Being a junior in college now and planning on getting at least a Master’s degree, I’m starting to look at grad schools now. I’d like some input from current grad student, or those who were in grad school a few years ago:
Where did you go?
What are your impressions of it, after/during the fact?
How much did you spend, roughly, on housing and related expenses? Is this area of the country more or less expensive than average to live in?
What did you study?
What’s one thing you wish you had known, or one bit of advice you’d give to incoming students?
What have you done (or plan to do) with your graduate degree?
For the record, I’m going to be studying either microbiology or epidemiology. I’d particularly like to hear from women who are in science fields.
Thanks, and I’ll post more questions as I think of them.
What are your impressions of it, after/during the fact?
For the first year, I was wildly intimidated. Then I got a little award and sort of felt like a bad-ass. Now I realize that we were all pretentious dorks (even me, though I prided myself on NOT being pretentious at the time).
How much did you spend, roughly, on housing and related expenses? Is this area of the country more or less expensive than average to live in?
Dude. San Francisco??? Need you ask??? Actually, though, I lived in Oakland and commuted. Still, I made do with $1500-$2000 per month…
What did you study?
Literature
What’s one thing you wish you had known, or one bit of advice you’d give to incoming students?
I had a professor my second year who made it one of his goals to demystify the whole “grad school” experience. I loved him for that. You may not have as much of an issue with pretense going into a Biology degree, but you’ll still have to deal with freakishly competitive people (one of which I am not). So my advice (as Kum Ba Ya as it might sound) is to relax, do your best, and enjoy it–try not to get all caught up in outdoing everyone else (and who knows, you might win that way)!
What have you done (or plan to do) with your graduate degree?
With my literature degree? Got a job in Finance. :rolleyes:
For the record, I’m going to be studying either microbiology or epidemiology. I’d particularly like to hear from women who are in science fields.
What are your impressions of it, after/during the fact?
It was much more fun and much more challenging than being an undergrad. My professors respected me more, and my opinion mattered more. I actually got to HAVE an opinion.
How much did you spend, roughly, on housing and related expenses? Is this area of the country more or less expensive than average to live in?
Average apartments are anywhere from $400 - $800, depending on your standards. I’d say cost of living is great. Average meal at a restaurant: $10.00 - 15.00
What did you study?
English Education
What’s one thing you wish you had known, or one bit of advice you’d give to incoming students?
Be as organized as possible. Be as open-minded as possible.
What have you done (or plan to do) with your graduate degree?
I was already teaching, but it certainly increased my salary.
For the record, my brother was a graduate student at UGA in the Physics department for a year, but he decided halfway through the program that he was tired of Physics and wanted to study engineering, so I can’t share much about his experience. Sorry.
I’m a guy with an M.A. in literature, but here’s my two cents. Actually, since I have a Master’s in lit, here’s my one cent; I have to eat tomorrow.
Where did you go?
University of Memphis
What are your impressions of it, after/during the fact?
I worked a hell of a lot more than I did in undergrad, but I also liked it more; you don’t have to take joke classes like economics or P.E. (No offense to Econ majors; I took an intro-level Econ course, studied from the WRONG TEXTBOOK the entire semester, and made a B. I am certain it gets a lot harder at higher levels.)
How much did you spend, roughly, on housing and related expenses? Is this area of the country more or less expensive than average to live in?
Memphis is extremely cheap; I lived on about $4,000 a semester (in loans), though I did have assistantships the whole time that paid my tuition and such.
What did you study?
See above.
What’s one thing you wish you had known, or one bit of advice you’d give to incoming students?
To be honest, I wish I’d had the sense to major in something practical and get a MINOR in English. So my advice is some that you’ve already taken: Major in something that has at least an outside chance of getting you a job.
What have you done (or plan to do) with your graduate degree?
I’ve been a statistician, a copy editor, briefly a college English instructor, and now I work on a newspaper’s Web site. Yes, those years of delving into the mysteries of Samuel Beckett are really paying off.
For the record, I’m going to be studying either microbiology or epidemiology. I’d particularly like to hear from women who are in science fields.
Hey, so would I!
Joking aside, good luck to you; I’m sure your experience will be totally different from mine, and I hope you end up where you want to be.
What are your impressions of it, after/during the fact?
I’m really enjoying the experience. Most of the people are on my level and think more like me than most undergrads were/did.
How much did you spend, roughly, on housing and related expenses? Is this area of the country more or less expensive than average to live in?
DC area is pretty expensive. I share a 2BR/2BA condo and pay $600 and thats about an hour outside of DC and is still considered cheap. Living in DC itself is very expensive, renting a room in a 5br house usually costs around $1000-$1800 a month. Studios are often around $1000 a month.
What did you study?
International Security
What’s one thing you wish you had known, or one bit of advice you’d give to incoming students?
As was said before, relax and have fun. There is little to no competition in my program so most people get together for dinner, drinks, tours of each others workplaces, etc. Be prepared to study and learn to skim instead of reading. It wears one down to read between 1000 and 2000 pages a week.
