Starting Grad School? Do These Things First

A couple of recent articles have focused on the steps involved in 1) deciding to go to graduate school and 2) preparing for graduate school. 

These articles both contain useful information for those about to become students once again, although not every incoming student has the luxury to spend time traveling, for example, before school starts. In fact, many graduate students are working as long as they can in order to save up money prior to one-plus years of limited earnings! However, there are many ways to prepare for graduate studies that will make you feel that much more confident going into the academic year. Here are a few of my tips: 

Sign up for summer classes: Enrolling in summer classes here at GSE has helped me get ahead on coursework, which will allow me to have a more manageable schedule come fall. This option has also helped me get back “into the swing of things” in terms of being in school. While it hasn’t been too long since I was a college student, my summer courses have slowly reintroduced me to the world of paper-writing and researching. Despite all of the writing projects I completed in the professional world, academic writing is quite different, and it has been useful to tackle some assignments prior to the first “official” day of school. 

Embrace your new home: This past spring, before I started my classes at GSE, I pictured myself returning to New York City a handful of times over the summer. Now it’s nearly August and I haven’t been back once! Partly this is due to my preference to complete assignments over the weekends rather than having to cram a ton of work into the days leading up to a trip, but I’ve also been eager to 1) have friends visit me here and 2) spend time with people I’ve met in my new city. Though I’m planning to visit NYC for a few days after my classes end and know that the city is just a short train ride away, I’ve generally been caught up with life here—in a good way! Even if you won’t be moving to your new city until right before classes start, it doesn’t hurt to at least read about your new locale. Many people I’ve spoken with at Penn love the Uwishunu blog—check it out to see what’s been going on in Philly! 

Address health concerns: Being able to visit the student health center is definitely a perk, since it means you likely won’t need to track down doctors in your new city. However, the summer prior to starting classes is an ideal time to schedule any necessary appointments with specialists, who may not have openings for several weeks, or finally figure out why you can’t sleep at night. You’ll thank yourself for tackling these issues now before you’re overwhelmed with schoolwork! You’ll want to be in your best physical and mental shape as you juggle the demanding year ahead.