Applying to an EOL Program

How to Begin

Applying for an advanced degree program can be a lengthy process. We're here to help make the admissions process as simple as possible for you. Use the links to the right to learn more about each program. Each program has a page dedicated to the application process with complete directions from how to begin your application to how to submit it once completed.

Who Should I Contact?

Would you like to introduce yourself or visit the Illinois campus? Do you have questions about our programs or the application process? Contact our admissions staff or a program coordinator for assistance. Simply click on the "Contacts" link on the lower left menu for complete contact information for each program as well as general application questions. Remember, the EOL contact people are here to help.

What You Ought to Know

At the post-graduate level, you apply to the specific Department which houses your desired program. However, when you apply to a department, you are also applying to the Graduate College. The Graduate College is the final arbiter for admissions. Remember, though, you apply to the department not to the Graduate College directly. Once a department has decided to admit you, then your application package is sent to the Graduate College for its decision.

Getting Started

Know the program to which you wish to apply. Look at the descriptions and requirements of each program on the Web pages. Feel free to email or phone the contacts to ask questions. Be sure that your chosen program is one that will help you achieve your professional goals. Mid-way through a graduate program is not the time or place to realize you are following the wrong path to your goals.

Pay attention to the application deadlines. Each program has its application deadlines posted prominently on its admissions Web page. Also pay attention to the admission criteria. The basic criteria for admission is also posted on the programs' admissions pages. Current of former Illinois graduate students take a different path. If you are a current or former Illinois graduate student, read and follow the steps you need to take in order to apply to EOL.

All applications are now completed and submitted almost completely online. The system used for post-graduate applications is called ApplyYourself™. ApplyYourself™ contains the application form itself. ApplyYourself™ allows you to begin your application, save it, and return to it at a later time if you need to interrupt the process. Read the material on the admissions page for your desired program. Print off that page or make a checklist of the materials required for application. Take some time to review what is required and prepare your materials before beginning the application.

The application is divided into sections. All sections must be completed in order to submit your application. However, the sections do not need to be completed sequentially. It is strongly recommended that as you complete each section, you save your application. ApplyYourself™ has been an amazingly reliable system. But you do not want to be the first person whose application disappeared into cyberspace.

Supporting Materials

ApplyYourself™ also allows you to upload other application supporting materials directly into the application. Even the writers of your letters of recommendation can upload their letters into your application. One item that cannot be uploaded into your application is your transcript, or transcripts if you attended more than one institution. EOL requires original copies of transcripts from each higher education institution you attended, whether you graduated from that institution or not. The required method of submitting transcripts is detailed in the admissions pages for each program. Remember, ordering transcripts and getting them sent to EOL may take time. You have no control over a Registrar's Office, so order your transcripts as soon as you make up your as to which department you'll be applying.

The other items you have no real control over are your letters of recommendation. Most recommendors have written letters for others, so they understand the urgency and respond quickly. However, once you've asked someone to write you a letter of recommendation, it is out of your hands. Each EOL program requires three letters of recommendation. There is no reason, though, why you can't ask more than three people to write letters for you. Asking four or five people to write letters of recommendation helps ensure that at least three will arrive in a timely manner.

Submitting the Application

Once you are sure your application is complete, you are ready to submit. There is a non-refundable application fee due when you submit your application. The only accepted form of payment is a credit card. Make sure you have completed all sections and have uploaded your supporting materials. Once you submit your application, you cannot go back in and edit any part of it. Your recommendors will still be able to submit their letters, though.

You will receive occasional emails generated through the ApplyYourself™ system that will notify you of any pieces of your application that may be missing. We can only tell you what is missing, we cannot contact anyone on your behalf asking that they submit their part of the application. You will also receive an email telling you when your application is complete.