I love grad school!

[SiraRaven]

(sorry if this topic already exists or is inappropriate for this board)

As a preface: going in to grad school, I was nervous and had lots of doubts. I had no clue if I was actually ready for graduate-level work and research and if I had chosen the right program. At this point, I've been in graduate school for about a month and a half, which isn't super long, but I think it's long enough to give me a decent feel for my program.

I'm half a semester in, and I'm absolutely loving my grad program. My cohort is wonderful - we've organized a weekly anime watching group, we go to movies a lot, eat lunch together, have game nights, go to parties...it's just a fun group of people. My classes are challenging, but manageable and interesting. My classmates are really smart, and people pull together before assignments are due to help each other out. In my undergrad, I had a really tiny department (class size averaged 3-4 students, and each class was only taught every other year), so being surrounded by so many students who are genuinely interested in and good at computer science is a new and wonderful experience. The professors in the department are all very friendly and helpful and get along with each other - there's a lot of collaboration. There are 3 weekly lunch-talks in systems, machine learning, and computational social science where we can get free food and listen to interesting (or not-so-interesting) talks. My advisor is wonderful. I only got a research project two days ago because the lab's been very busy and my advisor's been trying to think of a good project for me, but everyone in my lab gets along really well and works together a lot. There was a big deadline two weeks ago where the entire lab pulled together to finish one project in time, which was kind of cool to be a part of.

There. I just wanted to share my excitement with other graduate students and see if anyone else is feeling similarly. I see a lot of topics about people having problems with their grad program which has left me wondering how many new students are enjoying grad life. It's just such a weight off my shoulders to feel, after agonizing about it for the past year, that I've actually made the right decision.

[Behavioral]

Nice to see some positive posts here for a change.

I feel very much the same. I'm having fun finally getting a chance to be a full-time student (I worked two jobs simultaneously throughout undergrad, which really took time away from classes and research), and be able to spend all my time attending classes, studying, and reading journals. We, too, have three weekly seminar series, though food is only free sometimes (meh, I steal free food from the MBAs in my building all the time, so no complaints). I'm also thankful I go to a top program in my field since the invited speakers that come here are among the most prolific and respected in our discipline. Even people on the market giving their job talks are of highest-quality, so it gives us a basis to model off of for when we're about to graduate.

I've had a great time getting to know my cohort (only five of us all together, and three of us in our specific subfield) along with all the older students in my program. The social atmosphere between the students is one of the biggest draws that helped me choose which school to matriculate to after I had narrowed down all my acceptances. The faculty are awesome -- I'm working with three professors already, and even though it's a lot of work, it's something I enjoy doing and it's only going to benefit me in the future. I've also been involved in GSA (Graduate Student Association), which helps me get away from reminders about my specific research. I love my friends in my department, but I need a break sometimes from the 60-70 some odd hours I spend learning and reading about my research. I joined the volleyball IM team, have gone on a few bike rides with the NU Bike Team, and have a few friends I go to the gym with, so my health hasn't slipped too badly (something I was genuinely worried about before starting my program).

Anyway, I'm having a great time. I'm only a month into my program, and I realize it does get much more difficult, but I wouldn't rather be doing anything else.

[BlueRose]

Count me in. I'm a first-year too, and I love my program.

Mind you, they're kicking our butts. This is the third consecutive night I've been working at 3:30 am (I'm working, my code is running...I'll be asleep by 4 though). I'm talking to classmates on gchat. And our classes start at 9am. The fact that I'm in a good humor about it should tell you something.

My classmates are smart, come from very diverse fields, and will help each other. There have been many potlucks and bar crawls. The department is super close - the upper years, and even the professors, stop by our workspace just to hang out. There are seminars all over the place. The research is great, and the resources are there to support it. The coursework is something they work really hard to make useful...maybe too hard, it's fascinating but sometimes sleep is nice.

So...yay for grad school. (Though I'm looking forward to the research years...that's what I came for after all.)

Edited October 13, 2011 by BlueRose

[neuropsych76]

+1 for loving grad school as well

I moved from the north to the south and the weather change is awesome! my cohort gets along really well and we all hang out pretty often. i really really like my advisor. all i knew about her was her academic stuff but i never would have guessed she would be so supportive and helpful. yes, i'm super busy, but overall it's been a great time! the only thing that i don't like too much is how hard my stats class is lol

[Eigen]

Count me in. I'm a first-year too, and I love my program.

Mind you, they're kicking our butts. This is the third consecutive night I've been working at 3:30 am (I'm working, my code is running...I'll be asleep by 4 though). I'm talking to classmates on gchat. And our classes start at 9am. The fact that I'm in a good humor about it should tell you something.

