Just started my first year of grad school and PANICKED

[nerdygirl]

I'm highly anxious about all the reading I have to do. I showed up in one class without the handout we were apparently susposed to bring... I don't know if I'll ever catch up on my reading for one of my courses, and I'm stressed by all the assignments we have to do out of class, including a paper (that isn't due until october but I'm an early starter) that I don't even understand how to write!

 

At my school 15 credits is mandatory for your first semester.... If it were my choice I would have taken 9 because I know my stress levels.

 

Please talk me down people. Surely it gets better.

[fuzzylogician]

It does get better. There is an adjustment period that many students go through in the beginning of grad school. The kind of work, the amount and the level are very different from what many students are used to, and it takes time to re-calibrate. Next year and even next semester will seem easier, even though the work load will probably not decrease: you'll just learn to deal with it. It's a common thing you hear about from many students. 

 

Here are some practical tips: First, NO ONE does all of the reading. It's impossible. One skill you'll need to develop this semester is the ability to skim. You'll also need to learn to triage -- some things are more important than others. This goes for readings, assignments and any other responsibilities you have. For readings, you want to know enough to be able to follow the lecture, and you need to have a broad idea of the content and a more precise idea of the main point(s) in the text. Concentrate on that: look at the abstract and conclusion, skim for the structure, find the main argument. Make a note of any contributions you could make in class. If you're active when you know things, it's easier to be passive without getting noticed when you don't. 

 

Second, if you have homework, one useful way to get it done is to work with some of your peers in a group. Get them to explain whatever you are confused about, and explain to them what you understand. It is good for everyone. If you class has a TA, go to them early and have them help you out. It can be hard for the instructor to know if someone is struggling and sometimes if you let it last too long, it's hard to make your way back. 

 

Ask questions. If there is something you're confuse about but you think is so simple you're afraid to ask -- chances are there are five other people in the room thinking the exact same thought. 

 

If you don't understand an assignment -- ask an instructor or TA! You can't believe how often students waste time trying to interpret obscure wording and end up creating far more work for themselves than was ever intended. To help figure out your paper, since you seem like someone who likes to make plans, so why don't you schedule a meeting with either your advisor or the instructor of the class and work on creating a schedule for the next few weeks that will allow you to be done with the paper in time? It'll be a good opportunity to ask about whatever it is you're not sure about with regard to the paper, and it will help you begin to find a way to deal with the workload.

[nerdygirl]

Thanks so much, that makes me feel better!

[Guest |||]

On an additional side, its harder to build an understanding from nothing, than to have a base and advance on.  Once you learn a broader context of the research and topics at hand, you will have a foundation.

[juilletmercredi]

My first semester (and for the next 3 semesters) I had to take 4 graduate classes a semester, which here is 12 points, in order to try to graduate in any reasonable amount of time (and for me that was 5-6 years).  Plus I was doing 20 hours a week of research.  I felt like I was going to go nuts.  I always felt behind on my readings, not to mention that I didn't understand much of it because I am a psychologist in an interdisciplinary department dominated by sociologists and anthropologists.  They were assigning Marx, Weber, and Durkheim and I was like "What?"  Every class had a 15-20 page research paper due.  I remember one semester I had to write a paper using historical methods at a graduate level.  I am NOT a historian, and I took ONE history class in college and there was no paper required.

I'm a sixth year now.  I finished my courses and passed my quals and my proposal.  You can do it!  It feels stressful at first.  It gets better!  You learn to manage the work, and which stuff you can skim and which stuff you can skip altogether.