Comparing Graduate Admissions Offers

Courtney Santos Author

04/11/2025 Added

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Congratulations on your graduate school acceptances! Now comes the big decision—how do you compare your offers and choose the best fit for your future? Join Courtney Santos, Director, Undergraduate Research & Fellowships, for a discussion on key factors to consider, including funding, faculty support, research opportunities, and career outcomes. Bring your questions and get insights to help you make a confident choice. This workshop, recorded live on April 10, 2025, was intended for enrolled UNL undergraduates, especially graduating seniors.

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[00:01:51.020]Courtney Santos: Okay. Hello, everyone.
[00:01:53.690]Courtney Santos: Welcome to undergraduate research and fellowships. I'm Courtney Santos. I'm the director of undergraduate research and fellowships, and I'm really excited to be talking about how to get the best graduate admissions offer for you.
[00:02:09.080]Courtney Santos: I love to talk with students about graduate admissions during April, because often this is when you have heard back some really exciting news that you've been admitted.
[00:02:19.460]Courtney Santos: You may also be comparing a graduate admissions offers hopefully multiple ones.
[00:02:26.080]Courtney Santos: and you may be thinking also about other possibilities for what you can do next year. So sometimes students are also considering things like, you know, gap year, professional development experiences or other types of fellowships programs. So it's wonderful to be with students in spring as they are thinking about, what do I really value? And what do I want to achieve in these next steps in my journey?
[00:02:51.540]Courtney Santos: And so I'm so happy to have this opportunity to talk with students from Ucare and our other undergraduate research programs from the fellowships and anywhere really on campus. But I think it's an exciting thing to be a graduating senior, and to be moving on to these next steps and thinking about all the awesome things that you can do.
[00:03:11.260]Courtney Santos: First, st want to draw your attention to a couple of our website resources. Just in case you're not familiar with what we offer here, one would be that we do have a page for graduate study fellowships, though, at the point where you are thinking about starting school next year. We're probably past the deadlines for things that you would apply for at this point, right?
[00:03:32.910]Courtney Santos: And so I want to know that these might be things that you could potentially apply for you know, in your second year, or something like that. But at this point that you're getting offers. I hope that you're looking primarily at things like assistantship offers
[00:03:45.450]Courtney Santos: as well as any fellowships that you already applied for last fall, because you generally have to apply for these things around the time that you are actually applying for graduate admissions, and then, if they allow applications from current masters or doctoral students. You would be doing that with the fellowship advisors at your new institution. If you ever want to learn who the Fellowship Advisor is at another university. I probably know how to find them.
[00:04:09.100]Courtney Santos: so feel free to reach out to me when you have questions about that.
[00:04:13.160]Courtney Santos: But I also want to talk about it, because when I think about what is really great about these fellowships, there's also some trends that we see.
[00:04:21.149]Courtney Santos: you know, among assistantship positions and other things like that that are similar. Right? They, you know, these awards, these offers of assistantships.
[00:04:31.540]Courtney Santos: these offers of departmental fellowships, are being made to students really on their commitment to that academic excellence within the program. Right? And so first, st when you are looking at an offer, you are looking at something that is a great acknowledgement of your achievements thus far, and your potential that you've demonstrated in your graduate application. So you should be proud of that. They're noting your ambition. They're noting that any scholarly output that you have.
[00:04:56.200]Courtney Santos: or creative projects that you have performed in the past, or are planning to perform in the graduate program, and they might be giving you things that we discuss here under fellowships, benefits in the form of an assistantship offer right? And so I think we should talk about that. You know that many times they are inviting you, you know, to participate in additional programming.
[00:05:21.240]Courtney Santos: Possibly, and so the fellowship might be attached to a research mentor, for example, or another person who's going to be sort of your point of contact in a graduate program and serve as your maybe your main advisor for
[00:05:34.700]Courtney Santos: education project
[00:05:36.712]Courtney Santos: ideally. You are looking at an offer that includes some sort form of tuition. Usually it's called a tuition remission. But universities have different
[00:05:46.782]Courtney Santos: names for such things, but a lot of the time that's what's called.
[00:05:50.360]Courtney Santos: and that might be partial or full tuition coverage. Right. So those are considerations that you can look at. You can look at whether or not they're including a living stipend. And how much is it right? And we'll talk about what to think about there in more detail in a moment.
