Search for grad schools made easy

Many students are starting to feel frazzled as the month of March approaches. And no, it's not because they have been sitting on the couch, biting their nails, wondering what would happen if the IU basketball team did not make it to the NCAA finals (although some probably have been). Instead, it is because a majority of the application deadlines for graduate schools fall in February or March at the latest.\n"I was going to take a year or so off after I graduated to apply to grad schools, but for a number of reasons I find myself more eager to start my search for programs now," senior Katie Toth said. \nWith the slumping economy and uncertainty of the future job market, many students like Toth have placed their trust in the benefits of higher education. This recent surge of graduate school enrollment has created many questions in the minds of prospective grad students: Which school has the best program for me? What school has the best location? What requirements does that school look for?\nNow imagine having the answers to those questions literally at your fingertips, just a point and a click away, at no charge. \nWell, you needn't imagine any longer because GradSchools.com does just that. The Web site lists a directory of more than 26,000 grad school programs. \nMike Pedemonti, PR representative from Gregory FCA Communications and current senior at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, says Gradschools.com has the only directory of grad schools searchable by academic program. \nA search can even be narrowed further by including a preferred geographical location. These searches provide links to a school's home page or particular department's Web site, contact information and general facts about each school. In addition, the site also includes a number of tips about how to get into the school of your choice and how to do well on certain tests, such as the Law School Admissions Test (LCAT) or the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT).\nAfter looking at the Web site, Toth was able to narrow her search to a field she was hoping to pursue in a geographical area that was desirable to her. She found a number of different programs that interested her and was able to choose the ones she wanted. \nThis is exactly what the online service provider, Educational Directories Unlimited, Inc., was hoping to provide when they first started GradSchools.com in 1996 as an additional Web site to their already successful StudyAbroad.com\nMark Shay, president and founder of Educational Directories Unlimited, Inc., said the Web site is a broad overview of the available options and hopes it will introduce schools to students who are in the searching process. The importance of picking a grad school depends on the relationships you could potentially make with certain faculty members, he said.\n"If you are really interested in a school, pursue them," Shay said. "Contact different faculty members to get a feel for their reputation. Grad school is tied more closely to faculty members and focuses on your relationship and how you interact with them."\nOnce you make these connections you can decide which program is right for you. GradSchools.com is the starting point where students can begin to narrow down their choices and decide which schools they would like to contact and eventually apply to. Since searching for a grad school is something important to one's future, this site might be the answer to many students' frustrations, Pedemonti said.\n"I am a college senior, so I know what type of stress looking for a graduate school can be," Pedemonti said. "I think that many students would be interested in finding an easy, free way of searching for graduate schools"