Cherokee Washington '17 and Noah Leavitt discuss a project in front of a laptop in Noah's office.
Photo by Katy Laliotis '21

Overview

Graduate school can be an excellent way to further your academic and professional interests after Whitman. Regardless of when you decide to apply, the Student Engagement Center can help you pursue secondary degrees in a variety of fields. See our Graduate School Guide for tips and timelines for the application process.

Curriculum Vitae

Also called a CV or vita, in the United States the curriculum vitae is used almost exclusively for academic professions and applying to graduate school. View an example Whitman student CV .  For in-person guidance regarding your CV, make an appointment with a SEC staff member via Handshake. Handshake

"The most noticeable difference between CVs and most resumes is the length. Entry-level resumes are usually limited to a page. CVs, however, often run to three or more pages. (Remember, however, that length is not the determinant of a successful CV. You should try to present your information concisely.) A more subtle but equally important distinction is that whereas the goal of a resume is to establish a professional identity, the goal of a CV is to create a scholarly one. Thus your CV will need to reflect your abilities as a teacher, researcher, and publishing scholar within your discipline."

-Source: Purdue OWL (10.28.2010)

Language Skills

Do you have language skills that you want to include on your resume or CV? View the Interagency Language Roundtable webpage to assess your level of proficiency on the scale used by government agencies, including the Peace Corps, the State Department, and many more.

Deciding Whether to Go

Advising

You can make an appointment for a personal graduate school advising session with us via Handshake.

Additional Links

Paying for Graduate School

Other Information

Graduate School Entrance Exams

Below are some common graduate school entrance exams.

Graduate programs and business schools use GRE scores to evaluate your readiness for graduate-level work. The GRE General Test measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking and analytical writing skills that are not related to any specific field of study.

  • Analytical Writing — Measures critical thinking and analytical writing skills, specifically the test taker's ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and effectively
  • Verbal Reasoning — Measures reading comprehension skills and verbal and analogical reasoning skills, focusing on the test taker's ability to analyze and evaluate written material
  • Quantitative Reasoning — Measures problem-solving ability, focusing on basic concepts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry and data analysis

Visit the official GRE homepage.

The GMAT exam is a standardized assessment that helps business schools assess applicants. Schools use the test as one predictor of academic performance in an MBA or other graduate management program.

Three parts comprise the GMAT exam. 

  • Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) - The AWA consists of two separate writing tasks—Analysis of an Issue and Analysis of an Argument. You are allowed 30 minutes to complete each one.
  • Quantitative Section - This section contains 37 multiple-choice questions of two question types—Data Sufficiency and Problem Solving. You are allowed a maximum of 75 minutes.
  • Verbal Section - This section contains 41 multiple choice questions of three question types—Reading Comprehension, Critical Reasoning, and Sentence Correction. You are allowed up to 75 minutes for this section.

The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is a half-day, standardized test administered four times each year, typically on a Saturday. All American Bar Association-approved law schools, most Canadian law schools, and many other law schools require applicants to take the LSAT as part of their admission process.

Many law schools require that the LSAT be taken by December for admission the following fall. However, taking the test earlier—in June or September—is often advised.

Test Format

The test consists of five 35-minute sections of multiple-choice questions. Four of the five sections contribute to the test taker’s score. The unscored section, commonly referred to as the variable section, typically is used to pretest new test questions or to prepare new test forms. The placement of this section will vary. A 35-minute writing sample is administered at the end of the test. LSAC does not score the writing sample, but copies of the writing sample are sent to all law schools to which you apply.

What the Test Measures

The LSAT is designed to measure reading comprehension of complex texts, the ability to draw reasonable inferences, critical thinking, and evaluation of the reasoning and arguments of others.

The three multiple-choice question types in the LSAT are:

  • Reading Comprehension - This section contains four sets of reading questions, each consisting of a selection of passages followed by five to eight questions that test reading and reasoning abilities.
  • Analytical Reasoning - These questions measure the ability to understand a structure of relationships and to draw logical conclusions about that structure. You are asked to reason deductively from a set of statements and rules or principles that describe relationships among persons, things, or events.
  • Logical Reasoning - Each of these questions requires the test taker to read and comprehend a short passage and respond using skills such as drawing well-supported conclusions, reasoning by analogy, determining how additional evidence affects an argument, applying principles or rules, and identifying argument flaws.

The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is a standardized, multiple-choice examination designed to assess the examinee's problem solving, critical thinking, writing, and knowledge of science concepts and principles prerequisite to the study of medicine. Scores are reported in Verbal Reasoning, Physical Sciences, Writing Sample, and Biological Sciences.

Almost all U.S. medical schools require applicants to submit MCAT exam scores. Many schools do not accept MCAT exam scores that are more than three years old.