My trip to Boston

I described my trip to Boston in this post. Checkout my Soundslide project that shows Mercyhurst students presenting  communication research and having fun in Boston.

Alicia and I (left) visited the Cheers bar while in Boston.

Planning your application budget

I have already discussed the necessary steps and elements to applying to graduate school, but I think it's important to go over the money involved in this process. When I started thinking about graduate schools, I didn't realize how much money would be required just to apply.

GRE costs

One of the biggest factors I underestimated when thinking about cost was how expensive it is to take the GRE. It costs $160 to take the GRE. I spent $35 on a book that helped prepare me for the test. If you send your GRE scores to more than four schools or if you don't send them while at the test center, the cost is $23 per school. Taking the GRE and preparing it cost me $195, but if I had chosen to purchase more preparation materials or send more scores, it could have easily cost much more.

Application fees

The costs to apply to a grad school can quickly add up. When I applied to undergrad schools, all of the fees were waived if I applied online. This was not the same for grad schools. It cost me $30 to apply to Kent State University, $40 to apply to The Ohio State University and $50 to apply to Ohio University. All together, I spent $120 applying to grad schools.

Transcript expenses

When applying to grad schools, I never factored in the cost of sending transcripts. I thought transcripts were free because I already pay to go to school at Mercyhurst. I was wrong. It costs $5 to send each transcript. Even though I only applied to three schools, I had to send four transcripts because Ohio State required two. Now that I have accepted Ohio State's offer, I will need to send another transcript once the year is over showing that I graduated. Once I send this last transcript, I will have spent a total of $25 just for mailing in official transcripts. This fee would be more expensive if I had credits from another college or university.

Total costs

I spent $340 applying to graduate schools. While this is a lot of money, it could have easily been more expensive. By only applying to three schools, I was able to save on transcript fees, application fees and the cost of sending my GRE scores.

How to save

In order to make the best use of your money, I suggest you thoroughly research a school before applying to it; there's no point in applying to a school that doesn't offer your program. Also, limit the number of schools you apply to. Finally, fully prepare for the GRE before you take it. You're better off buying a $35 preparation book than paying another $160 to retake the test.

The many places research can take you

Last weekend I was able to travel to Boston with eight other Mercyhurst students to present research at the James C. McCroskey and Virginia P. Richmond Undergraduate Scholars Conference. My research group, which consists of Alicia Cagle, Lindsay Cox and me, traveled to Washington D.C. last year to present research at this conference.  I talked about my experience there in this previous blog post.

This year, Alicia, Lindsay and I presented our paper titled "Framing of Muslims and America: A content analysis of opinion and news articles within international media outlets." Our paper looked at how Muslims and America are framed in relation to each other in both opinion and news articles from CNN, Fox News, NPR, The New York Times, BBC and Al Jazeera.

Alicia, Lindsay and I presented our
research during a poster session.

I was really excited to go back to this conference because last year's conference is the reason I started considering graduate schools. Different graduate schools with communication master's programs attend this conference to recruit students. Even though I wasn't interested in any of the schools that were at the conference, it's cool to hear about the different programs and opportunities. Just learning about these programs last year at the conference sparked my interest in grad school.

Another reason I was so excited to attend this conference was because I greatly enjoyed conducting this research, and I wanted to share our results with communication students and faculty. 

The three of us explored Boston when
we weren't presenting research.

 Sometimes you might not be excited about a topic when you start researching it, but if you work hard enough, you will become immersed in what you are studying. I wasn't extremely eager to begin studying the framing of Muslims in news sources when I began researching this topic in the fall of 2010. Now I just presented research on this same topic in the spring of 2012.

It sounds like such a long time to be researching the same topic, but my partners and I have been able to accomplish so much with our study. We were chosen as the top four paper at last year's Undergraduate Scholars Conference, we placed in the top five at the University of Buffalo's Research Symposium, we have been published in a communication journal and now we have presented at this year's Undergraduate Scholars Conference.

