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| Preface | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Trends in Graduate Studies | |
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| Women and Graduate Education | |
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| An Older Population of Students | |
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| The Financial Rewards of a Graduate Degree | |
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| Rapid Changes in Our Society | |
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| Graduate Studies: A New Kind of Challenge | |
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| Sources of Confusion | |
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| Personal Factors to Consider | |
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| Do What You Are Best Suited For | |
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| Your Undergraduate Studies | |
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| Questions to Be Asked | |
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| The Meaning of Graduate Education | |
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| The Many Paths to Graduate School | |
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| Four Basic Reasons to Go to Graduate School | |
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| Choosing the Right Program Is Critical | |
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| Graduate School Is So Different from College | |
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| The Ten Steps to Graduate School | |
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| The Successful Student Case Studies We Discuss in This Book | |
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| Identify Yourself | |
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| The First Consideration: What Is Your Field of Interest? | |
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| The Graduate School Questionnaire | |
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| Why Are You Considering Graduate School? | |
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| What Are Your Eventual Goals? | |
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| What Are the Key Characteristics You Hope to Find in a Graduate School? | |
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| Evaluating a Program's Academic Quality | |
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| The Role of the Internship | |
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| Program Content | |
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| Facilities | |
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| Endowment, Endowment, Endowment | |
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| Living or Working Conditions | |
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| Placement and Counseling Services | |
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| Other Important Characteristics | |
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| Questions 3-7 of the Graduate School Questionnaire | |
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| Assessing Yourself: Questions 8 and 9 | |
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| Your Academic Record | |
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| An Honest Self-Portrait | |
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| Step One Checklist | |
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| Understand Graduate Education and Admissions | |
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| The Character of Graduate Education | |
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| The Differences between Academic Graduate Programs and Professional Graduate Programs | |
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| Don't Fight the System | |
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| Whither the Doctoral Student | |
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| How Prestigious Graduate Programs Can Shape Your Future | |
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| Finding Yourself at Any Stage or Age | |
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| Take Time to Understand What Graduate Education Is All About | |
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| Step Two Checklist | |
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| Explore the Many Program and Career Options | |
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| The Graduate Program Universe | |
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| Law School | |
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| The Starting Point: Why Law School? | |
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| The Top 25 Law Schools, Trends in Legal Education | |
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| Who Gets in Where? | |
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| Study That School Profile | |
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| Of Minorities and Women | |
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| Summing Up | |
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| Business School | |
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| A Word of Caution | |
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| The Top 25 Business Schools | |
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| What Good Is an MBA? | |
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| The Growth of the Part-Time Student | |
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| Ensuring Your Admission | |
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| Minorities and Women Sought | |
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| Who Gets In? | |
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| Summing Up | |
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| Medical School | |
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| Trends | |
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| Admission Is Still a Challenge | |
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| Six Preparatory Procedures | |
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| Study Medical School Admission Requirements | |
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| Enroll in a Respected Undergraduate College | |
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| Take Advanced Math, Computer, and Psychology Courses | |
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| Cultivate Your Premed Advisor | |
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| Apply to at Least 10 Medical Schools of Varying Selectivity | |
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| Prepare an Alternative Plan for Meeting Your Career Goal | |
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| Explore Postbaccalaureate Programs as an Option | |
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| Summing Up | |
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| Other Graduate School Options: Hunt Down Those Programs | |
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| Ministry, the Elusive Calling | |
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| For Those Interested in Journalism and Communications | |
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| A Career in Words and Ideas | |
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| Engineering and Computer Science Offer Many Choices | |
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| The Many Careers in Education | |
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| Where to Look for Program Options | |
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| Concluding the Exploration | |
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| Step Three Checklist | |
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| Determine Your Academic Qualifications | |
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| How Good Is Your Bachelor's Degree? | |
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| Undergraduate Curricula for Candidates in Medicine and Allied Health Fields | |
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| The Myth of a Prelaw Curriculum | |
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| Undergraduate Curricula for Candidates for Business Administration Programs | |
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| Undergraduate Curricula for Candidates to Other Graduate Schools | |
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| Engineering Programs | |
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| Science Programs | |
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| Nonscience Graduate Programs | |
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| It's the Degree, Not the College, That Counts | |
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| Ways to Beat the Competition | |
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| Step Four Checklist | |
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| Prepare for Graduate School Tests | |
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| The Importance of the Tests | |
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| The Importance of Test Preparation | |
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| How Preparation Pays Off | |
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| The Rationale behind the Tests | |
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| Summaries of the Major Entrance Tests | |
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| How to Prepare for Graduate Tests | |
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| Getting Information about a Test | |
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| Getting Help in Preparing | |
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| Some Test-Taking Tips | |
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| A New Age: Computer-Adaptive Tests | |
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| If You Have a Disability | |
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| Think of the Tests as a New and Rewarding Experience | |
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| Step Five Checklist | |
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| Write Strong Personal Statements | |
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| The Significance of Personal Statements | |
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| There Are Many Marginal Candidates | |
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| Essays for Graduate School Differ from College Admissions Essays | |
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| Revise, Revise, Revise | |
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| Work on the Lead | |
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| Aiming for Clear Expression | |
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| A Powerful Personal Statement | |
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| Step Six Checklist | |
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| Make Your Nonacademic Experience Meaningful | |
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| The Changing Applicant Pool | |
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| The Varieties of Life Experience | |
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| An Impressive Resume Can Make a Difference | |
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| Making the Most of Your Summers | |
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| Further Examples of Useful Experience | |
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| Writing Up Your Experience Persuasively | |
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| Summing Up the Experience Step | |
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| Step Seven Checklist | |
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| Market Your Strengths | |
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| The Self-Marketing Concept in Admissions | |
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| Don't Be Overly Modest | |
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| Making a Class Pie Chart | |
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| Finding Your Own Special Slice of the Pie | |
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| Finding Your Combination of Slices | |
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| What Makes You Different? | |
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| Identifying Your Particular Strengths | |
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| How to Market Your Strengths | |
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| Marketing Your Passion | |
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| Self-Marketing for Liberal Arts and Science Graduate Programs | |
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| Self-Marketing Can Only Help | |
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| Step Eight Checklist | |
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| Examine the Many Ways to Finance Graduate Education | |
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| Graduate School Is Costly but Feasible | |
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| The Graduate Financial Aid System | |
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| For Financial Reasons, Apply to Two Tiers of Selectivity | |
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| The Many Ways to Finance Graduate Education | |
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| Using Today's Smart Tool--The Internet | |
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| Search for the Right Fellowship | |
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| The Federal Work-Study Program | |
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| Borrowing for Your Education | |
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| Coping with Loans | |
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| It Can Be Done | |
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| A Summary of the Steps to Take in Applying for Financial Aid | |
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| Step Nine Checklist | |
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| Complete the Admissions Process Scrupulously | |
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| The Application Is You | |
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| How Application Forms May Differ | |
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| Length of Essay Questions | |
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| The Number of Application Items | |
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| How Many Applications Should You File? | |
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| Remember to Budget Both Money and Time | |
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| The Question of Interviews | |
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| Visits to Graduate Schools Are Optional | |
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| The Nuts and Bolts of the Application Process | |
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| Acceptance Means Choices | |
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| Visiting Graduate Programs after You've Been Accepted | |
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| Negotiating Your Financial Aid Offer | |
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| Deciding among Offers of Admission | |
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| About Rejection and a Second Chance | |
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| Step Ten Checklist | |
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| Graduate School Organizations and Website Addresses | |
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| Bibliography | |