Hannah Bell B.B.A., 2008 Entreprenuership "Plan Ahead for Graduate/Professional School"

(10/30/08) You may have a desire to get your Master’s degree or go to Law school but are hesitant, because you are not sure how to start planning.  I know how you feel; it’s a very overwhelming feeling and I was in that same situation several years ago. My desire is that the tips I learned will be an encouragement to other students as you plan your post-graduate aspirations.

I first visited the Career Planning office as a sophomore for help with my resume and to discuss my career plans.  In my sophomore and junior years I met with a Career Counselor over a dozen times to update my resume, to research internships and to discuss the graduate school application process.  If I hadn’t done this, I would never have known about the many resources available through Career Planning.

In fall 2007 I registered for two CPAM 1110 (Career Planning and Management) courses, because I knew I needed to prepare in advance before graduating in December 2008. I was interested in many diverse degree programs and that was certainly evident when I met with a career counselor. Have you ever been in this situation: where you like so many things, but you have to decide which one to pursue? I liked the idea of getting an MBA in Finance, a Master’s degree in Counseling, and a Master of Fine Arts in Theater, Law, and Government. My first major step was to make a decision.

Section one of the CPAM class is an independent study format and had a  personal touch that allowed me meet one on one with a career counselor to openly discuss which academic areas matched my career goals the best. Another thing that helped was researching each degree program and storing that information on an Excel spreadsheet and in a Word document for future reference.

Section two of CPAM was a weekly group class to prepare for the GRE. Little did I know that this course would set me on the path towards making a career decision. The GRE class instructor is a former attorney, so I began asking questions about Law school. I find it interesting how one thing can be a tool to help lead us in another direction.

In the independent study CPAM class I was also advised to attend a workshop by Donald Asher, a renowned authority on graduate school and career planning.  Mr. Asher stressed the benefits of contacting faculty members at your target graduate schools. I immediately took this advice into action and within several weeks I was in touch with various faculty members from various degree programs at Regent University. I was so excited to receive their responses. The professors not only answered my questions, but they took the time to give me thorough feedback, send me syllabi, and made themselves available by phone contact. In March 2008 when I made a visit to Regent University I was able to meet some of these faculty members in person.

After many discussions and review of materials, I arrived at a decision. As of this fall semester (2008), I have decided to pursue Law school and possibly a joint Master’s degree in Human Services Counseling. The early preparation afforded me the opportunity to research, get advice and pray about which degree path was the best for me. Now, I can also leisurely complete the application process, which is not due until February 2009.

My encouragement to those of you who want to pursue your post-graduate education is to start early. This will help you make quality decisions in the process. With adequate preparation time, you can provide the best information to the schools where you apply without feeling rushed and disorganized. Furthermore, take advantage of the Career Planning office. They provide the encouragement, advice, materials, and information to guide in your decision process. I wish all the best to those of you who are pursuing your post-graduate education – it is worth the advance planning!