This is it. You’re in your senior spring semester or perhaps a post-grad who was duking it out in the real world. You took the GREs, laid the groundwork with a potential advisor, visited a couple of schools, and spent the fall honing your personal statement to the point of perfection. You filled out every mundane question about personal information, sprinted to the registrar’s office to get your transcript requests forms in, and hounded your professor about whether or not they got their recommendations in on time. You’ve spent a fairly large chunk of money on application fees and sacrificed hours of sleep obsessing over things you may have forgotten to do. And at the end of it all, you’re rewarded with that beautiful email with the title “Admission Decision Rendered” and a body that congratulates and welcomes you to the Graduate School at whatever institution.
This. is. IT. You did all of the work and put it in all that effort, and now you’re in! But, having an admissions committee decide that you’re a qualified candidate for their program doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re fully prepared to take on grad school. It’s unfortunate that the effort required to apply and be admitted grad school doesn’t equate to success at grad school. But, there are a few surefire signs that will help you know if you’re ready for the challenge:
1. The Application Process Didn’t Wear You Out
If the application process was insanely stressful and you hated every moment of it, you better check yourself before you wreck yourself. Applying to programs represents only a small modicum of effort compared to the amount of work you have to do in grad school. While you’re probably not going to be taking as many classes as you did as an undergrad, you will be spending a lot of time doing independent research that will require a great deal of self-discipline on your part to get it done. If writing a proposal or personal statement as part of your application process was the bane of your existence, you may want to reconsider grad school right at this moment and ask for a deferral. Just because you got in does not mean you have to attend right away.
2. You’re Dork-Excited to Study More
If you’re having/had the time of your life writing your thesis and you wake up at 7 AM every morning energized because you’re about to spend most of your day dwelling in the library stacks, you are more than ready for grad school. If you still salivate over course catalogues and experience that eager anticipation that was a hallmark during summer vacation before school restarted, you are more than ready for grad school. If you’re still going strong your senior spring and haven’t even remotely suffered from senioritis, you are more than ready for grad school. Pack those bags, sir or madam.
3. You Have a Legitimate Reason for Pursuing a Particular Program
This is key. As tempting as it may be to dodge a shitty job market by going to grad school for a couple of years, your lack of focus and purpose is going to be the death of you. Seriously, you will be bored out of your mind if you go to grad school just to kill some time. Plus, you’re wasting time you could spend doing something more interesting or even productive.
Yes, it’s scary as hell not having a clear career trajectory or path after college. Believe me, I know. I’ve been there. But, don’t go to grad school just because you’re afraid to take risks out in the real world and hate the fact that everyone around you seems to know what they’re doing.
A “legitimate reason” for going to grad school: to get further specialization in a given field, significant salary bump that comes from an advanced degree, strong interest in entering academia, required for a particular profession (lawyer, doctor, dentist, etc.), genuine intellectual interest, etc.
4. You’ve Got Financial Backing
Is the program covering your tuition cost? Do you have financial aid? Can you get a grant to fund your research? Is your undergrad debt under control? How much are your parents willing to cover? Will you be able to make enough money to pay back your loans relatively quickly? Don’t neglect these questions.
5. You Understand that Grad School is Different from Undergrad and are Okay With It
This is something you might be able to understand as a concept, but fully embracing and accepting it is a completely different story. Let me paint you two pictures. The one is as an undergrad–it’s conceivable to go out 4 days a week, skip all of your classes, show up for the final, and still get an A. You can do the reading or not and be as disorganized as conceivably possible, and it won’t really drastically affect your academic career. The other is as a grad student–you treat your studies as a 9 to 5 job, spend the bulk of your time researching, have to stay organized otherwise your advisor and cohorts will berate you for it, and grades are either meaningless or non-existent. You can’t just show up at the end of the semester. You have to be chipping away at it for semesters at a time and ultimately, you are accountable for everything that does (or does not) happen. If you fully get the gravity of the difference, then step up, but don’t kid yourself if you’re not okay with grad school not being College Part II.
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