Key Shifts Prospective Graduate Students Must Know: Insights from Enrollment Professionals

Are you considering grad school in today’s ever-evolving landscape? This week’s episode of “Victors in Grad School” delivers a must-listen conversation directly from the heart of the National Association of Graduate Admission Professionals (NAGAP) conference. Host Dr. Christopher Lewis gathers real-time insights from experts, admissions leaders, and graduate support professionals about the most pressing shifts shaping the graduate school experience in 2024—and what they mean for your journey.

AI & Authenticity
One theme echoed by multiple guests is the rise of artificial intelligence, both in the application process and the workplace. While AI tools can help streamline your application, admissions teams stress the importance of letting your authentic self shine. Be cautious about relying too heavily on tools like ChatGPT—admissions counselors can usually spot AI-generated essays. Use technology as support, but make sure your personality and individual story come through.

Holistic Admissions & Diverse Backgrounds
The pandemic shifted perspectives around achievement. Rather than just seeking candidates with extensive internships or perfect test scores, many programs are now looking at the whole person. Did you juggle jobs with school? Are you a first-generation student? Your resilience, resourcefulness, and personal growth matter more than ever.

Funding, Fit & Flexibility
Cost is a growing concern, and our experts urge applicants to ask (and keep asking) about scholarships, assistantships, and other financial support. In addition, with the exponential growth of online and hybrid offerings, it’s crucial to understand various learning formats and select what truly fits your needs. There’s also more pressure than ever for grad programs to demonstrate real modern-world relevance—so do your homework and talk to admissions reps, not just online reviews or forums.

Evolving Skills for the Future
The episode also explores how the demands of the workforce are shifting. Communication and soft skills—especially in an AI-enhanced environment—are becoming more critical. Programs are adapting to prepare students not just for today’s job market, but for tomorrow’s unpredictable opportunities.

Why You Should Listen
If you’re serious about graduate school, don’t miss this episode. You’ll walk away with honest, actionable advice and a clearer sense of what it takes to stand out—and thrive—in today’s graduate landscape.

Ready to dive deeper? Listen now for practical tips and insider perspectives that could make all the difference in your grad school quest!

 

TRANSCRIPT

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:01]:
Welcome to Victor's in grad school, where we have conversations with students, alumni, and experts about what it takes to find success in graduate school.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:00:11]:
Welcome back to Victor's in grad school. This week, we have a great opportunity to be able to learn from other enrollment management professionals. I recently attended the National Association of Graduate Admission Professionals or NAGAP. And at that conference, I spoke to a number of enrollment management professionals and individuals working within industry that are working with higher education about a number of questions to help you in the journey that you are on toward graduate school. This week's question is what's a shift you're seeing that today's prospective students should be aware of as they consider applying to graduate school. I hope that you enjoy the answers to this question and that it will help you on the journey that you are on.

Stacy Goldstein [00:01:03]:
Hi. This is Stacy Goldstein with UC San Diego at Rady School of Management with the master professional accountancy program. I work in our graduate department in admissions, thing is being your cheerleader for my students. Invest in yourself. It is competitive with jobs and AI is on the rise, so it can be challenging when applying for jobs or graduate school. When you're writing an admissions essay or doing your resume, please try not to rely on chat GBT that much. I know it's tempting, but I hate to break it to you, we can tell. We can definitely tell assert writing style or the dashes, but we wanna know you.

Stacy Goldstein [00:01:38]:
So really try to you can utilize the AI, that's fine, But put in a sense of who you are even through a piece of paper. We wanna get to know you. Be confident. Let that personality shine through and best of luck.

Donna Wang Su [00:01:54]:
My name is Donna Wang Su. I am the associate director for graduate admissions and financial aid at Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism Media Integrated Marketing Communications. I think a shift that I am seeing as students are applying to grad school today, I think is that vulnerability. I think that COVID really changed things a bit in the sense of people are leaning a bit into not following. Here's that checklist. I'm gonna check everything off. And they're looking at other opportunities, and I think trying to find the lessons there, and that's something that I truly value. I think us in the admissions offices are also looking at things a little differently.

