Ideal Graduate-School Search Timetable

Junior Year, Fall and Spring

• Research areas of interest, institutions, and programs.
• Talk to advisers about application requirements.
• Register and prepare for appropriate graduate admission tests.
• Investigate national scholarships.
• If appropriate, obtain letters of recommendation.

Junior Year, Summer

• Take required graduate admission tests.
• Write for application materials.
• Visit institutions of interest, if possible.
• Write your application essay.
• Check on application deadlines and rolling admissions policies.

Senior Year, Fall

• Obtain letters of recommendation.
• Take graduate admission tests if you haven't already.
• Send in completed applications.

Senior Year, Spring

• Complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), if required.
• Check with all institutions before the deadline to make sure your file is complete.
• Visit institutions that accept you.
• Send a deposit to your institution of choice.
• Notify other colleges and universities that accepted you of your decision so that they may admit students on their waiting list.
• Send thank-you notes to people who wrote your recommendation letters, informing them of your success.

Key Points

• Apply between October and December (even if the deadline isn't until January)
• Take your entrance exam in your junior year, if possible. Get the admissions committee to look at your folder before the crush of applicants.