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Table of Contents
- When Is the Right Time to Apply for Graduate School?
- When to Apply for Grad School – A Suggested Timeline
- Month-by-Month Timeline: In Detail
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
Embarking on a master’s degree program is a major life decision, especially since it’s a significant time and financial commitment. But now that you’ve answered the call to higher education, what’s the next step?
The next step is deciding which schools and programs to apply for. You must find out all the requirements, fill out applications, create your resume, write a personal statement, collect recommendation letters, and secure funding, including financial aid. Still with us? We know — preparing for grad school is a lot of work! Only after you do all that is it time to submit your application.
When trying to get into a specific school or program, submitting everything on time is crucial. Many programs are quite competitive, and a timely submission can mean the difference between getting accepted or not. A late or incomplete application can get you on the waiting list, or worse — it could remove you from admission consideration entirely.
But how do you know when to apply for grad school? When do you apply for master’s programs?
Early is best, but we’ll help you narrow down a timeline that works best for you (and your successful admission!).
When Is the Right Time to Apply for Graduate School?
If you’ve decided on going to grad school for your master’s degree, you’re probably worrying about when you should apply. In fact, you may even be wondering when you should start preparing to apply.
As we’ve previously mentioned, submitting your application early is one of the best ways to help set yourself up for success. But what exactly is early? What’s the timeline for an application?
Well, it will depend on grad school application deadlines. Also ask the question — how long does it take to apply to grad school? This will give you an idea of how much time you should allot to prepare.
It’s a good idea to start thinking about your plans as early as a year and a half or 18 months before your intended start. So as an example, if you wanted to start during the fall term of 2023, you ideally would have started preparing as early as March or April of 2022.
Starting during those months would have given you a healthy six to nine months to prepare to apply by the graduate school application deadline for fall 2023, which would have fallen on December 2022 or January 2023. Six to nine months would have been more than enough time to start putting together all your requirements, request recommendation letters, take any standardized tests, and so on.
Thus, you can simply follow this rough guideline, adjusting for when you intend to start.
It’s worth noting that not all programs or graduate schools follow the typical timelines. For example, some schools follow rolling admissions. Additionally, medical schools may often follow different start dates and deadlines. For example, to meet the graduate school application deadline for fall 2023, at least for med school, you must have begun preparing as early as November or December of 2021. Unfortunately, if you are just starting now, you’ve missed the window for a fall 2023 start.
So if you’re wondering when to apply for grad school for fall 2023, unfortunately, you’ve already missed the deadlines. If you’d prefer a fall start, you’ll need to wait until fall 2024. But don’t worry — now, you have the perfect 18-20 month headstart!
Related: How to Apply to Grad School
When to Apply for Grad School – A Suggested Timeline
If you’re wondering when to start applying for grad school, this suggested timeline might help you. The month-by-month example in the table below is a typical timeline for a December application submission or the graduate school application deadline for fall 2023.
| Month | What You Need to Do |
| March |
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| April |
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| May |
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| June |
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| July |
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| August |
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| September |
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| October |
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| November |
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| December |
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| January |
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| February to April |
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Again, the timeline above is for the grad school deadlines for fall 2023. You’ll need to adjust your timeline depending on your intended start.
Month-by-Month Timeline: In Detail
Here is a breakdown of when to apply to grad school — essentially, the table above in greater detail. Following this rough timeline can help you start earning your graduate degree in no time.
March
At this time, you can start deciding which programs you’d like to apply to. It might be a good idea to discuss with your mentors to see whether they have any recommendations for programs they think would fit you. You can also seek advice and opinions from internet forums and the like. Ask yourself: when are grad school applications due? Ensure you research the programs well to avoid missing anything during the application timeline. Figure out when you need to pay your application fees.
Begin preparing for required standardized exams, like the GRE: Many colleges require the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) for admission. A GRE prep class can help you get better test scores that may affect your admission and financial assistance chances. Remember that different graduate programs may require other tests. For example, if you’re going into law school, you’ll need the LSAT, and if you’re going into med school, you’ll need the MCAT. Start planning your study and preparation strategy for these exams and start signing up for the exams you intend to take.
Related: How Many Grad Schools Should I Apply To?
April
Start studying for your standardized tests. Ensure that you spend some time studying each day, but don’t forget to take a break once in a while!
Take a practice test: Once you’ve prepared for your exams, you might want to take a practice test or two. Practice tests this early in the process can help you adjust your studying and prep if you score poorly.
Consider recommendation letters: Recommendation letters matter — after all, the knowledge recommendation writers have of you, and your work ethics help admissions teams see what you can bring to the program! If you’re currently enrolled in an undergraduate program, your college professors might be the best people to ask for recommendation letters. If it’s been a long time since you’ve been in school, you can ask your co-workers, employers, or volunteer contacts.
Request Recommendation Letters: After considering the best candidates for writing your recommendation letters, it’s time to reach out! It’s always best to ask early so that the writers have ample time to write and to find new writers if any of your original candidates should refuse. Try to give your writers as much relevant information as possible to help them write the letters — your first draft of your personal statement, notes on what you’d like them to include, etc.
