The Undergraduate Mentality?

[starrylanterns]

Hey all, SDSU undergrad applying to graduate schools here. I was wondering if any of you have heard of this undergraduate attitude or mentality that UGs tend to have. I've run into this term online a few times, and from another professor. They mentioned there was a difference between a UG mindset and a graduate student mindset. Anyone heard of this and would like to explain? I'm really curious Thanks and happy new years!

[comp12]

I don't know if I've really heard that term used so widespread and standard-practice, but no doubt there are various differences between UG and G mindsets, typically stemming from their different points in life, their structure of education, and their goals for what they do. College life is usually filled with going to class and doing homework assignments. UG students learn by being presented information. G students learn by uncovering new information. I gather when most people speak prerogatively about UG "mentalities," they are probably poking at the phenomena of modern college students perhaps being more motivated by external forces than their education per se. For example, maybe the harsh modern economies cause college students to be careerists rather than learners, and they pick their classes and do their homework all with a focus on how to achieve highest grades with highest efficiency. This is all with an eye to getting the best possible job after graduation. Or maybe, their motivations are in the social aspects of college life, rather than the academic. Grad students, supposedly don't care about all that, and mainly focus on their own work/research and nothing else. A quick google search on "undergrad vs. grad" will probably yield a lot more comparisons. One of my favs is: http://blogs.uoregon.edu/projectgraduateschool/2011/06/08/how-is-graduate-school-different-from-undergraduate/

Edited January 3, 2013 by comp12

[juilletmercredi]

There is a difference, both academically and socially.

 

Like comp12 said, the academic one is a shift from external motivation to internal motivation.  More than that, college is less of an independent endeavor.  You have a pretty much prescribed course of study; you have a little choice within it, but generally there are a lot of people there to give you a lot of guidance and careful shepherding into adulthood and a BA.  Graduate school is not like that; it's much more independent.  Sure, the courses are outlined in the handbook, but most of what's important in grad school isn't printed in the handbook and nobody will tell you unless you know what to ask.  You have to really want it to get through it, especially academic/research grad school.

 

And socially, college students have a lot more free time than grad students.  I didn't realize exactly how much free time I had until I didn't have it anymore.  You may never have that much free time again in your life, unless you're able to retire.  So there's a lot more filling that free time with social pursuits - parties, mixers, all kinds of socials.  You have a lot less time for that post-undergrad, regardless of whether you go to grad school or not.

 

The secret is, of course, that you don't make a seamless transition from UG to grad mindset.  It's not like you step onto campus on your first day of grad school and instantly have the wisdom of a grad student.  It takes time.  I don't think I felt truly independent/capable/"like a grad student" until my fourth year.  I certainly didn't feel that way in my first two.

 

The other thing is that you're still going to be yourself, regardless of whether you're in grad school.  I like organized social activities and I missed that from college.  It took me a while to realize that if I wanted them I'd need to do them, so I've taken it upon myself to join groups and participate in, and organize, those social activities.  I also missed all the community service I did in college, so I've started volunteering in my spare time.  I can't do as much of it, but I can do it.