Will going part-time in undergraduate affect my graduate admission?

Question

I'm a fourth year undergraduate student in a university in the U.S., and this is my last semester. I have already applied to graduate schools, and I'm currently awaiting responses. Since I have already finished all my requirements and am ready to graduate, I wanted to go part time this semester. I am aware of how it affects my financial aid; however, I do not know if it has an effect on my admittance to graduate school. I do not mean whether or not I get accepted (the decisions will happen without knowledge of my current semester), but whether I am eligible to attend graduate school if I have been part time for a semester. That is, will there be any potential issues when the schools that have accepted me see my final transcript and see I was part time? Is there a universal answer to this? Or should I contact each school individually and ask about their policy?

Also, are there any other potential issues with going part time that I haven't mentioned? Anything noteworthy I might have missed?

Answer 1

I do not mean whether or not I get accepted (the decisions will happen without knowledge of my current semester), but whether I am eligible to attend graduate school if I have been part time for a semester. That is, will there be any potential issues when the schools that have accepted me see my final transcript and see I was part time?

I have never heard of a graduate school that has a policy against applicants with a period of part time studies, and, really, there is no reasonable reason to have such a policy. They could perhaps have an issue with applicants taking an unusually long time to complete their undergraduate degree, but that shouldn't be a problem in your case. If you don't find anything about it on their list of requirements on their website (which I'd bet you won't), I wouldn't even bother contacting them about it.

Also, are there any other potential issues with going part time that I haven't mentioned? Anything noteworthy I might have missed?

If you're working part time, I'd be sure to check out relevant rules for income and student loans (if you have any). Otherwise, I don't know of anything worth noting.

Answer 2

I did something similar. My final semester in undergrad, I had two options: stay full time and finish two minors, or go part time (really just one class) and complete an intensive EMT-Paramedic training program. Since I was seriously considering med schools, the second option seemed like a better idea to me. (How good of an idea it was remains to me seen, since I did not go to med school, but anyway...)

I have since gone to grad school in two different fields. Absolutely no one gave a dang about my last semester being part time (although I did get some questions about being a paramedic).

So, to quote guest:

Just get the sheepskin. Nobody cares about the details.