By HESA graduate, Juaquin Sims
When considering a graduate program: Research, research, research!
Familiarize yourself with the website, attend multiple open houses and Q&A sessions, connect with current and former students, attend a class (if possible), communicate with program faculty.
Website: Most of the information prospective students seek about programs is available there. For the sake of space or consistency it may be spread out or condensed in ways that may not seem intuitive to you. In those instances, don’t hesitate to reach out to our office. We are more than happy to help you.
Open House/Q&A Sessions: These are opportunities for you to meet with faculty, current students and potential future classmates. In these targeted, small group sessions you can ask some of the more structure and in-depth curricular/classroom questions that may not be readily available on the website, and hear the questions of others. We hold these in-person opportunities at both the SF and branch campuses. If you are outside of the Bay Area, don’t worry! We have online info sessions for you.
Connect with Students in the Program: This is probably the best resource for prospective students. Our program Ambassadors can give you the real student experience and you can determine whether USF is the right fit for you. Remember: As much as we choose you, you also have to choose us!
Attend a Class: Most of our programs hold a few class sessions per semester open for visitors. Come by and attend one of our evening or weekend classes to get a real sense of what is learned in your program of interest and what the students are like.
Communicate with Faculty: These are potentially people you will be relying on for at least two years, both to support you through the program and after. It could also be helpful in the admissions process to have evaluating faculty recognize your name amongst all of the other applicants.
Of course, there is no magic formula to the admissions process, but taking advantage of one or all of these opportunities to connect and inform yourself can only help in you operating from the most informed vantage point when you choose to apply.
