Every May and December thousands of students across the country graduate with their bachelor degrees. While some students may choose to enter graduate school to delay entering the workforce after college, others apply to further their education and professionalism.

“I definitely wasn’t scared to face the real world because I wanted to make money and start my career,” Hillary Siegfried a WT grad who recently graduated from Oklahoma State University with a graduate degree, said. “I did finish my undergraduate degree in three years, so it made sense to just keep going and continue my education while I was young. However, personally I wanted to gain more knowledge in my degree area and be prepared for the real world, and graduate school helped with that.”

Wanting more knowledge isn’t the only reason many students decide to attend graduate school.

“A year ago, that was the mentality in Education majors, because a lot of teachers were being laid off,” Elsa Diego-Medrano, an Instructor of Reading and Early Childhood at WT, said. “So they decided that they would get their Masters in the meantime. That really wasn’t the case though, because the pool to choose from was so big, that the credentials were so high.”

For others, the decision to enter graduate school derives from their determination to change careers altogether.

“Bachelor degrees are a dime a dozen, so you need something more to stand out,” Ellie Anders, graduate student of History, said. “I was working professionally in technical theater and I came to the end of a career. Worked in it for several years and I was finished. I wanted to start something new,” Anders said.

And still others choose graduate school, not because of boredom or fear of the economy in their field, but to further the career they have already chosen to pursue.

“I wanted to be a professional and not to be at an entry level position,” said Ashley Schilling, who is currently working on her Masters in Communication Disorders at WT.