[00:06:07.094]Courtney Santos: You know. But if there's any leadership or research development programs that they're giving you access to even things like office space housing, right? Access to certain resources there on the campus. Those can be things that you want to take a close look at right? So this is very similar in many ways to comparing fellowships offers.
[00:06:27.720]Courtney Santos: Another thing that I want to draw your attention to is that I do have. If you are not yet comparing graduate admissions office, but rather thinking about applying to graduate school. I do have some recorded information sessions that address that right? And so we have one on researching graduate school. So if you're a little bit earlier in the process, this is very appropriate, very helpful advice for you.
[00:06:50.570]Courtney Santos: and there's a lot in there about how to navigate the actual admissions process right? As well as figure out how to fund an education. Or maybe, if you are at the stage where you are comparing a graduate school offer and a Gap year program offer.
[00:07:04.260]Courtney Santos: I'm not going to dive into that too much tonight, because we've covered that pretty extensively in our art of choosing workshop here, right? But that would definitely be looking at things like, what's the alignment between, say, a graduate school program
[00:07:19.800]Courtney Santos: and a gap year program with your personal values, with the types of projects you want to work on with the type of lifestyle you'd like to have next year. Right? And so I think that one's a really excellent choice. If you are still in a potentially exploratory mode, maybe thinking about deferring a graduate school offer to potentially accept, maybe employment or internships or other types of things that you could be doing.
[00:07:45.820]Courtney Santos: And then, finally, if you are still in that graduate admissions process, you know, many programs have rolling deadlines for next year. Maybe you are at the stage where you really want to write a personal statement. We've got some advice there as well. And we have also general career and professional development skills. Right?
[00:08:03.260]Courtney Santos: Another question that students might have at this stage would be, what if I'm comparing a lot of employment offers right? And I would say I'm not the primary coach for that. But I definitely think our career coaches here on campus are just wonderful allies in that type of a search. So if you are interested in also meeting with
[00:08:22.850]Courtney Santos: a career coach, you would go to Careersunledu. These are our great friends here on campus, and you can actually meet with them as well and get personalized advice. And so that's useful. Whether you're comparing, you know. Employment offers internships, certainly fellowships, and you know, graduate admissions as well. Our career coaches have wonderful expertise to share with you.
[00:08:49.630]Courtney Santos: All right. So now let's talk a little bit more. I've kind of previewed some of the possible things that you might be looking for in an admissions offer. But let's kind of drill down on how you would figure out which are the best offers you have, because it's probably tempting to just say, Oh, well, this one covers the most financially. So, you know. But what are the other possible considerations that you might be wanting to think through when you are choosing between these different graduate programs. Right?
[00:09:20.150]Courtney Santos: and so I've sort of outlined here in a little spreadsheet what would be useful to compare, and so got some space up here, you know you can use this as a model for what you're doing. I've got a sample that it would be like 3 programs, right? But you could certainly add more columns.
[00:09:38.270]Courtney Santos: But you know, first, st putting the basic information about the program. And one thing I would say is, you might be comparing masters and doctoral programs right? And those can have varying lengths. They can have varying locations. So having that kind of information up front is going to be useful for you right? Especially because a graduate admissions offer might be for multiple years. It might only be for one year right? And so if you've got like a 3
[00:10:04.750]Courtney Santos: or a 6 year program length, right? Some of these longer programs like doctoral, you know you want to know upfront.
[00:10:12.150]Courtney Santos: You know, how many years are they going to cover in your support?
[00:10:15.860]Courtney Santos: Right? And so I think, being aware of how many years you'd have to cover and continue reapplying for funding is also a useful point to compare right up front. Right? So when I think about finances, and I think for many students, this is the primary concern you know. One of the things to be aware of is that you know different places that you could attend. Graduate school probably vary in their local cost of living, unless you've been very
[00:10:42.560]Courtney Santos: careful not to apply to any coastal locations or something like that, you know. Many students will find that there's great variation between, say, choosing a program in Southern California, which is where I'm from and choosing one in, say, Nebraska, which is where we are now, right, and I think that's true for most of the country. So you can find statistics about these.
