Choosing a graduate school. Most of the information needed is the same sort of information one seeks in deciding what undergraduate school to attend. This means information on programs offered, course descriptions, professors available, location of the campus, style of life in the area, costs of both the course and living in the area, and so on ("Evaluating Graduate Schools").
Jobweb on the Internet offers specific steps to follow in gathering the needed information and making the decision:
( You should first consult faculty members in your undergraduate program and individuals who have knowledge of the field. They should be able to refer you to graduate schools and answer questions about the strengths and weaknesses of the programs.
( Look in reference materials and books in your college's or community career resource library. These guides will give you much information.
( Many colleges have pages on the Internet which will provide important information.
( You should write to individual graduate departments to get information on the program and the school. You should also ask for a bibliography of publications of the faculty because this will help you judge the focus areas of the faculty.
( You have to visit the schools and talk to students on the campus to find out information you might not obtain from the catalogues. You should also make an appointment to interview with an Admissions Counselor in your program.
What you want to gather from all this investigation is information in the following areas: Admission Requirements; Curriculum; Reputation/Quality of Program; Placement; Faculty; Location/Size; and Cost/Financial Aid ("Choosing a Graduate School").
The magazine U.S. News & World Report maintains a web page with information on many colleges and universities. This site also gives advice on what to look for, and one interesting idea is to seek a school with a high graduation rate. This ca...