Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Dana Bekurs: This podcast is produced by members of the University of Alabama Parent Advisory Council and reflects the personal views, experiences, and opinions of the hosts and guests. These views are independent and do not represent, reflect or speak on behalf of the University of Alabama, its administration, faculty, staff, or affiliated organizations. The content shared is for general informational and conversational purposes only. It is not intended to provide academic, medical, legal, financial or institutional advice. While we aim to share thoughtful and helpful perspectives, we make no guarantees regarding accuracy, completeness, or timeliness. Listeners are encouraged to verify information independently and rely on official University of Alabama communications for policies, decisions, and guidance. Listening to this podcast is voluntary and any actions taken based on the content are done at your own discretion and risk.
Welcome to Parent Perspectives Navigating the University of Alabama experience as a parent can be exciting, overwhelming, and full of questions. And you don't have to do it alone. Parent Perspectives is a podcast by parents, for parents and with parents created to share real conversations, trusted insights, and firsthand experiences from those who've been there. Whether your student is BAMA bound, settling into freshman year, or finding their stride on campus, this is your go to source for all things Bama student related. From academics in campus life to traditions and the moments that matter most, we cover what parents want to know honestly and thoughtfully. Tune in and feel confident knowing you're part of a supportive BAMA parent community.
[00:01:51] Shafonne Myers: Welcome to the UA Parent Perspective Podcast. While many students enter college focused on earning their bachelor's degree, others may eventually decide that graduate or professional school is the next step toward achieving their career goals. For many families, graduate school feels like a distant conversation during the freshman year, but some of the strongest graduate school applicants begin preparing much earlier than they realize. Today, we're talking about how parents can support their students as they explore graduate education, build competitive experiences throughout college, and navigate the application process with confidence. But before we dive into graduate school planning, let's meet today's guest. Luna, can you introduce yourself and tell us about your role at the University of Alabama and how you help students prepare for graduate or professional school?
[00:02:43] Luna McDonald: Thank you, Siobhan. My name is Luna McDavid. I am currently a career advisor with the University of Alabama Career center, and my role typically entails one on one advising workshops and classrooms. I really enjoy doing grad school advising, so working one on one with students to help them decide is grad school right for me? If so, how am I going to make it happen and then navigating the steps to get into grad school?
So I'm really happy to talk with you all Today?
[00:03:16] Shafonne Myers: Yes. I'm super excited. Well, I guess let's start with the question that many families ask first. How can parents help their student determine whether graduate school is the right next step after earning a bachelor's degree? And what advice would you give students who know they want an advanced degree but aren't yet sure which field or program is the best fit?
[00:03:36] Luna McDonald: Yeah, so I really think that question and that conversation starts early. A lot of students don't start to think about, oh, well, shoot, what's my next step? Until they get to junior or senior year, when it's actually time to start applying for things. Having those conversations early on with your freshmen and sophomores can be really helpful to the planning ahead piece of the conversation, rather than being surprised and having to play a lot of catch up when you get to junior and senior year.
Starting the conversation early so that they can also start, you know, not only keeping their grades up so that they're qualified to get into grad school, but also building their resumes and gaining experience.
Getting into grad school is more than just having a solid gpa.
You want to be a well rounded candidate. And that starts early. So I really encourage parents and students to start thinking about it early on.
I have lots of really eager freshmen and sophomores who come to me and they know they're going to med school and that is great and wonderful and I'm glad they're already there. But I also have a lot of students who come to me later on and are wondering, you know, what are the opportunities out there? There's a lot of majors out there that students might not realize, hey, if I want a career with this major, I've actually got to go to grad school for it, or I would be much more qualified for the workforce. If I go grad school, whether that's a master's or a professional degree or a doctorate, starting exploring that and knowing what the potentials look like early is going to help you feel better prepared and less surprised down the road.
[00:05:22] Shafonne Myers: Well, I think that's a big thing is the less surprise, because once students really begin considering graduate school, timing becomes so important. And you kind of touched on this a little bit. If a student's career goal does require graduate education, when should they begin planning? I know you touched a little on that. But then also, what are some things that freshmen and sophomores who are so eager can really start doing now to become stronger graduate school candidates?
[00:05:51] Luna McDonald: Yeah, so I'll attack that question sort of in pieces, really. The planning piece, like I mentioned, does Start early. And that doesn't necessarily mean you're already applying freshman or sophomore year, but building your resume, talking to advisors, whether that's a career advisor, an academic advisor, or a pre professional advisor, really starting to get involved on campus.
