so, you're considering going to graduate school

as decision day approaches, here are some things to keep in mind for the (potential) next chapter of your academic journey

This week, I found my DMs flooded with questions about deciding to go to graduate school for journalism. I must say, I am honored and delighted that so many students, professionals, and humans of this earth feel comfortable reaching out to me for advice about grad programs. It’s a huge decision! And, the price tag attached is often unfathomably high. It was just two years ago when I reached to grad school alums to ask the same questions.

On March 15, 2022, I sat at my desk in my college apartment on a Zoom meeting. I can’t recall what the conversation was about, but I do remember feeling my stomach drop to the floor when an email notification flashed across the top of my screen. “Columbia University - Graduate School of Journalism, Admission Decision.”

I could’ve thrown up on the spot.

I decided to wait until the end of my meeting to open the email because I didn’t want to risk crying on a Zoom call. But, what was I going to do?

Whether I got in or not, I had spent the past four months since my December application submission floating through life in ignorant bliss. I hadn’t applied for any full-time jobs. I hadn’t started looking at apartments. I hadn’t considered really and truly considered how drastically my life was about to change.

When I finally decided to open my admission decision, my screen was splashed with virtual blue confetti. I had gotten into Columbia Journalism School, and the admissions office found “great pleasure” in notifying me of my admission!

What once felt like a wild, far-fetched possibility, happened. I got into my dream graduate school, and, suddenly, I needed figure out how exactly I was going to move to a new city, cover my tuition, and succeed in a new high-pressure academic environment.

This might be similar to what many of my grad-school-curious peers might be thinking at this very moment. Though I went to J-School, I think the following tips, tricks and considerations could be helpful for anyone pondering a graduate program and the major life shift.

questions to ask yourself

• Why do I want to attend graduate school? Do my schools of choice offer what I am looking for?

• How will I pay for school? Are there scholarships, programs or organizations that might support my pursuit of an advanced degree?

• Where will I live?

• How will this decision impact my personal and home life?

• Do I have a network of support in the area I am moving to?

• What do I want the next 1-5 years of my life to look like?

why do you want to go grad school?

As a college student, graduate school was always a lingering aspiration for me. It was something that I longed to pursue but didn’t know how to get to.

Post-grad opportunities coming from my undergrad looked appealing. There were job openings at places I had interned previously like NBC News and the USA Today - Network, and I saw job applications opening for other companies whose work had long inspired and excited me.

But when it came to grad school, I often found myself bullet-pointing all the reasons why I wouldn’t get into my desired program instead of actually just sitting down and applying. I was worried about cost, location, and if certain programs would offer programming that would expand upon the knowledge I had already acquired.

I procastinated my Columbia application for months before writing my essays and completing the writing test, sometimes letting my imposter syndrome creep in and tell me I was not good enough.

When I whipped out a journal and started jotting down my pros and cons, I started to see clearly why graduate school was the most ideal option for me. I made two lists, “what does my life look like if I attend graduate school?” and “what does my life look like if I don’t attend graduate school?,” and proceeded from there.

The words for why I should go flowed to me easily. I was at a stage in my life where I wanted to move to a new city (New York, specifically) and learn to report stories in a new environment. In researching schools, I identified professors whose courses I was interested in taking and researched them. In Columbia’s case, dozens of professors were journalists that I admired and looked up to. I was hungry for the opportunity to learn from them.

With every application comes admission fees, so, in December 2022, I decided to cut my loses and limit the number of schools I planned to submit applications for. Doing so forced me to be incredibly meticulous about my school research and consideration about where I wanted to be the following year.

In my experience, graduate school was a unique opportunity to learn in an environment that was constructed to nurture my growth. Mistakes were welcome (and sometimes are frequent). Professors were willing and happy to answer my questions. There were a boatload of networking events, panels and career fairs to attend on campus where I could network with industry professionals. And, I had a rare opportunity to report on subjects and communities that I hade never gotten the chance to cover or explore.

It was great practice for the stories I would come to tell at a real job, on deadline, and without room for error.

When making your decision on whether or not to apply to graduate school, it is critical to ask yourself if you can envision learning and developing your expertise on the campuses you are interested in. Assess the costs, assess the risks, and asess the benefits. Then, make your decision.

navigating high-cost programs and scholarship searching

I was lucky that shortly after receiving my Columbia tuition statement, approximately $79,000 for the 9 1/2 month program (not including general housing and living expenses), scholarship award notification letters started landing in my inbox.

In the months leading up to applying to Columbia, almost every day, I scoured the internet for scholarships to apply to. There were scholarships from Columbia, my undergraduate university, scholarships from women’s organizations and journalism organizations like The National Association of Black Journalists and the Anne O’Hare McCormick Foundation.

For the graduate-school-curious, I would recommend doing the same. Every career field has professional organizations with scholarships and pathways for further education. Many academic programs set aside a significant subset of money for students with financial need.

Throughout the country, journalism programs are working to make schooling more affordable through scholarships and loan repayment programs.

