Real World Advice From Master's Recipients

By Francine Fluetsch on October 28, 2015

This article is brought to you by Kaplan, the leader in test prep for over 90 standardized tests, including the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, and MCAT.

Grad school seems like a while away for some of us, but in the reality of things, it will sneak up on you faster than you think. If you’re like me, you are still in the application process, not even thinking about all the work you will be doing should you get in, but rather concentrating on making your last four years look wonderful on paper so a grad school might consider you.

image via www.experience.com

The stress from applying lets us temporally forget the master’s thesis or dissertation that we will have to slave over. If you want to start planning ahead, it might be a good idea to get some advice from people who are already in the grad school position. So here is some advice from the good people on Quora on what to expect in grad school.

Your thesis:

The thesis might be the point that you are most stressing about, and for good reason. Joe Waldron, a psychologist, offers this advice.

“Place your thesis in perspective. It is a work product, that’s all. It is intended to demonstrate that you are a journeyman level scientist. That means, you can read the literature, form a hypothesis, and test the hypothesis. In a Master of Science you are not expected to find anything new.”

That makes it a little less scary, right? We have worked hard to get to this point in our lives, so use those skills and tackle the thesis like you have been trained to do. If you break it up into chunks, it will be less intimidating.

Grad school is your life:

Undergrad seems to be a good balance between work and fun. It’s definitely way harder than high school was, but there are still opportunities to go to the beach with your friends and other necessary adventures.

Sam Spaulding, a grad student from MIT, said the following about graduate school.

“First, you need to realize that Graduate School is your Life. You can think of that in two ways. First, there’s the terrible way, in which your work becomes everything you do, you have no hobbies, you’re constantly guilt-wracked over not making enough progress, and you slowly suffer a mental breakdown – this is, sadly, the default mentality for many. OR, you can choose to look at it in an empowering way: Graduate School is an investment in your Life!”

This is really important to keep in mind. Your work at your graduate school will consume your time, and it may seem very overwhelming and like it is eating up all your time to no end, but remember that it is only a temporary situation, and it is going to benefit you in the long run.

Let others help you:

Sometimes we are not open to receiving advice. We think we can get by on our own, but it is imperative to listen to those around you. Jay Wacker, a former professor, says “When someone gives you advice and is soft-spoken, non-aggressive, and with no conflicts of interest, particularly when it’s advice you don’t want to hear, listen very carefully — they’re probably telling you something valuable.”

The grad school world is one that not as many people enter into, so while you could rely on your family and friends to help you during your undergrad days, grad school is a whole different ball game. If someone that has already been in the grad school atmosphere is trying to give you advice, it will probably be beneficial to listen. Whether it’s about your research topic, ideas for your paper, ways to get funding, what have you, sometimes others have our best interests at heart, even if we can’t see it right away.

Learning on your own:

Graduate school is going to be fast paced, so you want to always be prepared for each lecture. In your undergrad days, you could skate by without doing the reading and still know what’s happening once the teacher goes into the lecture. Grad school is going to require you to learn on your own.

Shuba Swaminathan, an assembly language programmer, offered the following advice.

“The professor will typically not begin to explain a topic from the very basics like they tend to in undergraduate classes. You are expected to know or learn the basics by yourself before class. They will start with more advanced material and in engineering classes, it was pretty common for the Professor to leave what they consider simple proofs as exercises for the student. If you need help, you are expected to meet the Professor or the Teaching Assistant during office hours for help.”

Since your classes will also be substantially smaller, it will be very obvious if you show up unprepared, so don’t be that person!

Research:

A lot of your time is going to be spent doing research, which is not what most people prefer to do. This is a big difference from undergrad, as J. Lee Anthony, a former professor in computer science, said.

“Organizational differentiation is graduate school is all about research and undergraduate is learning the background material to do research,” Anthony said. “At the graduate level there is more specialization and direct interaction with a thesis advisor.”

You are going to have to get down and dirty with your topic, know it to the core, and then write your heart out about it. It is going to be a long process, probably a slightly painful one, but once you do it, you are going to feel so awesome!

These are just a few tips from people who have already gotten their Master’s. It’s scary, and exciting, and overwhelming all at the same time, but the more prepared you are, the better it will be.

Learn more about Kaplan’s test prep options and start building the confidence you need for Test Day.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format