[00:11:04.168]Courtney Santos: You know, search for these online. And you know, like, what is the overall cost of living right which might be a combination of multiple factors that relate to the cost, and then specifically what is rent, which is usually a person's largest expense, right? And can be where you see a lot of that variation happening right? And so you want to look up the average rent for the type of housing you think you would want to have if you are, maybe a student who prefers to have your own apartment.
[00:11:30.960]Courtney Santos: or if you are a student who prefers to share, if you are a student who has family and maybe needs to include them in the housing. Right? So I think that's 1 place. That's just a great starting point. Wherever you are, before you even have offers. You can add this kind of stuff to your spreadsheet.
[00:11:46.730]Courtney Santos: And then another thing you can do, and you can do this as early as the time that you're applying to specific schools is, think about the actual cost of attendance. So this is something you would get from the University's own financial aid website.
[00:11:58.560]Courtney Santos: right? And so you would type in
[00:12:04.666]Courtney Santos: graduate cost of attendance for the school that you're wanting to go to. And so I'm going to show you an example from here at Unl. But but this would be true, for for really anywhere, right? And you could look at.
[00:12:16.300]Courtney Santos: you know, the various programs that we have right? They've broken it down. So let's say, I was looking at law programs. In particular, I can see you know, aspects of the cost of attendance for the tuition and fees. Right? You know you can get
[00:12:35.810]Courtney Santos: You can often get, you know, a a very comprehensive look
[00:12:41.190]Courtney Santos: at your undergraduate or graduate cost of attendance, and they'll have little charts for you. Right? And so I would recommend that you do this for any university you attend that. You know what that total cost of attendance is going to be, and that's going to give you an idea of sort of average housing as well, and other pieces that are included like books, supplies
[00:13:02.300]Courtney Santos: right? So that you don't have to do all this math yourself.
[00:13:05.653]Courtney Santos: Next, tuition and fees coverage right? So a lot of graduate assistantships, if they are, you know, in the neighborhood of 1920 HA week. Often that comes with a full tuition remission at a lot of campuses. So if they're not giving you that, and it's a half time job.
[00:13:23.930]Courtney Santos: I would. I would tell you to think about that offer very carefully. Why, why are they not including tuition and fees? Because that's pretty standard across different universities, right? You know. But some of the Ga. Positions, you know, that are maybe fewer hours, 10 or 13 h. They may not include tuition fees, or they might only include half of that
[00:13:46.850]Courtney Santos: right, so it might be commensurate with the number of hours worked.
[00:13:50.480]Courtney Santos: You can also look at whether it includes summer tuition and fees right here at unl a lot of our Ga. Positions. If you're on ga ship during the academic year, then during the summer, perhaps your tuition and fees would be covered. If you, if your position is including that in the offer letter, so you want to check for that.
[00:14:09.310]Courtney Santos: Another thing to look at is the stipend itself. Right. So this is the amount that is given to you for your living expenses. This is for most students where the housing and a lot of other things that you would be buying for school.
[00:14:23.200]Courtney Santos: It's going to come from gas, energy transportation, right? All of those things groceries. And so it's your wage right. But a lot of the time. It is not hourly at the graduate level, right? It might be more of just a stipend.
[00:14:40.570]Courtney Santos: You know, and so that means, no matter how many hours you work, this is, this is the amount you get right. It's like being salaried in employment.
[00:14:50.320]Courtney Santos: And so if that wage does not sound like a fair wage to you for the work that you're being offered. Again. You can kind of calculate it out on an hourly basis. But remember that you may be asked to do more hours at certain times. Right? So, as an example, if you're preparing for a research symposium, you might be working a lot more hours during that particular week, right? There may be times where they're having you do projects that are quite a bit more intense, and other times where you're doing less of that work
[00:15:18.920]Courtney Santos: right? So being aware that stipend based work can have variable commitment to it, right, it might be
[00:15:26.730]Courtney Santos: average of half time. Right? It might be an average of 19 to 20 HA week. But that doesn't necessarily mean that that's the maximum that your supervisor can ask from you year round. Right?
