The Application Process

The following was published previously in the Upper Midwest Region Association of College and Housing Officers Perspectives magazine.  It provides a narrative about my application experience if anyone is about to partake in that adventure this fall.

Bronkema, R. (Summer 2011). ‘P’retty ‘h’ard ‘d’ecision. UMR ~ ACUHO News. P. 22.

‘P’retty ‘h’ard ‘D’ecision: A Practical Outline to a Doctoral Program Search

I have always known that I wanted to pursue doctoral study, and throughout the last year I realized that this there is not better time than now to start. I unfortunately did not know many people that have gone through a search to participate in a doctoral program that would involve relocating. Everyone that I know attended a program at the campus that they were working at, or one very close to them. This piece is designed as a guide to any of you who are considering further doctoral study and how you might begin that search process.

The truth is, seeking out a doctoral program has little in common with pursuing a masters. Most of us are used to getting courted and having our graduate and professional path laid out before us through outstanding conferences like OPE and TPE. Doctoral searches are a lot more complex and require more layers of research as you prepare for them. My hope is that the following thoughts will help you create a checklist and starting point for this process.

Even if you are not planning to pursue your doctorate in the near future, the following tips will be helpful as they are all things I have learned through my doctoral search that I did not know about prior to beginning. This information can help you use effective strategy and planning with your professional development so you are most aptly prepared if/when the day comes to apply to programs.

Searching for Programs

Begin with the end in mind. What is your goal for completing a doctorate? The two common reasons for pursuing a doctorate in student affairs are to continue administrative advancement or to receive qualifications to teach masters level students in graduate programs as faculty. Depending on what you are hoping to do, the programs you pursue might narrow.

As a great place to start there are program profiles provided by NASPA on their website. This site allows you to search for programs by interest and geography and gives program titles and links to the websites to get the ball rolling. Also, consider looking at the book Peterson’s Graduate Schools in the U.S, with specific reference to the degree titles Higher Education or Counselor Education depending on your interests. This should give you a strong list of where your options are and is a great place to start a list. If you are interested in program prestige consider looking at the U.S. News program rankings under Higher Education Administration. This will give you a listing of one organizations guesstimate of the 10 strongest programs in the country. All of these resources will get you a strong list of potential programs to consider applying to. This list might be long and intimidating but it is a great place to start.

Narrowing Your List

Now that you have a list of schools and programs to consider. It is time to start to narrow them down to a manageable list of schools to apply to. Below I mention the costs of applying, I would advise you use the guide of narrowing your search to four to six schools to apply to as an affordable search. (This will keep your total costs between $750 and $1000 including travel)

To start this narrowing process, consider what type of degree you would like to end up with. The PhD and EdD degrees are by far the most popular terminal degree options available that relate to the field of student affairs. Choosing between the two types of degrees will be a primary filter for your search and is important to consider. There is much debate and disagreement about the similarities and differences between a PhD (Doctorate of Philosophy) and an EdD (Doctorate of Education) and which of the two might be the best fit for particular interests. The primary perceived difference between the two types of degrees is how rigorous the research preparation. The truth upon digging is that the two degrees are far more similar than they are different. If take the time to compare the curriculum of two programs that you are interested in that might differ in title you will notice their similarities. The reason that I write about this is there is a stigma out there in some circles about the value of one degree over another.  This is all a matter of opinion, but is important to at least point out.  Another resource you can look into to gain further clarification on this is The Handbook of Student Affairs Administration.

The next areas to consider is, who are the faculty teaching in the program and what are their areas of research interest? The research interests of the faculty in the programs you are considering are important to consider. As you progress through your program you will be assigned a dissertation advisor and it is very helpful to have someone with similar research interests as you are pursuing in your corner. All that being said you might not have your research interests pin pointed down perfectly, or let’s be honest, they might change over the next two to three years of rigorous course work. This means you might want to consider the diversity of the specialties of the faculty in the programs you are considering and whether there might be several choices to cover your bases.

Next, consider your cognate area options at particular programs. A cognate area of study is much like a minor in undergraduate study. They are courses outside of the selected graduate program that you choose to support the research of your dissertation. Remember that a doctoral program is more like a choose your own adventure book and is designed just for you by you and your advisor. Why considering cognates is critical to your search process is you want to make sure that the schools you are looking at have graduate programs in your areas of interest for future study. For example, leadership or finance and development would be fine supplements to a student affairs degree but would be housed under different academic areas on campus. It is critical that you insure that programs you apply to have strong and appropriate supplemental areas of graduate study. Fortunately most campuses with doctoral programs have many graduate programs to choose from so this is not always that big of a challenge, it is just important to consider.

