Many of my clients who are applying to graduate programs in STEM fields ask me, “What is the most important part of my application?” They want to know where they should exert the most effort, and if you are a STEM applicant, you might be wondering the same thing. The Most Important Part of Your…
I Got Laid Off! Should I Apply to Graduate School?
If you lost your job because of layoffs in your field or any other reason, it could actually be a great opportunity to take stock of your career. In this post, we discuss three different unemployment scenarios and offer recommendations as to what you could do next. Three Scenarios for Unemployed Applicants 1. You loved…
Application Advice from Accepted Data Science Clients
As you are aware, when you are active on the Internet – whether posting on social media, buying something online, completing a healthcare profile, and so on – your information is being collected into big datasets. The field of data science has expanded such that it has an impact on healthcare, government, agriculture, risk and…
Applying to PhD Programs: When, Where, How, and Why?
The thought of pursuing a PhD can be daunting. You might ask yourself the following key questions: Let’s consider these questions one at a time. Question 1: “When should I apply to graduate school?” The right time to apply to graduate school is when your personal, academic, and professional experiences have aligned such that you…
Selecting the Right PhD Program
If you are thinking about applying to a PhD program, then you are probably already familiar with the research process, either because you researched with professors at the undergraduate level or you earned (or are earning) a master’s degree with a research focus. If you have no research experience, then you have a much better…
Applying to Electrical Engineering Programs: Graduate School Admissions Overview
A master’s degree in electrical engineering is a versatile degree that can open up diverse career opportunities, including the following: Who is the ideal candidate for a master’s in electrical engineering degree? These master’s degree programs seek applicants with a strong background in engineering, math, and physics. If you are coming from another discipline, consider…
Advice from Successful STEM Applicants
I was thinking about how best to advise my clients who are applying to STEM graduate programs. Since I have had many clients who gained admission to their target programs, I decided to send them some questions about their experience. I’ve compiled most of their responses into the following summary. If you were starting the…
How to Get Accepted to Graduate Engineering Programs
With years of experience preparing engineers for their careers – and as an Accepted admissions consultant since 2015 – I’ve seen what works and doesn’t work when one is applying to master’s and PhD programs in engineering. Whether you’re applying in software engineering, chemical engineering, computer science, civil engineering, systems, mechanical engineering, or biomedical engineering, you…
Ace Your Summer Business Internship: Tips for College Students
This post is aimed at college sophomores and juniors who are thinking about earning an MBA in the future and who will be working as interns this coming summer. In my opinion, there is no better way to test out your career interests than by working in your intended field for a few months. From…
Graduate School Options for STEM Candidates
Do you want to If you answered yes to any of these questions, this might be the perfect time for you to apply to graduate school. According to Crunchbase news, in 2022 and 2023, almost 225,000 employees were let go from technology companies. Yet technology workers are still very much in demand. Companies are seeking…
How Do You Choose the Right Graduate School?
Many applicants, when thinking about advancing their skills or changing their career direction, believe they must get into a “prestigious” grad school – one that is ranked high on the surveys conducted by U.S. News & World Report, Bloomberg Businessweek, and other similar media outlets. These candidates apply to the schools in the top ten…
How Does a New College Grad Find a First Job?
Searching for that first job after graduating college is hard work. In general, college grads tend to fall into two broad categories. One is the group that knows exactly what they are after, often heading toward a professional track such as engineering, accounting, law, medicine, or something else requiring a postgraduate degree or other training…
How to Write Your Master’s in Engineering Statement of Purpose
Top engineering graduate programs will expect a high GPA and some schools will require an impressive GRE score. Those nice high stats get your foot in the door at elite graduate engineering schools. However, it is your statement of purpose (SOP) that will allow the admissions committee to view you as a person with unique goals,…
Master’s in Engineering Admissions: Nine Things To Do to Get Accepted
With years of experience preparing engineers for their careers – and as an Accepted admissions consultant since 2015 – I’ve seen what works and doesn’t work when one is applying to master’s and PhD programs in engineering. Whether you’re applying in software engineering, chemical engineering, computer science, civil engineering, systems, mechanical engineering, or biomedical engineering, you…
Seeking Employment with Your New PhD
Congratulations! You’ve worked hard and are now the proud holder of a PhD. Now what? In today’s job market, PhDs are hired not only as professors, but also as: Researchers in STEM fields, plus many other academic and non-academic areas Directors of nonprofits or government agencies A wide array of positions within business and consulting…
Applying to Mechanical Engineering Programs: Graduate School Admissions Overview
Mechanical Engineering has been labeled as the liberal arts of engineering because it is such a broad field that can result in a wealth of career paths. A few examples of areas entered by program graduates include product design, or structural engineering, construction management, clean energy, aerospace, robotics, and machine learning. Do you want to…
Applying to Computer Science Programs: Graduate School Admissions Overview
Are you are thinking about applying to computer science master’s degree programs and wondering which schools are the best fit for you? Are you wondering whether you meet the criteria to be admitted? What are computer science programs looking for? First, let’s look at what skills top schools are seeking in the applicants they admit…
Connections Count. And You Can Create Them.
I worked with a client, who due to medical reasons, only earned a 2.2 GPA in a social science degree program. After graduating, he decided that the right career path for him was computer science so that he could realize his dream of becoming a tech entrepreneur. He had an ideal school in mind and…
Requesting Letters of Recommendation for Graduate Engineering Programs
As an applicant, you understand how important your GPA and GRE scores are to the Admissions Committee. You know you must write an essay that tells your story and makes an impact on the reader, as well as shows how you are a good match with the program. Another critical component of your application are…
Why You Need a Goal When Applying to Graduate Engineering Programs
Why is it important for an applicant to define short- and long-term goals in an engineering application? The most basic reason is that most engineering programs require a statement of purpose. It’s extraordinarily difficult to write such a statement when you don’t have a purpose beyond obtaining a graduate degree. Why Do You Need a…