Faculty Panel Gives Students Tips for Graduate School

To help TAC-New England students prepare for life after graduation, Student Support Coordinator Emily (Barry ’11) Sullivan hosted a graduate-school information panel on Wednesday. “This is a discernment,” Mrs. Sullivan told assembled students in the Bl. Frassati Student Center. “Many people will say that it’s something you should only seriously pursue if you know it’s going to make you happy. While you’re there, you should try your best to do everything as excellently as you can.”

Over the course of her opening talk, Mrs. Sullivan detailed what an application to graduate school requires: competitive GRE scores, a thoughtful personal statement, letters of recommendation, and a good résumé. She then handed the microphone to tutors Dr. Sean Cunningham, Dr. Patrick Gardner, and Dr. Daniel Gutschke, who took turns speaking about their experiences of applying to and attending graduate school.

“There is a certain nobility to striving for graduate studies,” said Dr. Gutschke. “It’s a beautiful thing to be able to devote yourself exclusively to the study of something you love.” As a onetime attorney, Dr. Cunningham added to the discussion by recounting his experience of law school. “This is a big decision,” he warned the students. “You have to ask yourself two questions: Why do you want to go to law school, and how will you be successful during and afterwards?”

Mrs. Sullivan and the tutors then took students’ questions, which addressed topics ranging from transcripts and letters of recommendation to how students can best complete prerequisite courses that aren’t part of the College’s classical curriculum. The tutors graciously answered each question, easing stress about the application process.

“What’s going to make a difference in the end is doing excellently what you have done here,” said Dr. Gardner. “That is the core.”