According to Cal State Long Beach students, the most common mistake made when applying to graduate programs is adjusting to the different academic methods between undergrad and grad school.
CSULB Educational Opportunity Program counselor Lorena Romero said, “some of the most competitive programs at Cal State Long Beach are in counseling [and] social work [programs] but also [in] the teaching credentials.”
Romero said that many undergraduate students decide to attend graduate school immediately after receiving their bachelor’s degree, which, in most cases, means that they don’t have the chance to understand the dedication and the time they have to invest in furthering their education.
According to graduate student Deonte Towner, who is currently obtaining his teaching credential in CSULB’s English Education Credential Program, “the process was hard, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to become a teacher … I started substituting last year and I received a full-time position to teach.”
The reasons why grad school presents challenges are because students fail to invest an adequate amount of time in their education and lose interest because of the different academic method standards, compared to undergrad.
Romero adds that the most common mistakes she sees, and the reasons why most students fail during the process of applying to grad school, are in their letters of reference and the personal statement prompts.
Secondly, Romero said that many students leave their application to the last minute According to CSULB graduate student Veronica Prado, who is obtaining her teaching credential in Spanish, students should apply, work on personal statement and request letters of recommendation early. For Prado, it took her about a whole semester of preparation to complete the Teaching Credential Program application. Prado also says professors are not always active in reminding students about application deadlines.
According to Romero, one of the most competitive fields at CSULB is the Master of Arts degree in Counseling. Romero says the program is competitive because of the numbers of application students who apply for either for the M.A. or the teaching credential program. At CSULB, the programs have two components which they focus on — pursuing a title as a teacher for K-12 education or a professor in college.
“I recommend students to either apply for the teacher credential program or their master’s … they both recommend a lot of dedication and apply for internships during your undergrad year so it can prepare you when you get in grad school,” Towner said.
Another key requirement of attending graduate school is the amount of extra steps required during the application. According to Prado, she had to take an introductory course as well as the California Basic Educational Skills Test for her selected major. Prado also had to go through an interview process by professors in the subject she is going to teach. Prado also states that every major is different in applications. She also had to complete paperwork that related to her major, write a teacher’s philosophy and pass a background check.
Becoming a grad student can be a challenging task. Application processes and misinformation can potentially forge misleading actions that may cause students to make common mistakes when applying.