Some types of grad programs are really going to want to see that you've been doing research.
And so getting involved, being a little bit of a teacher's pet so that you can start working in your teacher's lab. Or maybe you need an internship starting that can start as early as freshman or sophomore year year.
It can wait until junior or senior year. But the earlier you start getting involved, whether it's a cause on campus, getting involved, working in a lab, or working jobs that actually will lend towards your qualification really, really help. Now there are some programs that you actually have to meet very specific prerequisites for law school and med school are the two big ones that have that. So knowing that early on is going to be really essential. Now when you actually get to the application timelines, junior and senior year, typically when you're going to want to start thinking about what program of study am I going to pursue and what do I need to be doing? There are some programs that the application process quite literally starts junior year. Med school is one of those. But there are a lot of programs that maybe I don't know to start the application, but I actually need to start planning that junior year and then senior year. That's when we might start the planning for most graduate programs. In terms of, you know, navigating the application process.
This is a really important reason to talk with an advisor. Again that can be an academic advisor, a pre professional advisor or a career advisor to know what is your timeline and what steps do you need to take whether you're a freshman or you're a senior.
[00:08:22] Shafonne Myers: When I think you bring up even talking about the academic advisor and what that looks like, I think people don't really understand academic success is really important, like extremely important. But when you look at graduate schools, they often are looking for much more than than strong grades. And I think that academic advising comes in for that. What experiences outside the classroom really help students become more competitive Applicants are there internships, undergrad, research opportunities, leadership roles, services or other experiences we as parents should include or should encourage our students to
[00:09:00] Luna McDonald: really pursue, really any and all of it. Anything that you can be doing that points toward your long term goal and that can come in surprising ways. You know, even getting involved in clubs, even if they're just for fun clubs, taking on leadership Roles can point towards being qualified for, you know, being a good applicant, taking on that leadership in your community.
You can also, like I mentioned earlier, be getting involved in research. I really encourage my students. Students, don't be afraid to be the teacher's pet. Get in class.
[00:09:37] Shafonne Myers: I really love that you said it a couple and I love that because that's something people shy away from, especially students. But to know that that is something that can really help them get involved, understand, see if they really like it. I love how you keep saying that. I really do. I appreciate you saying that. That's such a good piece of advice.
[00:09:56] Luna McDonald: Absolutely. Really, you know, sit up front, especially in the classes that you're really enjoying. Sit up front, ask questions, get involved, visit.
Visit your professor's office hours, see if you can work in their research labs. If they do that kind of work, there will also be, you know, volunteer opportunities in the community. Internships are great as well. Whatever you can do to be building that resume with meaningful experience really goes a long way.
And to say that I also want to, you know, directly talk to parents of students who maybe are dealing with that feeling of inadequacy or the imposter syndrome of I'm not doing enough.
There are programs where you have to be doing a million things.
But I will also say whether you're doing a million things or you're doing one thing, are you spending time on it? Are you gaining from it? Are you learning from your experiences?
That goes a lot further than just sheer number, right? Maybe you only have that. Maybe you have to work a part time or a full time job while attending school because you're paying your way through college.
Maybe you're really, really studying hard and you know, you need to gain a little experience. But oh my gosh, O Chem is really hard and I got to spend a lot of time on that. So maybe I only have five extra hours a week to do something extra. How am I spending those? Am I just showing up or am I getting really involved in it? Am I learning from it? Am I gaining? Am I really, you know, focused on building my professional identity and my experience? It doesn't always matter what you you do so much as it matters how you've gained from it.
[00:11:55] Shafonne Myers: Oh, I love that. And I think when you look at the gaining and what that looks like, that really comes into play when students have to eventually get to the point where, okay, I am ready to narrow my options right now. What should we as parents are actually, let's say this. What should students consider when Researching graduate programs and when should they begin preparing for the application process? Because I think that's a big question. You've kind of touched on it, but I'd love if you can really walk through what a typical graduate school application timeline. Just kind of very generalized, but what does that look like?
[00:12:30] Luna McDonald: So I do want to caveat this with there are certain programs, such as med school, that this timeline is shifted a lot earlier.
I'm going to take that, put it aside right now, and I'm going to talk about grad school school in general. So Most master's or PhD level programs, typically the conversation that I have with students starts late junior year of I think I need to start applying for grad school, but I'm not sure what. So we have the conversation of narrow down what area you want to study.
