Emily Peedin
Cows stand in a field outside the Howling Cow Dairy Education Center and Creamery on May 15. Beyond purchasing ice cream and other dairy goods, one has the opportunity to learn about how these milk products are made.
Trying to decide whether or not to attend graduate school can be confusing and overwhelming. It requires introspection that candidates often overlook when balancing the black and white criteria of applications.
UNC Medical School, NC State Veterinary School and Campbell Law School are competitive graduate schools all located within the Triangle. Although they prepare students for very different professions, admissions professionals from each school seek similar personal growth and mindfulness from prospective students.
Miguel Hernandez is the assistant director of admissions at Campbell’s Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law. Hernandez recommends students prioritize self-discovery to determine if graduate school is the right path for your personal interests.
“Think about your own life design,” Hernandez said. “Think to yourself, ‘What do I care about? What am I really interested in? What do I want to do?’”
If you already know what your graduate plans are, verbalizing your intentions and personal assets can also pose a problem for many applicants. Even if you have a set plan, it can be difficult to properly convey your experience and personal voice through your application.
Graduate schools look for well-rounded applicants, and oftentimes a personal statement or essay is the only lens through which admissions committees can get a sense of your personality and attitude in your initial application.
“Your personal statement is for us on the front end, but it’s going to be for you when you get admitted to law school,” Hernandez said. “During the program, your voice is going to be the thing that’s going to get you through.”
Writing an authentic personal statement means reflecting on your intentions and making sure you’re pursuing graduate school for the right reasons.
But what are the right reasons?
Dr. Rahangdale, MD, MPH, is a professor at UNC School of Medicine in General Obstetrics, Gynecology and Midwifery, along with being the associate dean for admissions. She emphasized that applicants need to focus on allowing the pursuit of personal interests to lead them to their career path.
“Most people don’t necessarily have an epiphany moment,” Rahangdale said. “It’s often a slow burn. You have a collection of experiences that take you here. Explore what you’re interested in and it will take you where you need to be.”
Rahangdale emphasized that your personal motivation is both what gets you into graduate school and also what sustains you until graduation.
Part of determining if graduate school is the right path means ensuring that your motivation comes from internal passion. This means removing external factors like expectation from family members and social pressures when making career decisions.
“If the love of science and taking care of people are the things that you’re willing to stay up late doing, then you have the fire to get through that journey and get into medical school,” Rahangdale said. “If it’s coming from external sources, it’s not going to be sustainable.”
Another thing emphasized by all admissions professionals was that there’s no timeline for attending graduate school. Each individual is on their own journey.
Jeffrey Huckel, the director of recruitment and outreach at NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine, also emphasized that it’s okay to shift your career path at any time.
“You can always change what you’re doing,” Huckel said. “If something comes along years down the road, as long as you’re breathing, you can change and do something different.”
NC State’s veterinary program exceeded 2,000 applications for the incoming class of 2026 — the highest number of applicants they have ever received.
With the number of applicants on an upward trend, Huckel pointed out that a good way to set yourself apart is to focus on how each of your unique components have led you to graduate school and will ultimately enhance your ability to be a professional.
“This is a profession,” Huckel said. “There’s medicine, business, communications and people skills involved. If a committee member feels confident that an individual understands those things, then they’ll feel more comfortable admitting or waitlisting that person.”
The truth is, there’s no recipe for the perfect graduate candidate.
The most important factors depend on learning to emphasize what sets you apart as an individual. Take time to self reflect and discover what makes you feel fulfilled, and remember that everyone is on their own path.