Some of you may know that I went graduate school shopping this past week. Allow me to start by saying that no, I'm not prepared to issue an official announcement as to the state in which I will be living come August. BUT I did learn some important things when it comes to shopping for graduate school.
Here's what you need to worry about:
1. advisor- It's the person who will help you make or break your career. A professor, who's interests are linked in someway with your own, under which you write your thesis/dissertation. Here's the kicker. Because you work under said professor, you'll always be "Lindsay Smith, Dr. X's student." (at least until you have a reputation of your own) Therefore, Dr. X needs to be someone great in your field. But it needs to be someone you can work with. A task that can be tricky when one's ego growth expands exponentially to the growth of reputation. Luckily, I think I've found a great advisor who is doing great research, and maybe one of the nicest guys I've met in this process.
2. Grad Student community- Graduate school can be intense and competitive. You want a place where you can fit in. It's like a "we're all in this together" scenario. You wouldn't think that would be hard to come by, but apparently it is very difficult to find. There are programs all over the country where students never talk, hide materials from one another, and generally contribute more to the stressful that is graduate school. =) I met some terrific people, and, based on my fly on the wall observations, they all seemed genuinely concerned for one another.
3. Funding! - perhaps I've listed these in the wrong order. Or maybe not. I think you have to find the right combination of great environment, academic success, and funding. It's like spokes of a wheel, one can't be missing, or substantially disproportionate to the other sides. Balance is key. I can't talk much about funding now, but I'll keep you filled in on what I know when I know it.
So there you have it, the three rules of selecting a graduate school. Of course there are more, but these were my big three when it came down to a visit. And I have to say, my visit passed all areas with flying colors.
