amglol

The GRE has no place in any context, and I wouldn't bother with GPA unless coming from a very prestigious program/school.

To echo most comments, the answers you don't want are the right ones.To throw my n=1 in your face, here's what my life has entailed since starting grad school: 1st semster - 6 hours Had child 1 Lost 75 lbs 2nd semester - 9 hours (included an internship) Sold house, moved in with inlaws, signed contract to build new house Started thesis 3rd semester - 6 hours Found out we were pregnant with child 2 Moved into new house 4th semester - 9 hours (including thesis hours, final semester) Had child 2 Finished thesis Entire program Worked full-time at a community college in course development role (I still do this) Maintained side-business (no new clients, but regular work for existing ones) You really have to prioritize, but you also need to realize that some things should come first. I was really overweight (obese by BMI, as lazy a measure as it is) when we found out we were pregnant with our first, and committing to exercise and good sleep (although I operate surprisingly well on only around 6 hours a night) was the most important thing I ever did. It sort of sucks, but forcing yourself into a routine of regular activity has an awesome cascade effect in other areas. The more quality physical activity, the better the quality of sleep and amount of energy you'll have. This only helps academic functioning, for me both in terms of information intake and quality of writing products. The point is that you have to decide what's important and what's not. If it's more important for you to socialize, then maybe you should reconsider grad school for the time being. You also have to consider the type of program you're in. I work mainly in Critical Theory/Cultural Studies, which thankfully relieves me of the need to obsess over facts and figures all day and instead lets me concentrate on "grand" social theory. I can do this while doing pull-ups (or changing pull-ups, for that matter) or while out on a bike ride. However, there are always sneaky ways to fit in whatever your discipline requires. Just try harder. Edit: I suppose it's important to note that I get up around 5 a.m., get to my office around 6 a.m. (where I work on school-related items for a while), start work at 7 a.m., get home around 5:30 p.m., kids are asleep by 7:30 p.m., and I'm in bed around 10 p.m. Reading/writing/exercising/etc fill in the gaps.

These are converted pre-new scoring numbers: Kaplan: 150Q/154V (taken immediately before my real test) Actual 152Q/158V/5.5AW No study time. The practice test was the extent of it, just to prime my testing muscles. For my program and geographic constraints, I knew I'd get an acceptable score cold.

The answer here is: it depends. Too many individual factors impact this including discipline, program, family, work flexibility, *talent*, etc. I'm finishing up my MA this semester and I've worked full-time throughout. I have 2 kids (both during my MA program), we sold one house and built another, and I researched and wrote a thesis during all of that, on top of classes. I'm finishing in a typical 4 semesters (2 years) for 30 hours. So the answer is yes, but not necessarily universally.

Wait. Jane Austen did something terrible in class? Sounds awesome.

Mendeley is fantastic. Great for organization; even better when used in conjunction with Word for citing and bibliography-building.

My field is sociology, and I can tell you that I welcome differing viewpoints. My committee is made up of a postmodern critical theorist (chair), and two positivist data nuts. I'm into critical theory myself, but the quantitative questions raised by the data-driven profs ensure that I'm giving proper attention to all aspects of my theory-based topic. If you surround yourself solely with profs who are going to agree with and support your work, you're doing a disservice to both yourself and your discipline, IMHO.

Start really early.

I wouldn't disagree with most ideas here. My point was more in response to the idea that you can't excel in both classes and 'research', however defined. In the case of someone who focuses on theory, not just as a foundation for so-called 'scholarly work' (by which it appears you are assuming journal publication), but for the sake of theory itself, coursework can actually enhance performance in both respects.

That's a mighty large generalization you're making there... I'm guessing you're connected to mathematics in some way, which would explain the research focus, but not all disciplines (or should I say, specific areas within certain disciplines) have a tunnel-vision for research. American doctorate level work may be largely antithetical to the rest of the world in that data and research are king, but there are still some areas (especially in the humanities and social sciences) where 'research' isn't the end-game. Theory is alive and well in many places. In any case, I'm also an older student (who currently works full-time, in addition to graduate classes) and can agree with, if nothing else, the sentiment that being in the workforce gives you both and edge and a perceived disadvantage. Experience, depending on your academic field, is useful, but the time away from basic concepts and theory can be daunting depending on how long the hiatus. My advice? Get through it by any means possible this term, and it will get easier.