Welcome to grad school

Seniors, this column is for you.
    
Everyone else, you’ll be a senior soon enough, so listen in. If you’ve been thinking about graduate school, law school or any further schooling, application deadlines are closer than you think.

With nearly 10 percent of the work force unemployed, the chance to put off job searching by attending graduate school might be a better option than ever before.
But first you have to get in. And that takes work. 

For fall 2010 admission, many schools will require your applications to be completed in three months (December). That usually means GREs, letters of recommendation, resumes, transcripts, statements of purpose and writing samples.

You might have considered graduate school before, but if you are serious and haven’t begun applying, you’ll want to get started soon.

Here’s your to-do list:

Register online for the General Record Exam, which is required for most graduate applications (www.ets.org).

Request letters of recommendation, usually three, from your professors. Give them plenty of time. These count a lot.

Prepare a resume/CV, statement of purpose and writing sample. These count even more.

Check into which schools specialize in your field. U.S. News and World Report rankings are a good start. Then check what your selected schools require in an application.

Medical and law schools require tests other than the GRE: the MCAT and LSAT. But they centralize the application process, so one application can be sent to numerous schools.

For more on this, browse the Web sites for The American Medical College Application Service (www.aamc.org/students/amcas) and the Law School Admission Council (www.lsac.org).

Perhaps you’re wondering why you would want to go back for more schooling after already having spent four-plus years in ye olde college town. Good question.

First, continued education is a good use of time until the recession has abated and jobs are more plentiful. The unemployment rate for college graduates in July was 4.7 percent, up from 2.8 percent a year earlier, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And the National Association of Colleges and Employers reported that employers expect to hire 22 percent fewer graduates from the class of 2009 than they hired from the class of 2008. 

Second, riding out economic difficulties in school might save you from having to take a job you wouldn’t normally accept in a good economy.

Third, having a graduate degree can increase your salary. The U.S. Census Bureau reported in 2005 that while workers ages 18 and older with a bachelor’s degree earn an average of $51,206 a year, workers with an advanced degree make an annual average of $74,602.

Further, one school in the UK is already taking the initiative to keep its graduating seniors in school. Durham University is offering 100 of its best undergraduates £2,000 to stay on rather than face the current job market. Although it is one of Britain’s most prestigious universities, Durham is admitting that even its best students will struggle to find work.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday that the recession “is very likely over.” But it could take years for the job market to return to normal.
I’ve been in graduate school only three weeks, but here’s my personal invitation: Join the club.