Grad School Starts in Two Months - Unprepared?

[alaskagirl]

Grad School starts in two months for me and, as I've been reading through other people's posts about preparing for the start of school, I found an aspect kind of disheartening to me. Some people already have the syllabus for the upcoming year, and the books they need, as well as some 'homework'.

 

I'm not disheartened because I want homework right now (I'm working two jobs to save up), but I am wondering why I haven't been given the same information from my program.

 

And I, oddly, feel unprepared because of it.

 

And I don't want to feel unprepared about this!

 

Has everyone gotten their syllabus for their classes?

[geographyrocks]

I've registered for classes, but I don't have my books or syllabi yet. I've been feeling unprepared too yet my adviser was shocked that I wanted to register so early. So I'm guessing it depends on the program you're in.

Edited July 15, 2014 by geographyrocks

[Monochrome Spring]

I've been in my program for a month now, and registered for classes, but I don't have anything other than that. Don't worry about it; you'll get the information when you need it.

[GeoDUDE!]

grad school classes are easy (in my experience), don't worry about it. Worry about what requirements you have to do outside class.

[Vene]

I figure that stuff can be sorted out during orientation and when the semester actually starts. The most I've done it's talk to professors about rotations.

[tspier2]

I registered for my classes back in April, and I recently bought my books (they were listed on the bookstore's page). I don't have any of the syllabi though. In order to combat the feeling of being unprepared, I familiarized myself with the textbooks and have been reading articles from my field.

[PhoenixKing]

It definitely depends on your program. Grad school starts in six weeks for me, but new students in my program are unable to register for classes until a few days before the semester starts--at that time we undergo entrance exams and then have individual consultations with the DGS about course selection and schedules. Given these procedures, the faculty do not expect us to "prepare" beforehand for seminars, advising us instead to focus on doing well on our entrance exams, for which they sent us information a few weeks ago. This is more specific to music scholarship programs, however. 

 

It's natural to feel underprepared/unprepared at the outset (or so I've been told by grad students across all fields), but don't worry too much about what others are doing. Every program has its priorities and nuances. If your program hasn't informed you about any summer reading and the like, it's probably safe to say that they don't expect you to do any. Don't stress yourself out more than you need to! 

 

 

 

[RunnerGrad]

I can't register for courses until August, so I don't have any syllabi, etc.  I don't even have my university email yet - I'll be getting that this week after I obtain my student ID card.  The course schedules (i.e. which courses are offered when and at what times) for the upcoming Fall and Winter semesters were just published last week.  So I know what the bulk of my class schedule will be like (the four required courses for my program each semester) but I don't have the schedule for my elective courses each semester yet.  I DO know which courses I want to take as electives, but I don't know if there will be room in them once I go to register.

 

The books for the Fall semester haven't been made available yet.  I checked the university bookstore, and they still only list the required textbooks for the summer sessions.

 

So you aren't the only one who doesn't have any information about syllabi, textbooks, etc., yet.  I DO know that I don't have any assignments due before the beginning of classes.  I did just receive an email that listed the requirements for our first week of class (which is essentially devoted to one course only - the remainder of the courses start the following week) as well as the day and time of a special event we are expected to attend in early September.

 

I don't expect to have any syllabi or information on textbooks until after registration, sometime in August.

[Taeyers]

In my program, orientation isn't usually held until mid-late August, which is when students are supposed to figure out what to register for. On top of that, health insurance plan information is required for registration, and we won't be enrolled in our graduate assistant health plan until only a week before classes start. Basically, no one is in a rush. Don't worry about it. 

 

P.S. AND I happen to know for a fact that at least two of the classes that are required in the first semester are still scheduled incorrectly in the registration system, and the 2014-2015 graduate hand book doesn't exist yet. I'm not too worried.

[bakalamba]

Waiting for orientation, I'm not really worried about being unprepared. I was recommended to register early for classes, since I'm told they can fill up quickly, but there certainly wasn't any pressure to do so. Don't have a single syllabi or purchased any books.

 

I did check out last year's grad handbook to get a brief overview of the program. Pretty useful, as it outlines some of the biggest questions students have. In past experience, most students don't really benefit from being overprepared early on, since most information you'll get during orientation or through talking with faculty or other students.

