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.
I’m currently at IUPUI (Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis).
**- What are your impressions of it, after/during the fact? **
I like it. My first semester was terrible - I had a bad batch of teachers, and my advisor wasn’t worth shit. But I gave it another semester (in-state tuition made this very possible, and I now love it. Classes and professors are great.
**- 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? **
I’m spending about $430 a month on rent. If I wanted something a little closer to downtown I could have gotten down to about $350. That’s something I wish I would have done. Indianapolis is fairly below average on cost of living, but so is the average wage. My utilities are usually around $150 a month.
**- What did you study? **
I’m getting a Master’s in Public Affairs (Non-Profit Management) and a Master’s in Philanthropy.
**- What’s one thing you wish you had known, or one bit of advice you’d give to incoming students? **
You can live with much less space than you think. Immediately sign up with your program’s student society. I came into a brand new environment and knew no one. I very quickly developed a large group of good friends.
**- What have you done (or plan to do) with your graduate degree? **
Munch: Wow, I was (however briefly) thinking of taking that program! Glad to hear you like it.
Where did you go?
University of Toronto (MA); Jesus College, Oxford University (D.Phil) British History (English Reformation) both places
What are your impressions of it, after/during the fact?
U of T is a great place to live and study, in (IMHO) the best city to live in the world. Oxford is, well, Oxford. I wanted to go there since I was 7 and now I have no higher mountains to climb.
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?
U of T I just can’t remember, sorry. Oxford was not as bad as you’d think. My ex-wife and I were living in a decent place for 375 pounds (~$550) a month, but some of the other expenses were quite high, especially food. Oxford was more expensive than when I lived in the North (Leeds to be precise).
What’s one thing you wish you had known, or one bit of advice you’d give to incoming students?
Toronto is a great city–I should have started exploring it from day 1. The campus is spread out quite wide, so be prepared for a lot of walking. Oxford: Stay away from Chelsea Clinton :p, but you’re better off not being sucked into the social whirl at all. I had more and better friends outside of the university than within it. If you go into Oxford society, do not, under any circumstances, discuss your work at a party or other get-together. Everyone is studying 12-14 hours a day, so why should you talk about work during your meagre time off?
What have you done (or plan to do) with your graduate degree?
It’s a great conversation piece on my business card. No, I think I will teach one day, really, honestly. It’ll cut my pay in half, but, gah, who wants to work in fundraising all their life? (Just kidding, Munch!)
Huh. Whaddya know. One of my friends here in town did her undergrad at MSU and came to U-M to get a master’s in…microbiology. So, if you’re thinking about U-M, maybe I can put you in touch with her to get the real low-down about the scoop here and the comparisons between life in East Lansing and life here.
What are your impressions of it, after/during the fact?
If it was within my power I’d have joined a more prestigious program.
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?
Rented a 2BR apartment in the far suburbs for $550 a month (this was in late 90s), and probably spent about the same amount on other expenses. It was cheaper to live there than the national average.
What did you study?
Mechanical Engineering
What’s one thing you wish you had known, or one bit of advice you’d give to incoming students?
Publish as many papers as you can, even if they’re short or sucky ones.
What have you done (or plan to do) with your graduate degree?
Went into industry, because I couldn’t find an appealing faculty job.
I have no input, seeing as how I’m waiting to hear from my grad school application (only did one, as I waited late…If I don’t get in, I’ve got applications in process for spring 2003). But thanks, tsarina for starting this - I hadn’t even thought about it.
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. I just finished my PhD in physics.
**
I really liked grad school. I made a lot of good friends and had a lot of fun. I got a slow start academically (meaning I did the work but it didn’t really click with me) but the last few years were really exciting.
UIUC is one of the top schools for engineering and physics, especially in my sub-field (condensed matter theory). I believe their microbiology program is also strong. (I have a few friends still in the microbiology program.) There are a lot of women in the department (I think more than 50%). They have a lot of good facilities and get a lot of funding.
It is sort of in the middle of nowhere, so if you need a lot of urban action, you’ll probably get bored. (Chicago is only two hours away, at least.)
**
My rent varied between $220/month for a room in a house to $425/month for my own two bedroom apartment. The cost of living is definitely below average.
**
See above.
**
Ask lots of questions. No one expects undergrads (or, by extension, first-year grad students) to know anything, so never be embarrassed to say you don’t know something or don’t understand something. You’ll get up to speed a lot faster.
Also, don’t worry about grades. No one cares about your grades once you graduate, just that you got the degree and know stuff. Focus on learning the material when you take classes, and understanding the science when you do research.
**
Physics. That’s what I should be doing right now instead of typing this message.