Lectures & Workshops

This is a two-day version of Asher's presentation on the graduate school admissions process. It is a comprehensive workshop covering every aspect of the admissions process from selecting a topic for graduate study to methods for getting off a wait list. This workshop has been delivered to groups sized 9 to several hundred and can be adjusted to fit into other student development efforts, including MARC and other non-McNair undergraduate research programs.

Jump-Start Your Scholars

Students leaving this workshop will be months ahead of their peers. Participants will complete the workshop with these milestones passed:

• They will select a topic for graduate study, explore their interests and discuss methods for combining cross-disciplinary interests or deciding between mutually exclusive options. Even if they change topics later—and many will—they will have a decision-making framework to ease the process. Students are encouraged to view the process as a "for practice" exploration, and are not directed to lock-in their decisions or to set aside further input and exploration.
• They will identify and explore a minimum of six graduate programs that will allow them to pursue their selected topic. Emphasis is placed on identifying specific faculty who might be able to serve as mentors, and on selecting programs representing the range of probabilities (safety, probably, maybe and reach schools). Written and online resources will be used.
• Students will draft sample letters to specific graduate faculty to further explore whether there is a match between a program and a student's academic interests.
• Students will prepare one complete rough draft of a statement of purpose. By introducing the writing exercises model, this session reduces anxiety about essay writing and usually results in each student having a surplus of material for later refinement.
• Students will understand what goes into winning a TA or RA assignment and will look for scholarship monies using print resources and learn how to leverage the web.