Much like applying to college, applying to grad school is no small feat. You have to consider cost, time, moving to a new city, strength of the program, and job prospects after graduation. It’s a daunting task.

After I completed my undergraduate degree in Political Economy, I worked in different capacities for three years to test the waters before I committed to a master’s program in my field of choice: urban planning. I had worked in the Planning and Development Department in Lahore, Pakistan and found that I liked it, so after doing some research, I applied to nine top-ranked urban planning programs. Despite having a very average undergrad GPA and a poor verbal GRE score, I got into seven of them! This is proof that you CAN get into a top program, even if all aspects of your application don’t feel perfect to you.

After I graduated from UCLA with a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning, I got a job as a Program Administrator at a community college. The job was cushy and financially secure, but it just wasn’t for me. I’m now doing what I love – writing – and I’m learning web development on the side.

Does this mean my grad school experience was a total waste? It depends how you want to frame it. In the formal sense, it might seem like a waste because I am not currently practicing as an urban planner. Truth be told, when I was in my second year of grad school, I had decided that urban planning wasn’t for me.

Yet, my education was paid for thanks to my TAship in the Urdu-language department. I loved to learn and found my classes on poverty and policy-making fascinating. I took an advanced GIS course where I learned the fundamentals of web design, met amazing people and learned how to research and teach. These were all good enough reasons for me to stay and graduate.

Would these reasons work for others? Maybe not. Ultimately, only you can decide if grad school is right for you, but here are some things to consider:

1. Figure out if you even need to go to grad school. This means going back to the basics. What kind of life and career do you envision for yourself? Whatever your dream job may be, research whether a graduate degree is necessary to get there. To be a doctor or lawyer, you obviously need the MD or JD. But what if you want to be an entrepreneur or software engineer? The academic qualifications for these careers are more flexible. See if experience and/or community college or extension courses can help you get there instead. Rather than a graduate degree, maybe one or two certifications are needed – so invest time and money in preparing and passing those instead. Grad schools are great at marketing and making you feel like their programs are the sole path to success, but look beyond their words and pretty pictures. Talk to people in the field and ask them if a graduate degree is worth the time and investment required to get there.

2. Work. This almost goes without saying. Working allows you to test the waters of where you think you want to be. After working there, you might find that you actually hate it! Either way, once you’ve decided that you want to go to grad school, you’re going to need the money to pay for it. Working also allows you to bring practical knowledge to the classroom and proves your interest in the field by showing the admissions committee a track record of solid accomplishments and real-world knowledge. Lastly, letters of recommendation matter. Building good rapport with your bosses and colleagues are a must so you can count on them to write you the letters you need to gain admission into your schools of choice.

3. Invest time in preparing for entrance tests. Whether it’s the GMAT, LSAT, GRE, or MCAT, these tests are a big deal. Yelp which classes offer the best prep, and make sure to take lots of timed practice tests. Entrance exams may not fairly assess your intelligence, but in a sea of applicants, admissions committees need something concrete for assessment. Along with your GPA, these numbers help determine how well you’d be able to handle the rigors of graduate academia.

Tip: Build a spreadsheet to organize your graduate school application process. Whether you are researching schools or have already taken the tests and are ready to apply, keep track of due dates, how many letters are needed, even recording the essay prompts so you don’t need to log into the application portal to view them each time. 

4. Money. Think about how you’re going to pay for grad school, whether through loans, grants, savings, or teaching assistantships. Although competitive to get, teaching assistantships and/or fellowships are a great way to cover tuition and are offered by most graduate programs. If you’ve excelled in a particular course or series of courses, look into becoming a TA for them. Once you’ve gained admission into your graduate program and are ready to enroll, email the professors well in advance (even better if you see them in person) expressing your interest and desire to help them teach their courses.

5. Last but not least: Time. Know that graduate school will take up all of your time, and be ready for a grueling two, four, or seven years of hard work. The environment will be very competitive, and professors are seldom forgiving or willing to bend over backward to help you. If you’re going through a major life change where your attention will be diverted, now may not be a good time to apply. You need to be mentally ready for the rigors required of you and have a support system in place if you’ve got external commitments to take care of as you study.

Unlike a college degree, a graduate degree is more often an added bonus to making yourself more marketable to potential employers – it shows that you not only have passion in a given area but are driven to excel in it. If you’re still iffy about whether or not to pursue a grad degree, I’d recommend you take more time to explore what’s out there and see if you can advance professionally without paying thousands of dollars for a degree you’d pursue half-heartedly. I’m not saying grad school is a bad idea, but it’s only a good one if you’ve done your research, talked to the right people, and are certain it’s what you need to build the future you want for yourself. Once you are certain of exactly what you want, it will help you narrow down your list of programs to apply to, make your personal statements that much stronger, and make every penny worth the investment. Good luck!