A graduate school workshop, sponsored by the IUS Honors Program and the English Club, was held on Friday, April 2, in Hoosier Room West.

Will Biel, English senior and chair of the Honors Program Student Advisory Board, said the purpose of the workshop was to educate students about graduate school.

“The graduate school workshop was designed to spread information about how to apply to graduate school,” Biel said.

Biel said when he applied to graduate school, he didn’t have any help. He thought it would be beneficial to students.

There was a presentation by Sarah Gierke, academic adviser and coordinator of Retention programs. Gierke’s presentation was called “Preparing for Graduate School: Getting into the School of your Dreams.”

She spoke about the first step when applying to graduate school. Gierke worked in the Graduate Administrative Office when she attended graduate school for her master’s degree in education.

The workshop also had a panel of three professors, who spoke about their graduate school experiences. Michael Jackman, lecturer in English, Liam Felsen, associate professor of English, and Angela Salas, associate professor of English and director of the Honors Program, were on the panel.

James Bonsall, business junior, attended the workshop and said he enjoyed the personal experiences shared by the panel.

“The faculty gave some funny and insightful personal experiences with graduate school,” Bonsall said.

Biel and Rebecca Yeager, English senior, shared their experiences with the Graduate Record Examinations. They encouraged students to get GRE books with sample tests.

Tom O’Neal, senior lecturer in English, and Jackman helped answer questions.

Even though only 13 students attended the workshop, one of the attendees said it was worthwhile.

Lori Richie, journalism and English senior, attended the workshop and said she learned more about the GRE and the workshop was helpful.

“I had not realized that you had to take another test like the SATs,” Richie said. “It was very informative.”

Richie said she isn’t ready for graduate school yet, but is thinking ahead about it. She said she would like to one day get her doctorate in English writing.

During Gierke’s presentation, she talked about some myths and facts about graduate school. One myth people assume about graduate school is you will make more money afterward.

Gierke said, and the professors on the panel agreed, that isn’t the case. A truth about graduate school, Gierke said, is you have to have the curiosity, passion, intelligence, skills and maturity to be a successful graduate student.

“[You have to] have that drive to complete everything,” Gierke said.

Gierke emphasized graduate school is a commitment and time-consuming. Even the application process is long and expensive. Every graduate program is different, but Gierke said many require application fees. A fee is also required to take the GRE.

Gierke also talked about keeping your options open to potential schools to apply to. She advised students look at all the factors, like location, the school’s program and the cost.

“Look at what they are going to be offering you specifically,” Gierke said.

Gierke said a student should apply to 10 to 12 schools, depending on what is affordable for the student. Out of the 10 to 12 schools, she said three to four schools should be your “dream schools.”

Gierke also spoke about the application process. She said many schools will require you to fill out a standard application and will require tests scores. They will also require letters of recommendation and a personal statement about why you want to attend that graduate program.

In order to pay for graduate school, Gierke suggested students look into scholarships and loans and make sure to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

The evening continued with the panel sharing their experiences.  Jackman talked about his graduate school experience. He handed out a graduate fact sheet for the audience.

Jackman mostly talked about the stress and hard work he went through in graduate school. He talked about the difficulty of the exams he had in graduate school, but he said liked his years there.

“I absolutely enjoyed my graduate school experience,” Jackman said.

Salas talked about protecting one against the competition in graduate school.

She said just focus on your life right now, but don’t be afraid to speak up if the competition gets too rough.

“Sometimes, you just have to stand up for what’s right,” Salas said.

Felsen talked mainly about how relationships would be tested if either of the couple is in graduate school. Felsen knew how relationships could be tested because he was married and had children when he attended graduate school.

Felsen emphasized changing your mind and switching programs isn’t a bad idea. People change all the time, and Felsen said change your life to what you want it to be.

This wasn’t the first year there was a graduate school workshop.

Allison Dudley, IUS alumna and former member of the Honors Program, gave a smaller presentation last year.