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By the time we decide to apply to a graduate school, chances are that we already have had more than our fair share of undergraduate education under our belts. Making a decision to go to a graduate school often requires a time commitment and a level of dedication that may not have necessarily been there during our previous years of schooling. After all, when we are in college, most of our friends are in it with us. We may be separated by distance and different institutions, but we still feel a sense of kinship as we are all in the same place in our lives, sharing the same proverbial boat. Graduate school is different. It may mean that for the next few years as we are slaving away researching obscure topics way into the late hours of a Friday night, our friends are out on the town, sharing many laughs and drinks without us. It may also mean that while we are busy taking out student loans, our friends are earning yearly salaries, buying new cars and upgrading their furniture from Ikea to William & Sonoma. Our lifestyles and the lifestyles of our friends may begin to diverge. We may feel that while everyone is progressing in life, we are still stuck in the college-education mode that may, at times, feel endless.

Transition to a life as a graduate student is not easy. Those of us who are going straight from undergraduate to graduate education without taking a break, save for a short summer, often feel burned out from school. Those of us who took a few years off and worked, vacationed or volunteered, may feel overwhelmed to be back in school and have to make significant changes to our schedules. Those of are who now have started our own families have to balance school work with personal family responsibilities. In all of these situations, significant adjustments and sacrifices must be made in order to advance in our professional careers, because graduate school is, in many ways, just like a full time job.

Approaching school as a more or less full time commitment is essential at this level of education. Whereas in undergrad, we might have been able to get away with slacking off and, at times, "b.s.-ing" our way through a class, at a graduate level we are asked to take charge of our own learning styles. That means that if we decide to be lax about our education, we will end up hurting our own selves in the end. There will be no reading lists, no professors leading us by our hand toward a finish line - our graduate education becomes what we make of it.

Being your own guide

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