Donna Wang Su [00:02:33]:
We talk about there's that book Privileged Poor where we will consider, oh, this person doesn't have a lot of internships. But as I look at their resume, maybe they're a first generation college student and they don't have that financial luxury to take an unpaid internship in this field or industry. But I've seen that they've worked two, three different jobs while also going to school full time. What lessons have they picked up? What professional maturity have they picked up from this kind of time management? And so I think there's become more of a focus on that holistic admissions and holistic graduate student approach as well.

Santavaya Jordan [00:03:10]:
My name is Santavaya Jordan. I am the engineering graduate recruiter at Vanderbilt University, and I recruit only for our graduate programs in engineering. The biggest thing I see with students in particular is looking at what funding is available and if funding is even gonna be offered due to the political climate. And I can tell you that many of the schools they're fighting to find funding for students to encourage you to still be in these spaces. We definitely want you to be at our institutions to be able to thrive and not focus on how you're gonna pay for a school. So I know that has been a big concern that's happening. Also, another thing is even with testing, a lot of the students are worried about GRE scores or even, like, some that it may have GMAT scores, but a lot of schools are getting rid of that and a lot of them are taking holistic approach to look at other applicants, getting ready for testing because there is a lot of bias within looking at applicants. So I would definitely say although you may be studying for a GRE or studying for a GMAT, don't rule out all the other background things that you may have done with whether it's research or even maybe even had a paper published.

Santavaya Jordan [00:04:07]:
Those different type of things can really set you apart when applying for graduate school. So don't focus on your negatives that you may not have. Look at all the positive things and look at other ways to engage in your institution. If you don't have research experience, look at your institution and talk with different faculty and see if you can get in their lab. Pick up lab skills and learn new things that really help you advance your application.

Paul Brandano [00:04:31]:
I'm Paul Brandano. I'm the executive director of the Master of Science in Business Analytics at UCLA Anderson. So we're seeing a few shifts when we think about who our cohorts are. I would say first and foremost, it's a generational shift. When we think about Gen Z who's now a growing part of our population, I think the advantages they bring is that they care a lot about authenticity. They care a lot about making a difference in the world, being socially conscious. And I think these are all things that are going to be valuable in their careers. Of course, the political environment is always changing, so they've gotta be aware of that.

Paul Brandano [00:04:59]:
But I think that at the end of the day, they tend to have their head in the right place place when it comes to picking up the job of basically taking over the world eventually. I would also say that they tend to be because of the pandemic and because of the challenges they faced, either more resilient or less resilient. And I think that, you know, depending on their personal experience through that, we see it as either a strength or a gap. I think as long as the students are aware of that, that it's probably had an effect and are self aware enough to acknowledge it, it becomes an opportunity rather than a limitation.

Emily Dayton [00:05:31]:
Hi. This is Emily Dayton. I am the senior director of a specialized master's admissions and recruitment at the Rady School of Management at the University of California, San Diego. What I'm seeing is that with the growth of generative AI tools and AI assisted work environments, that what is becoming even more important is a focus on strong communication skills. I work with very quantitative and technical programs, and the shift that we're starting to do is that we're preparing our current graduate students for a work environment. We'll be more of a conductor of an AI tool that's doing most of the quantitative and technical lift. And so really what sets students apart and job candidates apart are their communication soft skills.

Tony Fraga [00:06:19]:
Hey. It's Tony Fraga, CEO at Direct Development. We're a long time enrollment marketing company. So many students are applying to a lot more schools today than ever before. It's not just applying to a couple of programs. We're seeing huge amounts of volume increase, almost like undergrad levels, at the grad level. That's just becoming normal. So now grad schools, you have to understand, are dealing with a large influx of applicants, but not necessarily great on yield on return.

