Graduate School Boot Camp at Sul Ross State University
By Brooke Manuel, Skyline Editor
ALPINE – Don Asher, the author of more than ten books and one of the nation’s leading authorities on the graduate school admissions process, brought his renowned graduate school boot camp to Sul Ross State University April 21.
Asher’s two-day boot camp covered a variety of topics, such as the graduate school admissions process, finding funding for master’s and doctoral programs, building your committee and selecting your mentor, and the process of graduate school itself.
Asher has delivered lectures like this to thousands of students at hundreds of other colleges and universities in the United States. The Sul Ross State University McNair scholars program funded Asher’s trip to Alpine.
Top Ten Takeaways from Don Asher’s Graduate School Boot Camp
If you receive a fellowship, try for an assistantship as well. They both provide financial assistance to graduate students. You do not have to do anything in exchange for money provided through a fellowship. Assistantships, however, are a form of financial assistance in which you work in a part-time position. Assistantships help students gain experience in their desired field of work/study.
Apply to third party scholarships and fellowships. Every graduate school applicant should apply to at least three third party fellowships and/or scholarships. This is a cultural norm many prospective graduate students do not know about.
Identify specific faculty members you are interested in working with in your entrance essay.
Having research experience as an undergraduate student will help set you apart from other applicants.
Schools have hidden money – if you need more funding for school, don’t be afraid to ask. Schools can always repurpose money.
Do NOT pay for scholarship research assistance programs.
Scour your department’s website for scholarships, fellowships and assistantships specific to you.
You can negotiate your award offer, but NEVER demand a specific amount of money.
Contact faculty members at your schools of interest before applying. This will help you to build relationships with prospective mentors and committee members.
Send a continuing interest letter to schools that you have applied to.
While Asher stressed the idea that attending graduate school is possible for anyone, he does not depict it as a fictitious optimistic image of being a walk in the park.
“We’re doing young people a little bit of a disservice by telling them that life should not hurt...If you are ambitious, you will be serially uncomfortable,” Asher said.