This year’s Graduate School Workshop will be held Saturday, Nov. 11 at 8 a.m. in Holland McCombs Center.

The workshop is sponsored by University Scholars Organization.

It was initiated by USO about five years ago as a way to prepare students for graduate school.

“That’s one best thing about it is that it is run by students,” said Daniel McDonough, History professor and a director for USO program.

USO is an upper division part of the Honors Program. USO encourages students to get involved with the Honors Program by providing a stimulating intellectual and cultural atmosphere.

Throughout the year students attend a number of academic speakers, cultural events, community service activities, and organizational meetings. The USO scholarship is the highest scholastic award of $5,000 per year.

The Graduate School Workshop is one of its major projects of the year, carrying with it great importance in a way of providing an extra hand on student’s preparation for graduate school. The committee is run by USO students and includes several speakers, which are typically professors or graduate school students.

Practice tests of different kinds, including GRE, MCAT, PCAT, OAT, LSAT, and GEMT, depending on students’ field of study, are given. Several members of USO administer tests and their time to organize them. The results are sent to the participants’ home address along with thorough explanations on the answers and students’ performance.

“It is wonderful for students to get first hand experience to deal with these tests and learn what grad school is,” says Caroline Tippens, USO president. “Also it really is an eye-opener to see what material will actually be on the tests.”

The premises vary slightly from workshop to workshop. The main difference this year is instead of one professor presenting the material to the whole group, there will be several professors of different disciplines working with their specific groups of students.

The workshop is open for everybody, not just seniors.

“It is even more valuable for juniors to take it, because it gives them an idea of what to expect and more time to prepare,” said McDonough.

The cost for the workshop is $5, which also covers a light breakfast at the beginning of the workshop.

The workshop will conclude by noon. Even though it is already past the deadline, students can still apply and are encouraged to sign up each time it is offered.