Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting Graduate School

Even before I entered Iowa State University to receive my undergraduate degree, I had known I wanted to go to graduate school and receive a higher education degree. I had gone through so many different career choices throughout my undergraduate career it's seriously not funny (okay, it's funny now looking back).

I career hopped from social work to teaching to student affairs to event planning to law school (yes, law school, call me Elle Woods) and then I finally came to the conclusion that School Psychology would be the career choice for me. This was over the span of four years y'all.

I had a pretty good head on my shoulders and thought I knew exactly what to expect when coming into graduate school. My dad had gone to graduate school and had always told me that "This isn't like undergrad, this is a job". I had heard that so many times it was basically engraved in my head. I cognitively knew this of course, but nothing truly prepared me for graduate school until I had actually gone through a semester of it.

Do not get me wrong, I have enjoyed my program massively and couldn't picture myself anywhere else. I love the program, curriculum and especially my cohort as we have already gotten so close, but I wish there were tips and tricks I knew about adjusting to a new program, higher education format, work setting, homework and more when first coming in. After one semester in I FINALLY feel like I have some better footing and would like to pass along any advice I can.

Top 6 things I wish I knew before Starting Graduate School:

1. Most of your work will consist of the three Ps: Projects, Presentations, and Papers

This came as the biggest relief in the whole wide stinkin' world to me as I am someone who is not a good test taker, however, I know this not the reality for all. For most of us, undergrad was a time filled with scantron tests, written exams, or even both mashed together. Some are incredibly skilled test takers in this arena, so it may come to a shock to the system that a lot (not all, but a lot) of graduate programs are mostly evaluated and graded on the three Ps. If this is not your arena of expertise, I would HIGHLY recommend: asking the graduate program itself about their coursework and how one prepares in order to do well in this course work or ask to potentially sit in on a class and get a feel for the vibe of the classwork at your interview or on a visit.

2. You'll be in class or working most of the day

Unlike your undergraduate days, you can't just make your own schedule from a list of different course sections and expect to go back to your dorm, take a nap and relax (I mean maybe you can if you live on campus actually, however in graduate school this still wouldn't typically be the case). Most of your days will be spent at the library or in an office working on classwork, homework, or if you have a graduate assistantship you'll be putting in hours for a professor or a department. It'll be a long day, be sure to pack a lunch and some snacks, get enough sleep to power through the day, and make sure you have you work ready to go.

3. Google calendar/Planners will become your best friend.

Any form of planner or online calendar will be YOUR BFF throughout the semester. There will be multiple presentations, projects, papers, potential conferences and other events that take place and actually writing/typing them out so you can see when everything is due is KEY. Yes, you may have already done this in undergrad which is fabulous, but if you are someone who skated by and didn't jot things down to remember, I highly suggest organizing yourself in this fashion as graduate school is a totally different monster from your undergraduate studies. However, if planners and calendars aren't your thing, then do what works best for you! Different strokes for different folks!

4. You have to hold yourself accountable more often:

THIS.IS.HUGE. (if I could insert the hand-clapping emoji between each word I would because it is SO SO SO important.) This sort of encompasses everything I've written about thus far, but graduate school is practically a job. Yes, you are a student, but you are also held to a higher standard and there is a lot more to be expected out of you. You'll learn really quickly what is expected of you and I promise you'll adjust. Have a clear understanding from faculty what the expectations are and what the looks like for each individual class or professor. This will help you in terms of prepping your work load.

5. The faculty within your program want to see you succeed:

Yes, the expectation of you as a student and potentially an employee of the school is raised, but that does not mean the faculty in your program want you to not succeed any less. The faculty within your program will most likely challenge you as a student and a person and help to elevate you into the student, researcher, and working professional you were meant to be. They are there to educate you, but also there to help you grow and flourish in the program. They want to hear your questions, thoughts, and concerns. Now, I obviously can't speak for every program and its faculty, but that has been my experience. You will feel out what experience and program will be best fit to support you! Even schools I just interviewed at but didn't attend, I found the faculty to be supportive and uplifting when it came to enhancing the learning experience of its students.

6. The most important: It is A-OKAY to not have all the answers and to be perfectly imperfect:

This is one I really struggled with in the beginning. You come in to graduate school thinking you should be perfect and know every answer to every question or situation thrown at you because expectations are set higher. I used to think that everyone in my graduate program knew the answers except for me. The truth is that whether they show it or not, everyone is kind of making it up as they go. Sure, we are all intelligent and we all bring our own talents to the field, but not everyone has the answers and not everyone by any means is perfect in every class or subject. Celebrate in the fact that you do not have to be perfect 24/7. You are all learning and growing as you go forward in your program and that is expected. Every misstep or mistake is a learning lesson and stepping stone to get to where you need to go next!

So whether or not you are in the midst of your own graduate program and can relate or if you're thinking about graduate school but are unsure of what to expect, just know that everyone has the thoughts and concerns you have and that you're not alone. If you're considering graduate school (which I highly recommend, but I am biased!), reach out to other friends, peers, family members, and the program itself to understand the graduate major and find your fit!