[00:15:40.790]Courtney Santos: also think about how long is this offer? Right? Again, if you're doing a 3 year degree, if you're doing a 4 year degree, if you're doing a 6 year degree right. Phd, students might be spending 6 years. You know, is this guaranteed for the 1st 3. Is it guaranteed for the 1st 2? Only one
[00:15:58.210]Courtney Santos: right, and you may find that it, particularly in certain years that are lean budget years or that are uncertain for the overall economic landscape, you may find that you are only getting one year at a time offers right? So it's not necessarily something the universities are doing
[00:16:15.360]Courtney Santos: in a way that's
[00:16:18.000]Courtney Santos: not ethical, right? I think sometimes students are concerned that the offers are going to be yanked from them, and in year 2 you're going to be left to float, you know, on an open ocean by yourself. It's it's not necessarily like that right.
[00:16:32.770]Courtney Santos: But if the offer is multiple years, I encourage you to still think about that very seriously, right? Because that's a big commitment to you. And so that shows certainly some incredible interest on the part of the graduate program, especially in uncertain years.
[00:16:47.230]Courtney Santos: All right, type of assistantship. Right? Here's where the rubber hits the road when we start thinking about values, right? Is this aligned with what you like to do?
[00:16:58.848]Courtney Santos: A fellowship usually means that the student does not have a work commitment.
[00:17:05.180]Courtney Santos: Right? It's more like a scholarship.
[00:17:07.900]Courtney Santos: It's more based on your merit.
[00:17:11.113]Courtney Santos: And so it might give you a lot more flexibility with what you are doing
[00:17:15.390]Courtney Santos: right. A teaching assistantship means that you are either going to be teaching your own class, or you are going to be serving as a ta
[00:17:25.240]Courtney Santos: under a supervisor who teaches the main class. Maybe you are doing something more like a discussion section or a lab section, or whatever right? And a Ra here means research assistant. I realize that could potentially be confusing with other types of acronyms. Right? So when I say research assistantship, I mean that you are going to be working with a research supervisor or team. The work you will be doing is primarily academic.
[00:17:54.590]Courtney Santos: Now, if you've never had a research assistantship before. And this is your 1st offer like that. If you haven't done a program like Ucare or another undergraduate research experience, sometimes research assistants are shocked that this means that sometimes they are doing things like reading literature.
[00:18:09.744]Courtney Santos: You know, managing data sets taking care of lab equipment and so on. Right? So I want to communicate to students as well. If you're unfamiliar with research, this would be your 1st research position. Be aware that the duties can vary a lot right, even if you think you're going to be working in a white coat with beakers. That's not necessarily what all aspects of research are about.
[00:18:31.740]Courtney Santos: But I hope that at the point that they're making you an offer for a research assistantship, that you've had a chance to talk to the person who would be supervising you in that research as part of your graduate admissions process right? But if you haven't
[00:18:45.850]Courtney Santos: ask right, what are the duties of this research assistantship, if you have not been given a detailed description, either verbally or in writing about what they do right? Because
[00:18:56.330]Courtney Santos: I think sometimes students think it's a lot more glamorous than it actually is. But it can be one of the most exciting types of work.
[00:19:03.880]Courtney Santos: And for students who want to do a Phd program, this is an opportunity usually to collect data and to do work that would be very valuable for your eventual thesis or dissertation requirement. Right? You know, if you are a master's student, and you've been offered a research assistantship. That is a wonderful testimony to the academic value that they think you are adding to the master's program. Right?
[00:19:27.080]Courtney Santos: So it's often research assistantships are often considered one of the more prestigious forms of graduate student employment. Right? But in all of these things are really wonderful positions. They are very different jobs, though, right teaching is very different from research.
[00:19:46.120]Courtney Santos: Right? So you want to understand what the position really entails. And you want to think about, then how do those duties align with the type of work
[00:19:55.130]Courtney Santos: that makes you feel fulfilled, satisfied? Why are you going to be given
[00:20:00.660]Courtney Santos: the team environment that you want to have?
[00:20:04.027]Courtney Santos: Are you going to have opportunities to maybe present or share your work? That would be meaningful for your professional development profile, right? You want to understand how this is aligned with the professional development you are hoping to achieve.
[00:20:18.480]Courtney Santos: and so that might add value that isn't communicated by the stipend right, but rather by the type of assistantship. And how that fits with you and your goals.