I'm not sure if I am done researching the framing of Muslims in news sources, but I'm very happy with the opportunities my research has provided me. I am looking forward to having opportunities to conduct research with faculty members at Ohio State next year, and I'm excited to see where this research will lead me.

Ohio State pros and cons

Even though I already decided to attend Ohio State University in the fall, I still want to go over the factors that affected my grad school decision.

Ohio State Pros

1. The communication master's program at Ohio State is a highly ranked program, and it focuses on communication instead of strictly journalism. Within the program, I can focus my studies on interpersonal communication, health communication, political communication or media uses and effects. Right now, I'm most interested in the media uses and effects concentration.

2.  As part of my assistantship at Ohio State, I will have the opportunity to teach and research. I'm extremely excited that I will get to assist with both of these tasks during my time at Ohio State. I'm not sure which job I will enjoy more, so I am glad I will get the opportunity to experience both.

3.  Ohio State not only offered me free tuition, but the school also offered me the largest stipend out of the three schools I applied to.

4.  Even though Ohio State is the third largest school in the country in terms of population, there will only be about 25 master's students in the program. Also, the largest class I will teach will have about 25 students in it. I am glad I will be able to get to know the students in my program, and I will receive individual attention as well because the program is relatively small. I am relieved that I will not be overwhelmed by having to teach a class with hundreds of students.

5.  Ohio State has wonderful research facilities. Rooms are available to communication students where they can record human partcipants playing video games, watching TV or talking online. They also have machines that can record a person's nonverbal communication. Their facilities will be more than adequate for any type of research I choose to conduct.

I am very excited about my decision to attend
The Ohio State University's Communication master's program.

There are so many more aspects that I am looking forward to at Ohio State, such as living in Columbus, the beautiful campus, and working with the faculty. I am so excited about my decision to attend The Ohio State University that I can't think of any cons.

I was almost certain I wanted to go to Ohio State once I was accepted and visited, so I didn't ask the other schools a lot of questions. For example, I never found out the actual amount of my stipend from Ohio University, but if I had been interested enough, I would have talked  to someone about it.

If you aren't sure of which offer to accept as you are making a grad school decision, don't be afraid to ask questions. You want to be as informed as possible before you decide to spend the next two years of your life at a school.

Ohio University pros and cons

Now that I've looked at the pros and cons of Kent State University, I'm going to list and explain my pros and cons about going to grad school at Ohio University.


I had visited Ohio University when deciding on undergrad and loved the campus and school itself. I chose to apply to OU because the school is well known for its Scripps School of Journalism. In fact, according to Wikipedia, The Scripps School "is considered one of the best journalism schools in the country."


Here is a look at my pros and cons for the Ohio University Scripps College of Communication master's of science Journalism program.

Ohio University has one of the top
journalism programs in the country.

Ohio University Pros:

1. The school is well known for its journalism program. I know that if I went there I would receive a quality education.
2. The campus is beautiful and is located in a "real" college town. I would be on a campus similar to the one I am now, just on a much larger scale.  

Ohio University Cons:    

1. The graduate program Ohio University offers is a master's of science in journalism. Since I'm more focused on teaching communication at the college level, I would rather enter a broader communication program than a more specific journalism one.
2. Ohio University expected me to make a decision on whether or not I would enroll in the fall by April 15. However prior to this date, the school never informed me of my stipend rate or what jobs my graduate assistantship would entail. In order to make an informed decision, I needed to have both of these details clearly explained.
3. Ohio University is about four hours away from home. I know this isn't extremely far, but I wanted to choose a school that was a little closer to home.

      It probably looks bad that I could only think of two reasons to go to Ohio University, but it just wasn't my top choice for grad schools. I applied there in case I didn't receive the offers I was looking for from Kent State or Ohio State. It's not that Ohio University is a poor grad school, it is just that it isn't the right school for me.

      For help finding a school that is right for you, visit PhDs.org. This site allows you to search for grad schools based on your field of study, and then you can rank the programs based on location, placement, size, diversity, and cost.