The next piece is researching schools that offer those types of programs. Do we have a program at UA or do we need to go to another school? And then laying out what are your needs from a graduate school?
What kind of funding does it have? What type of program does it have and why and how would it be? Would their specific program benefit my future career?
Right. So I work with students and I typically say summer between junior and senior year. What I'd like you to do is get either a spreadsheet or a notebook or a Word document, whatever makes sense to you, and create these headers. Right. I want the name of the school, your personal rank of how important that school is to you.
What's the name of the specific program that you want to apply at that
[00:14:11] Shafonne Myers: school,
[00:14:13] Luna McDonald: A link to the website that has the information about everything to apply and what that program does, and then additional headers for things like, you know, is there a statement of purpose? Do I need to to take any entrance exams?
What other pieces do they basically requirements for the application.
After they've done that, they can come back to me and we can start tackling these one by one.
You're also going to want to start talking to professors, bosses, supervisors, anyone in the the academic or professional sphere that you can rely on to be a good recommender.
Most programs ask for three recommendation letters.
This is another reason I go back and say, be the teacher's pet and don't be afraid of it.
[00:15:11] Shafonne Myers: I see it now, I get it. It makes so much sense.
[00:15:16] Luna McDonald: So as you navigate that, I want you to have at least three recommenders. I try to have students come up with a top five possibilities and then pick their top three out of that. Now, you also don't need to apply to a million different grad school programs. Pick your top five.
Start there. If you have the time and the energy and the money to apply for additional programs, you can start adding those on. But pick your top five.
Maybe, maybe you have. These are your top two options that you're like, I really like, this is where I want to go, right. It would change my life if I went there. And then you have some really solid backup options.
Right.
As you progress through those application processes, you're going to want to keep an eye on deadlines. You're going to want to work with a career advisor or an academic advisor to track your process for applying to grad school. There's a lot of pieces that come into it.
Most, most application deadlines are anywhere from early winter. So like November, December to mid spring.
[00:16:28] Shafonne Myers: Wow, that's a long time. That's a long window.
That's a good window of openings.
[00:16:32] Luna McDonald: And it's really, really a good idea to not wait to apply until that window opens. But go ahead and open your application and start filling it out.
Write down the deadline for each school, because every program might have something different. I have even seen programs that have July deadlines.
Those are more common than you would expect, but you don't want to just assume, okay, well, this program's July, so the rest probably are as well.
[00:17:03] Shafonne Myers: I think the big thing that I really felt that you kind of came, that you were talking about, that I know, I've heard a lot about, is the recommendations, because. And I can't say it enough, but just being involved as a former teacher, being involved with your professor, with the professors and talking to them and kind of playing, like you said, that that teacher's pet. That allows for some of this relationship building. And I really want to. To ask a question because I think this is where we as parents are always like, we know that during college, this is one of the biggest times for you to form relationships, especially when you're looking at graduate applications. So why are faculty relationships and these recommendations so important?
And how can students intentionally build these relationships throughout their college experience?
So they do have these professors as people that they can go to for these recommendation letters, right?
[00:18:00] Luna McDonald: So your professors and even your adjunct instructors or any other faculty and staff that you interact with on campus, whether it's in a classroom or outside of a classroom, these are the people that do it every day, that do learning for a living, that they are not only experts in their field, but they are passionate about it. They want, want you to be excited about what you're learning what you're doing, what you're getting involved with, and they want to play a part in that.
They can't do that if you don't show the excitement if you don't come to them.
But it goes so far beyond just, well, I need to check a box off to make sure someone says, yes, this person is a good student for your program.
Right. It goes into actually building those relationships. I had a professor my junior year that I took a adolescent development course with, and I was just so interested in what he was teaching and how passionate he was about it.
I realized, hey, I've got a class across campus just after this and we both got a lunch break and I noticed he goes to the Chick Fil a in Lloyd. So I said, hey, can I tag along and have lunch with you every so often?
The conversations that I was able to have with him during our lunch breaks on Wednesday, I still remember to this day and still really influence how I go about teaching students and working with young adults, getting to build that solid foundation of, you know, this is a person who really cares about what they do.
I can carry that into my future.
I can still run into him on campus and wave and say, hello, Dr. Parker. And he'll remember me, even if a little vaguely.
