No, the above title isn’t the name of some dorky-ass emo band. A colleague of mine reports that she’ll soon (within the next couple weeks) be talking to a group of humanities and social sciences undergraduates at a rural teaching college about what it’s like to go to graduate school. These students have likely never encountered or worked with any graduate students at their institution (which, my colleague reports, gives very little emphasis to faculty research). She’s hoping for responses to any or all of the following questions:
- What questions do you wish you’d asked before applying to or attending your graduate program? What questions are you glad you asked?
- What surprised you the most (positively and/or negatively) about your graduate school experience?
- What advice would you give to an undergraduate considering graduate study in your field?
- What do you like and dislike most about graduate school?
- If you had known as an undergraduate what you know now, what would you have done differently?
- What other thoughts or advice might you offer?
I’ve already pointed her towards the “Run away! Run away very fast!” links over at Invisible Adjunct, and noted as well that my perspective is a little more hopeful than IA’s. I’m sure she’d be grateful for any additional feedback you might be willing to offer.
*claps both hands over mouth*
Mike, what’s an emo band? asked the clueless middle-aged man listening to Glenn Gould’s 2nd run at the Goldberg Variations.
In two words: nerdy punks. Jimmy Eat World and Dashboard Confessional are two popular examples. Not to promote such self-conscious foolishness, but you can find out more here. (The music sometimes isn’t terrible; it’s just the fashion-prescribing wanna-be “authentic” angsty self-consciousness I find kinda silly.)
And yeah, I’m pretty fond of Gould’s 1981 version, as well.