Kent State University pros and cons

Once I received my grad school acceptance letters, I had to seriously think about each offer. There were many differences between each school and offer, but several factors were the same for the three schools I applied to.

I received a graduate assistantship with stipend at all three schools, and I would be required to work about 20 hours a week at each one. I also received free tuition from all three schools.

 I considered all of the pros and cons of each school in order to make my decision. Here is a look at my pros and cons for the master’s of communication program at Kent State University.



Kent State was one of my top choices for graduate school.



Kent State University Pros:

1.  I really like the communication studies program. It is broad, so I would be able to study a variety of topics within communication. I would be able to focus my degree into one or two areas consisting of: health communication, interpersonal communication and mediated/mass communication.
2. One of the required courses for the program is titled Teaching of College Communication. This class sounds perfect for what I want to do with my degree, which is teaching communication at the college level.
3. Kent is close to home; it is only about an hour away. Distance is important to me because I love having the option to go home if I need to. Mercyhurst is only about one hour and 15 minutes away, which I think has been a good distance because I have always been able to go home when I wanted to.   

Kent State University Cons:    

1.  Kent’s stipend was the lowest amount I was offered. It was a little more than half of what Ohio State offered. In fact, the stipend was the same amount as when one of my professors received her master’s degree from there in 1998.
2. I would only receive tuition remission for nine credits each semester. If I took more than nine credits, I would have to pay for each additional credit.
3. The offer letter I received from Kent did not explain what my job requirements would entail. I was not told whether I would be a teaching assistant, research assistant or graduate assistant. I emailed a communication professor at Kent and asked questions, but she only alluded to the fact that I might be required to teach. I was never told exactly what I would be required to do.

My grad school offers

After searching for schools, taking the GRE, sending in applications and waiting about a month, I heard back from the three schools I applied to.

I applied to The Ohio State University Master’s of Arts Communication program, Kent State University Master’s of Arts Communication program and The Ohio University Master’s of Science Journalism program. I was accepted to all three schools and received a graduate assistantship with stipend at all the schools as well.  

Ohio State offered me free tuition and a stipend for working 20 hours a week as a grad assistant. My duties would involve either assisting with research or teaching. 



I was so excited when I received my acceptance letter
from The Ohio State University.

 Kent State offered me free tuition for up to nine credits a semester and a stipend for working 15-20 hours a week as a teaching assistant. The fact that I was not offered free tuition in full made me nervous. However, when I asked a professor from the communication program, she told me I would typically only take nine credits a semester. My Kent State stipend amounted to about half of what Ohio State offered.

Ohio University offered me free tuition and a stipend to be a grad assistant, but they never gave me an actual amount for my stipend. I was told the normal stipend is about $9000, but I was never given an exact amount. The details of my assistantship and what I would be doing were never explained either, but this was my third choice for a school, so I didn’t ask a lot of questions or try to find out all the details.

All of my offers covered the nine months of the school year when I would be working. I would get breaks between semesters and my summers off as well.

My plan was to only go to graduate school if it would be free and if I would get paid for it. If I was going to have to pay to get a master’s degree, I would apply to jobs instead. Because of this plan, I only applied to schools where I knew funding was available. I was lucky enough to have all the schools I applied to offer the funding I was looking for.

The Chronicle of Higher Education allows you to search for schools and look at the stipends they offered graduate assistants during 2008-09. Although these numbers may be out of date, it is helpful to know how much money students made three years ago. The website also explains if the school offers health benefits to its students, how many grad students were enrolled in specific programs and the amount of hours grad assistants were required to work.

Of course, if you have specific questions about a program, the school itself is always the best place to go for an accurate answer.

Submitting materials continued

Along with sending in your application, recommendation letters, personal statement and transcript, you will likely need to submit a resume, writing samples and/or a portfolio. Your resume, writing samples and resume are the areas where you can show what experience you have and really make yourself stand out.

