this thread is for people who are in, are starting, are finishing, are planning to apply to, have fond memories or persisting nightmares about, comments, questions, or concerns on...Graduate School!


so, speaking of Grad School, i happen to be starting in the fall! i am making my first term schedule and have come upon a conundrum: should i take 2 days of class a week, but have 6 straight hours of class on one of those days (with probably a 15-minute coffee break or two), OR should i take 3 days of class a week, with 3 hours of class each day?

opinions? advice?

Oh, God. I was just IMing with Joccy that I have to do a student loan, something I've been avoiding for *years.*

I'm so depressed. I have no advice. Give up now. And learn to love the peanut butter and jelly sammich.

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Give up now. And learn to love the peanut butter and jelly sammich.

Its ok to love your PB&J, its just not ok to LOVE your PB&J.

Go for the three hours of class over three days - if you pack too much into one day and you're too open on others, you won't be able to work on ideas while they're still fresh.

3 hours of classes is kind of ideal - you're not mentaly exhausted at the end of the last class, if you take a break and get lunch after the last one you'll still have energy left to go to the library and get some research or paper-writing done.

If you're schooling full time and not working, make sure you set yourself a schedule for what you ought to be doing on your days without classes - it's easy to think you can cram everything into the end if you don't have other obligations... and you can, but you shouldn't. If you're working part time, you might be less inclined to procrastinate (that's how it worked for me). Even so, make sure you schedule one full day off of both classes and work - you'll need it for your sanity most of the semester, and for extra cram time around finals and midterms.

My best advice about grad school: like with a job, your work is your own responsibility here. Your teachers can guide you, and they will smack you down if you turn in shoddy stuff, but you're in charge of your education at this point. There's a major shift of responsibility from the teacher being obligated to teach you stuff, to you being obligated to learn stuff, and process it, and demonstrate that you've learned and have something to add to the sum of human knowledge in your discipline. It's pretty awesome, but very disconcerting. The fact that you've worked for some time and you're used to taking reponsibility for your work quality will be a major advantage for you, Cobalt.

Welcome to Zombiedom!

I'm now in this camp too.

Cobalt, thanks for posting this thread.

And Jocelyn, thank you for your advice. I am just going to have to figure out how to do this ... Hmm ...

Any time!

And Mythos, on the scheduling thing, I do think that three hours of classes in one day is pretty much ideal, but it's not always possible. Just do your best not to take more than four hours without a 1 hour break between classes. I know my brain stops absorbing and turns to mush at hour 3.5, but your mileage (and brainpower) may vary.

[Totally Random] I read somewhere that thinking uses up electrolytes and some of the same minerals and stuff that excersising does, but we never eat or drink anything to recharge from thinking too hard. So if you're feeling like your brain is melting, try drinking some Gatoraide, or Smart Water, or maybe Vitamin Water and see if it helps. This might be total pseudo-science, but I convinced myself it's useful. [/Totally Random]

thank you, Joccy! good advice.

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Originally posted by Jocelyn:
Go for the three hours of class over three days - if you pack too much into one day and you're too open on others, you won't be able to work on ideas while they're still fresh.

3 hours of classes is kind of ideal - you're not mentaly exhausted at the end of the last class, if you take a break and get lunch after the last one you'll still have energy left to go to the library and get some research or paper-writing done.

yeah, i think you're right. all my classes are going to be afternoon-evening classes, though, so probably what's going to happen is i'll try to get out of the house a few hours BEFORE class, get some work done down there, and then relax with a nice leisurely class, then head home.

so i'll be in there Mon 3-6, Tues 6-9, and Wed 6-9.

quote:

If you're schooling full time and not working, make sure you set yourself a schedule for what you ought to be doing on your days without classes - it's easy to think you can cram everything into the end if you don't have other obligations... and you can, but you shouldn't. If you're working part time, you might be less inclined to procrastinate (that's how it worked for me). Even so, make sure you schedule one full day off of both classes and work - you'll need it for your sanity most of the semester, and for extra cram time around finals and midterms.

there are no exams in this program! huzzah! just papers.

but yeah...i'll still be freelancing for the magazine, but i also hope to get a job with the department, possibly research assistant. part of the terms of being in the full-time program is actually that i can't be employed more than 10 hours a week, so i won't have to worry about that too much. also hopefully i'll be able to get grants or scholarships for next year or maybe even second term -- i wasn't eligible for any of the internal scholarships this year, and didn't apply early enough for the external scholarships, so...i will need some sort of income. anyone have some spare money?

