How to navigate the Graduate School application/process?

cosmicfish
Wed, 05 Jun 2019 12:51:51 +0000

What are the reliable resources to help him ?

His advisor at his current school, other faculty, here.

Do Graduate school offer FEE waivers ?

Are there mechanisms reduce applications cost, when applying to multiple schools?

These seem like the same question, so you may need to clarify.

Some will waive the application fee if he can demonstrate financial need but he will need to check with each school individually. There is no national system for waiving application fees. I am not aware of any systems that will allow him to apply to multiple schools for a single fee. The most common way to control the cost is by simply limiting the number of schools to which he applies.

University fees, the ones that accompany tuition, may or may not be waived as part of his financial aid package - mine, in electrical engineering, were covered by my department, my wife’s, in archaeology, were not and she had to pay ~$1000 per semester to attend after her assistantship tuition waiver. Grad school financial aid takes the forms of fellowships and assistantships, and can vary wildly in how much they cover, how much they pay after costs, for how long they are guaranteed, and what they expect in return. When he receives offers they will explain what is and is not covered and he should use that in making his decisons. In the astrophysics the attendance fees will probably be covered.

Are there any strategies to help him ?

Yes, many, but they depend on what help he needs. Grad school is very individual, like applying for a professional job - they aren’t looking for a warm body, they’re looking for a person with specific skills and experience. His advisors and faculty can help him identify programs, and he can and should try to contact faculty at those schools to see if their research interests align with his. In grad school you apply to a department but will generally only be admitted if there are faculty who want him in their research groups. A perfect GPA and GRE won’t get him into a school if he is not prepared or interested in the work available at that school.

The GRE is generally the smallest factor in admissions, more a check to see that he can perform in an environment where they are sure he isn’t being assisted - a great score doesn’t help much (except in getting fellowships!), but a low score can cause problems. Research is king, so if he hasn’t done any undergrad research he needs to get involved ASAP. The most valuable parts of the application are the GPA (which demonstrate an ability to handle the coursework) and letters of recommendation from faculty who have supervised or observed his research efforts (which demonstrate his ability to do research).

Good luck!