8 Ways to Prepare for Grad School
Advice from Current Grad Students
Are you an incoming grad student? Or do you plan to go to grad school in the future? If so, I’m sure that you have so many questions about what to expect and how to prepare!
There was a newly accepted graduate student in my Facebook group, The Academic Society for Grad Students, who asked the following question:
What are the things I need to do over the summer to prepare for grad school in the fall?
The other students in my group answered her question with some amazing tips. So I’ll be sharing their tips along with my commentary with you in this blog post. And at the end, I’ll share an invitation to a training just for incoming grad students wanting to start grad school on the right foot.
Get Organized
Once the semester gets rolling, it’s hard to find the time to get yourself organized. So the best time to figure out your schedule and when you want to have work sessions is either before school starts or at the very beginning of the semester.
Figure Out When you Work Best
Finding your optimal productivity time is so important. This will help you to plan out your day for ultimate productivity. You will find so many people that say that you need to get your work done in the morning or in the evenings. But you really just need to figure out the time of day that works best for you. When you know when you work best, you can plan to do your most high level work at that time. The alternative is forcing yourself to work when you are tired or unmotivated.
Read Required Texts Ahead of Time
Something that I didn’t realize before grad school was that grad students were reading their textbooks before class. I never had to do that when I was in undergrad. But when I started reading before class, I was able to understand and contribute more to my classes.
Get as Many Syllabi in Advance as Possible
This is very much related to the previous tip. Having the syllabi for your classes can give you an idea of what kind of workload to expect. You can typically find old syllabi on the departmental website. Look them up so that you can get to know some of those texts before classes start.
Establish Systems and a Self-Care Routine
Once the semester starts, your life in grad school will get busier and busier. It’s so important to think about what refreshes and refuels you and schedule that in your weekly routine. Also, systems can be so helpful! Can you get your groceries delivered? Do you need to set your clothes out and pack your lunch the night before? What systems can you put in place to make your life easier?
Related Book: #GRADBOSS: A Grad School Survival Guide
Research your Program and Read the Handbook
Every grad school program has a handbook filled with all of the requirements to get your degree as well as a suggested timeline. The handbook will also include rules and penalties. It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the norms of the department.
Sometimes you could be asked to do more than what is required of you. Unfortunately, this is the case for many grad students. There are so many grad students who are overworked. So you need to know what responsibilities are actually required of you.
Set your Office Space Up
Where do you plan to work when you start grad school? Will you have an office on campus or a big study room for all grad students? Do you have a dedicated office in your home? Or will you work at the kitchen table? It’s so important to think about where you plan to get the majority of your work done.
Would having a laptop be best for working on the go? Or do you need to set up a desktop with dual monitors? I think that having a plan for where you work is almost as important as figuring out when you will work.
Get Clear on Your Academic Goals
It’s so important to remember why you wanted to go to grad school. There will be times where you feel like grad school isn’t worth the stress and anxiety you will want to quit. But remember why you started this process can help you make it through.
Also, there will be times when you have multiple papers, assignments, and responsibilities due at the same time. And it will be difficult to figure out what to work on first. This is where it’s good to set clear goals at the beginning of the semester. In my Back to Grad School Challenge, I ask every grad student to come up with only two main goals to focus on for the semester for this very reason.
When things get overwhelming and you become paralyzed with stress, you can always return to your top goals of the semester and work on the tasks that will help you achieve your goals first.
Grad School Prep Course!
I hope that these 8 ways to prepare for grad school were helpful for you. If you are interested in a more in-depth training on how to prepare for grad school, I’ve created something just for you!
It’s called Grad School Prep and it is available now! In Grad School Prep, I will teach you the mindset, time management, and productivity skills that you need to excel and succeed in grad school.
But first, I want to share a FREE training with you! It’s called “How to Know What to Expect In your First Semester Without Being Anxious About Starting Grad School”. Click here to sign up for the training!