Grad school 101: To go or not to go?

What are you doing with your life after graduation?

It’s a daunting question that all undergraduates invariably hear countless times -- usually from well-meaning sources.

And it’s a difficult one to answer because there are so many options: To move back home or on your own? Time off or straight to work? Grad school or no grad school?

While there have been some problems recently with college admissions tests such as the SAT and ACT, graduate school admissions tests seem to be remaining problem-free.

And as the economy slowly recovers from the recession, graduate school is starting to look more appealing and financially feasible.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, graduate school can lead to a serious salary boost, as young adults with a master’s degree or higher earn on average 33% more than their counterparts with only a bachelor’s degree.

More education usually translates into more money, but this also depends on the field.

RELATED: Five questions to ask yourself before applying to grad school

Biology and life science majors are most likely to go on to receive a graduate degree at 54%, and the benefits for them are irrefutable: they receive an earnings boost of 101% from graduate school.

Graduate degrees in engineering and business also lead to significant increases in pay, while fields like journalism and the arts experience much smaller gains.

Of course, the amount of debt accrued in graduate school also varies by field and program, but the average debt for a master’s degree is about $25,000, according to FinAid.

But despite the dread associated with student debt, many recent college graduates are choosing the safety of grad school over the uncertainty of potential unemployment: The New York Times reported that a year after the economy collapsed, grad school applications increased by more than 8%.

So what to do if accumulating a few more student loans doesn’t dishearten you?

There are several different options for graduate study and, unfortunately, corresponding standardized testing:

• The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is offered many times throughout the year and is an extremely rigorous exam that tests possible future doctors on their writing, verbal skills and knowledge of biological and physical sciences.

• The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is administered only four times every year and evaluates students based on an essay and sections on reading comprehension, logical reasoning and analytical reasoning.

• The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is generally needed for business school admissions, is offered every weekday throughout the year and consists of qualitative, verbal and analytic writing sections.

• The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) was recently updated in August 2011 and is often used for general graduate school admissions. It is similar to the SAT in that it is comprised of verbal, math and essay sections, and it is offered most days throughout the year.

For those looking to become experts in their fields, a doctoral program is also an (often less expensive) option.

While master’s programs provide broad knowledge in a specific area and last two years on average, PhD programs are usually five to six years long and breed experts in specific fields. Many PhD programs offer stipends and scholarships, which make them slightly more affordable and provide a balance for the unnerving task of crafting a dissertation.

As your time at college winds down, graduate school remains a viable option after commencement, with both benefits and disadvantages, financial and intellectual to consider.

Haley Potter is a Spring 2012 USA TODAY Collegiate Correspondent. Learn more about her here.

This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.