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Office of Post-Baccalaureate Studies

Information is provided for those students interested in going to graduate school.  To explore programs in your academic field, graduate school directories are available for you to browse through. Presentations are also scheduled so that you may learn more about the application process.

Graduate School Application Process

1. Discover your interests and career goals. It is never too early to start exploring career interests. As early as freshman and sophomore year, meet with faculty to find out more about the different academic areas that interest you.

2. Get research and work experience. This will help you get a sense of what you would actually like to do. Also, it will add to your credentials when applying to graduate school.

3. Meet with your faculty advisor and/or a career counselor to discuss your graduate school plans and the decision-making process related to these plans.

4. At the beginning of the spring semester of your junior year is the time to get information on the graduate school programs that interest you. You can research graduate and professional schools programs via the Internet, resources in the O’Malley Library or by visiting Irene Snitkoff, Coordinator of the Office of Post-Baccalaureate Studies (see below).

5. Send for applications and program information.

6. In order to decide on which schools would best suit your goals, schedule an appointment to meet with the chair, or faculty member of your department. You can also meet with your academic advisor and/or the pre-law or pre-health professions advisor.

7. Determine what, if any, standardized test(s) the institutions to which you are applying require. Prepare for the test by taking a practice exam, taking a prep course, or working through a preparation guide (available in most bookstores). Generally speaking, it is best to take these exams in the summer after your junior year but check with your academic advisor, pre-law and/or pre-health professions advisor to be certain.Dr. Bruce Liby, Chair and Associate Professor of the Physics Department is the Pre-Health Professions Advisor and Chair of the Health Professions Advisory Committee.

8. Preparing a strong application for graduate school is time consuming. Find out application deadlines, and start well in advance, spring of your junior year.

a. Take note of what documents are required. Transcripts can be ordered from the registrar’s office. If you’ve studied elsewhere, remember to request those transcripts as well. Be sure that the appropriate standardized test scores are sent to those schools on your list that require them.

b. Your essay or statement of purpose is your opportunity to tell them what you want to do in graduate school and why. Put a lot of thought into it. Ask a trusted advisor to read and comment on it.

c. Take careful to note how many letters of recommendation are requested. Choose people who know you well and with whom you have worked closely. Help them write the best possible letter for you by giving them a copy of your resume, a good paper you wrote in their class, or anything that would help them write specifically about their experience of you.

9. Consider setting up a Credential File at the Center for Career Development, 5th Floor in Miguel Hall. This is especially important if you intend to apply to graduate school after graduation. 

10. The fall semester should be devoted to sending out application material.

11. Confirm that application materials have been received. Do this more than a month before each school’s notification deadline, typically February or March.

12. Some schools interview applicants. Check to see if the schools you have selected conduct interviews. If you are invited for an interview, you should prepare for it. Anticipate questions that might arise. Do your homework. Familiarize yourself with the program. Come with a few of your own questions; ones that cannot simply be answered from brochures or catalogs. Ask your questions after the formal in

Information is provided for those students interested in going to graduate school. 

To explore programs in your academic field, graduate school directories are available for you to browse through.

Presentations are also scheduled so that you may learn more about the application process.

terview is complete. Asking thoughtful questions about the program will demonstrate your interest in it. Make use of the Center for Career Development’s mock interview procedure, where you can practice interviewing techniques. 

13. Negotiate acceptance. Many school have notification deadlines in April. If you are not notified by this date, or have heard from other schools and need to make a decision, you can in some cases get a decision over the phone. Explain your situation and say that you want to be informed of the status of your application. This is also a good time to bargain. For instance, if you have been accepted to school A with a given financial package, then inquire if school B can offer you more. Assistance is available in Ph.D. programs in the form of teaching and research assistantships and *graderships, which pay a monthly wage for these duties.

*Graders normally grade exams and papers, meet with students during office hours, and may give occasional supervised lectures. 

Irene Snitkoff, M.A., Coordinator, Office of Post-Baccalaureate Studies

• Office: 206E DeLaSalle Hall
• phone: (718) 862-7755
• fax: (718) 862-7753
• email: irene.snitkoff@manhattan.edu

Updated March 2008