sometimes called “Letter of Intent” or “Proposed Course of Study”)? Is there a separate application for financial aid or are all applicants automatically considered for aid? What types of aid are available — departmental scholarships, teaching assistantships, grants? Are there any additional materials required, such as writing samples or a portfolio of your art work? Most of the details mentioned above will be solely your responsibility, but you obviously need assistance from tutors for the letters of recommendation. DO NOT WAIT until the last minute (e.g. the day before the letter is due) and expect your tutors to produce a quality recommendation. Strong, effective letters of recommendation require time and thought to craft. Don’t assume that every tutor will feel able to provide such a letter. If one of them declines to write a letter, thank them, and ask someone else. Once your tutors have agreed to write letters, the more information you can give them about what you want to study, where, and why, the more detailed and helpful their letters can be. Get yourself organized so that you are asking for these letters at least a month before the letters are due. During that month, check in with the tutors to see if they need any more details from you. That can also be a gentle reminder that the deadline is approaching. Make sure each tutor knows whether to send hard copies of the letter directly to your schools (with envelopes and postage provided by you) or upload the letter to an online application site. Make sure they are comfortable with either format. For those who may not want to face an online system, remind them that Career Services can assist them with that process. Also, please ask all of them to provide electronic copies of their letters for your file at Career Services, which will be saved for future use. Choosing to apply to graduate or professional school is one of the most important career decisions you will make. To do it successfully, it should be like a full-time job, not something that you try to squeeze in around classes, jobs, extra-curricular activities, and special study groups. Don’t expect to be able to pull together a strong, effective application overnight. The Statement of Purpose alone will require multiple drafts and reading by unbiased advisors (e.g. tutors, Writing Assistants, the Career Services Director). Schools set up fairly complicated application processes partly to see if you can read and follow the directions and “jump through their hoops.” If this all sounds like much more than you can handle the fall semester of your senior year, with applications due anywhere from December 1 to the end of February, then you may want to consider taking an extra year to really give thought to exactly what you want to study and where, and to be able to devote the necessary concentrated time to compile a strong and focused application. If you decide you want to take a year off, visit Career Services to talk about and brainstorm other options for the year after you graduate. If you decide to forge ahead with applications, Career Services can also help you get organized and gather the various pieces of your applications. Don’t feel that you have to do this alone!
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