Graduate and Professional School Resources
The 2012 Graduate and Professional School Fair will be held Wednesday, October 3 from 10 a.m. to noon in the Rosenfield Center. Check back in September for full details.
Getting Started
Planning and Application
Entrance Exams
Fellowships, Scholarships, and Other Financial Aid
Business School
Pre Health/Pre Medical
Pre Law
Getting Started
The CDO offers assistance with your graduate and professional school planning and application process in order to provide you with a basis for selecting the school that best meets your goals and needs. Approximately 1/3 of students decide to continue their education immediately after finishing at Grinnell. How do you decide if you should attend graduate or professional school? Which kind of program should you pursue? Besides speaking with faculty, the CDO can help you with your planning and application process. Get the latest graduate school rankings, interactive tools, and up-to-date articles by area of study from U.S. News and World Report. Graduate and Professional School Guide (PDF) How To Ask For a Letter of Recommendation (PDF) If Your Professor is on Sabbatical.pdf (PDF) What Can I do With a Graduate Degree in....? Thinking about graduate or professional school but not sure exactly what you want to do? Explore this resource! Pre-Professional Adviser List
Planning and Application
Once you've decided graduate school may be in your plans, the Peterson's Guides to Graduate Education can be quite helpful in choosing a particular course of study and identifying which institutions offer those programs. The six volume printed version is also available in the Career Development Office Library. To search by area of study and/or region of the country, you may want to check out www.gradschools.com. College Source Online is a resource providing the full text of college catalogs from 2-year, 4-year, and graduate schools. The database is searchable by major, tuition, state, enrollment, degrees, and affiliation. It also has links to financial aid information and college home pages. www.studyabroad.com is a comprehensive site where you will find listings for thousands of study abroad programs in more than 100 countries throughout the world. You will also find hundreds of links to study abroad program home pages and a wealth of related information. The instructors in the campus Writing Lab, ARH 132, are glad to work with you to improve your graduate school application essays (or internship essays, job application letters, scholarship application essays). Call x3117 or stop by the Lab to make an appointment.
Entrance Exams
Many, if not most, graduate programs require GRE (Graduate Record Exam) test scores as part of the admission materials. Professional schools may require LSAT (Law School Admission Test), MCAT (Medical College Admission Test), or GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) test scores. The Praxis Series is an Educational Testing Service (ETS) program that provides tests and other services for states to use as part of their teacher certification process. Colleges and universities use these assessments to qualify individuals for entry into teacher education programs. Pay attention to graduate school exam test dates to make sure you don't miss deadlines for sending in your application. You should plan to take these tests in your junior year or first semester of your senior year if you want to go right into graduate school in the fall after your senior year. GRE Information and Test Dates The General Record Examination (GRE) contains sections that measure verbal, quantitative, and analytical skills. The General Test and the Writing Assessment are two separate tests. Both are given year-round on the computer. Appointments are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis. Register early to get your preferred test date and to avoid the crowded testing period of November through January. Subject tests are designed to measure knowledge and understanding of subject matter related to graduate study in specific fields. Subject tests are given in the paper-based format only. Information and Registration Bulletins (including registration information) are available in the CDO or may be downloaded at www.gre.org. LSAT Information and Test Dates The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is required by all Law School Admission Council-member law schools as a part of their application procedure. The LSAT is intended to give no advantage to test takers from a particular academic background and does not test specific knowledge obtained in college classes or achievements in any given area. The scored sections include one Reading Comprehension section, one Analytical Reasoning section, and two Logical Reasoning sections. There is also an unscored writing sample section that is sent to each law school to which you apply. Information regarding the LSAT can also be obtained from their website, or Educational Testing Service. Take the test that is offered in the fall (October) of senior year, if not in the summer between junior and senior year. MCAT Information The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is used by all medical schools. Applications and information can be obtained by visiting the Health Professions Advisory Committee website. Test dates and registration information may also be obtained through the Association of American Medical Colleges. GMAT Information and Test Dates The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is helpful when applying to business/management schools. The GMAT measures general verbal and mathematical skills, not specific knowledge obtained in college course work. The GMAT is delivered exclusively on computer and is offered many days every month at hundreds of sites. Simply select a testing location, pick up the phone, and make a date with GMAT. Testing locations are listed on the GMAT website, from Educational Testing Service, or in the registration booklet available in the Career Development Office. Call in advance. The most popular times book quickly. 1-800-GMAT-NOW
Fellowships, Scholarships, and Other Financial Aid
International Education Financial Aid Great resource for international students wishing to study in a foreign country. Comprehensive listing of grants, scholarships, loan programs, and other information. Search by field of study and/or country of origin. Extensive categories and well-organized. Gradschools.com Extensive source of graduate school information that is easy to search by school or subject. Financial aid resources include references to other online resources (e.g. searchable scholarship/fellowship/internship databases). Several fellowship listings with links and short summaries. Social Science Research Council Social Science Research Council fellowship and grant programs that are sponsored either independently or with other organizations by the SSRC. Opportunities for those interested in fellowships in the social sciences and humanities, as well as natural science in some programs. Organized by type of fellowship (e.g. pre/post dissertation, post-doc., other). Cornell University Organized by Cornell University, this database offers an extensive list of fellowships. You can perform a general search, as well as click on a subject of interest or specific population. Results of search are then listed alphabetically, and each link offers specific information about that fellowship when clicked. This site is organized neatly and offers a great deal of information. Alphabetical results can be slightly overwhelming, but the detailed information is worth the effort. Fabulous site... must see! Michigan State University Libraries Many topics/categories to search by. Lists results with brief description of scholarship, fellowship, grants, etc., with website links for each one. You also have the option to search databases and books. Feels more like a reference website than an information specific site, but yields good results. Brief descriptions make searching/finding very efficient. Specific Populations Here are financial aid resources for students from various minority groups who are interested in graduate school. Check out more national and Grinnell College specific fellowships, scholarships and grants through the Office of Social Commitment.
Business School
Deciding among programs which offer an MBA can be a challenging task. There are many factors to consider and quite a few schools to choose from. Comprehensive information about the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT), including information about selecting a graduate program and about the admissions process, is available through the MBA Explorer, sponsored by the Graduate Management Admissions Council. TOP
