Frequently Asked Questions

  • Why this program? This program is designed to provide support for SHPE members who are applying for graduate school. Mentees can be either undergraduate students going directly into graduate school or professional members who are going back to school to complete a masters degree. 

    By providing mentors who are prepared to guide and coach through this process mentees can gain insight on potential hidden knowledge regarding the application and selection process and gain feedback on everything from creating a strong personal statement to how to handle mitigating factors like a low GPA.

    The schedule for the 3-month program is designed around four objectives: 1) writing an effective personal statement; 2) choosing recommenders for strong letters of recommendation; 3) assessing the strengths of research experiences; 4) addressing mitigating factors i.e., low GPA.

  • What am I expected to do? Communicate and meet regularly with your mentee guiding them through the graduate school application process. We anticipate a time commitment of 10 hours over a period of approximately 3 months.

    Most of this interaction will take place via email and other web-related tools (for example, instant messaging) or face-to-face, as appropriate. Mentors should work with their mentee on reviewing application documents, answering questions on the application process and meeting with the mentee to discuss their progress. 
  • What should I do if my mentoring relationship isn't going well? We encourage letting the mentee know about the situation and contacting a program administrator as soon as possible. We will provide our full support to resolve the situation in a positive and satisfactory manner.
  • How are mentors and mentees matched? Using the software platform Chronus for the mentoring program allows for the building of a matching algorithm to pair mentors and mentees on three key criteria. Using the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education mentors are asked for their experience with the categories of R1 (very high research activity) and R2 (high research activity) . Mentees are then asked to identify the schools they are planning to apply to match the mentor experience with the mentee goal. Mentor discipline expertise is paired with the mentee intended major. Lastly, the mentor comfort level with the planned degree path of the mentee is matched. Mentors indicate their interest in coaching students planning to apply for masters only programs or dual masters and Ph D programs. 

Dates for your calendar

Mentor Applications open: July 22nd - August 12th
Mentee Applications open: July 29th - August 19th 
Required Mentee Training: Sept 4th @ 7pm EST
Required Mentor Training: Sept 5th @ 7pm EST
Mentor Connections Released: Sept 10th        
Connections Timeline: September 11th - November 22nd
**Please note these dates are tentative and might shift slightly depending on recruitment efforts

Connect with Our Mentees!

Share your expertise with those willing and eager to learn.

Apply Now

Mentor DO's

  1. Commit at least ten hours of support for the 3 month period.
  2. Set aside time for the mentoring process and honor all appointments.
  3. Invite the mentee to meetings or activities, as appropriate. Schedule meetings with planned topics.
  4. Be flexible on meeting times and places.
  5. Arrange frequent contacts through telephone, email, or face-to-face, as appropriate.
  6. Respond to emails from your mentee within two days of receipt.
  7. Keep information that your mentee has shared with you confidential. If something concerning the mentee needs to be discussed with others, you should first seek your mentee's permission to do this.
  8. Establish open and honest communication and a forum for idea exchange.
  9. Foster creativity and independence. Help build self-confidence and offer encouragement.
  10. Provide honest and timely feedback to your mentee.
  11. Provide opportunities for the mentee to talk about concerns and ask questions.
  12. Above all, LISTEN.

Mentor DON'Ts

  1. Try to give advice on everything.
  2. Encourage mentee to be totally dependent upon you.
  3. Provide your personal history, problems, animosities, successes, or failures, unless they are constructive contributions.
  4. Be too busy when the mentee needs your friendship or your support. If you do not have time, give the mentee a heads up, so that they know when they can reach you.
  5. Criticize.