Applications to the UW-Madison graduate school for the fall 2002 semester are up by 15 percent, a trend often seen during time of economic recession, according to Judith Kornblatt, interim associate dean for graduate education.
\At times when the economy turns down, more students are apt to apply to graduate school,"" Kornblatt said. ""It's something to do in the fall.""
But even though students are more likely to consider graduate school when the job market is dismal, it is not always the best decision, according to Ann Groves Lloyd, director of the Letters and Science and Human Ecology Career Services office.
Lloyd said students should talk with professors and graduate students in the field they are interested in to decide whether a graduate degree is the right avenue for them.
""Sometimes students just pick the wrong reasons to go to graduate school,"" Lloyd said. ""They choose to go because they're not sure what they want to do and couple that with a bad economy.""
Often a graduate school is a precursor to a doctorate, preparing individuals for a job in academia, Lloyd added. A graduate degree therefore does not necessarily guarantee a job in all fields.
""We don't tell people, 'Don't go,'"" Lloyd said. ""But don't go for the wrong reasons.""
Lloyd suggested considering other post-graduation possibilities, such as volunteer and leadership experience and internships.
""A degree doesn't necessarily mean you're more marketable,"" she said. ""It just doesn't work that way.""
Spending time in graduate school in some cases postpones someone's earning potential for a year or two along with the possibility of increasing debt load, Lloyd said.
She said she used her own experience after finishing her undergraduate education as an example of to why students should not blindly decide on graduate school.
""When I graduated, the economy wasn't great either. ... The job market was terrible and I had no clue what I wanted to do,"" Lloyd said. ""So I was going to go right into a master's program myself but my advisor said, 'No, go out and get some experience and figure out what you want to do.' It was some of the best advice I ever got.""
Eventually, Lloyd attained a higher degree, she said, but not in the field she had originally planned on.
Each year, an admissions committee within each department reviews applications and makes recommendations to the graduate school as to what applicants it would like to see admitted.
With the increase in applications this year, there will not necessarily be the same 15 percent increase in actual enrollment this fall, Kornblatt said. She said she still thought the numbers would rise, though.
""Applications to graduate school ebb and flow; they rise and decline over time,"" she said.
