40 Thoughts That Go Through Your Mind When Applying for Grad School

1. After four long years, I’m finally about to graduate college!

2. Oh, you need a Master’s degree to get any job in my field?

3. Time to start it all over again!

4. First, I need to choose what grad schools I want to apply to.

5. Wow, there’s A LOT of options out there.

6. How am I supposed to choose where I want to go?

7. I don’t remember it being this hard choosing a school for my undergraduate.

8. Okay, after researching programs, faculty, cost and everything else to do with each school, I think I know where I want to apply.

9. Let’s look at application requirements.

10. I need to take the GRE?

11. I honestly don’t even completely know what that is.

12. I guess I better sign up for a test date soon.

13. It costs $250 to take one test!?

14. Well, there’s no way out of it so I better dip into my savings.

15. Okay, now I need three letters of recommendation… for every school I’m applying to.

16. I feel bad asking my professors to write so many letters for me!

17. I guess it’s time to start writing some emails.

18. Now I have the GRE and letters of recommendation done, so what’s next?

19. I need to write at least a page for each school about why I want to go there.

20. That shouldn’t be too hard, it’s just my own feelings and opinions after all.

21. Wait, what’s the difference between a statement of purpose and a personal statement?

22. After hours of writing, I have all of my admission essays done.

23. It looks like all that’s left is to finish the applications themselves and mail in my transcripts.

24. Of course it costs $5 for each transcript to be mailed.

25. Applying to grad school is more expensive than I thought!

26. Finally, I just need to fill out my basic information for the applications, and then I’m done.

27. Unsurprisingly, I’m confused again.

28. How do I find my official upper-division GPA and why do I need to give that instead of my overall GPA?

29. What’s proof of a degree and how is that different than an official transcript?

30. My applications are all done and ready to submit!

31. It costs $85 to submit EACH APPLICATION!?

32. I’m applying to five schools; how do I afford this!?

33. How have I spent several hundred dollars on grad school and I haven’t even been accepted anywhere yet?

34. I guess it’s time to dip into my savings again.

35. Okay, all my applications are officially submitted!

36. Now I just need to wait.

37. Wow, the waiting is almost more painful than the actual application process.

38. Is that a letter in my mailbox?

39. I GOT ACCEPTED!!!

40. Two more years of school and student debt, here I come!

• applications
• college
• graduate
• master's degree