May
Begin taking your standardized tests where possible. Schools generally allow you to take these tests more than once without penalty, so taking them this early gives you time for retakes (you can submit your best score later on!). Just because you can do retakes doesn’t mean you don’t need to do your best, however, because each attempt will cost you money.
Note that not all schools follow the same policy regarding standardized tests and retakes. Ensure that you do the necessary research into your programs of choice and find out how many retakes you are allowed to do, if at all.
June
If you’ve already requested your letters of recommendation, now is a good time to do gentle follow-ups. Consider meeting with your recommenders face-to-face if you feel it is necessary. Prepare and send your resume to your recommenders to give them more background information about you. Doing this will allow them to write a stronger recommendation letter overall.
Research financial aid: Now is the perfect time to find out what kind of financial aid is available to you, whether from the school, grants, or student loans. Research scholarships, assistantships, and fellowships for the programs you’re interested in. You can also look into FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).
July
July is a good time to request your transcripts from your previous schools, at least if you haven’t done so yet. You might already know that when applying to grad school, you’ll need to submit your transcripts as one of the major requirements. All graduate schools will require transcripts!
Retake your standardized tests like your GRE if you are unhappy with your initial GRE score.
August
Write the first draft of your personal statement. Now that you know more about the schools and programs you want to get into, you can write the first draft of your personal statement. At this point, you can write a general statement that you can revise later on. You may also want to write your statement of purpose, which is a short essay discussing your academic and professional background and interests.
September
During this month, you can seek feedback on your personal statement and statement of purpose. Send it to close and trusted family and friends or even your mentors to see if they have valuable input to help you improve your drafts.
Remember that these statements should be clear and understandable while getting your point across well. Any professional in your intended field of study should be able to understand what you are trying to say, even if they aren’t interested or specializing in your specific sub-discipline.
Once you have improved your drafts, you may want to send them to your recommenders. Doing so might help them write stronger letters of recommendation for you. They may also have some valuable feedback for you. Sending your statements to your recommenders can also gently remind them to work on your letters!
October
As you get closer to when to apply for grad school for fall 2023, remember that October is your last chance to retake any standardized tests if you are still unsatisfied with your results.
November
As you are only a month away from your December deadline, now is the time to perfect your statement of purpose and personal statement. Finalize your drafts!
Gather all your materials and requirements and start completing all your application forms for your desired graduate schools.
Now is also the time to send final reminders for your recommendation letters. Start collecting them if they are available.
December
This month is when most application forms are due. Finalize yours before you start submitting them!
January
If you thought the process of applying to grad school ended in December, you’d be wrong! January is the time for you to complete your FAFSA if you are an American intending to secure a federal loan for your studies.
February to April
The period between February to April is essentially a waiting game. Now is the time to wait to hear back from the graduate schools you applied to. You can also plan and do campus visits to see your potential study environments and ask other graduate students about their experiences.
At this point, you can start seeking financial aid. You can fill out FAFSA and start applying for grants, scholarships, and fellowships. You might also be able to start applying for student loans.
If you receive multiple offers, it’s time to choose where to earn your graduate degree!
And that’s it — that’s the graduate school application timeline in a nutshell!
Of course, you can always condense this process into a shorter period of time. However, we wouldn’t recommend cutting the timeline shorter than a year. You might still be able to complete your application in less than a year, but you’d certainly feel pressed for time. Additionally, you won’t have as much time to do test retakes, and your recommenders will have less time to write strong letters of recommendation for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I begin my applications for graduate school?
To know your application timeline, you should first determine your intended start. Once you have decided, tack on twelve to eighteen months (ideally eighteen) to give yourself enough time to prepare your application properly.
When are graduate school application deadlines?
The best way to know when grad school application deadlines are is to check with your desired schools and programs. Not all schools have the same deadlines, so note important dates so as not to miss them! There are some typical deadlines, though — for example, many universities will set December to January deadlines for fall term starts.
When to apply for graduate school for fall 2023?
The deadlines may vary from program to program, but in most cases, the deadline for the fall 2023 term is around December of the previous year to January of the current year. That means if you wanted to apply for grad school for fall 2023, you needed to apply in December 2022 or January 2023. However, you might still be able to apply for certain programs if they have rolling admission.
Do you apply for grad school junior or senior year?
You’ll want to start preparing at least one year, but ideally eighteen months, before your start date. Thus, if you want to go to grad school right after graduating college, you’ll want to start the application process as early as junior year.
Conclusion
So, when do you apply for grad school? When it comes to applying to your dream grad school programs, we recommend starting as early as possible so you can avoid the stress of cramming your application at the last minute. An early start will also help you iron out all the kinks and make sure you submit the best possible application!
But if you’re still unsure when to apply for grad school, the month-by-month timeline above can help you figure things out. You may want to print this guide out or clip it into your notes app to keep it handy throughout the process!
Want to see live results of real people that have been accepted or rejected from your dream grad school? Search for your school on the Gradcafe’s search engine to get valuable insights into who they choose to accept and reject. Good luck!
Related reading: 4 Ways to Boost Your Grad School Admissions Odds
Chriselle has been a passionate professional content writer for over 10 years. She writes educational content for The Grad Cafe, Productivity Spot, The College Monk, and other digital publications. When she isn't busy writing, she spends her time streaming video games and learning new skills.
