Students gathered in the Ceddia Union Building multipurpose room Tuesday to learn about the graduate school admissions process from representatives of the Shippensburg University Career and Community Engagement Center (CCEC), Graduate Admissions and the Financial Aid Office.

Associate director of the CCEC, Sarah McDowell Shupp, kicked off the event by outlining the application process necessary for graduate admissions. 

“Every application process is very different,” Shupp said. “Every school does it differently and even within the school depending on the type of program, each program is different.”

Shupp advised students to keep their resume short, one to two pages, and to organize information from most to least important. 

She said the information should not mirror a business resume, but rather a scholarly one with information concerning courses, research and GPA.

“If you are going into a program where they want to see years of experience, you want to put that up at the top,” Shupp said.

Shupp also advises studying the program’s “About Us” page to learn about the values you should reflect in your resume. 

If you have only just begun thinking about attending graduate school, you should turn to those around you, said Megan Luft, SU’s Assistant Dean of Graduate Admissions.

“Start researching, asking friends and resources for information they may have.”

Luft also shed light on the issue, which surrounds the idea of attending one school for multiple degrees. 

“There is no more stigma that you cannot get all of your degrees from one university,” Luft said. “I have students that are actually applying for our doctorate who did their undergrad and their graduate degree here.” She advises that if you are fond of a school and its faculty, you should stick with it. 

Eric Dinsmore, senior associate director of the financial aid office, went on to explain the difference between financial aid at the undergraduate and graduate level.

“At the graduate level you are looking at loan eligibility at a federal standpoint.” Dinsmore said, “There are no federal or state grant programs that are available to help out at graduate school.” 

Depending on the program, students can take advantage of graduate assistantships, which allow students to take a supporting role in the program in exchange for a reduced or clearing of tuition costs, according to Dinsmore.  

Students who attended the event found it answered many of their questions surrounding graduate school admissions. 

“There was some stuff presented that I did not think about regarding financial aid,” senior Hayden Fulton said.

 “It was very informative,” senior Roneka Jones said. “I really loved it. I think the CCEC really did its job getting students more informed about their resources.”

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