I've recently talked about graduating college, but what about what's next? Well for some it may be joining the workforce, for others, it may be graduate school. But I want to talk specifically about graduate school and its process.

Graduate school wasn't something I was shooting for, but when you get recruited and they offer to pay you to attend, how can one pass that up? My advice would be to attend! When are you going to get this opportunity again? It may come again, but what if it doesn't and you regret not taking the opportunity when it presented itself? I personally don't want to live a life with regrets and I bet you don't either. So when a thing like this comes along, jump on it!

The process for graduate school isn't hard, but it is lengthy. First, actually doing the application. It takes a little bit of time to do the application, so sit down and grab a drink and snack. You're going to be there a minute. The second, the writing sample. Now, for those of you in the STEM field, that more than likely won't be your case. But for most MA and MFA degrees, you will have to produce a writing sample. Which can be a pain in itself. Third, letters of recommendation. I personally had to have three, which is pretty normal for any graduate school. But sometimes the process of finding the right professors to write them can be difficult. You might get rejected by a professor and that's ok. Or you might get lucky and all the professors you ask are more than willing. Which is great! Fourth, sending transcripts. I wish everyone could see my eyes roll with that one. You have to send ALL transcripts. Even the one from that community college that you only took one summer class at. You have to send them all. You also usually have to pay to get them sent. My university charged ten dollars, which isn't bad. But it's still ten dollars I didn't want to pay. But, ten dollars is nothing compared to the free education I, and some of you will be getting.

With all of that being said, I would encourage anyone who is getting recruited or anyone who just wants to attend graduate school to do it. Sometimes an extra degree is needed. Sometimes people just aren't ready to enter the workforce right after undergrad, and that is ok! I personally was already applying for jobs when I got recruited, but I was able to easily make the decision to go to graduate school because how could I pass this up? I would advise whoever is reading this to do the same when the opportunities present themselves, especially because you never know where you may end up.