Weber State University’s Career Services will be hosting a Graduate School Fair Wednesday, where prospective graduate students have the opportunity to speak with representatives of graduate programs from more than 100 different schools.
“They (students) get an opportunity to talk with a representative from the university that they’re interested in attending,” said Winn Stanger, director of Career Services. “They can find out application procedures, can talk to them about qualities that they’re looking for in applicants. They can find out about the graduate exams they can take and get some idea of what acceptable scores are on the exams.”
Stanger also said that students should research the programs they are interested in and come prepared with questions. He recommends that students ask questions about program admission rates, tuition costs and the application process, like if an interview is required. He said students should also make sure they are prepared to get their applications in on time.
“I recommend (students) come dressed professionally,” Stanger said. “In many cases the individual they talk with will pass along information on their perception of the individuals they talk to.”
Shannon Allen, a senior at WSU and student representative for Career Services agrees that the Graduate Fair is a good opportunity for students.
“It’s a way for students to meet and to build a relationship with a grad school, maybe a school they haven’t thought about before…” she said. “(It’s) a way for students to get a better idea of what you can get from grad school, the benefits.”
Although many different programs will be presented, there will be a large number of health care related programs.
“There’s always going to be jobs in that field,” Allen said.
In some fields, like psychology and counseling, a graduate degree is required. Stanger said it’s a good idea to speak with a career counselor about potential career paths. “(Students can) find out from a career counselor how the job market is in their particular major, and if it isn’t particularly encouraging right now they may want to look at grad school as an alternative to entering the job market.”
In the current economy, jobs are becoming increasingly competitive.
“It’s like, in today’s market, if you don’t even have a bachelor’s degree you can’t get a job…” Allen said. “In the future, I think it’s going to be that if you don’t have a master’s degree you can’t get a job, so you might as well start now.”
Mindi VanderSteen, the Graduate School Fair coordinator said that the fair is also a good opportunity for students to find out about out of state graduate programs.
“(It’s beneficial) for them to be able to explore the schools from outside of Utah, for one thing, and see what other schools are out there,” VanderSteen said. “Somebody may not be interested in attending graduate school and there may be a program that comes here that they wouldn’t have thought of attending out of state.”
Weber State University will have a representative from each of their graduate programs at the fair to meet with students. Other local schools, such as; University of Utah, Utah State, Southern Utah University, Westminster College, Brigham Young University and Utah Valley University will also have representatives present.
The Graduate School Fair will be held from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the Shepherd Union Ballrooms. More information on what schools will be present at the fair can be found by going to www.weber.edu/careerservices or by calling Career Services at 801-626-6393.
