GradSchools.com eJournal - Jenna Meshanko

Master's/Certificate of Advanced Studies School Psychology: A 2nd Years' Perspective
Jenna Meshanko

What They Don't Tell You About Graduate School

It's my first day of graduate school. New city, new roommate, new life. I look at the syllabus and think how am I ever going to get through this program? Feeling overwhelmed, I looked around the room and see that the expression on each of my peers' faces reflects the same feelings I had inside of me that moment: fear. Now, almost eleven months later, I am officially finished with my first year of graduate school, and guess what? I survived!

As an undergraduate, you're often told that grad school is going to be a lot different than college. Sure, you nod your head, listen to what these older and wiser individuals have to say, then continue to think to yourself that your school experience could never change that much. It's a hard reality to face, and now that I've completed my first year as a graduate student, I see that the experience does change, in both exciting and scary ways.

Depending on what degree you are obtaining (Masters or Doctoral level), the size of your program will vary. In my program, we have a total of 15 students in the 2007 class, all of which I now call my very good friends. One thing they won't tell you in undergrad is that you need your cohorts to get you through school, but in graduate school it's essential that you not only work well with your peers, but that you also form a relationship with one another that extends beyond that of a classroom. The truth is, graduate school can get stressful at times. You have paper deadlines, presentations to prepare for, exams that require you to study at least a week in advance, and of course, hundreds and hundreds of pages of reading. (If you think you read a lot in undergrad, just wait until you get to grad school!). On top of that, most students are working at least 20 hours a week to pay for school.

Because of these stressors, having a group of people that you can go out with, laugh with, study with, vent with, and just be yourself with is so important. My advice is to begin your program with an open mind and attitude, and truly make the effort to become friends with the people around you. The great thing about graduate school is that the element of competition is somewhat diminished. In our program especially, we've adopted the attitude that we don't want to see any of our peers fail, so we help each other any way we can. This past year our class took turns having study sessions at each others' apartments, ordering pizza and getting soda and just dissecting all of the information needed to succeed on an exam. We divided up chapters to outline for everyone and always shared our notes. I found this strategy helped each of us understand the material and do well in our courses.

"One thing they won't tell you in undergrad is that you need your cohorts to get you through school, but in graduate school it's essential that you not only work well with your peers, but that you also form a relationship with one another that extends beyond that of a classroom."

At first glance, graduate school looks extremely scary and tremendously overwhelming, but somehow you find a way to do it. By taking the time to enjoy what you are learning and who you are learning with, your experience as a graduate student will prove to be invaluable.