To get into grad school, those in the academic world say students need to build realistic timelines for applications, strategize letters of reference, outline personal statements, learn about preparation for admissions tests and funding structures and learn about the variety of degree, graduate and professional programs available.
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center (UROC) Writing and Professional Communication Associate Natasha Oehlman hosted an information session about an upcoming conference titled “Graduate School Or Professional Degree Conference: Writing Your Application” on Feb. 28 addressing those very points.
Within this session, UROC, the Cooperative Learning Center, Making Accessible and Effective Systems for Teacher Readiness Outcomes (more commonly referred to as MAESTROs) and the Center for Advising, Career and Student Success collaborated to teach undergraduate students about the steps involved in applying to graduate schools and credential programs.
UROC hosted the same event last academic year and felt it was a success that could be repeated.
This time (the conference will be May 23-25), they want to do just that because they recommend students start their application process six months before deadlines for Doctoral, Master and Professional programs because of the competitiveness of the application process.
During the conference, Oehlman and UROC believe that students will help build realistic timelines for applications, strategize letters of reference, outline personal statements, learn about preparation for admissions tests and funding structures and learn about the variety of degree, graduate, and professional programs available.
Through a survey given to students who attended the conference last academic year, Oehlman found that 94% had not started their application before attending the conference.
She wants to assure students curious about applying for the conference and that they don’t need to be prepared beforehand.
It will be a place where they can learn about the landscape of graduate or professional schools to get a sense of the information they could consider.
“Not everybody who came on the first day had it figured out. A lot of them were like, I’m not sure what I want to do, and they used the conference as an opportunity just to sit back, listen and learn and talk with others,” said Oehlman.
“A lot of folks think that we have it all figured out, and we don’t. Ninety four percent hadn’t started their application because they hadn’t, and that’s fine. But by the end of the conference, they were already working on their application and getting a sense of ‘oh, these are the graduate programs I want to attend.’”
“They started to research websites and put their information together. They started to organize their thinking and were like; these are the kinds of programs I might be interested in. If you don’t know much about graduate school and professional degree programs after CSUMB, this could be a place for you to explore that.”
The conference is funded by the Mentoring and Equity in Transitions to Achieve Student Success grant and will be held May 23-25.
Application for the conference is free. The deadline to apply is March 15, with acceptance notifications going out March 17-20. The applicant confirmation date is March 24.
Housing and food will be available for those who need them, according to Oehlman. To book your spot for the conference, fill out the application form below. For more information about the conference, contact [email protected] or [email protected]
Conference Application Form: