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 is the key in graduate school. That means taking initiative and asking for help when it is needed, thinking outside of the box, acquiring research materials needed to conduct a successful thesis. It is also important to know that in graduate school no one will pester us about missed deadlines. The deadlines are either met or not and time goes on and, thus, keeping up with schedules and important dates is a must.
Time becomes a valuable commodity and time management is an important skill to have, not only in graduate school but in everyday life. As mentioned before, as graduate students we are no longer under our parents' wings, so most of us have to deal with real-life issues, financial and personal, in addition to our education. Balancing work and play time is essential, as too much work can lead to a burn out and everyone deserves a break, even in the most demanding of masters' programs.
To successfully manage time, it is important to get organized before the start of the school year. While organization never hurts, no matter what level of education we are trying to achieve, it becomes crucial at the level of graduate school. Having a calendar is helpful, when trying to keep up with all the meetings, deadlines and appointments. A to-do list can also lead us towards a set goal. Setting smaller deadlines on a path towards a larger goal can keep us on track and can decrease our chances of slacking off, as we are constantly reminded on an impending deadline in the future.
There are resources to help us out as we make our transition into graduate school. After all, there were people decades before us who went through the very same process we might be going through right now, adjusting and acclimating to a new life as graduate students. Social support is an important resource with dealing with stress that may hit us during this time of change. Graduate students in their second or third years of school are often willing to take newcomers under their wings and show them around the campus, advise on classes and address various concerns. Some schools may also sponsor opportunities for graduate students from different disciplines to meet each other, share their experiences and develop new friendships outside of their departments.
The help and resources are out there, but in graduate school it is up to us to take the initiative and find and utilize those resources. Whether we enter a one year or a four year graduate program, we need to acclimate quickly and single out the tools that will work specifically for us. After we are all settled in, the ride becomes much smoother and it is, then, when we can finally appreciate graduate school not only for its necessary, grueling work but also for all the fun times that will be sure to come and all the new friendships we will acquire in the process.