Chicago, Illinois:  Avoid the Biggest Mistake Prospective Graduate Students Make  

By far, the biggest mistake prospective graduate students make is not doing adequate research beforethey apply.

When asking how they decide where to apply, many applicants respond with unbelievably weak answers:

• "My parent(s) went there."
• "It's ranked in the top five."
• "The campus is nice."

A graduate education is not something most individuals pursue more than once.  Nor is it something to take lightly.   It involves a major investment personally, intellectually, socially, emotionally and financially.  

Countless applicants apply to a graduate program based solely on the name of the institution, or it's location, or because someone they know and respect attended there.  They do not not conduct any additional research whatsoever.  It is little wonder that individuals who choose their graduate program this way are often unhappily surprised, and severely disappointed.

This is your life, your money, your education, and most importantly, your future we are talking about.  Just because someone you know a great experience at an institution is not guarantee that you will.  Just because it's a top-ranked program does not mean it's the best program for you.  While useful, the downside of rankings is that they leave out hundreds of outstanding graduate schools, with long lists of satisfied, successful and loyal alumni. And there is absolutely no reliable statistical correlation between where someone attended graduate school and their ultimate success in life.