The seminar about planning for grad school, hosted by Zach, helped me plan for my future and ask different questions about entering higher education that I had not previously considered. I plan on applying to veterinary schools which I think eases my process a little bit because I have decided what I want to study and it is a pretty big field with lots of opportunities and programs. I still have to look into specific schools with different focuses and unique qualities, but I think there will be a lot of varieties of schools that cater to my interest, unlike someone with a very niche specialty that might have trouble finding programs for that study at many schools. I do not know how this application will differ from other graduate program applications, but this seminar taught me that I should reach out to students in programs at different schools to learn more about the application and life at that school. I also have to think about other factors of different schools like what it is like to live there, the specific curricular focuses of each school’s program, and the perspectives of current students on life and the curriculum and work or research outcomes and opportunities after the degree. Overall, this seminar helped me to start thinking about these different things early, so I can better prepare when the time comes.

The Grad School Panel hosted by Zach Grobe has provided me with a little more insight into what I want to do in the future. It really helped to get a different perspective on the grad school application process and also hear from two people who have done it before! While there seems like there are a lot of similarities with the undergrad application process, Zach explained how there are different factors that should play into your decision. After all, grad school is a big commitment that should be based on the research work you would actually be doing, the location since you are going to be there for 5+ years, and much more. One thing I didn’t realize before was that it is very helpful to talk to current grad students at the school and get a sense for not only the program but the living situation. As with many things, sometimes the best insight comes from people who have gone through the experience before, and that was certainly true during this seminar.

When I attended the seminar about Grad School applications hosted by Zach Grobe, I came into the zoom discussion with a vague inclination of the materials needed to complete a graduate application. After leaving this discussion I now have a thorough understanding of how this process works as well as the intensity of this program. This was very beneficial in terms of helping me determine whether or not I want to apply to grad school right after obtaining my Bachelor’s Degree. One key takeaway from this discussion was that while we are undergraduate students, it is very important to build connections and network for our future interests. For instance, Zach explained that gaining insight from professors who are closely linked to the programs you are interested in can give you a firsthand perspective which can help you decide what or where you want to apply to. Overall, I am more comfortable with the idea of applying to Grad school after attending this panel.

Although I still have several years until I am actually going to be applying to grad school, learning about the process was invaluable. When applying to college in high-school I only really figured things out as they came up. Luckily, my school had amazing college counselors that helped everyone through the process, but I didn’t ever have a good top-down understanding of the process until it was over. This made some things extremely stressful as I would find out about some requirements without too much lead time. Luckily, everything turned out just fine and I didn’t miss any deadlines, but I certainly believe it could have been less stressful had I fully understood the process earlier on. Since I think there’s a good chance that I might go to grad school, I wanted to make sure I got that top-down understanding early on, well before actually starting the process. Attending a simple, no-stress event that quickly and clearly provided all of the pertinent information was exactly what I was hoping for, and was exactly what was provided. I think small events like this early on are extremely beneficial both to college students thinking about grad school, and high schoolers considering college.

I signed up for the seminar mainly to force myself to think concretely about it. Before it was like, oh, I guess I’ll go to grad school, oh, that’s not something I need to bother with now, and the train of thought ended there. But having the process outlined in front of me really made me think about why I was even considering going in the first place. Just because it felt like the right thing to do? Or because I couldn’t come to terms with already somehow being halfway through my academic years? Even now, I’m still not so sure.

The seminar itself was a bit scary at times, but extremely informative. It really turned “grad school” from this vague idea to something I could realistically start thinking about and plan for. I mean, I still barely have any idea of what I want to do, but at least I now know how to go about it. It was a good reminder to take a step back and evaluate my choices and what I’m aiming to do. Previously it was just fulfilling base requirements regarding classes, but now I’m reminded that I’m close to the point where I really have to start making choices…

Last Thursday, I sat in on Zachary Grobe’s Zoom meeting on how to prepare for applying to grad school.  While I myself am not currently intending on doing such (although that may change as I advance through my college career), I found his advice to be applicable beyond simply the subject at hand.  The general methodology that Grobe laid out for determining what grad programs are the best fit for someone can also be used to figure out what jobs or positions are best for yourself later in life.

I think the biggest thing that I took away from Grobe’s presentation was the importance of diversifying one’s options in order to have as many good opportunities available to oneself as possible.  There is always a small chance that you do not get any of the options that you desired; however, by spreading yourself over a wide range and variety of different opportunities, you can minimize that chance.  As a result, you can maximize the chance that you at least land one of the opportunities that you are interested in.  That way, you won’t get stuck doing something that you are completely uninterested in and thus are unwilling to put your heart into doing.

