Indiana University Bloomington
Division of Student Affairs The College or Arts and Sciences
 
Career Development Center and Arts & Sciences Career Services
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Applying to Graduate School

Ideally, your application timeline will look like this:

 

  • Fall or spring of junior year: consider whether graduate school is right for you; talk to professors and grad students; research specific programs.
  • Spring of junior year: request catalogs and application materials from programs you're interested in.
  • September of senior year: request letters of recommendation from professors who know you.
  • Fall of senior year: visit graduate schools and talk to grad students at those schools; have transcripts sent from all your undergraduate schools to your prospective programs; write and polish your personal statement.
  • December or early January of senior year: finish and send out your applications; thank your recommenders.

 

This is just a general timeline; be sure to check the deadlines for particular programs. For priority or early admission decisions, you must have finished your application very early in your senior year.

Several campus centers support prospective grad students:

 

  • Advisors are available at the Career Development Center to talk about any aspect of your application in a drop-in appointment.
  • Writing Tutorial Services will work with you on your personal statement.
  • HPPLC provides comprehensive services for students interested in legal and medical careers.
  • Bloomington Continuing Studies offers non-credit GRE preparation courses.
  • All students in the College of Arts and Sciences can use the School of Education's credential service. This service stores, copies, and sends your letters of recommendation for you. (HPPLC offers the same service for all prelaw and premed students.)

 

For more information on researching graduate schools, taking the GRE, and applying, see the graduate section in our web link library or read the handouts in our document library.