John Sagers

The admissions process for professional degree programs (MBA, law school, public policy, medical school) is similar to what you went through to get into college: Earn a high GPA, complete application essays, and do well on a standardized test. Admissions committees look at this data and put together an incoming class of qualified students. So your best bet is to apply to schools that are well known in the field you want to study.

Master and Ph.D. programs in the arts and sciences are a bit different. The most important difference is that you are applying not so much to the school as to a particular mentor who will guide your study from start to finish. I tell my students who are applying to graduate school to think of it like a medieval guild. You are becoming a loyal apprentice to your mentor in return for knowledge, resources, and protection. For this reason, it is important to research carefully the professors who are working in your chosen field. Ideal mentors 1) have published important work in a field that interests you, 2) will remain at the present university for at least the 5-10 years for you to graduate and secure a job, 3) are powerful enough on university committees to secure grant funding and teaching assistantships for their students, 4) have a reputation for cooperation and benevolence toward students and colleagues, and 5) have enough clout in their field to write the letters needed to secure employment after you graduate. I was fortunate to have a very kind and conscientious mentor, but we've all heard the horror stories of advisers refusing to sign dissertations over minor issues, changing universities or retiring before their students were done, or not being powerful enough to help their students secure funding or jobs. Graduate school advisers can make or break academic careers, so choose wisely.

I recommend the book Getting What You Came For: The Smart Student's Guide to Earning an M.A. or a Ph.D. to anyone considering or attending graduate school in the humanities or sciences.