Common Grad School Mistakes And How To Avoid Them

October 18, 2017

Grad school can sometimes be tricky waters to navigate, but there’s no better way to learn how than from your peers. At this GrTS, grad students who had recently finished or would soon finish their degrees shared their advice on how to be successful, followed by a Q&A session.

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Introduction

Prior to the workshop, the Office of Research and Graduate Studies sent out a survey to USU students who had finished their graduate degrees within the last two years or who were on track to finish in the next year, asking them what their struggles were in grad school and what advice and strategies they had for current and new graduate students at USU. A representative from RGS, Heather Zollinger, began the workshop with a summary of this data.

The top three stressors for USU graduate students were time management, academic success and finances. Some advice that they shared regarding each of these topics is as follows:

Time Management

“Plan your day to 15 minute blocks. You’d be amazed what you can do in 15 minutes.”
“Set aside more time than you think you will need to complete assignments. Start early on assignments. This leaves time for the unexpected.”
Schedule time for personal life as well, such as leisure time or time with friends/family/kids/dog. “Defend that time from other things creeping in. Treat it just as importantly as if it were a meeting with your advisor.”
“You will be a better student if you take some time to do the things that rejuvenate you and help you let go of stress.”
“[Tracking time in Excel] would give me the truth of what my time w as being spent on. I would then adjust when needed.”
“I would spend three or four hours a week just processing electronic data, so I took a week to learn how to write some basic Excel macros and then my weekly data analysis would take five minutes…Efficiency is important. Even after graduate school, it does not get better.”
“Don’t get stuck over-managing your time. Be aware of it, but start doing, not worrying.”

Finances

“Plan and follow a realistic budget.”
“I decided to make small payments throughout my program to be able to not have the accrued interest. That did make me feel better knowing at least some part of my loans were paid.”
“I had to look at what opportunities my graduate degree was giving me from a financial perspective. I knew that financially it would pay itself off in two years.”

Academic Success

“I decided I didn’t have to get perfect scores. It was more important to have learned something than to have received 100%”
“Take one assignment at a time. Look at each one as being isolated, dig down and complete it, then take the next one, and so on. Don’t get caught up looking at the pile, just one at a time.”
“I learned that to be successful in my studies, I needed to find time for myself to rest my brain. I went to yoga several times a week, spent time outdoors, and gave myself positive reassurance.”

Panelists

Mikey Kettinger

Mikey Kettinger left a teaching job to study the intersection of art and science. After completing his graduate degree, he began working with the Nora Eccles Museum of Art and the Mobile Art Truck. He suggests that you:

Travel when you can. Cache Valley is in close proximity to so many things, including Boise, national monuments, Yellowstone and Moab. You can also go places from the Salt Lake airport for fairly cheap, like L.A. and Denver.
Have family and friends come and visit you.
Take advantage of the community you’re in and the potential it has. It’s easy to create your own student group. If there’s something you want to happen in Logan, the city is good at working with you to make it possible.

Justin Christensen

Justin Christensen got a Master’s degree in physics, studying how spacecraft materials react in space with the Materials Physics Group.

Justin said that when he started out, he thought he knew what he was doing, so he jumped straight into lab, collected data and started analyzing without writing things down for his thesis. Then he realized there were holes, so he had to go back and do research again. He suggests you start writing your thesis before you begin research, and keep writing as you go. “Write as much as you can as early as you can.”

He also said you should give yourself some leniency in order to stay motivated. If you get stuck on a big project, take a break and work on something easier. Start your day by getting up early and doing something simple so you can check something off your list.

Stephen Klobucar

Stephen Klobucar got his Ph.D. in Watershed Science from the Quinney College of Natural Resources. He shared advice for time management:

Set a schedule. Find what works for you, and stick with it.
If you have a large chunk of time, know what you’re going to do during that time. Shut off your phone/email, and work.
Set a period of time each day to look at and reply to emails.
Be sure that you’re setting achievable goals. Make a list of what you want to do and what you can do. Pick at things with small pieces at a time. Just one paragraph a day, and your thesis could (technically) be done in weeks.
Be sure to reward yourself! Take a break. Get some food.
Set yourself deadlines, but don’t fail to meet them. If you don’t, you’ll feel like you’re behind.
Follow the pi rule – everything will take 3.14 times longer than you think it will.
Don’t worry about perfection.
Learn to say no. Help others when you can, but don’t feel bad saying no when you don’t have time.
Don’t eat lunch at your desk.
Get a dog. It forces you to get out of your house and take it for a walk, and it makes you go home to check on it. It motivates you to get your work done.
Don’t waste 15 minutes. If you have a little bit of time, answer some emails.
Every once in a while, take a weekend to disconnect. This will help you be productive the rest of the time.

Malgorzata (Margie) Rycewicz-Borecki

Margie Rycewicz-Borecki previously taught Landscape Architecture at USU, then went back to grad school to get a Ph.D. environmental engineering. She shared advice on relationships with faculty and mental health:

It’s easy to feel stupid while you’re pursuing a degree because it’s impossible to know everything. Keep in mind that you’re really smart, or you wouldn’t be here.
You are just one person in your mentor’s network of relationships. Remembering this can give context to things that they say or do. You can also build your own network of support from other faculty members even though you may not work as closely with them.
Take care of yourself. Ask for help when you need it.
Help other people. They will help you in turn.
Remember that everyone is struggling.
It’s okay to have bad days. You have them, and then you move on.
Seek professional help for mental health problems. There are resources available to you on campus.

Sarah Wardle

Sarah Wardle graduated from USU with a Bachelor’s in music therapy, and then went on to get a professional degree in family and human development. She suggested you:

Learn how to be flexible and accept change. Sarah started out excited about research, but learned along the way that it wasn’t right for her at that point in her life. She switched to a professional degree and was much happier. Sarah explained that things won’t always turn out how you plan them in the beginning and it’s okay to make changes along the way. Allow change to happen without beating yourself up.
Avoid comparing yourself to others. Sarah shared an experience in which she expressed concern to a professor about not raising her hand to answer questions in class. The professor asked, “Do you come to the same conclusions as the people who answer questions out loud?” When she answered positively, her professor explained that people think differently, and that’s not a bad thing. Those who speak up need to work through the answers out loud, whereas she works through it in her mind. She didn’t need to compare herself to them, and this applies to many situations. Comparing yourself to other grad students won’t make you happy or be productive.
When you feel discouraged about completing your degree, remember why you started. You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t passionate about what you’re doing. You can do this!