Tony Fraga [00:06:49]:
And I think you need to be aware that you may need to be open to some more programs than you think. You also might not get accepted to some of the ones you want to get into. Others are gonna be so hungry, they want to make it work for you. And I'd find a blend of that and find, hey, what's your price point? And are you applying to enough different grad schools? Have you opened and considered other grad programs that you might not have thought? Don't just go for the an MBA, the main ones. Be open to new programs that are more modern, frankly. Are you getting an analog grad degree in a digital age? We need more modern grad programs, and a lot of them are there, but you gotta find them. And they might not be named what you think the grad degree is. So I'm seeing a lot of grad students apply to more because they're educating themselves and finding there's these other kinds of programs out there.

Adrian Peralta [00:07:37]:
Hi, everybody. My name is Adrian Peralta. I'm part of the graduate admissions team at Kean University in Union, New Jersey. I myself am a graduate international special populations admissions counselor. Look at online, hybrid, and in person. And if you don't understand the difference between the three, definitely ask questions. And sometimes, programs might say they're online, but, really, they might be hybrid. Some might say they're hybrid really in person.

Adrian Peralta [00:08:02]:
So definitely ask those questions, and please always make those informed decisions and just lead with knowledge. That's the best way to choose everything.

Jeremiah Nelson [00:08:15]:
Jeremiah Nelson. I'm a faculty member at the Kettner School of Business at Catawba College and the MBA director. I think a lot of people are shortcutting their research process while they're evaluating schools. A lot of use of AI to accelerate their application process and maybe not going through the same due diligence that I've seen in the past. And I think that in the long run, you're much better if you invest fully in understanding the schools that you're applying to and being a little bit more selective than doing kind of a a ray shot, kind of application strategy.

Naronda Wright [00:08:54]:
Hello. I'm Naronda Wright. I serve as the associate associate dean of graduate student services at Jordan Southern University and also a service at NAGAP president. Enrollment is important on our campuses right now, so making sure that you are a good fit for that program that you are applying for and being admitted to so you can progress and graduate and make sure that you are contributing to growth and advancement and things like that on our campuses. So just making sure that what you're doing is what you wanna do and it's a good fit.

Irene Aiken [00:09:23]:
I'm Irene Aiken. I'm the Dean of the grad school at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. A shift student should be aware of is the jobs that are gonna be in the future. And in particular, companies want students who have skills of today's needs, which include AI and the use of AI and how AI is gonna change their job.

Irene Aiken [00:09:48]:
Grad schools are coming back around to the idea of test scores. We saw that with undergrad recently where test scores are coming back. They was they're optional for a while, and now a lot of schools are moving back in that direction. I think faculty get very concerned about the performance of students, and particularly, it's kinda cliche, but post pandemic, grad schools are seeing a decline in students' ability to do graduate level work. And I think that has a lot to do with their student experience over the years, but faculty are kind of going back to the tried and true method of well, they should take this, they should take that. So be aware of that and be aware of changes in how faculty assess the academic readiness of graduate students when they enter programs.

Marcus Hanscon [00:10:35]:
Hi. My name is Marcus Hanscon. I'm the director of enrollment marketing at Direct Development and also spent about seventeen years working in college admissions in the graduate schools. Students do so much on their own without talking to anybody. They spend so much time online. They rely on Reddit. They rely on other technology and AI, and there's certainly value to that. And you wanna get some external opinions and thoughts and see what kind of evaluators are saying about your programs.

Marcus Hanscon [00:10:58]:
But nothing beats actually talking to the people and getting in there beyond just doing your own web research. And a lot of students, they don't talk to anybody until after they apply. And they miss out on that opportunity to not only learn about a good program, but also learn what a program is not right for them. So why waste your time applying to a program that ultimately isn't gonna be the right fit? And you can usually wean that out by talking to an admissions rep or faculty or students very early in your process before you ever apply.