The New York Times posted an article yesterday titled "Do Grades Matter?"  (you have to log in to view it). The article discusses just how important grades are for getting accepted into grad school.

Sheila Curran, president of Curran Career Consulting, is quoted saying, “The more you have relevant work experience in a particular area, the less important grades are. But if you want to become a professor, then grades are absolutely essential."

I think this quote nicely sums everything up. If your transcript doesn't show what you want it to, your experiences related to your field of study can make up for poor grades. Though, the importance of grades does depend on what profession you want.

If you do have excellent grades, you need to have experience as well to show that you can excel beyond the classroom.





Grades aren't everything. To be accepted into grad school, you need a combination
of decent grades, positive recommendations and experience in your field.

   When working on your resume to submit to grad schools, you want to highlight your out-of-class experiences. Most likely, your professors who write letters of recommendation for you will boast about your work inside the classroom, and your transcript will show all of the classes you have taken.

You should construct your resume so that it explains all of the experiences you have that relate to your chosen field of study. If you worked on an important class project that relates to what you want to do in grad school, that's fine to put on your resume to send to graduate school, but don't waste space by listing your relevant coursework.

If you are required to submit a portfolio or writing samples, choose several pieces of work that relate to what you want to study at grad school. Try to select projects that are quite different from each other to show the wide-array of work you have completed. Also, choose writing samples or projects that you are proud of. If you did not receive a great grade on it or if you didn't put your full effort into it, odds are the admissions committee won't be impressed by it either.

For more tips about selecting or creating a writing sample, read the article "Producing a 'Winning' Grad School Writing Sample."

Submitting materials to grad school

Once you submit your grad school applications, it’s time to work on the rest of the required materials. All of the schools I applied to required a college transcript. I sent in my transcripts right after I applied to schools because Mercyhurst is notorious for its inept registrar’s office and slow mailroom. The transcripts have to be sent by the school, which I was extremely nervous about.

Even though I was wary, I filled out the form in the registrar’s office, turned in the required $10 for them to mail an official transcript and hoped for the best. Luckily, all of my transcripts made it to their destinations.

The transcript process was easy, but prior to sending them, I did not account for them costing money. So on top of the application fees, check with your college or university to find out how much it costs to send official transcripts.

You should also realize that some schools will require more than one transcript. I had to send two for Ohio State. I sent one to the school of communication and one to the graduate committee at Ohio State. With the application and transcripts, it cost me $80 to apply to Ohio State, and that’s not including the cost to take the GRE.

After you take care of sending in your transcripts, it’s time to work on your personal statement. This was the one part of the application process I was dreading because I had no idea what I was supposed to write.
One professor told me that I should write a paragraph about my experiences in college that have prepared me to begin studying at the graduate level, a paragraph about why I want to study in the particular program I’m applying for and a paragraph that explains what I want to do with a master’s degree.

Her directions got me off to a good start, and this website from Purdue gave helpful advice and allowed me to understand what exactly I should be writing.

Some schools will be more detailed than others in their directions for writing personal statements. Ohio University had few specifications for what they wanted to see in my personal statement. My Ohio University personal statement can be found on my online portfolio. 

Ohio State gave me certain questions to answer. For example, I had to explain what areas of research I am interested in and which faculty members I would most like to conduct research with. To be able to answer these questions, I had to read about the Ohio State communication faculty members and examine their past research projects. I then chose the ones I was most interested in.

It's okay to use a lot of the same information in your personal statements for different schools, but make sure you change all the names in the letter to match the program and school you are submitting it to. Also be honest about your goals and always have someone else read it before you send it in.

Applying to a school

Even though I have already made my grad school decision, it was not an easy one, and there were many steps involved in reaching the point where I was ready to make a decision. 

After I received my GRE scores, I started applying to schools. There are many parts to an application, and the following is a list of the items I was required to submit.

