GradHacker

After taking into account the costs of pursuing a graduate degree, you now move on to one of the most stressful parts of your graduate experience: deciding which program is right for you. As a graduate student in the seventh (and final) year of my doctoral program with a remarkably large group of friends who have pursued graduate degrees, I have spent a lot of time talking to those applying to graduate school in a variety of fields and listening to what did and didn’t work for them, as well as the regrets that they had once the process was over.

Your Statement of Purpose document can seem hugely intimidating, particularly if you are an undergraduate writing one for the first time. And frankly, it should feel important. This document is the first point of contact between you and the admissions committee, and it remains the only document within your application package where you are able to speak frankly and directly about who you are and why you want to go to graduate school. It is a navel gazing kind of document, where you think hard about who you are and what you want. It should be at least a little intimidating, and you should definitely not leave it until the last minute. A statement of purpose is your chance to stand out among the crowd, and become more than just grades and test scores.

In the hubbub of graduate school program searching and applications, there’s one thing that should happen during your (early) considerations: dropping the big F-Bomb- Finances.

Albert Einstein is said to have explained that he didn't memorize things that could be easily looked up. "[I do not] carry such information in my mind since it is readily available in books," he said. "The value of a college education is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think." I cannot remember something unless I've written it down. Therefore, having ubiquitous capture is key to my everyday life. A key part of my ubiquitous capture system includes a reference bank where I can draw on previously found, researched or created items and integrate them into my workflow. I refer to this as my "memex."

This upcoming week is homecoming at Michigan State University. Undergraduates, faculty and alumni are pulling together to celebrate the legacy of their university. The entire town shuts down for a parade, everything is covered in green and white, and people flock in from out of town. There are going to be hayrides across campus where you can learn about the history of the university, free arts and crafts nights, trivia games, free MSU ice cream, an awards gala, and almost every school, department, and club is doing something special. It is focused around celebrating the heritage of this great school, and the beautiful future we are currently forging for it. Where will graduate students be? Probably at home studying to avoid the crowds.

Look, coffee is great and all, but it just doesn’t hold a candle to the variety and flexibility of tea. I am a dyed in the wool tea drinker, and I can't write a word without a cuppa. But tea can be tricky; just choosing the generic bagged tea off the shelf rarely results in a triumphant tea experience. Recently, we at GradHacker have posted guides for wine and coffee, and it is high time that delicious teas were given their due.

So you’ve found a lab that you like- wonderful! Hopefully you are interested in the research and fit well into the established lab personalities. However, depending on your program, you will only have a limited amount of time to work in this lab before you have to either move on to another or make a decision as to where you will be working for you dissertation. Selection of your dissertation lab is a very important cornerstone to your graduate school experience and will determine the bulk of what you learn during your education.

How to stay motivated to write? This is especially tricky considering that one enemy of writing is fear of criticism, which is hard to overcome when academic writing has at its core the fact that one's writing WILL BE CRITICIZED.