[00:20:29.870]Courtney Santos: assistantship hours per week. We kind of covered a little bit. But you know, just think about that commitment. Remember, it might sometimes be flexible, but it's supposed to be an average
[00:20:39.659]Courtney Santos: is summer support offered. We talked about that a little bit, but you know, if there's a stipend for summer again, something that's not always included in the graduate. Admissions offer often very welcome by our students.
[00:20:51.535]Courtney Santos: Health insurance coverage right? This one can be hard to compare across institutions, but most university health centers at the different schools should have a link to their insurance coverage and you may be able to find out
[00:21:06.750]Courtney Santos: things like you know how much is paid upfront for services. What is the maximum? Right? Things like that? Is dental and vision offered? Is it offered on campus at the health center.
[00:21:22.400]Courtney Santos: right? Those are the kind of things you might be able to find out in advance. And you can always ask questions.
[00:21:29.569]Courtney Santos: How much of that health insurance is covered by you as well. So here at Unl, for example.
[00:21:35.760]Courtney Santos: I believe our assistantships provide 79% of the health insurance fees.
[00:21:43.026]Courtney Santos: and then the other 21% is built to the student. Right? So that's even if you have an assistantship that's just standard across the assistantship offer. So it's not a hundred percent that we're paying. It's it's it's 79.
[00:21:55.647]Courtney Santos: Parking permits. A lot of students don't think about this in advance. It's something they think about as an afterthought, maybe, but parking permit costs vary enormously between different universities. It's still small as a percentage of your overall budget. But if you have a bunch of Ga ship offers that aren't a lot of money.
[00:22:15.564]Courtney Santos: you know, and you know it's going to be tight. This kind of stuff can really matter. Do they provide free buff services? Unl does many campuses do. But you want to check because those bus service permits can can run you well over a hundred dollars per year if it's not included. Right?
[00:22:33.522]Courtney Santos: Okay. So that kind of covers a lot of the financial stuff. If you think of other financial stuff that's important to you specifically, you want to add it to this list. But it's a good start, right?
[00:22:45.590]Courtney Santos: All right. I want to take some time to talk a bit more about those career and professional development themes that I raised a moment ago right and drill down on this a bit more. So
[00:22:56.160]Courtney Santos: if you are comparing just literally the graduate program, right?
[00:23:02.493]Courtney Santos: You know.
[00:23:03.800]Courtney Santos: most graduate programs going to vary from from institution to institution and type of program. But for many of them
[00:23:10.610]Courtney Santos: you are going to be asked to do research as some part of your work, and when I say research, I want you to think of any original creative project.
[00:23:18.520]Courtney Santos: right? So if you are in the arts like, I was a creative writer. This is your thesis, but it's not necessarily what what others would think. Research is right. But you know, maybe it's an exhibit, or maybe it's a play that you're writing, or whatever right?
[00:23:34.600]Courtney Santos: you know, if you are in a master's in public policy program, this is probably more about. You know your policy analysis, portfolios, right? And skills that you're developing there. If you are in a program that has service learning in it rather than research, right? But you still want to think about in any of those cases. What is my fit with the research or the creative potential of this program? Right? And the program's potential is housed in its faculty.
[00:24:03.600]Courtney Santos: When you become a graduate student, you are a junior college colleague of those faculty. Right? You will probably be on a 1st name basis with many of these faculty. If you are doing your graduate degree here in the United States.
[00:24:15.460]Courtney Santos: right? And so these are the people that you are going to be interacting with on a daily basis, and they are not going to be filling your head with knowledge, not at the graduate level, right. That's what undergrad is, for we tell people about past findings. You know the history of their discipline, or whatever.
[00:24:32.110]Courtney Santos: When you are a graduate student, you are the future of that field. Right? And so you are doing research, co-creating knowledge with faculty. Right? You are co-creating the amazing art that that program is going to be producing. You are co-creating the policies. Right? You understand what I'm saying. Okay, so
[00:24:55.920]Courtney Santos: when you were thinking about those faculty.
[00:24:58.930]Courtney Santos: how great a networking connection is this really for you? How great a mentorship opportunity is this for you? Are these contacts that you hope to have for the rest of your life right? And so this might require going back. I know it was months ago when you applied going back and looking at those faculty profiles and seeing. What are they publishing lately? Right? What grants have they been winning? What you know? Professional connections might they have in the field right and just kind of refreshing your mind on all of that stuff.