1.       Application

2.       Transcripts

3.       GRE scores

4.       Letters of recommendation

5.       Personal statement

6.       Resume

7.       Writing samples

8.       Portfolio

I’ll discuss all of these requirements at a later time, but I want to focus on the application itself for this post. Some of these requirements will be different depending on the program and school you are applying to. If you had ETS send in your GRE scores or other required test scores to the school you are applying to, that part of the application process is already done.

The applications were fairly basic and easy to complete, and all three of the applications I submitted were online. They typically focused on personal information, such as contact information, test scores and educational background.

A couple of the applications I filled out asked for the contact information of the professors I wanted to write recommendations for me. Make sure you ask your professors first before you sign them up to write letters for you. It is useful to talk to them about what program you are applying to and what you want to do with a master’s degree. I had a teacher ask if I would rather be a teaching assistant, graduate assistant or research assistant because one application had her rank in order of what job I would be best at. Communicating your goals to your professors will help them give you the best recommendation possible.

Keep in mind that most applications have fees associated with them. The three schools I applied to had fees ranging from $30-$60. There will also be more fees required later on when you submit your transcripts.

It is important to complete these applications and submit them at least one month before the application deadline. Once these are submitted, you can begin sending in the other required materials. By applying a month in advance of the deadline, this allows enough time for your professors to recommend you, and it gives you time to focus on perfecting everything else that will help you be accepted to the program you are interested in.

My decision

After nearly eight months of researching schools, preparing for the GRE, applying for schools and evaluating my offers, I have made a grad school decision. I have decided to attend The Ohio State University, and I will be studying in the School of Communication Master’s program. Starting in the fall of 2012, I am going to be a Buckeye!

I have decided to go to graduate school
 at The Ohio State University.

Although I thought this would be a difficult decision to make, I was sure of where I wanted to study once I visited Ohio State.

The School of Communication invited me to visit this past weekend, along with 19 other students. The school booked us each a hotel room, took us out to a wonderful dinner (where I had a $9 martini and $17 meal), funded our night out at a bar and reimbursed me for the gas I used to drive to and from Columbus. How could I say no to that?



Every year, Ohio State students jump in Mirror Lake
during November before the Michigan game.

However, the program itself and the people I met were the real reason I chose Ohio State. I met with the director of the communication program, many communication professors and current MA and Ph.D. students. All of them were extremely welcoming and willing to answer any questions I had. The students were truthful and explained both their likes and dislikes of the program, but many had wonderful things to say about studying communication at Ohio State.

The communication program Ohio State offers is a top-rated program. But, my biggest fear about studying at Ohio State was the number of students. In terms of population, Ohio State is the third largest university in the country, with 65,000 students.

Luckily, the communication master’s program only accepts about 25 students each year and maintains approximately 25 master’s students each year including both first and second-year students. This means I will be in a very tight-knit program where I will know all of my fellow students. In fact, during my first semester, I will take all of my classes with next year’s incoming students. This will really help me get to know the students in my cohort.



The communication department offices are located in Derby Hall.

I’m also excited about my decision to study at Ohio State because I love Ohio State sports, and the city of Columbus is great. The director of communication at Ohio State pointed out some cool facts about Columbus:

1.       Columbus is the 15^th largest city in terms of population (2010 U.S. Census)

2.       It is the most affordable big city in the U.S. (2011 Relocate America corp)

3.      It is the 4^th best shopping city in the U.S. (2010 Forbes)

4.      It is the 9^th best City for new college grads (2010 Bloomberg)

5. It is a top rated city to raise a family (2009 Business Week)

Because of the program, the people, the school, the sports and the city, I am so happy with my decision, and I can’t wait to be a Buckeye!

Using social media in your search

Almost all college students use Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Typically these sites are used for entertainment and social reasons, but they can be used for your grad school search as well.

Last week, U.S. News & World Report published an article titled, "Graduate School Applicants Use Social Media to Bypass Admissions Offices."

