[krazyDogg]

Hi everyone,

I will be a senior in college this upcoming fall, and I still haven't signed up to take the GRE.It's been on my mind for a long time now, but I'm not quite sure if I want to go to graduate school immediately after graduating from college. At the same time, I want to keep myself preoccupied with productive work and get my master's while I'm still in the school-mode, but on the other hand, I just want to take a break from school and travel or work abroad.

I know they offer the GRE exam three times per year, but does it matter whether you sign up to take the GRE in the fall or in the spring? Did you take a break (year-long, semester-long) right after you graduated from college or did you go straight into graduate school? What is your experience with transitioning from an undergraduate to a graduate student?

Help, please. Any advice would be appreciated.

[be_mellow]

They offer the General GRE like 30 times a year. You can sign up whenever you feel ready to take it.

I took a year off because I don't feel like facing the textbooks yet. Also I needed some income to pay off the college loans. Oh yeah and I need time for my professors to write the recommendations and time for myself to prepare the Statement of Purpose. I think applying to schools took me 2-3 months to write a good SOP, to get recommendations, to fill out applications and mail out everything. I didn't rush it.

I can't answer your third question yet because I'm starting grad school this Fall. =)

[beamonkr]

I took about a year off before starting grad school. I thought that my brain needed a break. I worked and traveled. Fortunately, I was able to get my job to pay for the Masters courses, I just needed to buy the books and maintain a B average, which is a given considering if you get more than two C's it's considered failing. I applied to three universities and was accepted at all three, which was kind of nice since I got to go to the one I really wanted to.

The GRE is a pain and depending upon which major you are pursuing, you may need to take the general and specialized tests. I feel if you're going to pursue your Masters, you need to be clear first, which university you plan to attend. I recomend applying to more than one. Some universities require the GRE, but there are others who don't, again depending upon the major. Line up your recommendations I recommend trying to get a couple from professors within the major you want to pursue, assuming of course you actually took those courses and did well (academics) and at least one personal (character). Your essay should be well thought out as well, you can go from being an average student to a successful one just based on your essay.

Most important, you need to know realistically what type of person you are. If you're the type who procrastinates, I'd recommend you go straight after the bachelors. Because the longer you procrastinate the less likely you are to actually go for the Masters if you work and travel first.

As for transitioning into Grad school, it was brutal but challenging at the same time. Most of the professors expect you to already know what they are talking about. For example, when I took International Finance, the assumption was that everyone in the class already knew how to do basic cost-benefit analysis. For some of the people in my class this was difficult because they had been out of school for a number of years. For those of us who had only been out for about a year or two it was a little easier to re-grasp what we had learned. A good rule of thumb is to not sell your college books that related directly to your major. Those will come in handy when you first start in Grad school for back-reading.

I hope this helps and good luck.

[NO-1]

I went straight from undergrad to graduate school. I had finished undergrad in 3 years and thought I could crank out 2 more years easily but I was very wrong.
I hadn't really enjoyed college and wanted to get out so going into grad school probably wasn't the best for me but I did it anyway because I needed a masters to get a job in my field. In the end I got burned out emotionally/mentally after a semester and decided to put off the extra education for later (or maybe never! I'm happy with what I'm doing now).

I think it's definitely better to take a year off at least to get a real break and either get some experience in your field of interest or a completely unrelated job or traveling. You should be prepared mentally to continue studying and being a student for 2-4 years and not suffer through it because you won't gain much from that experience except memories of pain/torture and you probably won't do as well as if you were happy/satisfied with what you're learning.

[dopa]

im going to be a senior in the fall too and am determined to apply to graduate school and basically transition with no breaks in between. i havent taken the gre yet but i have registered to take it next month. basically you can take the general gre once per month at a maximum and no more than either 4 or 6 times a year (i forgot). it is offered practically almost everyday, you just need to register for it. it is the gre subject tests that are offered 3 times a year.


if you have determination and feel motivated, id say you should try to do it. but if you already feel burned out then take a break. but aware... you should be able to already tell that your knowledge for your area of expertise tends to dwindle and deteriorate over time (take this summer for example, some of the knowledge you knew during the school year is already gone). so it might be even harder to get back in the school mode when you take a year long break.

[krazyDogg]

thanks for all the advice, everyone

as of right now, i've decided to just go ahead and sign up to take my gre in late october or early november. i don't know if i'll head to grad school straight after my graduation...perhaps take a couple months break, but at least the exam will be out of the way (or i have a feel for what it should be like should i choose to take it again).

i'm not taking a subject based gre, so i guess the only deadline i have to worry about is the grad school's deadlines...hehe..i feel so much better.

[SouthernBelle82]

I would go a head and get all the studying you need to done now instead of going back. With my major I could just stop at an A.S. but I decided it'd be better to go a head and get the B.S. now while I'm still in school and used to studying and all that.

thanks for all the advice, everyone

as of right now, i've decided to just go ahead and sign up to take my gre in late october or early november. i don't know if i'll head to grad school straight after my graduation...perhaps take a couple months break, but at least the exam will be out of the way (or i have a feel for what it should be like should i choose to take it again).

i'm not taking a subject based gre, so i guess the only deadline i have to worry about is the grad school's deadlines...hehe..i feel so much better.

I think that's a good idea. After I graduated high school I took some months off before entering college and I'm glad I did. It was nice to rest up and I even took a nice trip with my grandparents which I'm glad I did because my grandfather died a few years later. I would also get the exam out of the way and sign up for whatever classes you need. Good luck!

[oohugsnkisses]

i need to apply to grad school myself. im giving myself a year off. i need it so i can refresh and power up!

[honeylemon]

Does anyone have any experience applying for Grad school in Canada? I'm heading into my 4th and final year as an undergraduate and I'm not sure whether or not I should head to Grad school. I feel like ... I should continue my education (because there honestly isn't much I can do with my B.Sc so ...) and I don't really *not* like schooling. I actually don't mind it. It keeps my mind active and busy and its something to fill my days..

Finding a job in my field might be much much harder, and I'm thinking that at least if I have a Masters in something, it'll help me out in the long run more than it would detriment me.

Anyways, I have no clue about anything related to Grad school, and I'm just ... wondering if anyone can help me along =) ! How do I even apply? I mean... What should I consider before applying?

[kennesu]

Could anyone give a good timeline for the grad school application process? I think I've seen it before on one of those college prep sites but I know how you guys prepared? I'm not in college anymore so I'm kind of forgetting the times of the month where you go to school. lol

[jsp]

I went straight to grad school after college. I knew that I wanted to go for a PhD, and in general, if you're pretty sure you want to go to grad school then it's better to go right away. Some people need a break to keep from burning out, but for others (like me) it's hard to get back to school after being away.

Could anyone give a good timeline for the grad school application process? I think I've seen it before on one of those college prep sites but I know how you guys prepared? I'm not in college anymore so I'm kind of forgetting the times of the month where you go to school. lol

If I remember correctly (this was a few years ago), in the summer before my senior year I looked into which schools I wanted to apply to, started writing my personal statement, and practiced for the GRE. In the Fall I took the GRE and asked for letters of recommendations. Most of my applications were due around December, I think, but I tried to do everything a little bit ahead of time. I received my first acceptances in February and my last rejections around May.