What have you done (or plan to do) with your graduate degree?
Well, I plan to work in the development or security sector. Private or public I’m not sure about. Comes down to who offers me a better deal I guess.
Weird, I thought I applied to this already. Anyway, in that reply I mentioned that I had a friend who did her undergrad at MSU and then came to U-M for a biology masters. So if you’re thinking of coming here and want to hear about it from someone who has been in the same departments you’ve been/will be, maybe I can put you two in touch.
As for the Q’s:
Where did you go?
University of Michigan
What are your impressions of it, after/during the fact?
Wonderful place in terms of its resources and reputation. It’s a great place to be a grad student (I am not sure I’d say the same for being an undergrad–it’s not for everyone… but then I’m speculating) Grad students are pretty well-supported and this place tends to attract really interesting people, so I am constantly inspired.
How much did you spend, roughly, on housing and related expenses? Is this area of the country more or less expensive than average to live in?
It’s expensive for Michigan and for the Midwest. My first year (and this was ten years ago) I spent over $600 a month for a two-bedroom apt. Later, with roommates, I was able to split houses and apartments and spend about $300-400 a month. Related expenses, hard to recall.
What did you study?
Higher & Postseconday Ed
What’s one thing you wish you had known, or one bit of advice you’d give to incoming students?
There is no one “right” way to do grad school. Everyone’s journey is going to be a little different. And if I can expand this to two things: Enjoy your fellow students, try to make good social connections and you will be so much more happy.
What have you done (or plan to do) with your graduate degree?
I started working in institutional research for a research assistantship. It morphed into a full-time job here at the U.
My friend who got the biology degree went to work for Pfizer here in town. She eventually quit because she didn’t want to work full-time after her son was born, but hers wasn’t the kind of job that worked as a PT job. Now she does some editing but is mostly a Stay-at-home mom.
What are your impressions of it, after/during the fact?
Well, I like the atmosphere among the students here; it’s a nice, supportive group. Coming to a large university from a much smaller college was a bit of a shock – much more bureaucracy than I was used to. Unlike some of the other posters in this thread, I’ve found the faculty here to be LESS open to ideas from students than most of my undergrad professors were; there’s considerably more emphasis on making your interpretations fit into a particular scholarly mold.
How much did you spend, roughly, on housing and related expenses? Is this area of the country more or less expensive than average to live in?
$310 a month on rent for a shared apartment, another $200 on groceries (I like to eat well); $100 or so on miscellaneous bills. I’d say it’s more expensive than average, but not outrageously so.
What did you study?
English.
What’s one thing you wish you had known, or one bit of advice you’d give to incoming students?
“Put money in thy purse.” Find out in advance what kind of financial support your department offers, how competitive it is, and how much of your income will be eaten up by tuition and fees. This shouldn’t be the ONLY factor in your decision, but it is a major one, and I didn’t have a clue about it when I started filling out applications. As it turned out, I got a first-year fellowship offer from Carolina, which also happens to have low tuition and more TA-ships than it can fill, but that was sheer blind luck. I would have been quite prepared to accept an offer from a private university without any clear idea how I would finance my degree, which I realize now would have been an insane thing to do.
What have you done (or plan to do) with your graduate degree?
Where did you go (or in my case, are currently going)?
University of Saskatchewan.
What are your impressions of it, after/during the fact?
I’m currently enjoying it much more than undergraduate life. Two major reasons: 1) professors regard me now as an individual with rights, opinions, and beliefs, and 2) being a tutorial leader for a first-year English class is one of the most challenging, invigorating jobs I’ve ever had. The workload, surprisingly, is not that much more than in previous years.
How much did you spend, roughly, on housing and related expenses? Is this area of the country more or less expensive than average to live in?
Compared to other Canadian provinces, Saskatchewan is relatively cheap; the only downside is that describing it as a “backwater” (but I love it!) holds true to a certain degree. Living expenses are about $400 per month for a decent apartment.
What are you studying?
English.
What’s one thing you wish you had known, or one bit of advice you’d give to incoming students?
Talk to your professors. The dynamic is, for the most part, completely different than as an undergrad, and it turns out most of them are much more interesting in a one-on-one environment than they are in a lecture hall.
**What have you done (or plan to do) with your graduate degree? **
Where did you go?
I’m currently at North Carolina State University and getting ready to finish up in May.
What are your impressions?
It’s intense. While I find it much more intellectually stimulating than my undergrad work, I really miss the social aspect of undergrad life. I see very little of my fellow grad students. Most of the students in my program have families and part-time or full-time jobs in addition to school. I work 32 hours a week, in addition to being a full-time student, so I have very little free time. I’m getting increasingly disgusted with academic bs. Right now, I’m ready to get the hell out and resume my normal life.
How much on housing, etc?
$400 a month for a house I share with 2 other women, $150 on food, not sure about the rest. I believe that North Carolina is cheaper than the national average, but Raleigh is one of the more expensive cities in North Carolina.
