Michelle Hennessy – News Writer
Southern has approximately 3,500 students pursuing graduate studies according to its website, but despite this, president of the Honors Society, Naina Rana, said not many students have a good understanding about graduate programs.
“Given what Dr. Jackson said I think a lot of students want to continue on after graduating,” said Rana. “I don’t think a lot of students know a lot about it though. This is the second time I’ve been to this and each time there’s a lot of questions. I think people have to take a proactive step and find things out.”
Southern held an information talk with students with Shirley Jackson Ph.D., graduate studies coordinator for sociology who spoke about the different challenges and general tips for students interested in staying on after graduation. Rana said this isn’t the first time the event has been held.
“The idea came up a couple of semesters ago, we thought it would be a really good idea. We didn’t do as much advertising for it as we did this semester though, the turnout has never been like this,” said Rana. “This time I called a lot of different departments and I emailed a lot of different departments to try and get the word out.”
Jackson said one of the biggest problems she has noticed is students putting off the application process for too long.
“It became very clear to me that students would come to me the semester before they graduate and don’t realize all the stuff that needs to be done beforehand. It is not something that you can rush and do at the last minute.”
Jackson said attending graduate school is different to pursuing a Bachelor’s and students need to make sure they realize the level of dedication required to complete the program.
“If you’re thinking of going to grad school don’t go as a way to buy yourself time until you figure out what you’re going to do,” said Jackson. “You need to enjoy reading and doing your own research.”
Jackson said students should also look at applying to more than one program and institution.
“Don’t limit yourself to a few schools, try to apply to as many as possible but don’t apply to anything and everything,” said Jackson. “Make sure you’re in the right program, don’t just assume it’s what you need.”
Jackson said competition can be much greater for graduate programs as there’s people nationwide competing for the same spots, whereas when students applied to Southern, the competition was mainly only from Connecticut. Despite this, Georgetown showed how someone with a master’s degree earns on average half a million more over a lifetime than someone with a bachelor’s, and a million more if they have a Ph.D.
Despite the cost of education, Jackson highlighted resources available to students to help finance their studies.
“There are places you can go to get more information on funding sources, there are a number of funding sources on the Ethnic Studies website here at SCSU,” said Jackson. “The sources are for graduate and undergraduate studies.”
Jackson said there are a lot of things to consider before applying to graduate school, including admission tests and letters of recommendation, and said she encourages students to start reaching out to people for more information.
“A good way to find out more is by contacting people that are at the school and program you want to do,” said Jackson. “Not just the professors because often they’ll tell you something else. Contact the students and ask them what it’s like; what the school’s like and what the program is like.”
