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10 Tips for Starting Grad School

What I Wish I Had Known Before I Started My MA

By Jamie KramerPublished 6 years ago 4 min read
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When I took the plunge and went back to school to study for my Master of Arts, I thought it would be fairly similar to my undergraduate studies in terms of pacing, workload, and difficulty. I was mistaken. It was more challenging in all the best ways and I loved every second of my time spent studying for my MA, but if I could start over, these are the things I wish I had known.

Live close to campus.

I spent the majority of my time on campus, whether in a class I was taking or marking for, in the library, or socialising in the grad lounge. Living within walking distance was essential for me. A five minute walk was much easier than driving for ten minutes and parking another ten minutes away from the building your class is in.

Budget for an extra six months.

My school had the option to complete an internship as part of our requirements, which meant instead of finishing within 8 months as I thought when I first enrolled, I would finish in 16. However, I did not set a good budget when I started and felt the monetary pressure near the end of my tenure.

Attend conferences.

If you can feasibly afford to go, attend a conference centered around your topic of interest. You will be able to meet people in the field, discuss your ideas, and gain new information that you won't be able to from the confines of your home. A lot of conferences help students pay for their travel, so be sure to ask for that!

Use a planner.

You will have deadlines that overlap and no room for maneuvering if you miss an assignment. Think of your MA as your job and plan to be studying for an hour every day for each class. One of my classes had between 8–10 required readings every week—without planning my time properly, I never would have completed them all.

Publish your papers.

Think of every assignment and paper that you write for class as one that could be published in a journal. Where did you get your sources for this paper? Seek out their submission guidelines and see if your paper matches what they are looking for.

Talk to your professors.

Your professors are there to help you learn, but also to help guide you in the direction you want to study. Find one that matches your interest and ask them about how they decided what to study and how they went about doing it. They have knowledge and you should be open to listening.

Schedule your classes within one or two days.

It may seem like a lot of time spent in class on one or two days, which can be exhausting, but it is better to get them done and over with. Dragging yourself to campus every day is hard. You have to schedule time in class and to review for your other classes in a shorter period of time if you are in class every day. I was able to have only two days of classes, which meant I could plan my other days to spend a few hours studying and still have time to myself.

Volunteer on campus.

It is great that you are doing your MA, but without any additional experience, it will be hard to find employment once you are done. Even if you are thinking about applying for a PhD once you are done, the majority of these programs will not accept you if you aren't a well rounded candidate. Spend 5–10 hours every week volunteering. A great way to do so is through a mentor program for undergraduates at your university.

Start writing your major paper early.

By now you are used to writing 15–20 page papers in a very short period of time, so you don't think it will take that much longer to write one that is 60 pages, right? You'd be surprised. Choose the date you want to finish by then start writing a minimum of six months prior. Don't forget that research is part of writing, so don't feel guilty if you don't get any "words on the page" each day if you are doing academic readings. Side note: make sure your supervisor knows when you want to complete your paper so they can tell you if they will be able to have it read and reviewed for you by then.

Enjoy your time.

You will meet fantastic people that are just as passionate about your chosen area of study as you are. Spend time with them because they will become your "people." Study hard, but don't forget about balancing that with living.

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About the Creator

Jamie Kramer

Jamie is an avid reader and believer in the magic around us. She runs a book blog, Books and Ladders, and spends most of her time reading. As an MA candidate, she understands the importance of politics in the world.

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