Grad school has been on my mind lately as I'm beginning my prep. to see what I need to get done in college before working and then applying. First and foremost, GPA needs to raise and I need to get recommendation letters from professors. Second, time to start studying for GREs and LSATs. So much stress going into finding good grad schools. Needless to say, the amount of research that goes into this and the competition probably induces even more stress, but I guess that's what makes higher education worthwhile no?

After all, in my opinion, grad school is useless unless you graduate from a good one. Just doing a cost benefits analysis, the cost of grad school is ginormous, and unless you're incredibly talented and did something absolutely amazing or are in Ph.D program, most schools don't cover full tuition. Sad to say, I wouldn't think grad. school is worth it if you come out of it with a lower salary-especially in terms of long term salary, than you paid for it. There are many debates over it, but I've done my cost-benefits analysis already.  I know grad school can be an option for most, but for me, I definitely need it to further my career. I've finally narrowed down my choices, I think I'm going to definitely get an MIR/A (Masters in International Relations/Affairs) and I may do a dual degree program and get a law degree as well. Though the law degree is contentious, and the only reason I'd probably want it, is to look into contractual trade agreements between multinational corporations. For the time being, my ultimate career goal is to work for the WTO (I'd live in Geneva!:D) , the World Bank, or the IMF. And of course, they all need masters degrees from prestigious universities. 

Given my penchant for international events/news (particularly in East Asia), policy and economic research, and development in general, I think this is  a good path to look forward to as I'm always contemplating what to do next. From here on out, this is my short-term future outlook:)

Anyways, what do you guys think? Is graduate school worth it for your career plans and what you want to do ? Or is it too costly and does not really further your career?