GameOfLoans

Get a pet. They end up becoming better therapists than the school will give you. A lot of it is going to depend on you as a person and your school. Scheduling and/or designating school time and non-school time hours has been really helpful for me. Like, most of the time I don't do school work past 7pm...etc. It's hard; but try to take at least one moment to feel awesome about yourself and what you've accomplished. Also, try and take moments to focus on the present- just a brief moment to feel some grass or look at the sky. It sounds stupid; but it's helpful. Honestly, i'm not the best person to give advice on this; because I struggle with a lot of issues during my current grad school life. A competitive program that pits students against each other like it's the hunger games, and they isolate you. No man is an island...unless that man is a grad student at ECU. Myself and my rambling aside, the best advice I can give is just to find ways to vent and take moments to just soak things in. Sometimes life sucks and that's okay, and it's okay to let yourself be angry or sad or just live in the 'suckiness' for a brief moment. Sorry I couldn't provide better advice- I also am currently sick, so my logic and grammar are suffering as a result. I attached a picture of my hedgehog. Whenever i'm upset, spending time with her helps me to not be upset anymore.

Did you establish a relationship with your professors? I had some friends in undergrad; but the best thing I did was to establish myself within my department and make friends with the professors in my department. The more familiar you are with them, the better your recommendation letters will be. If you didn't establish those, try working on your resume- get jobs and do some volunteer work. Research what the program is looking for and ultimately just be yourself. Stand out by being you and if the program is right for you, you'll find a way to get in. OH also in your application, kiss up to the school. Flattery works.

If you are able to explain yourself and your actions, it might be better to just own up to it. Explaining your reasoning and what you learned can give off the experience that you're a well rounded person. Because conduct and honor violations also stick on your record for five years I believe, they're most likely going to see it anyways. Most people understand that everyone makes mistakes. I was and am on the conduct and honor council for both my grad and undergrad schools. Ultimately it's up to you, but it's better to just explain while you can rather than having them find out. If they don't ask, don't disclose.

Most of the pros would include areas of familiarity- assuming your bachelors is in the same field? The cons would be more associated with the unknown aspect of things. However, if you're going to devote the rest of your life, or a considerable amount of time studying something then you might as well do something you're passionate about; and/or want to study. It can be a risky decision to change at this level; but it might turn out to be rewarding.

Honestly, it's going to depend on what you want to do- like what field or profession you want to go into. There are definitely options. For example, I have five tattoos; but they're in less visible places because some of the research and work I do is for higher levels of government. Eventually, when I get my PhD and begin teaching; I won't really have to cover up any of my tattoos. This probably isn't as helpful; but a lot of it is going to be relative to the type of company or business and the people who run them.