[00:20:02] Shafonne Myers: But I think that is so key of it. That is why those relationships are so powerful to build, but also to get people that you have those relationships with to help you with those recommendation letters. And I think the next kind of big thing that I know people are always talking about is just, it's much more than just filling out forms, and it's so much more than that. What would be advice that you have for students that are preparing their personal statements, their resumes, their CVs and any other application materials that they might have and what makes an application stand out?
[00:20:38] Luna McDonald: Right.
So really, really spend some good quality time working on your materials. You know, when we go into undergrad, it can be a little more simple in the sense of I just have to fill out my information.
Maybe I'm asked to write a one paragraph essay on a meeting experience I had.
It doesn't necessarily need to be too intense. Most of us can, you know, navigate the college experience pretty well. And then, oh, but when I'm applying for scholarships, that's where it was harder. Right.
Think about it like that. But a step higher when we're going to grad school. Grad schools really are much smaller programs. They have less students per cohort, and so they really want to know that the students they're accepting into their program to be able to spend a lot of time on and resource and really invest in, they're going to want to know that you really match what they're looking for. So, what, Pouring in some actual quality time. You know, we've all done it. We've all written an essay in two hours before it was due and submitted it and made Luna.
[00:22:08] Shafonne Myers: We have not done that.
[00:22:09] Luna McDonald: We have not done that.
[00:22:12] Shafonne Myers: But yes, yes,
[00:22:15] Luna McDonald: maybe we have done one thing or other that waited till the last minute and then, you know, it might have been good enough. But if we look back on it a year later, we might say, well, that wasn't very good.
[00:22:30] Dana Bekurs: Right.
[00:22:30] Luna McDonald: I don't want your statement of purpose or even your resume to be that when you're applying to grad school, I really want you to take the time to spend on it with statements of purpose. In particular, I tell students, give yourself a minimum of two months to work on this, even sit with it once a week. During those two months, sit down, start with it as a journaling activity, and build from there. This is not something that I want you to just crank out in an hour and hope that it's good enough. You want to really set yourself apart from other applicants. And so being able to. To do that means putting in a little extra time.
[00:23:15] Shafonne Myers: Well, and I think it makes perfect sense because when you look at even that extra time, it's also the extra time when we're talking about interviews and admission testing, because it is not just filling out the forms. There's so much more to it. So when we look at that, what are some different ways or how can students really prepare for those interviews, those graduate school interviews? How. How do they determine whether admissions exams are required? What resources are available to help them prepare, and what should students know about requesting testing accommodations if needed? Because I think that's something that is a big thing as well.
[00:23:51] Luna McDonald: Let me break these up, and if I miss any, I'll let you know.
[00:23:55] Shafonne Myers: Yeah.
[00:23:56] Luna McDonald: So sort of the overall piece of your question, making sure you've hit all those requirements.
Do you need an exam?
What essay should you write? All of that.
Really? You're going to want to make sure that's where on the research spreadsheet that I was talking about a few minutes ago, link and write down all the individual requirements. Some schools may have two of the same programs, and one requires a GRE and request one doesn't.
You're gonna want to know.
I have run into the occasional grad student applicant that didn't need to take a test at all these days there's somewhat.
We entered this sort of weird place with COVID where a lot of schools did away with that requirement. And then as the years have gone on, some brought gres back and some didn't.
Don't overthink it. But you do want to study. There are some tests that are notoriously harder than others. An LSAT for law students is notoriously very difficult test that you're going to want to spend a lot of time on. A gre, on the other hand, may mirror your act and you want to study and you want to make sure, hey, am I, do I need to spend a little extra time on math or writing? There's not going to be a science section. But you know, going ahead, taking a practice test early on to determine do I need to study any of these topics is going to be really, really important early on. So get diving in and finding out what the requirements are. If you're overwhelmed by navigating, okay, here's all the deadlines, here's all the requirements. Come to a career advisor. We can help you navigate it.
Now I want to shift into testing and testing accommodations.
[00:25:53] Shafonne Myers: Yes, I'd love to hear about that.
[00:25:55] Luna McDonald: This is something meaningful to me as someone who did have testing accommodations both in college and while applying for grad school.
Now, if you're getting testing accommodations for college, that's usually applied process that you work on with a parent or some other advocate or maybe you're on your own. Go to ods, Office of Disability Services.
They say, here's what we need. You got to go to your doctor and get a letter and you present them with that paperwork and they determine whether or not you're going to get those accommodations.
