Accountability Partners: Your Secret Weapon In Applying To Grad School

Your best ally in applying to graduate school is someone who is right there in the trenches with you. That’s right – someone you can meet in the library to research which programs are best to apply to, download application packets, proofread your essay draft, and call or text every now and then to commiserate over how frustrating the entire grad school application process can be.

This person – your ally, your ace, your partner in crime – is what’s called an accountability partner. A strict definition of the term is a working relationship with someone who can help keep you on task. If you are BFF with a dirty word called procrastination, let’s just say that you need to find an accountability partner, like, yesterday.

Many hopes of getting into grad school have been dashed by waiting until the last minute to get your applications in order.

Shall I explain?

You’re juggling classes. Or work. Or family obligations. Or even worse, all of these things at the same time. You have the desire to go to grad school and the only thing standing in your way is completing these pesky applications. Keeping track of all of the requirements for each program is a job in and of itself – different requirements for each program, different deadlines and dates to remember, different essay prompts. It’s easy to get overwhelmed. And put it off. And off. And off. And off.

You turn around and you have only a matter of days to get everything together and sealed and stamped tightly in an Express delivery envelope. Your anxiety levels are practically off the charts. And those admissions essays you have to write? You get them done term-paper style – literally the day before the deadline.

Will your application package stand up to the competition? You know, those who have been preparing MONTHS in advance and systematically drafting, reviewing, and perfecting their application materials? I’ll let you be the judge.

Let’s Avoid This Whole Scenario

You’ve already taken the first step in setting your intention to get into grad school. Bravo. If one of the keys to success is to know thyself, then you probably know it’s high time to call in reinforcements to keep you on track.

Take inventory of everyone around you. You may already know a likely suspect who can serve as your accountability partner. If you’re still in school, chances are you have a friend or classmate that has similar goals. Recruit that person to be part of  your super duper “we’re-getting-into-grad-school-no-matter-what” accountability team.

Make a pact. Check in frequently. E-stalk each other, if you must. The point is to keep your goal at the forefront of your mind and bite off small bite size tasks that you can complete every week. It sure beats frantically running around at the last minute rounding up letters of recommendation and paralyzing yourself into writer’s block with essays unwritten and deadlines looming.

If you see each other falling behind, making excuses, or blowing off your commitments, call out the B.S. where you see it. Make a plan to get back up to speed. And stick to it. That’s what accountability partners are for.