The Graduate School Success Blog Archive
Graduate school can feel like a lonely, isolating, and overwhelming place. Did you know that over half of all graduate students report feeling depressed and anxious? It’s pretty common to lose motivation, feel like you aren’t good enough, and worry about succeeding in graduate school. It doesn’t have to stay that way, though! While graduate school is never going to be easy, there are many things you can do to get through graduate school with less stress. If you are ready to learn tips and tricks to help you succeed in graduate school, then grab a beverage, settle in, and decompress with these time management, productivity, and motivational strategies and pieces of wisdom to help you succeed.
Getting into Grad School with a Low GPA
Get Into Graduate School with a Low GPA You did it! You’ve reached the end of your undergraduate program and, despite the unintended struggles and unpredictability of life, you’re walking away with a bachelor’s degree that took time, grit, and energy, likely from years of your life. For many of us, the benefits of continuing our education in a graduate program are clear, but nothing can be more deflating than learning that our undergraduate GPA doesn’t meet the expectations of our intended graduate program. Fret not, though, weary studier. There are several components that contribute to the overall consideration of…
Letters of Recommendation for Grad School | An Overview
Letters of Recommendation for Grad School and More: An Overview Learn about the purpose and process of getting good letters of recommendation for grad school, medical school, law school, fellowships, scholarships, undergraduate college, job applications, and more! Getting Excellent Letters of Recommendation for Grad School, Medical School, Etc. Takes Strategy Many students would rather get a root canal than ask for letters of recommendation. They aren’t sure how many letters they need, who they should ask, when they should ask, or how to ask for them. If you’re wondering how to get excellent letters of recommendation, whether it’s for an…
How to Study
How to Study Effectively in Grad School (and elsewhere) Bright students everywhere struggle to study effectively. They spend too much time reading and re-reading textbooks and journal articles, fixating on unimportant details, or feeling so overwhelmed that they avoid studying altogether. This is especially true for students in Master’s programs and course-based doctoral programs, where systems that worked before fail due to the sheer volume of material. Learning how to study using effective study techniques is vital to a lower-stress graduate school experience. As an aside, we at Grad Student Success work primarily with current and aspiring graduate students. However,…
Communicate With Your Research Advisor
How to Communicate With Your Research Advisor:5 Essential Phrases Building a Healthy Graduate Student – Research Advisor Relationship Graduate students often stress about working with their research advisors. After all, a research advisor can make or break the graduate school experience. With the student-advisor relationship being one of the strongest predictors of graduate student success, it’s no wonder students are sometimes anxious about interacting with their advisor, nervous about being perfect, and worried about being seen as incompetent. However, it does not have to be that way. If you’re a graduate student stressing over how to work with your advisor,…
Three Quick Habits to Improve Your Organization in Graduate School
3 Quick Habits to Improve Your Organization Developing organizational habits is vital to being more productive and efficient in graduate school. Every minute spent trying to locate something is a minute lost from getting things done. Plus, disorganization can lead you to feel confused, overwhelmed, and not sure where to start.1 So, here are three quick habits that will instantly improve your organization in graduate school! Habit 1. Set your meeting notifications for 5 to 10 minutes more than the time you need to prepare for the meeting. When the notification goes off, wrap up what you’re doing, get ready…
All About PHD Advisors |Part 3 | How to Choose a Ph.D. advisor
How to Choose a Ph.D. Advisor Today, we are going to focus on how to go about evaluating and choosing a thesis/research/Ph.D. advisor (we’re just going to say Ph.D. advisor from here on out, see also Part 1). The student-advisor relationship is the strongest predictor of grad. student success, so it’s vital to learn how to choose a Ph.D. advisor and the factors to consider when evaluating your possibilities. Part 3 of the All About PH.D. Advisors Series Part 1: Advisor Overview | Part 2: Reaching Out to Advisors If you’re following this series, you know about the process of…
Wishing You the Best in Your Academic Success,
Dr. Cristie Glasheen, Your Graduate Student Success Coach.
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Want Even More?
Have you read through all of the graduate school success tips here, but are still struggling to implement them in your day-to-day life? We offer one-on-one coaching for a limited number of graduate students. So if you are an aspiring graduate student in need of admissions advisement or a current Master’s or Doctoral student, schedule a free consultation with us today!