[00:25:28.120]Courtney Santos: If you have already met an advisor through your graduate admissions process. That's an awesome thing, right? You know. Have they confirmed that that person would serve as your advisor. And then so when you think about that.
[00:25:41.530]Courtney Santos: if you've met right, what are that person's, you know interpersonal skills like, how have they described their research team or other aspects of the community that you're going to be joining? What do you think their values are
[00:25:55.900]Courtney Santos: right. Do you think this is somebody that you can really spend? Probably several hours a day for the next couple of years or more with
[00:26:04.610]Courtney Santos: right
[00:26:06.240]Courtney Santos: And so so that kind of gets also down to the idea that there needs to be a fit between you and the people who are supporting you because you're going to be way closer to them than you were in your undergraduate education.
[00:26:16.988]Courtney Santos: When you think about the program's reputation and rankings. If that's important to you, right? If you are thinking about having an ambitious leadership career in particular areas, is this one of those names that opens doors, you know, for many students this is important. It's something that you can track and put on your spreadsheet. You're going to have to try to figure out how you want to note that right and and how you want to weight that importance. But you can put it on here right?
[00:26:41.429]Courtney Santos: Other types of professional development opportunities. Does this institution organize a conference? Do they have travel funding for students to attend conferences? Right?
[00:26:51.760]Courtney Santos: you know what are the ways in which you would be able to do additional professional development also things within the program itself. Right? So if I'm a law student, I want to see what type of clinic options they might have. And that would go for also programs like my program counseling right? You know, what are those ways that we are gaining hands-on experience.
[00:27:14.606]Courtney Santos: And so that would get down to things like practicum. Right? All right.
[00:27:20.910]Courtney Santos: Placement of graduates. This is really looking at after graduation. Where are people getting jobs right? Or are they going on to further graduate study, especially in the case of master's programs? If you think you might want to do a doctoral program after a master's. Then what does that look like? How many of those students did that? And so if you can't find the placement rate online. Ask
[00:27:41.270]Courtney Santos: the graduate admissions contact. They should be trying to woo you by telling you how much success their graduates are having after graduation. If they, if they won't answer this question or they claim not to know, you have a problem. Okay?
[00:27:54.250]Courtney Santos: But most places will share it with you all the week.
[00:27:57.740]Courtney Santos: Personal well-being. Okay. So now here, this comes down to your own self awareness and knowledge of what's important to you, right? But this is going to be things like, how does the work life balance really sound to you? What vibes are you getting about the work, life balance? And is it something that feels like something you could commit to? Or are you already feeling overwhelmed and hearing about what they're expecting?
[00:28:22.710]Courtney Santos: Right? And so you can also maybe talk to some people who are currently in the grad program. And again, good graduate programs are willing to hook you up with current students by zoom, or however, they have to do it right. So if you don't know enough here, you can probably get the information.
[00:28:40.510]Courtney Santos: Are there mental health services available now?
[00:28:46.110]Courtney Santos: Many students already know if this is something they like to have. But then there are students who've never used them don't think they're going to need them
[00:28:53.490]Courtney Santos: right
[00:28:54.470]Courtney Santos: graduate school can be uniquely stressful. Right? It is a very different environment in many ways from undergraduate. It's also possible that sometimes you just have a crisis. Life throws stuff at you that you weren't expecting
[00:29:07.040]Courtney Santos: right. So I ask you to always look this up. But that is my recommendation to you, even if you think you are not
[00:29:14.070]Courtney Santos: ever going to use it, know whether it is available? Okay?
[00:29:18.560]Courtney Santos: And is that on campus? Is it entirely provided by telehealth? Is it something you have to go off campus right? How flexible are those options? Are there long wait times right? Especially in the case that you like to use these services frequently.
[00:29:33.446]Courtney Santos: Many graduate schools will even have group counseling available specifically for graduate students. So peer, you know, community can be a huge part of using mental health.
[00:29:44.537]Courtney Santos: So so again, I ask you to think about it, even if even if you don't need it. You know, and and congratulations if you don't ever need it. But you know, you want to know if it's going to be available to you.
