Beginning Tuesday, Penn State Career Services will offer a three-day graduate program fair at the HUB-Robeson Center in Alumni Hall.
The fair will go from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with special workshops offered on each day.
Tuesday is the law school day, Wednesday is the medical school and other health-related fields’ day and Thursday is a general graduate school day. Panels of admission officers will be offered from 2 to 3 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“The fair gives students an opportunity to talk directly to representatives from schools about the admission process,” said Chris MacGill, associate director of outreach programming and information management for Penn State Career Services. “It’s a great way to learn a lot quickly.”
The fair is not just a way to learn information about schools beyond Penn State, she said.
“Sometimes students are coming in to figure out what majors are best for them to pursue [at Penn State], what courses to take, what activities to get involved with that will impress admissions offices,” MacGill said.
A common problem that graduate school applicant’s face, particularly for medical school, is that there are not enough seats for well-qualified candidates, said Ronald Markle, director of pre-medicine and general science majors.
“The fair enables students to get their own unique questions without the filtering of brochures,” Markle said. “The direct one-on-one conversation is a valuable opportunity.”
The fair is expected to attract 300-400 students each day, with more students expected to attend on Thursday because of the day’s broad focus, Corinna Fisher, lead career fairs coordinator for Penn State career services, said.
A variety of students will make up the expected 400 attendees.
“It might be a junior who is interested in graduate school, sophomores looking ahead, or seniors who want to go to work then to graduate school,” said MacGill.
Representatives from over 70 law schools and 50 medical programs are expected to attend the fair. These numbers are up from last year’s program attendee totals, said Fisher.
“That to me shows an increased interest in Penn State students,” said Fisher.
Graduate school is not something that a student has to pursue directly out of a bachelor’s program, MacGill said.
“It’s a good idea to take a break unless you are 100 percent sure and re-energized to continue your education,” MacGill said. “If you are pushed into it, it won’t be as effective and you won’t enjoy it as much.”