This article explains that prospective graduate school students are turning to social media websites to find out about programs and schools from current students and alumni. Many prospective students are more likely to trust what these people have to say about the program than the school itself.

I think current students and alumni are good people to talk to when you have questions about a program, but don't limit yourself to social media. Taking a tour of the campus and the program's facilities and meeting people in person and listening to their experiences at the particular school will always be more beneficial than reading a Tweet about the school or program.

Try talking to as many people as possible, including the director of the program, faculty members and current students. All of these people will give you insight to what the school and program are really like.

Now, go ahead and get back on Facebook, but use it to help you with your grad school search.

I survived the GRE

Once you have several grad schools in mind, registering for the GRE is the next step, presuming that your program requires these test scores.

Taking the GRE is the most terrifying part of applying for grad school, but following these tips can help you succeed.  

Visit the ETS website to register for the test. Keep in mind you want to give yourself enough time to prepare for the test, but you also want to leave enough time to receive your test scores before your applications are due.

In the U.S., the test costs $160. This is definitely a lot of money, but I have two tips to making the most of this money.

1.       At the end of the test, you will be prompted to select four schools that you want to send your scores to. Know which schools you are interested in ahead of time, and send them to four of these schools. Even if you are choosing between two schools, you might as well send your scores to four programs that interest you. You don’t want to pass up this free opportunity. You have to pay $23 to send your scores to a school after the test date.

2.       Prepare as much as possible for the test. To avoid having to spend another $160 to retake the test, the best thing you can do is study, complete sample problems and take several practice tests.

The Official Guide to the GRE did a great job
preparing me to take the test.

To prepare for the GRE, I purchased a book titled The Official Guide to the GRE. This book was extremely useful, especially because it is written by ETS, the creators of the GRE test. This book provides explanations to the three test sections (Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning and Analytical Writing), offers math review, has sample problems with explanations and includes a practice test.

I definitely recommend this book for preparing for the GRE. I bought it from Barnes and Noble, and it cost $35. For those who don’t want to spend any additional money on the GRE, there are free materials that you can download from the ETS website.

On the day of the test, it is important to relax. For me, the test was more daunting than anything else. There were ridiculous rules to taking the GRE, and those scared me more than the test itself. For example, you can't bring anything into the testing room with you. If you wear a hoodie or jacket into the test, you can't remove it during the test. I even had to go through a metal detector before entering the testing room.

It is not impossible to do well on the GRE. Just remember to give yourself time to prepare, take practice tests to understand the setup of the exam, read the test-taking rules on the ETS website and send your scores to four schools you are interested in. Also, don't forget to breathe...

Researching grad programs

Once you decide to go to graduate school, the next step is knowing where you want to go. You don’t need to have just one specific school in mind, but you need to know of a few schools that you are interested in applying to.

It seems obvious that your next step is knowing what schools and programs you are interested in, but it really is imperative. You need to research programs to find out what tests you need to take to apply, like the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), and you need to know how much time you have to apply. I recommend starting this search as soon as possible, especially because it takes time to prepare for the test and receive your scores.

Searching for a grad school or program can be hard, especially because there are so many schools and programs in the U.S. I talked to one of my communication professors about where to apply. She recommended Kent State University, The Ohio State University, West Virginia University, Pennsylvania State University, Ohio University and The University at Buffalo.

I was not interested in all of these schools, but her recommendations gave me a good starting point. I researched all of these schools online and looked into their communication programs.

Another good way to find programs is to research schools in the location you live or would like to live. I’m from Ohio, so I wanted to stay close to or within the state.

If you have no preferences for location, you can start with The Princeton Review website. It allows you to search for schools based on the area of study you are interested in. It does not contain a complete list of schools, but it will list several large schools with the specified program.

Once I researched a school, I created a document that listed the communication programs offered, application deadlines, availability of assistantships and stipends, application fees and whether they required GRE scores.

By taking notes on each school, I was able to easily eliminate ones that did not offer the programs I was interested in. Knowing the application deadlines for schools that offered my program helped me to prepare for the months ahead.

