Graduate Schools
Graduate schools are a very beneficial step for some career paths. By checking with people in the field or various sources on the internet you can determine whether your chosen career path is likely to demand a further degree and which ones are the most likely selected in your field.
This stage of career exploration is very important because the research involved with graduate school requires you to focus more than you might have in your undergraduate degree. Not only do the degrees become specialized, the projects and thesis(es) involved are yearlong projects that require a great deal of sustainable energy.
For more indepth work regarding the reasons that you may consider graduate studies and some further information about the process in deciding and registering, please use the following link:
Canadian Association of Graduate Studies.
Hard cover resources at our site (some involve letters of intent, others career information and grad school summaries) are summarised: Books and Hardcopy resources.
A blog/website dedicated to the issues around post graduate work is Career Sense, which gives some insight on the world of graduate programs and finding academic work.
Other recommended online resources:
On finding graduate program across Cda:
Funding sources for grad school
Job Postings Graduate School Guide
The section pages attached to this area of the website highlight the testing procedures, samples where possible, and other issues that help you to be prepared for this challenge.
Keep in mind that:
- Not all graduate schools require an entrance exam
- Some graduate schools require certain types of coursework prior to admission
- Not all graduate school programs demand the same amount of time although most do take two years (usually including a thesis or practicum)
- There may be a wide range of coursework / undergraduate degrees that help you to be eligible for that program
- There may be specific forms and processes. Keep a good eye on all the instructions and the due dates for each application
Here is some general information on graduate school admission examinations. For further information on any of these examinations, please visit the specific link for that examination on the menu to the left.
GMAT
The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is a three-part examination designed to measure verbal, mathematic, and analytical writing skills. The 75 minute verbal section consists of 41 multiple choice questions on reading comprehension, critical reasoning, and sentence correction. The 75 minutes quantitative sections consists of 37 multiple choice questions on data sufficiency and problem solving. The analytical writing assessment section consists of two 30 minute writing tasks, one of which is an analysis of an issue and the other is an analysis of an argument. The GMAT does not measure personal qualities, job skills, knowledge business, or any content of any particular course or subject area. Scores range from 200 to 800 with 1/3 of test takers scoring between 400 and 600. The cost of taking the GMAT is approximately US$250.
For more information, please click the “GMAT” link on the menu to the left.
GRE
The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is designed to measure verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and analytical writing skills. The 30 minute verbal section consists of 30 questions which take the form of sentence completion, analogies, reading comprehension, and antonyms. The quantitative section is 45 minutes long with 28 problem solving and quantitative comparison questions. The writing assessment consists of one 45 minute analysis of an argument and one 3 minute analysis of an issue. Test takers receive a scaled score between 200 and 800 for the verbal and quantitative sections and a score from 0 to 6 for the writing section. In addition, each test taker will receive a percentile rank. The cost to take the GRE is approximately US$140.
For more information, please click the “GRE” link on the menu to the left.
LSAT
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is an examination with six sections: analytical reasoning, reading comprehension, experimental, writing sample, and two logical reasoning sections. Each section is 35 minutes long with the exception of the writing sample which is 30 minutes long. There are five multiple choice sections and total about 101 questions. The LSAT is scored on a scale from 120 to 180 and the average score is approximately 150. The writing sample is not scored, but it sent along as a part of your score report with your application to law schools. The basic fee to take the LSAT is approximately US$127.
For more information, please click the “LSAT” link on the menu to the left.
MCAT (Part of the "Other" page)
The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) consists of four sections: physical sciences, biological sciences, verbal reasoning, and a writing sample. The first three sections are multiple choice. The physical and biological sciences sections (70 minutes each) consist of 7 passage-based sets of questions (each with 4 to 7 questions) and 13 independent questions. The 40 minute verbal reasoning section consists of 7 passages of approximately 600 words with 4 to 7 questions. The writing sample consists of two 30 minute essays which address specific topics. Multiple choice sections are each scored between 1 and 15 and the essays are scored between 1 and 6. Regular registration to take the MCAT costs approximately US$225.
For more information, please click the “MCAT” link on the menu to the left.
The graduate school testing on the "Others" page includes:
DAT
Praxis I
OAT
PCAT
VCAT
This page last modified Friday, 03-Feb-2012 14:11:56 AST