know about.
- After you have sent the application in, check with the school (by phone or e-mail) to make sure your application is complete. Sometimes letters of recommendation don't get sent or things get lost in the mail.
Once you've been accepted, you need to begin the process of choosing a school. Here are some important questions to ask:
- How big is the program? Are there so many students that you will get lost? Are there not enough students so that there will be few opportunities for collaboration?
- What is the department atmosphere like? Is it collaborative or competitive?
- What kind of qualifiers are required - written, oral, or both? What percentage of students pass on their first try? How many times are you allowed to take qualifiers? Are qualifiers required for a masters' degree?
- What kind of financial support is available? Is a tuition waiver included?
- Is health insurance included?
- If you are offered a teaching assistantship, what kind of teaching opportunities are available? Will you start by grading or leading recitation/discussion sections? Are there opportunities to teach your own class? How many hours are you expected to work per week?
- Are there foreign language requirements?
- What areas of specialization exist at the school? Are you a good fit for the type of programs they offer?
You will probably also want to schedule an on-campus visit to check out the school and get answers to many of the questions listed above. In order to schedule an on-campus visit, you'll probably need to contact the school and arrange something. It is especially important to talk to students at this time - they'll answer questions you might have according to how things really are, not how they are described on paper. Look into faculty-to-student ratio and average class size. Be sure to check out a graduate student office as well. You probably won't have your own office - how many people can you expect to share an office with? Are the offices nice (or at least tolerable)? Remember that you'll be spending an awful lot of time in your office!
One more useful tip - check out the AMS publication Assistantships and Graduate Fellowships in the Mathematical Sciences . This publication has lots of the information you will be looking for in one place - statistics on graduate programs at a variety of schools. Your undergrad math department will probably have a copy. If not, you can always order one from the AMS (at www.ams.org).
Applying for grad school and then choosing where to go can be a stressful process. Good luck with your search!
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