1. Your field may not require a master's degree.

A master's degree will look impressive on any resume, yes, but do you really need to devote the time, money and effort into one for the field you are going in to? Being in a master's program provides you with so many great opportunities for networking, skill enhancement, and job placement, but they are completely unnecessary in some fields! K-12 teaching, market researchers, civil engineers, language interpreters and translators—NONE of these require a graduate degree. So, while it may be a good experience and may help you avoid actually entering into the real world and being a true adult, it may not be the best option for you.

2. Grad school costs add up QUICKLY.

Yes, we all know that college is expensive. But did you know that, generally, graduate school is even more expensive? Tuition is higher. FACT. Also, applying for admission can be crazy expensive; applying to a program at NYU is between $100 and $150. Besides tuition, you should also consider the cost of potentially moving to a new state or city to attend the program of your dreams. Most colleges and universities do not offer housing for graduate students!

Also, if your area of interest is something rather specific, or you're looking into a field that doesn't have a lot of options for furthering education, you may end up moving to Boston, or a different random state to pursue your degree. If you do have to move, take into consideration that the cost of living varies in every state; moving from Tennessee to Boston was a little bit of a shocker in my personal experience! Lastly, if your program takes you to another state or city, remember that you may not have a job right away, so save up for those first few weeks of job hunting!

3. Class sizes will decrease dramatically.

Most students are used to between 40 and a few hundred students in their college courses. Yes, those begin to dwindle as you get further into your undergrad, either from people dropping out of you advancing in your program and having more specific-to-your-major courses. Well, in graduate school, there are a lot less people. Like, A LOT less. For example, my courses in my graduate program are capped at 12 people per course. In my case, I am ecstatic—I thrive in a small class setting; I love how personal it is and how the class becomes a community. But for others, not being able to get away with missing a class or two, or knowing that the teacher knows your name can be more stressful than sharing a room with 300 other students. Your presentations, idea sharing, in class discussions—they are all more intimate. Remember that before sending in that application.

4. The work load will increase greatly.

So, you feel like having a weekly reading of 10 pages it too much, right? And how dare your professor have three major assignments due this semester!? If you feel that way, I would say that graduate school is definitely not for you. Before my first course ever started, I had already started reading the four full manuscripts and writing the reports that would accompany them, reading the textbook and style guide material, along with working on the pitch I would have to make for my own book a few weeks into the course. Then, outside of lectures, there is so much material for you to parse through, note take on, and research; it can be a lot. While you are probably only taking two or three courses at a time, the course load is going to be way heavier.