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.
All About PHD Advisors |Part 2 | How to Reach Out to Potential Ph.D. advisors
How to Reach Out to Potential Ph.D. Advisors Part 2 of the All About PH.D. Advisors Series | See Part 1 Ph.D. programs are more competitive than ever. More applicants are fighting over fewer spots and less funding. For many aspiring doctoral students, reaching out to potential advisors is a vital step toward investigating program opportunities, securing funding, and identifying a supportive advisor. However, emailing potential Ph.D. advisors can be an intimidating prospect to many graduate students. Students wonder how and when they should reach out to potential dissertation advisors, and what they should say when emailing potential advisors. Worry…
All About PHD Advisors|Part 1
PhD Advisors: A Primer About Advisors in Doctoral Programs We talk a lot about how confusing graduate school can be, with unstandardized procedures and vocabulary, varying dissertation requirements, and an excess of specialized jargon. Figuring out how to be a graduate student could be a degree all on its own. Nowhere is this clearer than in the uncertainty surrounding academic and research advisors. How do you get a PhD advisor? Is a PhD advisor, thesis advisor, dissertation advisor, and dissertation chair all the same thing? Do you get to choose your advisor? If so, how do you do that? What…
How to do things you don’t want to do
How to Do Things You Don’t Want to Do: 3 Quick Tips Motivation is a fickle thing. This is especially true in graduate school, where your deadlines are hazy in the distance and the steps to completing your degree range from tedious to overwhelming. Productivity can be a fight. So, it’s no surprise that you are looking for tips on how to do the things you don’t want to do. Well, don’t worry because we have your back. Here are three tips to get out of your own way and do the things that you don’t want to do. 1.…
Overcoming Academic Writer’s Block
Kick Academic Writer’s Block in the Ass Academic writing is hard on a good day and not all days are good. Sometimes you know you need to work on a paper, but you draw a blank every time you sit down to work on it. You spend hours struggling to pull words from your mind and get them on the page. Welcome to writer’s block in academia. It’s frustrating, stressful, and steals time. So, here are three quick tips to help you get past academic writer’s block. Whether you’re starting a new manuscript or stuck in the middle of an…
Simple Steps to Instantly Improve Your Academic Writing | Academic Writing Tips
3 Ways to Improve Your Academic Writing Instantly Oh! Students These Days! “Students don’t know how to write” is a common refrain of professors worldwide. This lament echoes behind closed office doors even in graduate school. However, as often as these dreaded words are uttered, few professors take the time to teach their students how to improve their academic writing. Apparently, you are supposed to figure out the secrets of excellent academic writing from vague feedback like unexplained crossed-out words and notes about confusing sentences in the margins. Those professors who have time to grouse rarely have time to explain…
Better Goal Setting for Graduate Students
Goal Setting for Frustrated Graduate Students Are You Productivity Challenged?Quick Tips for More Effective Goal Setting for Grad Students A lot of graduate students struggle to make progress on long-term projects like theses and dissertations, where the far-away deadlines feel ephemeral, and there are no immediate consequences to procrastinating. They set goals to complete their degree and make timelines with the best of intentions, but each day goes by with little progress. Many grad students end up frustrated and mad with themselves for not meeting the goals they set. As time goes by, the grad student feels stressed and guilty…
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!
