Educational Orientation, NEO PI-R Personality Traits, and Plans for Graduate School

Abstract

The current study compared 166 students with plans to attend graduate school with 161 students intending to work after college on academically related behaviors, attitudes and personality traits. Students interested in graduate school reported more frequent class participation and were more motivated by learning, and less by grades. Groups also differed on several key personality traits that may be related to success in graduate school (e.g., conscientiousness, openness). We suggest that faculty emphasize to students that GPA is only one factor evaluated by graduate school admission committees, and that active engagement in learning will likely improve a candidate's chances for acceptance into graduate school. ********** Few questions seem to be more important to today's college students than what they will do once they graduate. There is a great deal of variability in students' ability to answer that question, as evidenced by research related to career decidedness (Lounsbury, Tatum, Chambers, Owens, & Gibson, 1999). Some students enter college with concrete plans for the future. Others struggle for some time, possibly changing majors more than once, before they eventually find their direction. Finally, there are those who don cap and gown, still unsure of what they will be doing in the foreseeable future. One decision that many undergraduates wrestle with is, Should I attend graduate school? Faculty in many disciplines counsel their students on the reality that graduate training is often necessary if they intend to maximize their ability to apply or practice the fruits of their undergraduate labor. For instance, students majoring in psychology are informed that graduate school is essential if they intend to teach at the college level or become a clinician. The graduate admissions process is extremely competitive and not all who are interested will actually attend graduate school. In psychology, the American Psychological Association (APA) Research Office periodically tracks application and acceptance statistics for various types of graduate programs (e.g., public vs. private institutions, doctoral vs. terminal master's programs). In the 1998-1999 survey, public doctoral programs that responded reported 29,760 applications, of which only 3,651, or 12% were accepted; the highest reported acceptance rate (64%) was for private terminal master's programs (APA, 2000). Once accepted into a program, students quickly learn that graduate school is very demanding; it requires long hours, hard work and typically a willingness to make financial sacrifices while a student completes their program of study. According to a survey of programs in many disciplines (e.g., arts and humanities, natural and social sciences, engineering, math) conducted by the National Research Council (NRC, 1995), time to complete degree has increased to an average of nine years for a doctoral degree (cited in APS, 1996). Hodgson and Simoni (1995) have referred to the increase in time to degree and escalating attrition rates as a disturbing trend. Given the importance of the decision, and having been made aware of the rigors of graduate training, it would logically benefit students tremendously to invest a great deal of thought and personal research before declaring their intentions to attend graduate school. Evidence suggests that as many as 75% of undergraduates believe they will obtain a graduate degree, although juniors and seniors may be more realistic than freshmen and sophomores (Heckert & Wallis, 1998). However, it is likely that many students report an interest in graduate school well before they know exactly what is involved, and what it takes to gain admission to a graduate program. Rajecki, Lauer, and Metzner (1998) suggested that many undergraduates have unrealistic expectations regarding admission to graduate programs. Specifically, Rajecki and his colleagues (1998) found that neither undergraduate students' major grade point average (GPA), nor belief in the importance of a high GPA, were related to plans for attending graduate school. …