Ah! Good luck with that. My law school had a similar "thou shalt not work" provision and it made life complicated. What are you majoring in? I seem to remember that Mythos is doing archives, is that right?

(I have to say, Cobalt, that with that schedule I'd never wake up before noon, and I'd almost always be in the library until midnight. I miss being a night owl.)

3 days of class a week sounds better, but it depends on the days. If its MWF vs TTh, then I'd go with 2 days to maximize weekend. But that's just me.

Are you a graduate assistant? If you are, it's ace, because nobody really expects much from graduate assistants, who usually meet expectations by doing as little as possible.

The more pressing question....which kind of bag will you use:


Backpack: To try to fit in with undergrads (also use words like groovy, fly, dope, shizzle.)


Shoulder strap: Earthy, might score you some Phish tickets.


Leather should strap: Good for laptops, shows that you've embraced your inner capitalist.


Old school: best accessorized with a pipe and elbow patches.

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Originally posted by Jocelyn:
Ah! Good luck with that.

thanks!

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What are you majoring in?

this!

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(I have to say, Cobalt, that with that schedule I'd never wake up before noon, and I'd almost always be in the library until midnight. I miss being a night owl.)

no kidding. i'm almost certain to sleep past noon every single day with this schedule...so i won't have to alter my current lifestyle at all, really!

Royko: i've got a crappy old-school backpack right now, but i'll probably want to pick up one of those trendy-ass messenger bags to fit in with all the latte-drinkers i'll be around during the year!

Cobalt: We almost got into a discussion about communications technology while I was up in Toronto. Its interesting that what you are studying is the Lib Arts side of the coin. I want to go back for International Studies: Communications Technology and Law.

Jocelyn: I'm in Humanities and I'm looking at Mythology. In a week or so I will be meeting with them to discuss exactly how this will all be done.

Royko: Yeah. I'm a Graduate Assistant any wsy. Unless they lied to me. ;p

The bag problem will solve itself once you start going to academic conferences. You'll get more free vendor-swag than you'll know how to get rid of.

I was lucky in that I only had two days a week of class (2 hrs and 1 hr respectively) and it was right in the middle of the afternoon. Perfect for sleeping in and didn't run into the evening.

But given your situation the 3 hrs x 3 days does seem to be the best option.

Ryerson's cool. I applied to teach a course there a while back. Didn't get it, but...

You'll have to let us know if you get any class in the new AMC theatre (but given your times this is highly unlikely - it just seems like a cool idea though.)

I just finished.

Unfortunatly, now I cant sleep. I used to start studying at night around 8 or 9 (work and family time came first). That meant I would finish studying around 1 am (up for work at 6:30am).

And now, with nothing to study, I'm still in the habit of being up till 1 or 1:30. And still up for work at 6:30.

On the other hand, my Tribal Wars villiages are doing good.

I am applying to grad school in January. York actually - yes - in Toronto. I am hoping to enter their Art History with a certificate in Museum curation program. Toward this goal I am taking a couple of classes at the Community college on top of my BA. French is one of them - I have never had it and testing out of it is required in the program. So - I am attempting toward Canadian Grad Schooldom.

I'm 60% done. My company just cut tuition reimbursement. I got hosed, Tommy. I got hosed.

Jocy is right about the shift of responsibility. It's all on you now. Just be disciplined with your work ethic and you'll do fine. I was working on a Material Science Engineering masters so I can't help you with the liberal arts stuff. I hated group projects since I was working 40+ hours and none of my group members were in the real world yet.

Finishing thesis.

Kill me now please.

Are all these masters or doctorates? And if masters, taught or research?

(I don't really know how it works elsewhere other than the UK, although I've just had a quick google.)