New Student Application Overview with Screenshots
New student applicants (i.e., applicants who are not current UW-Madison Graduate School students) will need to apply to the Graduate School using the Slate application which is available at https://gradapply.wisc.edu/apply/
The pages of the application are listed below, and screenshots of each of these sections are provided in the collapsible panels below:
- Home (application portal home)
- Welcome Page
- Application Type
- Personal Information
- Citizenship
- Program Selection
- Term Select
- Supplemental Application (if intended program has one)
- Educational Background
- Test Scores
- Statements & CV/Resume
- Test Score Registration Numbers (if student is reporting test scores)
- Recommendations
- Funding and Program Participation
- Academic or Behavioral Misconduct
- Signature
- Review
- Payment
Some of the screenshots below are small and you may need to zoom in with the browser.
Parts of the New Student Application
Home
When applicants log into the application portal, they will be met with the home page, which is the Application Management page shown in the screenshot below.
The Your Applications table shares the following information:
- Type column: contains the application link, entry term selected, and selected program.
- If the application is still in progress, the application link can be clicked to enter into the application to continue filling it out
- If the application has is in awaiting payment, the link can be clicked to enter the payment portal
- If the application is submitted, the application link can be clicked to enter the application status page
- Status: shows the status of this specific application
- In Progress: application has not been submitted
- Awaiting Payment: application has been submitted but not yet paid
- Submitted: application is completed and payment has been received
- Started: provides the date the application was started
- Submitted: provides the date the application was submitted
The applicant can select the Start New Application link to begin another application.
The footer contains various links to Graduate Resources as well as contact information for the Graduate School.
Welcome
A brief welcome to the application followed by some helpful information about the following topics:
- Graduate Guide
- Application Fee
- Applying to Multiple Programs
- Questions or Issues?
This is the page an applicant will land on whenever they open the application from their Home page.
Application Type
The questions on this page determine whether the application will be a reentry application or a regular, new student application. The screenshot above shows the answers necessary for a reentry application.
Personal Information
The information collected is:
- Name - Prefix, First Name, Middle Name, Last Name, Suffix, Name In Use (preferred name), Primary Name. There is an option to add additional names.
- Addresses - Permanent address information and mailing address information (can be copied from permanent)
- Personal Information - Email, Cell Phone Number, Home Phone Number, Birthdate, Sex, Gender Identity, Pronouns, Parent Education questions, and Documented Disability
Citizenship
The information collected is:
- Place of Birth - Country of Birth, City, State
- Citizenship - Country of Citizenship, Dual Citizenship (if applicable), US Social Security Number, Citizenship status, Question about if the applicant will request a visa
- Race and Ethnicity - Hispanic or Latino (plus additional questions if Yes), Race checklist (plus additional options if Asian and/or American Indian or Alaskan Native selected).
Supplemental Application
If your program has a supplemental application, it will be listed here. Use this KB to Check Your Program's Supplemental Application in Slate.
Educational Background
The information collected is:
- Institution - applicants can add an institution's information, degree expected/received, GPA, and other information
- Research Experience - Previous research experience (yes/no), total months of full-time experience, total months of part-time experience, and average hours per week
Test Scores
This section is where students can self-report test scores for TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo, and/or GRE tests.
Statements & CV/Resume
This section is where the applicant can upload their Statement and their Curriculum Vitae/Resume. They can upload PDF, Word Doc, and many other options.
Test Score Registration Numbers
This section allows the applicant to provide additional identifying information for self-reported test scores. While not required, it is useful for the applicant to fill this section out in cases where an official test score does not automatically match to an applicant's file.
Recommendations
The screenshot above shows the Recommendation page when one recommender has been added.
The screenshot above of the Recommendation Widget shows what information applicants need to provide in order to send a recommendation request to a reference.
Funding and Program Participation
The screenshots above show the Funding and Program Participation section of the application
The information collected is:
- Loans and Work Study - If the applicant plans to apply for work study or outside loans
- Program participation - If the applicant has participated in certain programs during their undergraduate careers. Specific answers to some of these questions will prompt a message that the applicant may be eligible for a Fee Grant to cover the cost of the application fee.
- Financial - Questions about Pell Grant, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, Gates Millenium Scholars, and receiving free or reduced school lunch. Specific answers to some of these questions will prompt a message that the applicant may be eligible for a Fee Grant to cover the cost of the application fee.
- Program Fee Grants - Answer if the student received a fee grant code from the program they applied to and a field to post the fee grant code. More information about fee grants can be found in the Fee Grant Application KB document
Academic or Behavioral Misconduct
The information collected is:
- If the student has ever been found responsible or disciplined for academic or behavioral misconduct by any post High School educational institution the applicant attended
- An open text field for applicants who select "yes" to the previous question.
Signature
There are additional statements the applicant must acknowledge by clicking the check mark and then placing their electronic signature in the signature box.
Review
The above screenshot is what a reentry application will see if they have yet received approval from the program to submit a reentry application. The applicant will be unable to submit their application until pre-approval is granted. See the section above which outlines how to pre-approve a reentry application.
The above screenshot shows what the Review page will look like once the application is ready to submit. A button will appear stating "Finalize Application and Pay."
Upon selecting the "Finalize Application and Pay" button, applicants are presented the following acknowledgment in a pop up: "I acknowledge I will be unable to make changes to my application after I submit it online. I have ensured that my application is accurate, complete, and ready for submission."
Payment
The above screenshot is what the application will show once the applicant is prompted to submit payment. The $81.00 payment above is representing the full payment for an international applicant ($75.00 application fee plus the $6.00 international processing fee).
The above screenshot shows the TransAct payment wizard that helps applicants complete payment step-by-step.