What are you studying?
Public History, with a concentration in museum studies. A minor in American History
Advice?
Do not let professors or advisors intimidate you. They can be terrific allies or they can be pompous jerks with their heads completely up their butts. Stand your ground.
Make sure you maintain your friendships outside of academia. They really are a lifeline.
What do I plan to do with my degree?
I hope to work as an education coordinator at a small to mid-size museum.
What are your impressions of it, after/during the fact?
A fine school, lots of top-notch faculty. Looking back, it was definitely one of the most enjoyable periods of my life, though I was terrribly stressed much of the time. Part of the stress came from dealing with the grad school administration who continually found ways of fouling up my meager stipend checks.
How much did you spend, roughly, on housing and related expenses? Is this area of the country more or less expensive than average to live in? \
LA near UCLA can be expensive. When I graduated in 1996, my wife and I were paying $1000/mo for a 2BR/2BA condo…defintely more than average.
What did you study?
I earned my Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry, so I have a good feeling for what lies ahead for you should you go into a biology-related field.
What’s one thing you wish you had known, or one bit of advice you’d give to incoming students?
Think long and hard about what you want to do with your degree and be sure that it’s something that you truly believe you want to do. Five-plus years spent in grad school is a good chunk of your life gone if you later discover that you really don’t like spending all day pipetting tiny amounts of liquid from one test-tube to another. Asking questions from those who have been there before, as you are doing here, is an essential part this discovery process…and it is something I wished I had done more of. (see below)
What have you done (or plan to do) with your graduate degree?
I spent 3 miserable years as an underappreciated, underpaid, and unhappy post-doctoral researcher. I have now spent the last two years as a highly appreciated, happy, but still underpaid high school science teacher. I never thought I’d be teaching high school when I entered grad school, but I found that I enjoyed talking about and thinking about science more than doing science. By all accounts, I am way overqualified to be teaching high school science. But, I enjoy working with kids and there is a huge need for science teachers, so now it seems like I’ve found my niche in life.
-For the record, I’m going to be studying either microbiology or epidemiology. I’d particularly like to hear from women who are in science fields.
My graduate advisor was a woman, and she is THE ideal model for a successful woman in science. She runs a widely respected lab, is head of the department, and is a wonderful, caring mentor. All the while, she finds time to be a mother of two. She is also a big advocate for women in science, and therefore her lab attracted many female lab members…I was one of the few guys that worked there…so I have some exposure to the issues facing women in science. It does seem, unfairly so, that women have to work harder than men do to make it big in science. However, the biological fields do appear a bit more “friendly” to the inclusion of women than other sceintific disciplines.
Do not assume that they probably like your way of thinking and your ideas for a project / dissertation / etc unless someone specifically says so. If someone specifically says so, ask them then and there if they are available to be on your committee or if they are booked for years to come (otherwise it doesn’t matter what they like).
Be extremely upfront about what you want to do, if it matters to you. (If you are flexible, be upfront about your interests but express interest in possibly pursuing other research / project initiatives tha might come your way. If you really don’t give a shit what you focus on in grad school, god bless you and ignore this in its entirety).
If you select a faculty person as your primary advisor because your own notions are very very similar but at some point depart in your own direction DO NOT!!! may I repeat this? DO NOT!!! assume that this faculty person will be intrigued or delighted to experience your departure from the path that they have trodden.
There are NO grads with science backgrounds here? I have a couple of years to go before graduating, but I’m still thinking of grad school - McGill in particular. I guess I’m in the same boat as you are, tsarina. Although I’m going into Organic Chem, instead of a life science. I really like the profs and TAs at my current university (Guelph), and am tempted to do my Master’s here, too, but it’s just too far from home, and I’m anxious to move back to Quebec full-time. I should start attending Grad info nights next year, and start thinking a bit more seriously about how to get there. Can you believe I’m already stressing out about reference letters, and I have 2 years before I go to grad school!!! Although this coming yuear I’m doing the 4th year research project (yeah, yeah, I’m in 3rd yaer, but transfer credits got me ahead), and so I’ll be working about 15hrs a week in a lab, doing mostly cycloaddition chemistry. It should be fun, and that takes care of one reference…
Anyways, good luck in choosing what you want to do!
What’s one thing you wish you had known, or one bit of advice you’d give to incoming students?
I’ve a Ph.D. in Forest Policy, 1999. Here’s my $.02
Figure out exactly what you want to study. Exactly.
Find the recognized specialists in that field/specialty. Look for peer reviewed articles in that area or ask a professor in that field at the school you’re currently attending.
Get in touch with the professors that meet those criteria and discuss the possibility of your working with her/him/it.
If there appears to be a match, and if you can afford it, visit the school to meet with the prof and some of the graduate students who are there. They’ll tell you more about a program than the prof will.
Talk to the graduate administrator of that program about stipends, teaching assisstantships, fellowships, or other methods through which the school will pay you to go there. Some places are more generous than others.