In January, the City University of New York (CUNY) announced that half of its Fall 2025 starting class will study journalism for free. The school has hopes of being entirely tuition free for all students. At Columbia, a newly-instituted Loan Repayment Assistance Program will support program graduates who work at nonprofit news media organizations after graduating. The school will lend up to $50,000 over five years, then forgive the loan. Schools like Northwestern, Mizzou and UW-Madison, among others, also have robust scholarship offerings.

Upon receiving admission from graduate programs, students are often encouraged and welcome to connect with offices of financial aid and their respective administrators. Within these offices are people whose entire job is focused on helping students get answers to financial aid questions. If the school is unable to provide additional funding to you, they can often direct you to external applications and opportunities.

Research funding opportunities just as much as you research your schools. It will save you a lot of energy and time when your decision letter arrive.

program offerings and opportunities for growth

When I applied to graduate school, I hoped to learn a little bit of everything and strengthen my skills in my existing areas of interest. I took courses in audio and video storytelling, healthcare and climate reporting, business, law and ethics with little interest in limiting my areas of study.

However, many academic programs offer specializations that could help you stand out in your field. Some of these programs have smaller class sizes, making them more challenging to get into, while others seek to grow their numbers in the upcoming school year.

It is good to be aware of your options when applying to graduate programs. In journalism, some program specializations include investigative reporting, broadcast and video, data, science, or writing about education. Often, these specialized programs have scholarships or mentorship programs bound to a student’s admission.

It is always beneficial to ask yourself if there is some aspect of your field that you would be interested in focusing on for the rest of your career. If it really fascinates and excites you, it might be great to consider specializing. If you’re in the spot that I found myself as an almost college graduate, then a more generalized lens of study might work for you.

Talk these options through with a trusted mentor, a former teacher, a parent, a friend that you trust, and see where it feels best for you to land.

finding housing options and community

I don’t know about you, but apartment hunts have never been my strength, especially in an era of digital apartment tours, Facebook marketplace location descriptions and cross-country price negotiations.

During my graduate program, I stayed in a graduate student apartment complex. The benefits of living in a building catered to students were numerous and plenty.

I was a ten-minute walk from campus. I was close to public transit, buses and subways galore. There was an abundant amount of study space and libraries to work in. We had a gym that I sometimes found myself visiting at 1:00 am when I needed to breakaway from a long spell of writing and panicking about assignments. A dining hall provided meals and snacks for students at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My bedroom window overlooked the gorgeous Hudson River. And, there were tons of social events for residents to gather and connect. One time, I won tickets to a Broadway show and made a handful of new friends!

In my opinion, it’s always best to search for living situations that make living life easier and high (or low) rent worth paying for. At the end of the day, there are things that we all must do in graduate school, including eat, study, sleep and get to class. It will save you a lot of stress to identify places to live that accommodate those needs.

If you plan on moving to a new state or city for your graduate program, start neighborhood searching as soon as possible. Set your price range. Identify the areas that most appeal to you, and then ask yourself if they can accommodate your needs.

Are there grocery stores nearby? Is there public transit in your proximity or affordable parking? Do you want roommates? What, if any, amenities are available to you?

Read any lease agreement you plan to sign in detail, and then read it again.

the best of friends, the best of inspirations

One of the best parts of my graduate school experience was the people I met. It sounds so unbelievably cheesy, but I cherish these people SO much.

When I started my graduate program, I was solely focused on school, of the mindset that I would only be there for a few months and friendship was not a priority. I was focused on soaking up every ounce of wisdom and knowledge I possibly could from my instructors, writing often and well, and graduating (hopefully with a job).

Then, reality hit me and I remembered that I love human connection! I love meeting new friends. And, I love forcing those new friends to come with me to karaoke!

Some of the people I learned the most from during my time at Columbia were my peers. They had come to school from across the globe with varied professional experience, some former editors at world-renowed news publications and others with rich backgrounds in art, history, or science. Their experiences had informed their writing and the conversations we had in classes and our study lounge each day. With every conversation, I gained a new perspective, a topic to research or a story to read.

I often end up recommending grad school to everyone, because I found the community aspect of the experience so valuable. It’s been almost a year, and every day I check in with one of my classmates. I send drafts of things I’ve written for them to critique. They send me questions about job interviews and professional organizations to join. And, the other 85 percent of the time we chat about life, plan trips to see each other across the globe, and laugh about all of the incredible memories we’ve shared.

One of my classmates and I completed an internship together at The Washington Post after graduation. Another works with me at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. And, another I facetime an unbelievable amount for no reason other than I adore her and miss our post-class couch hangs.

Beyond gifting me a whole cohort of great duet partners and lunch buddies, my grad school also blessed me with an growing number of friends and peers who are gifted writers, thinkers and changemakers.

I am eternally grateful to have had the opportunity to learn beside them, and for the universe to have graced us with a shared academic experience. In every way, it changed my life.

And, if those reasons weren’t enough for me to be grateful for grad school, I now have liberty to share this photo of Kate Hudson whenever I please.

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