An important factor for me when looking at grad schools was whether they offered assistantships and stipends. I had no intent on paying for grad school, so I knew right away if I could eliminate a school.

Having a list of requirements in mind when searching for programs can be extremely helpful in finding the grad school that is best for you.

A desire to learn

The decision to go to grad school and continue with an education can be difficult, especially after four years of undergrad and the possibility of beginning a well-paying career. I always figured I would get a job right after graduation, and I had never even considered getting my master’s until my junior year of college.

During my first trimester of junior year, I took the class Communication Theory and Research. Research had never appealed to me before, but this class changed my views of writing research papers.

I was in a research group with fellow students Alicia and Lindsay. Together we decided to explore the framing of Muslims in American media. We chose this topic because the class took place during the time of the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the proposed building of the Islamic Center in New York City and threats of burning the Quran by a pastor in Florida.

We also thought this was a good topic because other groups in our class were researching Teen Mom and Jersey Shore. We wanted to write on a topic that sounded a little more academic than trashy teens and fist pumping.



Alicia, Lindsay and I (left) received trophies
after we presented our research. 

After working on this paper during the entire term, we were able to produce a 28-page paper titled “The Content Analysis of the Portrayal of Muslims in American Media." Our professor was very happy with our work and encouraged us to submit it to the James C. McCroskey and Virginia P. Richmond Undergraduate Scholars Conference.

We submitted our paper to the conference and were not only accepted, but we placed in the top four for undergraduate research papers out of more than 125 submissions. This meant we were able to travel to Arlington, Va. in April last year to present our research.

At the conference, many graduate schools with communication programs were present. Our professor kept telling us how they would want to recruit us to their programs, and I was excited about these prospects. This conference was the first time I seriously considered graduate school.

Since that conference, our paper has been published in Communication: A Publication of the Pacific and Asian Communication Association, which can be found here. It has also placed in the top five for undergraduate and graduate research papers at the University of Buffalo Research Symposium.

All of these experiences have been so enjoyable that I am looking forward to being a graduate student and having the opportunity to conduct research, write scholarly papers and present my findings to communication professors.

If you're considering grad school, I think it’s important to have a real desire to learn and have a good idea of why you want to go. Otherwise, you may regret staying in school when you could be out earning a salary and gaining job experience.

The 'real world' is near... maybe

I have about two months until graduation. Once I finish these next eight weeks of classes, I will have a bachelor’s degree in communication.

Now what do I do with it?

I have never really had a clear idea with what I want to do with my life. I’ve always wished that as a kid I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I was never like that. My sister always wanted to be a teacher, and she is one now, just like my mom. I, however, have had many great career plans since I was young. I’ve had dreams of being a candy maker, a veterinarian, a spy (after Harriet the Spy, of course), a teacher and an author.

When I started college, all I knew was that I enjoyed writing, and so I decided to major in communication. Once I started writing for the college’s newspaper, my career goal was to be an editor of a fashion magazine. Even though that still sounds appealing, I’m not interested in moving to New York City or having to wait many years to be promoted to an editor position.

For various reasons, I’ve decided to continue my education. While many seniors are busy searching for jobs, I’ve spent the last few months searching for and applying to graduate schools.

I’ve decided to go to grad school partly because I don’t know what I want to do with my life and partly because I’m terrified of the “real world.” But mostly, I’ve decided to go because I think I want to teach communication at a college or university. A master’s degree will give me more time to figure out my life and the education to pursue the career path of professor.

Both searching for and applying to graduate schools has been a long process. There is so much to do including taking the GRE, sending transcripts, obtaining letters of recommendation and making a final decision. Not to mention, there are so many costs involved with applying to grad school that I definitely didn’t account for.

Even though I’m not an expert on grad schools, I’ve recently gone through the application process, and I’m getting close to make an important decision that will affect my life, at least for the next two years.

So for advice on grad schools from one perspective student to another, keep reading.