First year of grad school drawing to a close.

[Roll Right]

I'm taking a little time to reflect on the year. The second semester has become increasingly difficult and stressful, but I'm hanging in there. With some family issues and a job as well, graduate school has proven to require much more than a desire for a higher degree. It's taken passion and drive that I didn't realize I had. Is anyone else feeling this way?

I think everyone ought to take a minute and post their accomplishments, things they're particularly proud of . It's a good way to keep up steam and motivation. I've recently secured funding for my entire second year here, so I'm extremely happy about that. It's looking as though I may be able to pull off a 4.0 for the year as well. While all of this research and classroom work is taxing, the rewards make it worth it.

Who else is feeling good about the first year's outcomes?

[Genomic Repairman]

Congrats on making it. I'm wrapping up my second year and last class and getting ready to head into candidacy exams, marriage (not really curricular, but indeed stressfull), and a manuscript. It doesn't get easier but you get more used to it and as a bonus, you are done with class.

[bon to the jour]

I haven't started school yet, but when I think about it, I can see myself becoming somewhat hermit-esque --- and frankly, I'm kind of excited about it. No doubt it will be painful at times, but I'm so nerdy that I think I'll really enjoy reading everything I can get my hands on and then typing it all up from impeccably detailed, time-consuming outlines. Are my suspicions totally off, or will school really drive me to become a callous-fingered, be-speckled, hermit?

[Genomic Repairman]

I haven't started school yet, but when I think about it, I can see myself becoming somewhat hermit-esque --- and frankly, I'm kind of excited about it. No doubt it will be painful at times, but I'm so nerdy that I think I'll really enjoy reading everything I can get my hands on and then typing it all up from impeccably detailed, time-consuming outlines. Are my suspicions totally off, or will school really drive me to become a callous-fingered, be-speckled, hermit?

If you are a hermit, you will probably still be a hermit. If you are a night owl socialite who loves to party, you probably won't make it too long in grad school. But if you manage your time and stress level you can have a social life.

[StrangeLight]

not too bad. my first semester was stressful, i worried too much about coursework and not enough about research, but managed a 3.9somethingsomething. i don't really know how the second semester will play out grades-wise (i'm guessing a mix of As and A-s), but i've got three conference presentations (based on two papers) lined up for the summer and just won a shnazzy summer fellowship to cover my research trip to central america. i'm finally actually making progress on my own research, which is really nice.

my fall course schedule is looking rather relaxed (one heavy-reading seminar, one "how to teach" fluff seminar, a language class, and a TAship for a prof who doesn't give his undergrads many assignments, which means less marking for me to do). i'm excited about the possibility of spending more than 5 hours a week on my own research. can't wait.

[Roll Right]

Awesome, sounds to me like things couldn't be better! I've been lucky enough to focus my coursework on my research. Taking courses on race, data analysis and so on has allowed me to create final projects that are all interrelated, focusing on religiosity (which is what my thesis is focused on). So as I do my final projects, I'm also preparing my thesis. I'm hoping this will lead to one huge piece of polished research at the end of my degree. I suggest this to anyone in sociology, as much of the topics we study are interrelated.

[fuzzylogician]

There's still more than a month to go, but so far I'm very happy with what I've accomplished. The fall semester had too much emphasis on courses, but starting in the spring semester I've been doing a better job of integrating research with courses. I managed a 5.0 last semester and I'm pretty sure I'll keep that average for my spring semester as well. I presented (the developments of the same project) in two conferences and I'll have two publications by the end of next month. I've found a summer job as a research assistant in my department and I plan to continue developing my project, maybe even finally making a journal publication out of it, though there's still work to do before that happens.

My initial doubts over my choice of school--having gone against the advice of all my professors--have dissipated. My department has a reputation for being uber-competitive and unfriendly; nothing could be further from the truth, the people in my year have become close friends whose help and support is invaluable to me. The first year can make a lifeless hermit out of you if you're not careful, but I've been actively taking the time to do other things besides work. It's really about your priorities in life, and I'd rather skim through a paper or two and have time to go out for a drink with friends once a week than to always be well prepared for all my classes but have no life.