[00:29:55.084]Courtney Santos: Close to family or support network is going to matter to some students, not at all to others. Right? But it's something you should track if it is important to you. You know, but I think everyone needs a supportive community and culture
[00:30:09.120]Courtney Santos: right? And so this would come down to you know, like, what does that look like for you
[00:30:16.090]Courtney Santos: right? Because that could be that there's a chapter of your fraternity or sorority House there, right? Because maybe that's where you normally go for support. You know it could be that. You know my graduate department hosts.
[00:30:32.010]Courtney Santos: all kinds of really cool events like crafter noons where we all get together and paint right? So this is really going to vary from student to student what supportive means to you. Right? But you should certainly think about what is a good fit
[00:30:49.340]Courtney Santos: campus life again, you know, student organizations might be a piece that you look at here. I would also say just, you know some campuses have a very laid back vibe. Right? When I was in Southern California I was at a campus where everybody dressed really casually.
[00:31:06.190]Courtney Santos: There was a video gaming center on campus. There was surfing culture, right? Like. So there's specific things that might be unique to that campus that you want to know about that are important to you. And then finally, I would say, gut feeling and personal fit, right?
[00:31:23.300]Courtney Santos: You know, if when you are, you know, maybe doing a tour of the campus. Maybe you are doing zoom calls, you know. Even just things like, how does the program word? Maybe it's mission statement.
[00:31:37.868]Courtney Santos: You know it's graduate handbook. What is the vibe that you are getting? And is that a vibe that feels comfortable to you because
[00:31:46.980]Courtney Santos: organizations communicate a lot of their values in, you know, very nuanced ways, right? You know, orientation programs right? Like, for some students, husker power really resonates right? And why, it's because of the personal fit with those kind of messages. Right?
[00:32:04.935]Courtney Santos: All right. So
[00:32:07.070]Courtney Santos: the last thing I would tell you is to have some notes and questions, right? You know, because probably even at the end of this analysis, you're going to find that you either didn't have all the information that you that you needed, or that you thought of some other really great questions throughout this reflection process, you know. And then I would tell you that even if you feel
[00:32:27.970]Courtney Santos: like Oh, gosh! They could take my offer away. If I ask this question. You know what? Ask the question.
[00:32:34.210]Courtney Santos: You know you want to go into this understanding that you are an empowered young person.
[00:32:40.950]Courtney Santos: Right? That you are, you know, a desirable candidate for this graduate program.
[00:32:47.410]Courtney Santos: Them making an offer is communicating that value to you. So you should be confident.
[00:32:53.440]Courtney Santos: and you should ask the things you want to know right? And when you are asking questions. You are seeing how they are going to treat you when you arrive on campus.
[00:33:06.790]Courtney Santos: and you will definitely have questions. Once you get into the graduate program. Right? So this is you getting the chance to a little bit interview the program. Make sure it's going to be a supportive place that gives you the advice you need to navigate your 1st year as a new graduate student.
[00:33:23.550]Courtney Santos: All right.
[00:33:24.911]Courtney Santos: So never be afraid to ask questions. Always ask them. They're not going to take your offer away. Okay?
[00:33:31.210]Courtney Santos: All right. So, and if you have questions for me, you can follow up with me. I am at the undergraduate Research and Fellowships office. I'm going to show you how to find me.
[00:33:42.754]Courtney Santos: So it's you. Raf uraf.unl.edu.
[00:33:48.710]Courtney Santos: and you can go here under our about page. We've got advising appointments
[00:33:54.750]Courtney Santos: right? And so you can always come in and talk to me. If you have questions about graduate school about fellowships, all of that kind of fun stuff.
[00:34:02.770]Courtney Santos: And we also talked about our lovely friends over at career services. Right? So you would just click the button there. If you want to talk to a career coach
[00:34:13.554]Courtney Santos: you can always talk to me and a career coach right? And there's career coaches in every single one of the colleges.
[00:34:21.251]Courtney Santos: And so certainly we hope to hear from you. If you have any questions about how to compare your graduate admissions offers. All right.
[00:34:29.610]Courtney Santos: So congratulations.
[00:34:31.889]Courtney Santos: It's an awesome thing to be contemplating these next steps in your journey, and I am wishing you the best good luck.
[00:34:38.670]Courtney Santos: have fun and enjoy your graduate school process.

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Comparing Graduate Admissions Offers

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