[jahmez]

Just wanted to see if there is anyone here that plan to go to graduate school? I'm graduating this year and have applied to several places to get my masters in mechanical engineering. I've applied to 4 places: UCLA, UCSB, UCSD, and University of Washington. Sadly, I got rejected by UCSB, but I got accepted to the other three schools which is suprising. Feels like applying to undergraduate studies all over again. I feel all giddy and stuff.

So yeah tell me where you plan to go to and for what. Also, if you already attend graduate school then tell me where and how it's like.

[uandme4ever21]

Just wanted to see if there is anyone here that plan to go to graduate school? I'm graduating this year and have applied to several places to get my masters in mechanical engineering. I've applied to 4 places: UCLA, UCSB, UCSD, and University of Washington. Sadly, I got rejected by UCSB, but I got accepted to the other three schools which is suprising. Feels like applying to undergraduate studies all over again. I feel all giddy and stuff.

So yeah tell me where you plan to go to and for what. Also, if you already attend graduate school then tell me where and how it's like.

I go to professional school, but I am planning to go back for a graduate degree. Currently I am getting my pharmD. I am planning to go back and get my master degree in computational chemistry and an MBA as well. When it is all said and done, I plan to have a pharmD/ms/mba and work as a senior scientist R&D for a pharmacuetical company or as a director of medical affairs.

Grad school is hell, depending on your faculty advisor and or primary advisor. In the science department, it all comes down to funding. If your advisor has funding, then you don't have to teach as much and you can devote your time to research. The problem is some of the research you do is completely useless, it is the research your PI wants you to do, not what you are into. It requires coming in early or even on weekends, dealing with tedious mind numbing stuff. My friend spent 3 months correcting an experiment so that his data could be accurate enough to test. It came to 0.0001 of the actual value.
Some advisor could care less about you or your interest. All they care about is getting their name on as many publications as they can, even if it means at your expense. What do I mean? He could edit someone elses paper, get his name stamp on it, and it looks good to the school that he has all of these publications. At the same time, he won't let you publish any work because he/she doesn't believe your work is good enough quality, while all that time, some other grad student at some other university will try to get the same idea publish, thus beating you to it. Basically grad student = PI slave. Many of the people I know came out all bitter, with no jobs in sight. But when ask if they would do it over again, most of them said yes, because it was what they love learning. One of my friend, after he graduated, got a job paying him 25K a year. Yep, 25K a year. Why? Because his research is useless. It is mind intensive. The guy was a quantum physicist. But his research was very impratical.
As a professional student, my future is secure, I am gurantee a 6 figure salary with jobs offer left and right. However, I hated everything I learned. Everything in professional school is told to you. You have to follow rules, protocols, and set guidelines, unless you want to to be sued by your patient. I was constantly stress out with the shear volume of work and the demanding patients. Nothing in professional school that is mind intensive. The average high school student with a descent science background could of understood what I was studying. However, I am constantly stress out by the shear pressures place upon me by the patient load and the hospital environment.

[MikiRei]

Ummmm - sorry about this but what's grad school? I dun think I've ever heard that term in Australia. Is it just simply Postgraduate degrees?

[Aziraphale]

Ummmm - sorry about this but what's grad school? I dun think I've ever heard that term in Australia. Is it just simply Postgraduate degrees?

Yeah, postgraduate degrees, after your undergraduate studies.

Grad school = graduate school. People go to grad school if they want a Masters or PhD. In the US, some programs are structured at the graduate level, such as law.

[michinsarang]

I'm going into graduate school for Cognitive Science. Uandme4ever21 covered alot of the bases LOL. Sometimes your basicly a slave; just pray you have a good advisor LOL. Anyway, if your going for graduate school GET GOOD GRADES, it will pay off. If you get into a good graduate school with good grades your more likely to be well funded so you won't have to teach and will likely get paid as well (not much though, ~30k). Otherwise your looking at minimum 120k+ for grad school if you grad in 4 years (going at full throttle).

The advantage of my field is its so new, small and still growing. Alot of anything in cog sci is pretty helpful for any area within it (since it's very multidiscipline). Unfortunatly not so for many graduate majors (where you may be stuck learning or doing things that have little to nothing to do with your interests). I just hope I have good advisers LAWLRUS!

Oh, another note is that grad school is usually very competitive, your looking at about 3-4 people out of 100 being accepted. So if you think you can squeek by with minimum requirements (said school only "requires" 2.8 gpa) think again! You may be competing with a large percentage of 3.8+'s!

[YUNA!]

Masters of Applied Arts, Design. =]
That's waaaaay down the road though. Like, 5 years later?@@..

.... ~

[uandme4ever21]

Yeah, postgraduate degrees, after your undergraduate studies.

