Feature Interview for October 2009

The Interview of the Month for October 2009, features Liz Koblyk, works with recent graduates at McMaster University’s Career Services as an alumni career coach in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.  She is still fond of Beaumont and Fletcher’s Knight of the Burning Pestle, which she never would have read, had it not been for grad school. For more information about Liz Koblyk check out: http://careers.mcmaster.ca/our-staff/counselling-advising-staff/Liz-Koblyk or follow her on twitter at: http://twitter.com/MacGradCareers

Posted October 5th , 2009

MGS: What are the most common mistakes that you see students make when it comes to applying to graduate school?

LK: The most common mistakes I see are: assuming that graduate school is necessary, under-researching programs of interest, underestimating the time and energy that go into a good application, contacting potential supervisors only after applying—or not at all, giving letter writers too little advance notice and information to write compelling letters, seeking insufficient feedback on personal statements or statements of research interest, and applying to programs that hold no appeal.

MGS: How useful do you find personality tests to be when it comes to guiding students when choosing the right graduate program or professional school?

LK: While personality tests can provide a starting point, they’re far from the end point.  Students need to know whether a program is a good :cultural fit, whether its delivery mode matches with their lifestyle and learning style, whether it supports the area of research they would like to engage in, whether students receive help with professionalization, and even whether they want to live in the city where the university is located.  Personality tests may provide a student with more comprehensive knowledge about their interests, learning style, approach to problem-solving, etc, and all of these areas of information can help someone choose a program that’s a good fit, as well as avoid programs that are poor matches.  That said, people are always more complex than assessment results.

Additionally, if students are pursuing further education purely to advance their careers, then they also need to research what doors their programs of choice will open.  That level of research usually involves talking with professionals in the field of interest, not just from looking at a program’s own marketing material.

MGS: What aptitude tests, if any, do you administer to students who are trying to decide what area to specialize in? Can you explain how they are used?

LK: Though we do use vocational and personality assessments, our office does not administer aptitude tests.  My own experience of writing aptitude tests is that it requires a very different set of skills than the complex problem-solving, analysis and synthesis that students engage in at the graduate level. 

MGS: Do you believe that most students have a poor understanding of how the graduate school selection process generally works? Please describe the reasons for your answer.

LK: I think that many students overestimate the role of marks and underestimate the importance of the rest of their application.  For example, they may leave themselves too little time to put together a personal statement that shows they’ve reflected on and learned from their past experiences, or may write statements of research interest that state a broad topic of interest, rather than propose a defined question the applicant plans to answer.  Many applicants rely on their marks to get them into grad school—or automatically assume their grades will rule them out.
Marks give an admissions committee only part of an applicant’s story.  Like aptitude tests, grades can’t always accurately identify who will thrive in grad or professional school.  Committees rely on letters and personal statements/statements of research interest to learn more about whether applicants have the motivation, skills and perseverance to benefit from and contribute to a graduate learning environment.

MGS: What resources do you recommend to students who are looking for information about the graduate application process?

LK: People can be great sources of information, as long as students are willing to collect multiple opinions and check information for accuracy.  Professors, grad students, admissions advisors and career services staff can provide all sorts of information that isn’t available on program websites—from feedback on statements of interest, to a sneak peek at departmental culture, information on the importance of grades relative to other parts of the application, and advice on how to approach letter writers.  

While I don’t intend to sound like an ad for your writing, the Ebook about Graduate School and this website are excellent resources for getting a better understanding of what really happens during the application process.  Chapter two of The Chicago Guide to Your Academic Career offers an interview-style overview of the application process, complete with conflicting opinions from different authors.  University Affairs magazine provides great advice on topics isolated topics.  For example, a professor recently forwarded me their article on asking for reference letters because she loved it so much.  Unsurprisingly, this article, the Ebook: Graduate School and The Chicago Guide are all written by people who have worked as professors. 

MGS: In your experience, do you see any important differences between selection standards in Canada versus the U.S.?

LK: Most applicants are already aware that the use of standardized tests is more common in the U.S. than in Canada, and that it’s important for applicants to know what they need to write and when they need to write it.  Fewer realize that graduate programs, including some professional programs, are sometimes much more richly funded in the U.S. than in Canada.  So, when people are researching programs and see U.S. tuition costs, they may decide not to apply before they have researched funding opportunities. 

MGS: Do you have any advice for students who are preparing for standardized tests, such as the GRE or MCAT?

LK: Practice, practice, practice.  Ask friends whether they used books or courses that they found helpful.  Talk with people, too, about what didn’t work for them.  Know whether the universities you’re applying to look at the entire test or only parts.  Finally, if you need accommodations to write the test, inquire about them well in advance.

MGS: Liz, Thank-you for your insights and thoughtful advice on the topic.