My classmates are smart, come from very diverse fields, and will help each other. There have been many potlucks and bar crawls. The department is super close - the upper years, and even the professors, stop by our workspace just to hang out. There are seminars all over the place. The research is great, and the resources are there to support it. The coursework is something they work really hard to make useful...maybe too hard, it's fascinating but sometimes sleep is nice.

So...yay for grad school. (Though I'm looking forward to the research years...that's what I came for after all.)

It's funny you should mention this... Late nights working and getting our asses handed to us by coursework was one of the best bonding experiences our cohort had. We still sit around and laugh about clustering around the blackboard in my office at 2 or 3 am arguing about the proper derivation for our QM homework.

[MoJingly]

These stories are uplifting! YAY for loving grad school!

[Mal83]

Me too! My cornerstone class is great, before class starts there are always a bunch of conversations going on simultaneously and you can just jump into one at any time, it's a very comfortable, respectful, intellectual, and lighthearted atmosphere. We have a facebook group so we're always filling each other in on program, school, and social things. I knew I belonged there long before I started and that hasn't changed one bit. I think by now we've all determined that we're pretty much on the same level academically and intellectually. This is a professional program so we all have a bit of vastly different experience coming in but we actually complement each other during class. Some people are more knowledgeable in particular areas where others are more so in different ones. There are always interesting events going on and relevant people coming to the school to give talks. The director of the program/cornerstone professor is tremendous and his expertise and professional experience are exactly where my interests lie so I know he'll lead me down the right path to accomplish my professional goals. It's a demanding program, as I knew it would be, but I'm actually handling it and realizing all the more that there's nothing else I'd rather be doing. Yes, I love being a grad student in DC.

[Behavioral]

I never restricted myself to only being friends with people in my department; quite the contrary, I just found friends based on my hobbies (i.e., intramural sports, biking, mixed martial arts, etc.). I also hang out at bars whether I'm just relaxing or need to read while stepping out of the office. Sometimes other grad students are there doing the same thing, so I talk to them when it seems like both of us could use a productive distraction.

[honkycat1]

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.

[UnlikelyGrad]

Others have mentioned that members of their cohort tend to help one another. One thing I like about my school is that *EVERYONE* helps each other.

For example, my officemate just asked me if I had ever done a hydrogenation reaction!! (Actually, yes, as an undergrad, about 20 years ago.) She never has, and neither has anyone in her lab--though they're synthetic organic chemists and I do environmental stuff! So we talked about how that worked, though I admitted that my memory was pretty fuzzy.

I can ask anyone around here for help, and I'll usually get it--if the person I ask can't help me directly, they usually know who to ask. I love my department!

[ktel]

^ I wish. I am very much left to fend for myself. I don't know what to ask or who to ask but I know I don't know much and I need a lot of help. An orientation of some sort would have been nice. I know I need to ask people for help but it's difficult when you don't really know who to ask.

[Sigaba]

^ I wish. I am very much left to fend for myself. I don't know what to ask or who to ask but I know I don't know much and I need a lot of help. An orientation of some sort would have been nice. I know I need to ask people for help but it's difficult when you don't really know who to ask.

FWIW, I've seen quite a few graduate students encounter the dynamic of not knowing who to ask and, with it, not knowing what to ask. IME, one can get a lot of questions answered and mysteries resolved by going to a professor's office hours.

I understand that these encounters can generate anxiety but I think the effort is worth making.

[ktel]

I don't know why I got down voted. It's true. I'm trying my best to rectify the situation but that's how I feel right now, apparently sharing your feelings is not acceptable here? Nor is having a bad day?

My supervisor is a very busy man and has been travelling a lot lately and hasn't been around at all. I'm going to go talk to one of the post docs to get some help with my research and class mates/another prof for help with an assignment I'm struggling with.

[neuropsych76]

Others have mentioned that members of their cohort tend to help one another. One thing I like about my school is that *EVERYONE* helps each other.

For example, my officemate just asked me if I had ever done a hydrogenation reaction!! (Actually, yes, as an undergrad, about 20 years ago.) She never has, and neither has anyone in her lab--though they're synthetic organic chemists and I do environmental stuff! So we talked about how that worked, though I admitted that my memory was pretty fuzzy.

I can ask anyone around here for help, and I'll usually get it--if the person I ask can't help me directly, they usually know who to ask. I love my department!

Luckily, I have a helpful cohort as well. We often get together and study for tests, ect. Though I can imagine it would be tough as a first year with an unfriendly cohort/department.

