Choosing the Right Fit

I always thought that applying to graduate school would be the hardest part of the application process. But after the personal statements and resumes were written, I had an even more difficult challenge that I had to face: selecting a graduate school.

Choosing a graduate school was a difficult decision for me. The idea that a single decision would not only alter where I would live for the next two years but affect my employment prospects and other future opportunities was very stressful. During the application process, I half hoped that the schools would make the decision for me by either accepting or denying my admission, and there would be a very clear choice in the end. However, when you have the choice among multiple reputable schools, how do you know which one is the right school?

When deciding on a school, you may be faced with several important variables including: financial aid/scholarships, courses, prospective employment after graduation, and your other areas of interest. The truth is that there is no easy answer. When selecting a graduate school, it is important to think about what factors are most important to you and what you hope to get out of the program. A few factors that were important to me in selecting a graduate school included:

Population Diversity: Graduate schools can vary greatly in student population. Some graduate schools are geared towards working professionals and may provide more night courses but fewer opportunities to interact with other students outside of class, while other schools may have a larger proportion of students directly from undergrad. UMSI is a mix of these two. UMSI students have varying levels of experience. Within any group of students, you may find someone straight from undergrad as well as someone with 2, 5 or even 10 or more years of experience. This diversity provides students with the opportunity to learn from students with different backgrounds and allows for a richer learning environment.

Focus: Graduate schools may also differ in terms of focus. Some professional degrees are accelerated and do not allow for students to explore different areas of study or maintain part-time jobs outside of school. You may want to explore the field of information, gain more experience through a related part-time job, or you may be interested in pursuing research or a PhD. UMSI is flexible in that it allows students to explore their interests while still obtaining the technical and real-world experience to be successful in an information related field.

For me, I wanted a school that would provide me with the skills needed to become a successful UX designer and give me the opportunity to grow as a person. I wanted to explore opportunities outside of the classroom to develop my technical skills as well as better understand the type of organization I would like to work for after graduation. I’m currently in my last semester of school and I’ve had the opportunity to do more than I ever thought was possible. In just under two years at UMSI, I:

• participated in a data dive: a 36-hour event held in service of several nonprofits who seek to explore their datasets and discover creative answers to their research questions,
• was selected to present and won first place in the 2014 student CHI competition,
• work(ed) part-time at GE for the Enterprise Architecture team, High Impact and Innovation team, and Customer Experience team.
• was part of the Global Information Engagement Program (GIEP) where student teams are paired with organizations in India to develop solutions for their organization, and
• participated in UMSI’s Alternative Spring Break, where I conducted usability testing for the Chicago Public Library. 
• Attended the Grace Hopper Convention.
• Participated in the NY Innovation Trek where we pitched ideas and gained feedback from different entrepreneurs and executives in New York.

It’s been a very busy couple of years, but I do believe that I made the right choice, and that UMSI has provided me with opportunities that I would not have had at any other school. All of these activities helped me learn more about UX in the real world and have given me the chance to not only hone my professional skills inside the classroom, but outside too.

Choosing a graduate school is not always an easy decision and not all graduate schools are the same. I hope this post helps clarifies some of the differences and factors that you may want to consider before selecting a school.