Edited July 15, 2014 by bakalamba

[WriteAndKnit]

I'm ordering textbooks as soon as they're available, partly so I can be a bit more familiar with them in advance. And checking out library books (some related to academic research, some for "fun").

[fuzzylogician]

I arrived in the US about a week before classes started. Moved to my new apartment, bought furniture, supplies, groceries, etc. Took care of electricity, gas, internet, phone, etc., went to our department's one-day orientation, then didn't see anyone again for a few days, until registration day, which is the day before classes begin. I met my advisor for the first time, signed up for classes, and started attending them the next day. That's how this happened for everyone in my program. Some programs just start the bureaucracy earlier than others. You can contact the grad secretary to ask, just to make sure no email has gone missing or anything, but if this is the kind of timeline your program keeps, I wouldn't worry about it at all. You'll figure things out in time, just like everybody else.

[maelia8]

I'm in a similar situation to Runnergrad, my school said they will assign me an advisor within the department at the end of July who must sign off on my registering for classes (basically unlock the registration system) before I can do anything. My department sent me a letter advising me to arrive by the middle of August at the latest for residency purposes and because our orientation starts the week of the 25th, but other than that, there's literally nothing I can do right now - I can't get my email until I get my ID, I can't get my ID until I visit the graduate administration building, and I can't visit it until I move down there after I've gotten my apartment nailed down. I'm not too worried - if I can just get down there by mid-August, then I think everything will be just fine

[alaskagirl]

Thanks everyone! I'm glad that it's not too strange they haven't given me any information. I'll just wait it out. 

[harrisonfjord]

I'm currently a master's student. At my school we don't get a syllabus until the first day of class, or sometimes a few days before classes start (if the professor decides to email it out). I don't buy textbooks until the first week of school because generally there aren't many required books. My program is heavy on the journal articles. We have an orientation about a week before class that will give us information about registering for classes and finishing up some paperwork. Some students aren't even able to register for classes until a week before they start.

 

It really depends on your program. I wouldn't stress out. Your program will contact you if there's anything that needs to be done. 

Edited July 22, 2014 by harrisonfjord

[weymiller]

I was able to find old syllabi under old class websites.  I just googled on the school's website for the class number.  Some are from professor's who don't teach them anymore, but I just wanted a better grasp on the material that would be on it.  I have also been able to find some of the readings for classes.  I don't think this is necessary, but I've been out of school a couple of years and want to make sure I don't sound like an idiot when I arrive in classes.  I also wanted to make sure none of the readings were over my head. 

[ChasingMavericks]

Definitely don't kick yourself about not having your books or syllabi yet! There are so many reasons that a person may want to get all of that taken care of ahead of time, but that doesn't mean it's something that NEEDS to be done. If your professors really thought it was necessary then you would have received an email or some kind of communication letting you know. When I went on the tour of my grad school I was actually told that the professors are very accommodating letting students wait to buy their textbooks after they attend their first week of classes. 

 

Don't stress!

[juilletmercredi]

Different programs are different.  I'm not sure that I was registered for classes at this point - I think I registered during orientation week.  I definitely didn't have any syllabi or books.  The summer before graduate school I basically lounged around and read some books for pleasure; the only thing I did that was related to work is that my advisor forwarded me a summary of his grant that he had just received that I'd be working on, and so I scanned through that.  2 hours tops.

 

If you haven't gotten syllabi or books, neither has anyone else in your program, so you aren't unprepared compared to everyone else in your same program.

[Threeboysmom]

I was able to find old syllabi under old class websites.  I just googled on the school's website for the class number.  Some are from professor's who don't teach them anymore, but I just wanted a better grasp on the material that would be on it.  I have also been able to find some of the readings for classes.  I don't think this is necessary, but I've been out of school a couple of years and want to make sure I don't sound like an idiot when I arrive in classes.  I also wanted to make sure none of the readings were over my head.

I just did this thanks for the idea. Same professor same class and books this gives me an idea of how the flow of the class will be. I also know how to structure my reading time.

[VioletAyame]

Absolutely program dependent. In my own discipline, I have a friend who's already having weekly lab meeting despite the orientation being in late August and classes starting in September, while another friend with the same start date has not even picked out classes yet per the department's instruction. I'm somewhere in the middle - I've been getting tons of emails about payrolls and taxes, class enrollment, orientation dates, mixers, which will need to be done in the 2 weeks before classes start, but nothing official will begin until the last week for August.