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[katetherobot]

Hello! I'm hoping you all can help me find a few good schools to look into. I definitely want to go to a predominantly female college for grad school (co-ed is fine, but all-ladies is preferred!) and I'm not sure where to start. Some facts

Comments

[lepisostidae]

Gently seconded. Even if you're incredibly passionate about your field, it sounds like you're not quite ready for grad school yet. I'd really recommend thinking about taking a year or two after graduation to beef up your resume/application with a job that pertains to your field, so you can make contacts and learn more.

Just some small points, not to be discouraging:

1. Remember that you're applying to an advisor, not a program! Some schools have great reputations (for good reason) but for a PhD program, your experience is going to largely be determined by your advisor. And in all honesty, that's who will admit you - decisions about applicants these days boil down to whether an advisor will take them, not whether they can get into a program. When you do choose to apply, you want to get in contact with people you'd like to work with long before application season. Talk about your research interests and experience. Applying to grad school isn't really like applying to undergrad.

2. My number one tip, from one graduate student to another? Never, ever go to a program that will not give you funding. You can't support yourself for five to ten years and go to graduate school. It's a more than full time job (I wish I only worked forty hours a week!) and students in my program who don't have funding are struggling incredibly hard to get by. Most of them have left the program. Most people factor in tuition when thinking about whether they can pay for grad school, but you need to consider housing, transportation, food, medical expenses... health insurance and a stipend are mandatory for any PhD program, and if they don't offer you those things, say no, even if it means waiting another year to apply again.