Last Thursday night I listened to the seminar about preparing for and applying to grad school. I am only a sophomore but I like to think ahead and be prepared. There was lots of great information and tips on how to make the process easier and how to choose which schools to apply to and which programs. My major here at Cornel sets me up to go into a streamlined program at Ithaca college for getting my Masters of Teaching in Agricultural Education. I really think that this that the program is something that I want to do. The program and my major are intertwined and so that would allow me to take all the prereqs that I need for the program there. If I get my masters in Ag Education then I can be an Ag teacher anywhere and I can work for Cornell Cooperative Extension offices anywhere. It just makes sense to do this so that once I get those entry level jobs I will be able to move up quicker and have jobs that require a masters. The program is roughly 13 months long, so I would be done fairly quick. Listing to this seminar gave me the chance to think about other schools and programs that have what I am looking for, but since my major at Cornell and the Ithaca program are working together so well and trying to make this process easier for people, it makes since to go there. If I went there I could possibly still live at home and make things cheaper for myself too. I enjoyed listening to this seminar as it really opened my eyes and kind of set in stone that this what I want to do and that I need to continue taking the prereqs.

In a class I took my first semester at Cornell. HE 1115, the instructor Mike Chen always emphasized how important it was to complete little chunks of work each day instead of waiting until the few days before an assignment is due. I struggle with this since, often, just the idea of completing a major assignment can stress me out so much that I wait until the latest appropriate moment to begin. This lesson was also something that House Fellow Zach Grobe made a point to emphasize in his Grad School 101 Seminar. The process of applying to grad school– researching schools, taking exams, writing essays–while balancing my semester workload is one that often stresses me out when I think of what my last year at Cornell might look like. I don’t want my last year to be burdened by the thought of all the work I am going to have to do for applications. This seminar really helped me realize how important it is to start the process early on just to continually familiarize myself with the deadlines for each step. This way, it is easier to visualize what needs to be done by when and to have ample time to plan out each move such as taking specific standardized exams, asking for letter of recommendation, writing a personal statement. When I am stressed about school assignments, I often find that just starting the assignment helps to alleviate a-lot of the stress because I feel like I am being productive and I realize that the assignment is not that bad after all. Hopefully, I can motivate myself to apply this to grad school applications so that future me is able to enjoy her last year at Cornell.

I attended the talk last week by Zachary Grobe about applying to graduate school. I’ve known since coming to Cornell that I want to go to graduate school, but the real implications of that have only floated in the back of my head, and recently it has hit me that, indeed, grades still matter, even though I really thought I’d be done worrying about those numbers when I graduated high school. Thursday’s seminar reminded me of the talks I would go to as an anxious high school junior and senior still discovering what it means to be evaluated as a “promising” student and, ultimately, member of society. It also reminded me of what little value such an evaluation holds to my character and in the long-term trajectory of my career.

It was a gentle and necessary push for myself to remember that little things I’m doing now can mean a lot later–be it on my resume or in a technical question on an entrance exam–and also that I don’t have to wait to do big things right now if I want to, such as research and projects. Attending this seminar also made me a bit more introspective than I have been for while about what type of contributor and student I am, what my strengths are, and what I want to do with them. Overall I enjoyed the seminar and I think now that I have a lot of thinking to do.

This week I attended the graduate student information session. A common theme of the conversation was the importance of starting early, beginning with an honest assessment of personal goals. I have known personally for a long time that I want to attend graduate school so but, I had very little knowledge of the application and acceptance process. The entire process was broken down into five fundamental steps which I found very useful in making a process as stressful and complex as this much more manageable. Additionally, the session served as an indication that I need to begin the process, at least by beginning to explore programs of interest inside my major: microbiology.

I found the information about the Personal Statement and the Diversity Statement very informative. I often struggle on applications because I cannot decide what aspects of my life to include so by offering advice such as that the personal statement should be an explanation and expansion of a resume was encouraging because then aspects of my life that tie together and are very impactful on my day to day life can be explained in more detail rather than only explained by a phrase in my resume.

I counted yesterday; I got over 35 emails about school events, opportunities, clubs, canvas updates, and training notifications. I deleted most of them, as I usually do, hoping that I would not miss an essential email, a deadline, or a useful event. In the past, any email with grad school in the title would be immediately deleted, since I try to minimize my stressing about applications. I know once I start the search, it will be never ending until I finalize my plans. My friends can always tell when I am stressed about something going on because my workspace will be surrounded by sticky notes, to-do lists, and reminders. While applying to undergraduate admissions two years ago, I had to document and organize everything: school statistics, distance from home, and deadlines. Although I am incredibly happy at Cornell and have no regrets choosing to come to Ithaca, except perhaps the weather, I only considered the campus environment and student life at the very end of my selection process. In hindsight, I was lucky. Attending the seminar by Zachary Grobe on applying to graduate schools really encouraged me to rethink my approach to further academia. While he suggested that the first step include some sort of list, the criteria were drastically different than I had originally thought of. Not only that, but he also noted that there were some benefits that grad students received from schools which I had never heard of. I’m really glad I listened to the seminar, since I now know that I will probably be happier if I forgo the rigid, logical structure of data planning at a slightly earlier stage and focus on the potential opportunities with professors and my personal comfort with the university. I have been set on a career for a few years now, and a good experience in my first few years in a lab are crucial to my happiness in the future. I also learned a lot about the statements that I will probably have to write-the key points of which will be stored away in a highly organized grad school folder. I had no idea the process was so different and so complex, and I would have made so many unnecessary mistakes. Although I should not be worrying about grad schools this year, attending this seminar drastically reduced any residual concern I have now and I know it will help me in the future to look back at what I learned today.