Grad school = graduate school. People go to grad school if they want a Masters or PhD. In the US, some programs are structured at the graduate level, such as law.

Actually the typical law degree is consider a professional degree. JD is a professional degree. The alternative law degree, an LLD is consider a graduate degree since it requires research and thesis. JD is the entry level degree to practice law in America. I think an LLDD is more if you want to become a professor. Although JD can become professors too.

I'm going into graduate school for Cognitive Science. Uandme4ever21 covered alot of the bases LOL. Sometimes your basicly a slave; just pray you have a good advisor LOL. Anyway, if your going for graduate school GET GOOD GRADES, it will pay off. If you get into a good graduate school with good grades your more likely to be well funded so you won't have to teach and will likely get paid as well (not much though, ~30k). Otherwise your looking at minimum 120k+ for grad school if you grad in 4 years (going at full throttle).

The advantage of my field is its so new, small and still growing. Alot of anything in cog sci is pretty helpful for any area within it (since it's very multidiscipline). Unfortunatly not so for many graduate majors (where you may be stuck learning or doing things that have little to nothing to do with your interests). I just hope I have good advisers LAWLRUS!

Oh, another note is that grad school is usually very competitive, your looking at about 3-4 people out of 100 being accepted. So if you think you can squeek by with minimum requirements (said school only "requires" 2.8 gpa) think again! You may be competing with a large percentage of 3.8+'s!

yes and no. While grades are important to get into a good graduate program, some programs emphasize other things more such as research and undergraduate publication. My friend was not the top student at her school. She was a very good student, but clearly not a top student. However, she won many awards for her research. She was great in lab and had tons of publications. Consequently, that followed her through graduate work. On the other hand, I knew people who were top students with great grades, but now just one test tube away from complete failure in their phd program. Grades are one thing, but in the end, you still have to be good at research in the science area. You also have to have passion for what you are learning or else you will not go in on weekends and stay into the middle of the night. The greater researchers obsess about what their field day and night. My professor did not even know the Superbowl was going on at one point.

I'm going into graduate school for Cognitive Science. Uandme4ever21 covered alot of the bases LOL. Sometimes your basicly a slave; just pray you have a good advisor LOL. Anyway, if your going for graduate school GET GOOD GRADES, it will pay off. If you get into a good graduate school with good grades your more likely to be well funded so you won't have to teach and will likely get paid as well (not much though, ~30k). Otherwise your looking at minimum 120k+ for grad school if you grad in 4 years (going at full throttle).

The advantage of my field is its so new, small and still growing. Alot of anything in cog sci is pretty helpful for any area within it (since it's very multidiscipline). Unfortunatly not so for many graduate majors (where you may be stuck learning or doing things that have little to nothing to do with your interests). I just hope I have good advisers LAWLRUS!

Oh, another note is that grad school is usually very competitive, your looking at about 3-4 people out of 100 being accepted. So if you think you can squeek by with minimum requirements (said school only "requires" 2.8 gpa) think again! You may be competing with a large percentage of 3.8+'s!

yes and no. While grades are important to get into a good graduate program, some programs emphasize other things more such as research and undergraduate publication. My friend was not the top student at her school. She was a very good student, but clearly not a top student. However, she won many awards for her research. She was great in lab and had tons of publications. Consequently, that followed her through graduate work. On the other hand, I knew people who were top students with great grades, but now just one test tube away from complete failure in their phd program. Grades are one thing, but in the end, you still have to be good at research in the science area. You also have to have passion for what you are learning or else you will not go in on weekends and stay into the middle of the night. The greater researchers obsess about what their field day and night. My professor did not even know the Superbowl was going on at one point.

[losborrachos]

is it worth it to get a masters in fine arts? when my parents agreed to let me study film/theater in college, one of their terms was that i eventually get an mba... but if i can convince them that getting a mfa is more useful (with me aspiring to be an art director/production designer) then maybe i can get out of the whole mba predicament... then again, ppl are saying that in this field experience is more valuable than education...

[Tamago86]

is it worth it to get a masters in fine arts? when my parents agreed to let me study film/theater in college, one of their terms was that i eventually get an mba... but if i can convince them that getting a mfa is more useful (with me aspiring to be an art director/production designer) then maybe i can get out of the whole mba predicament... then again, ppl are saying that in this field experience is more valuable than education...

well are you asking if it's worth it to get an mfa or is an mba more valuable than an mfa? because if it's the latter then a mba is alot more valuable, but quite alot harder to get (if you're trying to get it at one of the top 15 grad schools). field experience is valuable, alot of people who want to get their mba already have 2 or 3 years of experience under their belt when they apply. With something like film / theater, both a masters and experience is going to help, you could work in the field for a few years then go for your mfa. It's really up to you on what you want to do.

