Grad School Questions.?
September 6th, 2010 | 
Author: 
Hi and welcome to my blog,
I opened this blog to help anyone who is preparing for his GRE exam.
I remember myself when I started - I was so lost and in such a panic.
Luckily I got this great Gre guide that helped me a lot
So study hard and good luck!
I’m currently a junior in college researching grad schools. I’m really unfamiliar with the process and have a few questions:
1. How many credits does a grad student generally take per semester?
2. I am looking into ways for paying for grad school. It seems like many people apply for assistantships. What are my chances of getting an assistantship?
3. Does a 50% assistantship mean working 20 hours, 25% assistantship mean working 10 hours, etc.?
4. The program I am interested in applying to at a school I want does not require the GRE. Will not having a GRE score hurt my chances of getting an assistantship?
THANK YOU!!
A little background:
I will graduate next spring with a Mathematics along with a Secondary Math Education major. I have a 3.85 GPA. I currently do research for a professor, coach middle school cross country, work at a middle school summer school program over the summer, am a tour guide, and I tutor.
I currently go to a state school. I’m not sure if that makes a difference or not.
Posted in gre guide | 
Tags: assistantship, assistantships, coach, cross country, gpa, grad schools, grad student, gre score, mathematics, paying for grad school, secondary math education, tutor
A grad student typically takes 2-3 classes, and that is considered full-time in grad school. Your chances of getting an assistantship vary by field – if you’re going into math or the sciences, you can pretty much expect to be offered one by any decent university. They’ll pay your tuition and a small salary in return for you grading papers, proctoring exams, and/or doing research. My university says the assistantship is 20 hours a week – so 50% would be 10 hours a week. But don’t expect it to stick to that – I work more like 60 hours a week when I’m at home, and 24 hours a day when I’m away on a research trip. If you do well on the GRE, send them the scores, it can only help. If they don’t require it, then it shouldn’t affect your chances.