I have always been indecisive when it comes to applying to grad school or not. As a computer science major, having a postgrad degree brings certain benefits: jobs such as system designers that are more demanding in technical skillset are open exclusively to M.S. or PhD degree applicants, not to mention that the advanced knowledge obtained from grad schools promote those job seekers to a company’s top choice. Despite those considerations, Grad School 101 Seminar taught me that more aspects should be taken into account when making this important decision in order to pave the perfect path for success.

One crucial determining factor is weighing the benefits of an early start in professional career versus a professional degree. While it is true that M.S. degree testifies for the advanced academic knowledge, entering the job market early not provides a source of income, but also endows workers with valuable industry experience. When it comes to my field, the tech industry extremely values previous experience. Many job postings have key qualifications such as “5+ years of Java experience”, and the topic of previous projects is a staple component of interviews. Grad School 101 has prompted me to seriously consider the benefits of both options — and right now, I am actually more leaning towards starting my career early. After all, getting a postgrad degree after entering the industry is far from unusual, and great job opportunities come and go easily.

On Thursday, I attended a seminar about how to start planning for graduate school.  Among the very useful tips that I learned, I realized just how little I actually know about the process and grad school in general.  As someone who is not completely sure of their career goals, I have never really considered the details of what grad school applications would be like.  Considering that I have not even officially declared my major, grad school is not something I am currently thinking about.  However, I am glad that I attended this event, as I learned just how important it is to start thinking about it early.  One of the most important things stressed in the seminar was that, before applying, you must consider if grad school is necessary for your professional goals and, furthermore, exactly what you would want to study and research.  After hearing more about the details of applying, I feel that I can start to consider how my experiences and classes at Cornell now would translate into a grad school application.  Another aspect of this event that I found really interesting was the differences between undergraduate and graduate school applications.  I am used to the undergrad college application mindset that it was in part surprising to hear about how grad schools are considered to be good based on their programs, faculty, and research rather than a national ranking and “prestige” such as with undergrad.  Putting myself into this alternate mentality will definitely help if I decide to apply to grad school in the future!

Ever since I picked out my majors, I’ve been dead-set on attending graduate school, and the Grad School 101 Seminar didn’t change that in the slightest. However, after hearing what Zach Grobe had to say about the process as a whole, I’ve been able to better orient myself in the process and I feel far more prepared. Ironically, despite having learned so much more about the process of finding and attending a graduate program, this new knowledge has led me to feeling unprepared in new ways that I never expected. This feeling of having gone two-steps-forward and one-step-back is not the fault of the seminar, but rather, the mysterious nature of the path to graduate school. And despite this seemingly counterproductive result,  it’s actually the best possible outcome. As a result of the seminar, I have become acutely aware of what’s ahead, and I can now better prepare myself by taking small, meticulous steps early rather than large, clumsy ones later.

After attending the Thursday Seminar: Grad School 101, I have received a lot of information about graduate school that I really thought I already knew. I did not know that there was a whole process for determining where I would want to go after undergraduates. The first steps are to determine if this path itself is one you want to take, whether your career goals match what your education goals are. Next is figuring out where in the world you would want to be situated. For example if you get into a grad school in New Mexico, you would have to consider living there during the time being and how you are going to get there. Another big thing is making a list of all of your goals. In the seminar they emphasized making a long list of your many aspirations then to condense it into a more realistic, smaller list. However one of the most crucial parts to this process is the application process. This includes choosing what to apply to, deciding if the program you are applying to is the right one, debating whether you would have a good chance of getting into the school, etc. One of the things that I did not really consider in this process is the writing of personal statements. You really need these when applying for internships, research, or getting into programs within institutions. In the seminar I have learned what not to write on these important documents and what to emphasize. After, doing all this I would not have even known if I didn’t attend this seminar that applications are due April 15th and that we do not have the whole year to wait to apply. Overall, this seminar has been very helpful as I definitely plan to go on to graduate school to pursue my careers of obtaining a master’s degree.