Avoiding Grad School Pitfalls

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.

For More Information:

Learn more about international admissions at www.kaptest.com/international
Learn more about grad school admissions at www.kaptest.com/graduate
Learn about Kaplan's GRE programs at www.kaptest.com/gre
Learn about Financial Aid For Graduate School
Enroll in a Kaplan course at www.kaptest.com/enroll.

Copyright ©2002-2004 by Kaplan Inc. Graduate Record Examinations and GRE are registered trademarks of Educational Testing Service, which is not affiliated with this site. Reprinted with permission in conjunction with the partnership agreement between Medi-Smart and Kaplan  Inc. 

Reading Recommendations For Further Information: