Do I take prerequisites or the GRE before I apply for grad school?

A reader writes:

"My degree is in English literature, and I am looking to pursue a graduate degree in Occupational Therapy.  I need to take prerequisites.  Do I need to take my GRE and apply for the grad school first, or go ahead and sign up for prerequisites locally at a community college? How can I be sure that they will transfer?"

It depends! Your first step should be to check with each graduate program you are interested in applying to about whether or not you need to complete any prerequisites or take the GRE before you apply. 

Some graduate schools will let you apply without certain prerequisites, while others will not. Similarly, some graduate schools will let you apply before taking the GRE and others will require you have GRE scores before you apply. You won't know until you ask!

If you do have to take prerequisites before you apply, it is very unlikely that any classes taken at a community college will transfer into your graduate degree. This is because any classes from a community college--or a four-year college or university for that matter--are undergraduate level classes. But, this is also something that you'll need to ask each school you are applying to. 

So reaching out directly to each school which interests you is your best bet. Good luck applying to grad school!

Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.

3 tips for surviving finals

The end of the semester or quarter is here, and that means that finals are here for all the first generation and low income college students out there.

Photo credit: http://www.lapsura.com/

Here are 3 tips to help you survive and thrive during finals week: 

Get your grub on. Eating right sets you and your body up for a great finals week, so make sure to stick with fruits, veggies, whole grains, and lean proteins like chicken breast or tofu. Check out MIT Medical's handy list of brain food for exams to help you make healthy choices.

Hydrate yourself. You will feel much better if you drink plenty of water. If you want something other than water, choose juice instead of tea or soda. Also, avoid coffee and alcohol. Yeah, I said no coffee... stick to decaf if you just like the taste. see the next tip if you're unconvinced...

Hit the hay. One of the best ways you can keep yourself at your best is to get some sleep. This means no all-nighters and take a nap every now and then.

These tips will help keep you healthy, alert, and ready for the week so that you can have a great week of academic achievement.

Oh, and while you're at it, here are a few other blogs and shameless self promotion with other pieces of wisdom to help you have a successful finals week:

• Hack College: Survive your finals hell weeks
• Grades Blog: How to get through finals
• Ask an Advisor: 6 steps to get ready for a test
• Ask an Advisor: Just say no to cramming
• Ask an Advisor: Dealing with stress
• Ask an Advisor: Boosting your self-esteem
• Ask an Advisor: More ways to boost your self-esteem

Good luck on finals!

Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.

Memory dump

You've stuck to a study plan and you're prepared for the test... now what? As a first generation or low income college student when you walk into that test all ready to lay the smackdown on it, doing a memory dump is an effective test-taking strategy to get the test started right.

Photo credit: http://lsyinx.blogspot.com/

Um, what's a memory dump, you ask? A memory dump is when you start off the test by taking a few minutes to quickly write down everything you can remember, things like dates, formulas, names, or facts. Use a piece of scrap paper, the margins, or the back of the test to write everything down.

After this initial memory dump, scan the test and do another memory dump based on what your scan makes you think of. Now that you have dumped your memory twice, you are ready to begin the test with confidence.

This test-taking strategy works really well for multiple choice and short-answer tests, as well as history or vocabulary-based tests. Have a great day of academic achievement as you dump your memory.

Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.