Sabrina Brown [00:11:26]:
I'm Sabrina Brown. I work at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and I am the director of graduate recruitment. The many roles that graduate education does play, I see that higher education is not as trusted by the intent of higher education is both different for everyone and what people think the outcome should be. And it's not just return on investment or getting another job, a higher paying job, or sort of economically focused. Higher education serves a lot of purposes. And so we see this shift in terms of what is coming out of or going into higher education and what that value means to the public, but I think that it's important for prospective students to really be grounded in what does this endeavor do for you and how does that shift your life and your ability to live the best life that you're creating for yourself.

Addie Caudle [00:12:30]:
My name is Addie Caudle. I'm the communications manager from Tarleton State University. Students really being more cautious about the programs they're looking at. They're wanting to make sure that these programs relate to where they wanna be in life, whether it's their goals, whether it's they wanna be in academia or industry. All of that is going to depend significantly on the type of program that they're going for.

Melissa Yeung [00:12:53]:
I'm Dr. Melissa Young, director of student support and belonging at the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy at Bowling Green State University. I think the cost of education, you know, cost is always on the forefront of of students' mind, and the availability of support is, I think, becoming more important for students. So those are the two things that I think it's coming up to the forefront compared to the trends that we're seeing maybe five or ten years ago.

James Monahan [00:13:25]:
I'm James Monahan. I'm the director of graduate and international admissions at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The biggest shift that is happening right now in higher education in general is going to online programs and you need to figure out what's right for you, whether you want a fully online program or maybe you need a hybrid type program. I think that's really important and something that everyone should keep in mind when they choose their graduate studies.

Jamie Crampton [00:13:54]:
Hello. I am Jamie Crampton. I work for Gecko Engage, a software company in higher education headquartered out of Edinburgh. I also live in Edinburgh, Scotland. So I'm gonna answer these questions from the lens of The UK education sector, but hopefully, it's also applicable to The US as well. AI. Absolutely. I mean, AI is sadly, but also positively becoming more and more widely used across the world.

Jamie Crampton [00:14:18]:
And I feel like not just in education during your studies, but also post enrollment when you actually get a job and a career, more and more jobs are going to look for people with AI experience. And I think that's a key thing is just understand AI, use AI, and then learn how to apply that to your education, but also professionally afterwards as well.

Ben Webb [00:14:44]:
Hello. My name is Ben Webb. I'm the executive director of The Americas for QS, which is a service that does international domestic recruiting, rankings, international performance, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Used to be on the admission side at multiple schools across the country. There's a lot of programs that are out there in world. So it's figuring out a lot of the MSBA programs or AI or computer science. What do you wanna do? Do you wanna be an AI manager, or are you looking to be a tactical person that's actually using the data? So I think we're we're starting to see a shift of overload of programs. There's a lot coming out with the same names. So how do we kinda start to differentiate which one is gonna be the best fit? So understanding and finding you want the degree, but what within that degree is what you're really looking to get in a world where many universities of various sizes are offering the same thing.

Matt Bohlen [00:15:31]:
Hey, everybody. My name is Matt Bohlen, and I'm senior director of client success with Carnegie. Been here about four years now. Before that, I worked about twenty years in ed, a couple different institutions in the state of Michigan. Loved working in higher ed, but also I love helping higher ed as a consultant now too. I think the shifts of how to pay for college is something that's important. Historically, you know, we relied a lot on internships or assistantships. Nowadays, I think it's okay to ask what type of funding is available because there's so much competition in the market. The graduate programs have to be realistic that there are scholarships that need to be spent for students, especially some of your high achieving students that are gonna bring a lot of experiences to the program itself. So I think that's a big shift that we're seeing is just don't be afraid to ask for scholarships because they're there.

Dr. Christopher Lewis [00:16:15]:
The University of Michigan Flint has a full array of masters and doctorate programs if you are interested in continuing your education. Whether you're looking for in person or online learning options, the University of Michigan Flint has programs that will meet your needs. For more information on any of our graduate programs, visit umflint.edu/graduateprograms to find out more. Thanks again for spending time with me as you prepare to be a victor in grad school. I look forward to speaking with you again soon as we embark together on your graduate school journey. If you have any questions or want to reach out, email me at [email protected].