Today in casual conversation, a person asked me how have I been committed to my doctoral program for so long? It took me a while to give a response, considering that I didn’t want to go into Kanye mode and respond with, “it’s because I’m great…that’s HOW”. As I pondered for a moment and gave my humbled response of, “GOD, my parents, my older brother, Essie Mae, all my ancestors, and therapy”…it dawned on me.
It dawned on me that I have been enrolled in universities as a full-time student since 2005. In the 11-year time span, I completed my bachelor’s and master’s. And I am several months away from completing my doctoral program. From the many blog posts I have written about my education journey, being a graduate student is not easy.
For those of you on the higher education journey, I wanted to share some tips that have helped me make it this far…in hopes that it can help you to!
21 tips to survive graduate school:
- Be intentional– Know your degree program, and set your intentions on the bigger picture of degree completion.
- Stay organized– Keep a planner, and write memos in your phone.
- Have a support system– Family, friends, instructors, and cohorts can help you persevere when the struggle gets real.
- Understand you will lose people– When you embark on the graduate school journey, you will learn rather quickly who is worth your time.
- Schedule self-care– Schedule time to take care of yourself. If you fail to take care of yourself, you won’t have the stamina you need to take on the challenges of graduate school.
- Life Happens– Know that everything will go wrong at the wrong time, staying calm and centered will help you tremendously.
- Study often– Procrastination in graduate school is deadly. Make the most of your time and study. You can’t wing your way through graduate school.
- Make studying a priority– Schedule days and times for when you will study. Let no one interfere with your arranged study time.
- Network– Instructors and students can connect you with amazing resources.
- Ask for help– You don’t have all the answers. When you ask for help, be explicit with the questions you ask.
- Get into the habit of collecting references– Collecting references will come in handy for future courses and dissertation research.
- Start thinking about your dissertation topic in advance– The more you ponder your topic, the less stress you will have about selecting a dissertation topic.
- Read and read some more– Reading should be your favorite hobby as a graduate student.
- Write for your life– Enough SAID!!!
- Get rest– You can’t operate effectively when you’re tired.
- Say no– Don’t feel obligated to do everything.
- GPA’s– GPA’s don’t carry much weight once you graduate. Focus on the learning process, instead of a grade.
- Make a commitment– Commit to yourself that you will graduate no matter the circumstance.
- Don’t take a break– Avoid breaks at all costs! The chances of students actually returning to school after a break is very slim.
- It’s not easy-Know that graduate school is not intended to be easy for a reason.
- Get in-Work Hard-Get Out…Then save the world! – Words advised by a phenomenal professor.
Hope this list helps #happystudying.
Until next time…
-Peach
