Picking out grad schools can be pretty tough. When I went to undergrad, everything was easy. I just found a local state school that had a good program. My grades were good, my SAT scores were excellent, so I had no trouble getting in. Finding a grad school, however, can be much more trying.
When you are selecting graduate schools, you do not look at the school's overall quality. Instead, you have to look at the quality of the graduate program. This can be pretty trying. The thing is, there is so much to consider. When I went to grad school, I chose it because of one professor. There were lots of good anthropology grad schools, but I wanted to study with a certain professor whose works I had read. I had admired him for a long time, and really wanted to pick his brain.
When I got to my grad school program, however, he was gone. In general, grad schools are pretty good at retaining faculty, but apparently there had been a big shakeup at the one I was going to. It really broke my heart. The rest of the program seemed to have nothing for me for a while. Then, finally, I found another professor to mentor me.
Of course, there are other programs called grad schools where it makes a lot less difference who is on the faculty. For example, online graduate degrees are not really grad schools in the traditional sense. They are not high-level academic institutions where you study under a small group of teachers in the hopes of mastering your craft or your knowledge. Instead, they are a way to get job training and job placement. Don't think that I'm knocking this – I'm not. These grad schools serve a purpose. It always makes sense to get more training to get a better career!
When you are looking at grad schools, you should be aware of what kind of school you are looking at. There are many kinds of graduate programs, from two-year degrees to five year Ph.D. programs. Grad schools online typically are of the two-year variety. Nonetheless, there are some exceptions to this rule. Personally, I love grad school. For me, it is quite a thrill to be able to be subsidized to study. I love intellectual inquiry, and being paid money to do it is my dream come true. I hope to have a career as a professor one day.
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