[ktel]

An update. My cohort IS helpful once you find the right person. I have been subtly suggesting that I don't know what I'm doing and many people have offered to help or shown me who can help me.

[HaruNoKaze]

To OP - Glad to see someone out there is enjoying grad school. Our department has professors who don't communicate with each other, students who don't like each other, and there is little respect between professors, students, or anyone really. Most of the students have established lives, but use that as an excuse to turn in work late or try and complain about how they don't have time to read/write. I hate my program, and consider it one of the worst decisions I've made. I look forward to seeing if my doctorate program will provide me with a redeeming experience similar to yours!

[UnlikelyGrad]

To OP - Glad to see someone out there is enjoying grad school. Our department has professors who don't communicate with each other, students who don't like each other, and there is little respect between professors, students, or anyone really.

Just out of curiosity, did you visit your program at all before attending? Did you not notice this? I turned down my "best" offer because it came from a school that was clearly too competitive/non-collaborative. At another school everyone was very disconnected from each other. I loved the camaraderie I felt at MyU, between both students and professors and even support staff. It's one of the primary reasons I came here.

[ktel]

Just out of curiosity, did you visit your program at all before attending? Did you not notice this? I turned down my "best" offer because it came from a school that was clearly too competitive/non-collaborative. At another school everyone was very disconnected from each other. I loved the camaraderie I felt at MyU, between both students and professors and even support staff. It's one of the primary reasons I came here.

Even if you do visit it can be difficult to assess what the day-to-day functioning of a department will be like. My visits came in the form of open houses that I was invited to and it was all very structured and very much set up to make the department look as good as possible. Not to mention that the process can be quite overwhelming (for example, I was visiting 6 professors in one day) and it can be difficult to be very thorough.

[HaruNoKaze]

Just out of curiosity, did you visit your program at all before attending? Did you not notice this? I turned down my "best" offer because it came from a school that was clearly too competitive/non-collaborative. At another school everyone was very disconnected from each other. I loved the camaraderie I felt at MyU, between both students and professors and even support staff. It's one of the primary reasons I came here.

I visited with both the graduate professors before jumping in; most of the students were third semester students who told me during my first semester if I wanted a better program to transfer out. They eventually did. Also, we've since found out that a lot of the information involving the program was a lie. Like accreditation. Yea. The program isn't accredited. So two of us that are finishing up our MA this spring and looking for doctorate programs are really upset that we were lied to, and it's going to reflect poorly on us even though it isn't our fault.

The initial visit was nice, and everyone was friendly. But visiting doesn't amount to much sometimes.

[Ya Ya]

I vacillate between really loving my program and being completely overwhelmed by my program. I love how smart everyone is. I love that prominent psychologists within my department know me on a first name basis. I love the prestige in saying that I go to MyU. I love being able to park in the faculty parking lot. I love that I finally feel like I've found my niche. All I need to do is find a social support system and It's all good. This has truly been an amazing journey thus far.

I'll save the overwhelming aspects of grad school for another thread.

[ktel]

I vacillate between really loving my program and being completely overwhelmed by my program. I love how smart everyone is. I love that prominent psychologists within my department know me on a first name basis. I love the prestige in saying that I go to MyU. I love being able to park in the faculty parking lot. I love that I finally feel like I've found my niche. All I need to do is find a social support system and It's all good. This has truly been an amazing journey thus far.

I'll save the overwhelming aspects of grad school for another thread.

Replace "psychologists" with "engineers" and that's pretty much exactly how I feel about my program.

[nelafleck]

^Ditto as well. That and the nagging stories from friends in industry who are doing amazing things help to activate some of those overwhelming feelings.

...But the free food, ability to take a day of vacation at a whim (well, at least easier than in industry) and the lack of life responsibility make me love being a student

[emmm]

Hmm . . . haven't gotten much free food lately. Don't feel able to take any days off. Still have life responsibility (parent). But I also love being a student :-)

(yes, even with the stress of exams, etc.)

[Behavioral]

Being a PhD student in a business school has its perqs -- mainly the ability to mooch off not only the free food the faculty and department get, but also the food the MBA students get

[qbtacoma]

I've had pretty much the best first batch of students I could imagine. They're engaged in class, they've got interesting things to say, they are earnest, they have good rapport with each other, and they forgive my mistakes. Best of all, every single student I talked to about a bad second paper came to me asking how to improve rather than demanding a better grade. I feel really lucky.

They all (or even mostly) aren't brilliant writers yet, of course, but on a personal level they made my first term teaching very enjoyable.