College Students
Avoiding Pitfalls
Information Provided by "Kaplan Text Prep - Kaptest.com"
Grad students are often terrified by stories they've heard about the advisor from hell or ultra-competitive departments. But while nightmare stories do happen, there are some simple tips on avoiding these grad school pitfalls.
Power Plays
It should be no surprise to you that many grad programs are intensely competitive. If you thrive in this kind of environment, you may want to look for such a school. But if you'd rather have a more supportive environment, make sure you're familiar with the program's atmosphere. The attitude of the faculty towards student cooperation can go a long way to encouraging or discouraging a cooperative environment. Be sure that you've visited the campus beforehand, and interviewed both the students and professors.
Adam Szpiro, who received his Ph.D. from Brown University in 1998, says that in his department "there was no sense of competition between students, so we were all generally very willing to help each other. Matters were also helped significantly by the fact that students tended to work together in groups in most of my classes. This was neither actively encouraged nor discouraged by the faculty, but there was never the concern that working together constituted cheating."
One thing to keep in mind: Even within the same school, departments can vary tremendously in terms of the way students interact with each other and with their professors. So if you have friends who are in the same school, but in a different program, be sure to investigate this information for yourself.
Singing the Advisor Blues
Choosing an advisor is another huge consideration for any grad student. Most programs require you to choose an advisor by the end of your first year, if not before. Your advisor will be the most powerful figure during your grad school life - there is no such thing as doing too much research on this professor before your choice is final.
As one grad student counsels: "Choose your advisor wisely. You will be working for your advisor like you would work for a boss at a company. It's most important that you get along well with this person, and that he or she is a good manager."
This professor can literally make or break your academic career. Not only will your advisor help you on your thesis or research project, but he or she might also employ you as a research or teaching assistant, help you shape your proposal, advise you on studying for your comprehensive exams and defending your dissertation, and giving you job recommendations once all this is over.
Remember to research other professors in the department as well. It takes a panel of at least five faculty members to review your dissertation. Maintaining a good relationship with the professors can make defending your thesis a lot easier. Finally, one more reason to research the other professors - in case your relationship with your advisor collapses, you'll immediately know the other options within your department. Think of it as insurance.
Heads Up
Now that you're thoroughly scared, remember: Your classmates work better as a support system than as opponents. You've gotten this far through intelligence and hard work, but so have they. If you insist on being competitive, watch out, because you may have met your match. And your advisor can make or break your career. Keep this in mind, and try your hardest to stay on good terms. But if all else fails, you always have the option of switching advisors.
While all these potential problems might make grad school sound impossibly intimidating, it can be incredibly rewarding as well. It's better to be informed and prepared for potential struggles beforehand than to be caught off-guard because you haven't researched your program or your advisor enough. You've made it this far. Now your success is up to you.
