I just spent the last hour researching grad schools...

[Reverend_Smitty]

and it really makes me feel like I'm a junior in high school again. That was when I started thinking about undergrad, and now I'm a junior in college (I don't know where the 4 years went!) and I feel like I'm at square one again. I don't really know what I want my masters in (probably something related to biomechanics). In about a year I have to take the GRE's and the NATA certification test. What if I don't do well on them? Plus if I can't get a Graduate Assistantship anywhere, I'm sunk!

I know this is silly and I still have a year till I graduate, but damn this is some scary stuff!

[EFerrari]

1. It is, but think about the people who've done it . If they can, you can

Get into the best possible school. They have more job ops for their grad students.

And don't sweat the GRE. It's nothing to write home about, believe me. Like most people, you'll do fine in your area and not so fine in notyourarea. And your letters of rec will make it a wash.

Hey, have fun looking for a school.

[Reverend_Smitty]

4. I'm fortunate that my line of work has a lot of positions...

at the graduate level...every college with a sports team needs athletic trainers. I just have a fear of the unknown. I'd really love to go up to Boston somewhere to get it, there are no shortage of schools up there

[EFerrari]

5. Do it. I applied to Berkeley and got in. First, you hafta ask : )

[JVS]

2. You better not wait a year to take the GRE's you'll miss the deadlines

take the GRE's as soon as possible, they're a piece of cake

[Salviati]

9. You can take the GRE's on the computer now...

You can sign up as little as two days ahead, and the scores are mailed out in a week. The subject tests, otoh, are only offered a few times a year...

All in all the gre's aren't that bad, I just took it again, got estimated scores of 800 quant and 640 verbal, and that's with absolutely no prep whatsoever. I almost made the combined requirement of the program I'm applying to with my quant score!

[Reverend_Smitty]

11. I kind of like that idea...

maybe its the sitting in a room with the little scantron that freaks me out. It's definitely a mental block because those test scores never reflect my actual abilities. God the SAT's sucked!

[JVS]

12. Deadlines start around dec 15th, jan 15th is a big day too

The OP probably doesn't have a year to wait, get em done

[theorist]

3. It's not that bad.

Just some advice. Apply to a good number of schools: a few dream schools and some that you're sure you can get into. If your grades good and your test scores are acceptable, your recommendation letters should get you into the program you want. I'm a grad student in chemistry right now, so if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Good luck on courses and the tests! I know it seems like hell, but it's definitely worth it. :hi:

[Reverend_Smitty]

6. My GPA is excellent...

right now I have a 3.9 but for some reason I suck at standardized tests. My SAT's were what sunk me in HS. I don't want to have the same problem all over again

[theorist]

10. At least in my field, tests are not the end all, be all for admissions.

Letters of recommendation, grades, letter of intent, work/research experience. These things are more important than GRE scores, but don't let that make you too relaxed. You should do whatever you can to get your score higher. Maybe enroll in a test-taking course?

Just don't let your fear and uncertainty get in the way. Try to have a backup plan, though. I'm not sure what I would have done had I not been accepted, and that scared me even more than the possibility of rejection.

[Bouncy Ball]

7. I just got in

but now I have to start wondering where I'm going to do the next degree (PhD). If I go local, that's fine (maybe same school I'm doing now, they have a good program in my area), but I really want to go elsewhere, but that would involve uprooting my family and I'm already feeling some resistance to that.

Sigh. So I've got grad school problems too, just different ones.

Hey here's my advice, just take it ONE step at a time. Don't let it overwhelm you. Take it easy. You're young and single so you can go whereever they let you in.

[Reverend_Smitty]

8. lol...I don't even want to think about PhD yet...

but if I ever want to get a job at the collegiate level, I know I got to get one. I have the feeling that I won't hold down a "real" job until I'm nearly 30!

[Bouncy Ball]

13. That;'s ok.

I got married my senior year in college, graduated, started teaching, then had a baby my second year out of college, now said baby is in fourth grade and I'm in grad school. She'll be in seventh grade when I get my masters, and if I go for a PhD right away, I'll be getting that just before she graduates from high school and goes to college herself, which means we'll be paying tuition for me, then her from here until oh, 2017 or so.

Feel sorry for me yet? LOL!

[Reverend_Smitty]

14. yowza!

:wow:

[EFerrari]

15. Hey, I did the same thing. And I lived. The kids are great,

not kids any more, and we all look back on it as a great time in our family because the university town was so cool for each of us. The money is the least of it! Hang in Bouncy Ball!