I love grad school!

[ZeeMore21]

Really loving this thread and wanting to say hello to everyone! I definitely dropped off the face of grad cafe this semester but it took a lot of time to get used to the workload and getting used to a new area. I definitely will be more involved in these threads next semester. But anyway, I really LOVE my program...I'm still in shock that I get paid to do what I love to do. It's definitely something to be grateful for and this thread is just really refreshing.

I'd also like to say congratulations to everyone on almost making it through this fall semester! Hope everyone finishes off strong : )

[tocs1]

I, too, love (most aspects of) my program. Research is interesting and there are not too many classes. I have a good relationship with my supervisor and the relative freedom is great too. I certainly allow myself to take a day off from time to time. One thing that stands out here is how important the social aspect is. We have nothing similar to the cohesiveness described by a few here. Most everyone is polite and all, but it ends there. Oh well.

[Iris Johnson]

I do wish I had more friends out side of the department. that said, I do like the program that I'm in and feel similarly to most people in the thread so far.

Hi donnyz89!

Going to grad school is not that bad. You'll get to learn a lot from other people's experiences. Continuous education is far great! Meet new friends and learn every day. Keep learning and enjoy!

Best luck!

[gilmoregirl1010]

Resurrecting this thread to say that, while I haven't started my program yet, I'm really excited about the vibes I've been getting so far from my department. The department head has been sending emails out regularly since I accepted their offer, which has given me more contact with my new program in one week than I had with my whole undergraduate program the entire time I was in college. It's also all very positive stuff; this morning she sent out the news that one of our PhD students just got an assistant professorship, which was encouraging. Also, apparently my new program has a co-ed softball team, which I'm hoping to join!

I've never done grad school before, so I don't know if this is common for all programs, but from the horror stories I've seen on this site, I would think maybe not? Either way, I'm really excited to get started at my new school, and I haven't come across any red flags that would make me nervous about this program. Maybe time will tell differently, but as of right now, I'm very excited about graduate school, and I wanted to share my positive experience so far.