{"id":32640,"date":"2016-04-04T13:00:43","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T20:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=32640"},"modified":"2016-07-27T15:45:05","modified_gmt":"2016-07-27T22:45:05","slug":"should-you-apply-to-grad-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/should-you-apply-to-grad-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Should You Apply to Grad School?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Know what you are getting into before you dive in!<\/p>\n

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To apply or not apply. That is the question many of you are asking yourselves as admissions deadlines approach. Is it time to go for the MBA? The JD? MD? PhD?<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the answer: it depends. It depends on you, your circumstances, and your goals. You're considering investing the next 1-8 years studying \u2013 this is a big decision and not one with a general \"yes\" or \"no\" answer. As you evaluate your unique situation, make sure you consider the following: <\/span><\/p>\n

If you're considering a PhD\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

The best reason (for most people) to pursue a PhD<\/a> is to secure a career in academia. For professorships at big-name research institutes, it\u2019s the only way in. Sure, people enter other industries after becoming this \u201cother kind\u201d of doctor, but they don\u2019t necessarily need the degree to get there, and generally their time would be better spent gaining real-world experience. <\/span><\/p>\n

A PhD is the right degree for you if\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0You live and breathe research<\/a> \u2013 using data of all kinds to build on existing theories, generate new ones, and explain phenomena. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0You love debating theory and methodology with others. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0You have discipline and patience. As you can imagine, earning a PhD also takes tremendous discipline \u2013 for that matter, so does being a professor. It\u2019s not for those who require a lot of external structure and guidance.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you're considering going to business school\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Getting an MBA<\/a> takes the least time of any advanced degree (1-2 years) and generates good job opportunities, so if you have well thought-out career goals and know that the degree will help you achieve those goals, then this could be a good option for you. It is a substantial investment in terms of tuition costs (as well as the potential time away from your career), so engage in some serious self-reflection about your goals<\/a> and interests.<\/span><\/p>\n

An MBA is the right degree for you if\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 You're interested in propelling your current business career forward, or potentially changing fields or job functions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 You're an entrepreneur or thinking about starting your own business. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 You enjoy structure and data-based problem-solving and team projects.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you're considering going to med school\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

It takes a long, long time to become a doctor<\/a>, but once you're there, you'll likely have a stable income and a stable job. <\/span><\/p>\n

An MD is the right degree for you if\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0<\/span>You truly want to help people while making a reasonable living. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0<\/span>You enjoy solving the problems that doctors solve. That sounds self-evident, but you may forget, especially after all the TV shows that highlight the profession\u2019s highest and lowest moments, that in the end it\u2019s often you in a room with patients and\/or other doctors, trying figure out how to diagnose and treat a given set of symptoms. Are you good at that kind of pattern-matching-based problem-solving? <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0<\/span>You're okay with the idea of dissecting a cadaver (you have to, in med school). <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0<\/span>You don't mind dealing with people often at their worst (other than pathology, radiology, and maybe some other specialties, you\u2019ll have to).<\/span><\/p>\n

If you're considering going to law school\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is a very large number of trained lawyers\u00a0<\/span>do not<\/span><\/i>\u00a0work as attorneys \u2013 many end up in the business world and elsewhere. This is due to one of two reasons (generally): one, that getting a job as an attorney may be difficult, given supply and demand (it\u2019s still a challenging job market for lawyers right now); two, that many people rush into law school<\/a> without really knowing if they want to be lawyers. So think hard about it, and be sure you want to go to law school. Maybe it makes sense to work in the field before committing to grad school. Research what attorneys do, day to day. Again, TV has glamorized litigation<\/a> (i.e., trial work), but many lawyers rarely set foot in the courtroom.<\/span><\/p>\n

A JD\u00a0is the right degree for you if\u2026.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 You want to be a lawyer. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 You thrive in a rigorous, intellectually challenging environment.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 You have strong writing and critical thinking skills.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bottom Line<\/strong><\/p>\n

Think hard about your grad school decision. Don\u2019t get a degree because you feel you \u201cshould\u201d or you don\u2019t have a lot of other options.\u00a0Those reasons are just not strong enough or smart enough to justify the time and costs that go into graduate education. <\/span><\/p>\n

If<\/em>\u00a0and when<\/em> you decide a graduate degree is the way to go, we can help! Check out our catalog of services<\/a> for more information.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"View<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Accepted<\/a><\/p>\n

Related Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Get Your Game On: Prepping For Your Grad School Application<\/a>, free guide
\n\u2022\u00a0The 4 Must-Haves Of A Grad School Application<\/a>
\n\u2022\u00a0Graduate School Admissions Consulting and Editing Services<\/a><\/p>\n

This article<\/a> originally appeared on\u00a0<\/em>blog.accepted.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Applying to a top b-school? The talented folks at Accepted have helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to their dream programs. Whether you are figuring out where apply, writing your application essays, or prepping for your interviews, we are just a call (or click) away.<\/p>\n

Contact us, and get matched up with the consultant who will help\u00a0you\u00a0<\/em>get accepted<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To apply or not apply. That is the question many of you are asking yourselves as admissions deadlines approach. Is it time to go for the MBA? The JD? MD?…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,939,775,243],"tags":[370],"class_list":["post-32640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-accepted","category-admission-consultants","category-blog","tag-mba-advice","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32640"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32642,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32640\/revisions\/32642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}