If you are nearing the end of the most rigorous and exciting journey of obtaining your bachelor’s degree and are thinking about going to grad school, there are a few things you should keep in mind.
I am graduating in May of 2025, and have applied to Texas A&M University’s (TAMU) English graduate program for the Fall of 2025. I am a first-generation student, and have thought of the five most important things to understand/note when going through your application here at TAMU or an application in general for grad school.
1. Letter of Recommendations
Almost all applications for grad school require letters of recommendations that can vary from institution to institution. For TAMU you are required three letters, and recommend for you to get them from professors. Something that I was unaware of was just how time consuming letters of recommendations could be. As soon as I wanted to attend grad school, I began emailing all my professors that I would have wanted to obtain a letter of recommendation from. I emailed my professors 5 months before my application was due, and it took me up until my application was due to receive all of my letters of recommendation. I noted that response times, meet up times, writing, and contacting are things that are very time consuming and time constraining. I am extremely lucky to have professors who were very involved in my application, though it will not always be like that for everyone. So, always figure out your letters of recommendation as soon as you think about going to graduate school, and do not hesitate to follow up with every single one of your professors, sometimes they may need a nudge too.
2. Keep in touch with Professors
When applying to grad school, I contacted some of my favorite professors to help me out and give me advice over their experiences in grad school and the application in general. Something that I really enjoyed was one of my professors actually showed me her application and essays that granted her a position into the school. It is extremely important to reach out to any faculty/staff that has previous experience with applications but also just their experience being in grad school. It is helpful to understand the implications of grad school but also I was curious about what A&M had to offer. It allowed me to get a peak about what I was applying to. The reality is there are professors who are there to help you, and can aid you through any and all school related things and you should always keep in touch with them especially if you want a good letter of recommendation.
3. Get second opinions
There are a lot of documents required for graduate school, and I wish I took some time to get people’s second opinion about my essays and statements. I got a few comments from my professors but did not give them enough time to work with me to perfect my essay and my pieces of writing. Also, I didn’t take the time to have other eyes read through my documents, like my friends or boyfriend. It would have been helpful to get other opinions. So, take your time and get someone else to read your pieces of writing and double check mistakes you could have overlooked.
4. Double CHECK ALL REQUIREMENTS
Like I stated before, one application contains so many components that need to be fulfilled. I lost track of a lot of the requirements because they were very overwhelming. So, using the school portal to keep your information on track and all the documents was very helpful for me. Because there were so many sections to the application, it is important to do one section at a time and not overwhelm yourself with every section at a time. I started with my letters of recommendation first, then moved on to filling out my information on the application, then did all my required documents and then lastly double checked the entirety of my application as a whole.
5. Don’t doubt your abilities
The most infuriating thing about applying for me was comparing myself to others and while filling the application I thought maybe I wasn’t enough to go to graduate school. Though I have learned that if you want it that bad you will get it done. Procrastination got the best of me sometimes, but I really wanted to go to school and so I made it work. I stopped trying to make the most perfect application, and simply did what I could with what I had and learned that it was my best work. It is easy for me to doubt my abilities when surrounded with smart and wonderful professors and students. But applying to graduate school was the first step for me to becoming something I worked hard for. If you are thinking about that application, get started on it.