Just remember, more important than any degree or experience you have is who you know, your connections. Make good friends with your professors and the people in your class that you know are going to make it big once they get out of college

[MikiRei]

Oh, another note is that grad school is usually very competitive, your looking at about 3-4 people out of 100 being accepted.

Eh? It's that hard in the US? Or did my brother made it look extremely easy 'cause he's just a freak? My brother did a double degree - B Telecomm Eng/M Biomed Eng - so he got a bachelor AND a master degree when he graduated - to b ALLOWED to do the double degree, u need to maintain a credit average. And I think to be able to do postgrad in Aus (well, at least in my uni), u need credit average and above - wow! US is crazy.

[Aziraphale]

Actually the typical law degree is consider a professional degree. JD is a professional degree. The alternative law degree, an LLD is consider a graduate degree since it requires research and thesis. JD is the entry level degree to practice law in America. I think an LLDD is more if you want to become a professor. Although JD can become professors too.

I know the JD is a professional degree, and it is structured at the graduate level, which means it is a graduate program in the US. You finish college in the US and then you move on to the JD program. In contrast, the LLB is usually an undergraduate program in most English-speaking countries (Australia, UK, New Zealand, Singapore, etc). After graduation from either the LLB or JD course, one can become qualified to practise as a lawyer - subject to requirements of the different jurisdictions and Bar Associations.

I think you meant LLD as in Doctor of Laws, which would quite naturally be at the graduate level.

[NAN]

Yeah, but I think it'll be after at least 2 years of working in the work force.

[sunshine4ever]

I don't need to go to a grad school in order to teach, but we have to go through the credential program at either my school or another school and I choose my school cuz I like our education progams there. I also think about coming back for my master degree, so yes, I am going to grad school later! Just need to work and save up some cash before I can do that. Graduate students pay more than undergraduate.

[ronmexico]

Oh, another note is that grad school is usually very competitive, your looking at about 3-4 people out of 100 being accepted.

This isn't true of all the programs. There are plenty of master's programs that aren't very selective at all.

Actually the typical law degree is consider a professional degree. JD is a professional degree. The alternative law degree, an LLD is consider a graduate degree since it requires research and thesis. JD is the entry level degree to practice law in America. I think an LLDD is more if you want to become a professor. Although JD can become professors too.

Professional degrees are still graduate degrees. Additionally, I don't think I've had any professors with more than a JD.

[michinsarang]

yes and no. While grades are important to get into a good graduate program, some programs emphasize other things more such as research and undergraduate publication. My friend was not the top student at her school. She was a very good student, but clearly not a top student. However, she won many awards for her research. She was great in lab and had tons of publications. Consequently, that followed her through graduate work. On the other hand, I knew people who were top students with great grades, but now just one test tube away from complete failure in their phd program. Grades are one thing, but in the end, you still have to be good at research in the science area. You also have to have passion for what you are learning or else you will not go in on weekends and stay into the middle of the night. The greater researchers obsess about what their field day and night. My professor did not even know the Superbowl was going on at one point.

Ya I know, for my field research is VERY important (if you don't have any they don't even consider you). Still, if your looking for full ride (everything paid for and don't have to teach/get paid also), unless you've done some AMAZING research your probably gunna have to teach :x. At least thats what I really want, debt is no thanks.

[losborrachos]

well are you asking if it's worth it to get an mfa or is an mba more valuable than an mfa?

i was wondering if it was worth the time and effort (cos by the time i graduate college i'll be... 24) i'm trying to avoid getting that mba, and hoping five years from now my parents will have forgotten our little deal...

With something like film / theater, both a masters and experience is going to help, you could work in the field for a few years then go for your mfa. It's really up to you on what you want to do.

that's what i thought too, i was just wondering if an mfa is going to help my career (cos everyone here in the theater/film department belongs to the "learning by doing" school while i like knowing what i'm supposed to do before i do it...

thanks for your advice...

[hydest]

Grad school is hell

agree V_V and i'm in hell now T__T i'm phd student and i think...since we hv to learn something new everyday ^^ and there're so many way to learn...grad school is just another way to gain your knowledge with a paper guarantee (a degree) >< err...i just wanna say...study always worths the time and learn what you feel happy with it ^^ and then you'll get the good results ^^ it's not necessary to be in grad school if you feel like you don't wanna waste you time in there ^^ anyway...good luck!

[yureebyul]

Yes, I think I am most likely planning to go to graduate school...although right now I'm only an undergraduate freshman in college though^^;;....I guess I still have a long way to go?^^;.... But it's my dream to continue to grad school keke... But my problem is...money >.<... eek....

[globosapien]

i'm planning to go into grad school right after college...

hoping to go into public policy studies or international studies

[mokka16]

imma planning to go to grad school, but have to wait 2 or 3 more years... imma also planning to stick to the same school