Once you have those accommodations, you're set for college for grad school exams. However, for specifically tests to get into college, you have to apply for accommodations separately.
This is a really important thing to know. I have had students come to me and say, well, I just assumed that I was getting accommodations because I'm already registered with ods and that unfortunately is not the case. We would love it if it was that simple. But as someone who navigated it myself and realized how difficult it can be, it is important to know this fact early and start applying for your accommodations at minimum, 90 days before you're going to need them.
I recommend even further out, I Recommend at least 6 months before you're going to need them.
Who is administering the test? The LSAT is administered by its own company. The GRE is administered by ets.
Praxis exams are administered either by ETS or by some state agency. Depending on where you are. There are other exams that you may have to take.
May maybe you have to take a TOEFL if you're a non native English speaker, knowing what test you're going to take. And then who is the administrator of that test?
Even if I'm taking it on campus, that doesn't mean that UA is the administrator. It means there's a company that is administering that test.
Get on the phone or get an email, call, contact with an accommodation specialist for that company.
Start that at minimum six months in advance. The process can take a long time. Even if you already have all of your materials. Sometimes during busy parts of the year, they've got to, they've got you and They've got literally 5,000 other accommodations applicants that they've got to weed through. And you'd be surprised. Maybe there's only a handful of people working at that office. Going through those lists, you might find out, hey, my paperwork is a little outdated, so now I've got to go get a new letter from my doctor or my psychiatrist.
It can be a lot.
It is a lot of steps to navigate and a lot of times students with disabilities are navigating this on their own.
Do not hesitate to seek out someone who can help hold your hand through it.
That can be a well, you know, a well trained career advisor. That might be someone at ods, that might be a vocational rehab specialist or rehab special rehab counselor is what I'm looking. That's the term I'm looking for.
That might be a clinical social worker.
Having someone who understands the process sort of help you navigate through it.
And I really give this advice as someone who truly navigated it on my own.
Ask for help, anyone.
If the first person you say, say, I don't know how to do that, ask them, do you know someone who may be able to support me? Right.
[00:30:11] Shafonne Myers: Well, I think that is one of those ones. I mean, and I feel like, I always keep saying, I think it is because you always say such the support and how can you get support? And I think that's such a perfect way to kind of wrap up so that people know, okay, where can I actually turn for support? Not just if I need accommodations, but in general. So I think, I think the part I want to leave is what resources specifically on campus that parents can go to, that students can go to to really successfully navigate this graduate school planning and application. Like where do they go? How can they find this information? I think that's a great thing to kind of wrap everything up right now.
[00:30:50] Luna McDonald: Absolutely. For anything grad school application, I would start with a career advisor. We are really equipped in this office. Grad school is part of career journey.
Whether you're seeking a job in academia or seeking a professional role that you need a master's or higher for, we really are equipped to take those one on one steps.
Academic advisors, depending on their expertise area, may also be able to help you navigate people and parts of it. That's going to depend on their knowledge, background and what you're seeking advice for Certain faculty members can be helpful in gaining knowledge of hey, you teach this subject.
What would make me a good applicant for a program like that? Maybe you're a biology professor and I want to go to grad school for biology.
Let me talk to you about what would make me a good applicant. They can give really good advice, especially the full time faculty because they're the ones that are on the admissions committees. They're the ones that know what makes a good applicant, that know what faculty are looking for.
Literally talking to people who are in the field, but actually for the little pieces, the navigation just keeping track. Definitely, definitely come to a career advisor.
[00:32:16] Shafonne Myers: Oh well, thank you so much Luna. You've been amazing. And for helping families better understand that preparing for graduate school is a process, not a single application. Students don't have to have every answer today, but the earlier they begin exploring their interests, building relationships, and really taking advantage of the resources available at the University of Alabama, the more opportunities they'll create for themselves to our listeners. Remember that your role isn't to chart the course for your student. It's to encourage their exploration, ask thoughtful questions, and remind them that there are people and resources on campus ready to help them every step of the way. Have a great one. Roll Tide.
[00:32:57] Luna McDonald: Roll Tide.
[00:32:58] Dana Bekurs: Thanks for tuning in today for the latest episode of Parent Perspectives, brought to you by the University of of Alabama Parent Advisory Council. Check out all our podcasts on Voices UA Edu. You can learn more about the Parent Advisory Council, Parent Perspectives and UA Parent and Family Programs on the UA Parent and Family Programs website at parents.slUaEdu.
