Career Planning Timeline
Semester prior to applying to graduate school: Set a time for your interview with the committee. By this time you should be aware of whether or not your work is of sufficiently high quality to merit a place in a professional program. Give serious thought to all your alternatives at this time. Discuss them with your advisor and the committee.
Semester of admissions exam: This semester you should finish all the course work to enable you to perform well on the admissions test. During this semester (and the Christmas break immediately before) you will probably be reviewing for the test. Obtain the applications for admission, usually early in March. Start working on the application materials. Plan to mail them at least one week before they are due in case of delays. Arrange for your letters of recommendation.
Semester of application (this is the summer after the junior year for premed students): Complete your application! Prepare to re-take an admissions exam if necessary.
Semester after application: Complete any supplemental application forms. Arrange to have your letters of recommendation mailed when requested by the professional program. Verify your interview when notified and prepare for it. Begin your planning for financial aid, since this sometimes entails considerable time and effort.
Second semester after application: Late interviews may still be going on. Wait patiently for the letter containing your notification of status. The possibilities are: acceptance, deferral, wait list, or rejection. Deferral simply means you were too good to reject, but not quite as good as the candidates the admissions committee was accepting at that time. Deferrals will be reconsidered in the early spring, and you may be accepted then. You might at that time be placed on an alternate or "wait list," to be accepted as others turn down this particular program. Rejection is, of course, very painful and no one likes it. It isn’t the end of the world, though. Remember, ¼ of most classes are made up of students with prior rejections.