Nuts and Bolts Requirements for a Strong Application

If you have not taken the Graduate Record Exam and you are sure you want to go back to grad school it would serve you well to just get the GRE out of the way. Most schools are just looking for you to get about an 1100 score. That is not too difficult if you prepare for it. I warn you about this for two reasons. One, the exam scores expire after five years so you might have taken the exam and need to take it again as your scores have expired. Secondly, I was caught off guard by how much time it takes to submit GRE scores to programs and ended up having to take the exam with only two weeks of preparation. Keep in mind that it takes up to four weeks for GRE scores to reach campuses after you take the exam. Plan to take it at least six weeks ahead of your application deadlines to not have to worry about scores arriving in a timely fashion.

Most programs also require a professional writing sample. I would advise that you get some professional writing together to get published. This makes the selecting of a writing sample much easier. Submitting something to the UMR Perspectives Magazine or the ACUHO-I Talking Stick would be a great option to use as a writing sample. So if you have not written for them in the past, I would encourage you to do so. Taking this rout not only helps your local colleagues by sharing but it also will be far more recent than any graduate writing that you have available which shows your perspective faculty that you have the interest and experience in writing.

Update your resume/vitae. Make sure to highlight things that would be considered desirable in a graduate student. Your writing experience, professional presentations at conferences and any additional coursework you have volunteered to take in addition to your masters degree are helpful to list. Highlighting these areas insures that you show your extra initiative and your merit as a strong doctoral candidate. If you have yet to participate in writing or presenting it is in your best interest to start so you have some things to reference and get yourself back into an academic mind frame.

Contact your potential references. Most times at least one of them has to be a former faculty member who taught you as a student. Contacting people early to line them and letting them get started on their letters is a great idea.

Save money, applying costs more than you might expect. Between the application fee, the GRE fee, and sending two copies of your transcripts to schools the grand total cost of applying to programs begins to add up quickly. Also remember that you will likely have to visit one or two of them to make your final choice and these travel costs are not reimbursed. As mentioned earlier applying to five programs and visiting two could cost you between $750 and $1000 total.

Plan to turn in your applications seven days early. As they have to be sent across campus at times and need to meet a deadline. This will save you stress to their arrival. In this competitive time you want to make sure you have everything in for the priority consideration deadline.

Campus Visits

Prior to your campus visits be sure to ask detailed questions about how the assistantship process. Depending on what programs you apply to the assistantship and financial support process might be very different. If you are hoping to secure a full time assistantship this is an important process to consider. When you receive offers of acceptance from programs start to look into how the assistantship process and placement works so you can start that search immediately. Doctoral programs do not always play an active a role in this search process as you might think, so be ready for that additional work as the process unfolds.

Campus visits can happen in a couple of different ways. The first is that you could be accepted into a program prior to visiting and the visit is more of a campus orientation and sales pitch. Another is that you could be invited to campus to interview for admission into the program and your selection would come after your visit. Be ready to handle yourself according to how differently the programs plan to host you.

Making “Your” Choice

After you have visited all of the programs you have chosen to visit it is time to make a final decision. This is where you will find one thing about a doctoral search that is similar to any search you have gone through to date. It is still all about fit. If you have done a thorough search and stuck to the requirements that you were looking for your heart will be your best guide as to what program is best for you and your professional future. The key is doing your homework and applying to the right programs for you. At that point there are no wrong fits and you are in a win, win situation. You have found the program to set you up for a rigorous but prosperous education and professional career.

Stay in Touch

As you continue to ponder doctoral options I have found it to be incredibly helpful to have folks around that have gone through the process. Feel free to contact me at anytime to discuss your thoughts. I would love to be a resource to any of you down the road. Safe searching, and thank you for your commitment to student affairs. We are all in this together.

Resources

Graduate program directory. Retrieved from http://www.naspa.org/career/gradprograms/default.cfm

Peterson’s graduate schools. Retrieved from http://www.petersons.com/graduate-schools.aspx

Howard-Hamilton, M. F., Hyman, R. E. Doctoral education and beyond. In McClellan, G. S., Stinger, J. and Associates. (Eds.), The handbook of student affairs administration (pp. 388-400). San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

US news education grad schools. Retrieved from http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-education-schools/higher-education-administration-rankings