<p>There seems to be a lack of threads on this topic so here it is. Let it all out. I'm an incoming student and i'd like to know what people normally go through in their first year.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>First year of undergrad or first year of grad school?</p>
<p>This is a grad school forum.</p>
<p>Get used to feeling inadequate...</p>
<p>That's the best I can come up with right now...</p>
<p>so it's normal to feel inadequate</p>
<p>I've never felt less adequate in my life.</p>
<p>First year:</p>
<p>Experience - A good amount of coursework and exploration of possible Thesis topics, in addition to teaching/research duties.
Pressure - Not too much. Just don't make a C in a course.
Drama - Didn't see any. Not saying that it wasn't there or that you won't see it, though.</p>
<p>As for feelings of inadequacy, I suppose that they are natural given that it is easy to feel overwhelmed in Grad School. You are learning a new "game" and you come side-by-side with people who have played it longer and have more skill at it. Just remember that even the most senior Professor Emeritus was in the same situation and probably had similar feelings.</p>
<p>As a matter of fact, the most senior Professor Emeritus still has those feelings.</p>
<p>Don't believe me? It is referred to in many faculty circles as "the Phony Police." They visit you at any time of the day or night, asserting your inadequacy, and demanding that you produce proof of your worth as a human being. They show up often when journal articles are rejected, or when the comments suggesting revision are venomous. When you show them proof of your adequacy, they still convince you that your work is a sham, and you will soon be discovered for the fraud you are.</p>
<p>Ironically, if you are an academic and you don't have these feelings, then you ARE a fraud. ;)</p>
<p>A colleague just won the most prestigious annual prize for published monographs in his discipline. His initial thought was "They must have made a mistake. They'll clear it up shortly."</p>
<p>Thanks, everybody. So it seems that everything on PhDComics is true.
That's pretty interesting Professor X. I never knew a prof could feel inadequate, especially someone with as much street cred as your colleague. I know of some junior lecturers who feel that way, though.</p>
<p>Chiming in to say that you definitely will be humbled by other students and the faculty on a nearly daily basis. It's a weird experience going from being one of the best students in your undergraduate class to just mediocre for a while (or not, it depends where you go). </p>
<p>That said, my first year was really similar to undergrad. I took classes each semester, spent time doing homework, and studied for exams. Beyond that, I started doing things for my adviser my second semester. She's new, so I had to set her whole lab up, which has been quite the experience.</p>
<p>I know at Notre Dame it's likely you'll have to TA your first semester, which just adds to the stress of everything it seems. The first years there always seemed so haggard.</p>
<p>What really makes or breaks your first year experience is your class. If your class is cool and you guys bond a lot, then it's much easier to get through everything. I was really fortunate to have a class that I get along with well and one that socializes a lot with the older graduate students. Get their advice on as many things as possible!</p>
<p>I plan to attend this fall and I work full time. Is anyone currently working and going to school part time for masters? How is it to go to school after work? I know I won't have much time to study, but I only plan to take 1-2 classes each semester.</p>
<p>I am not in the situation that you describe as a Grad student, DCGuy, but I was as an undergraduate and post-Bac. It is not uncommon in certain fields - e.g., Library Science, Business Administration - and the trick is time management. But I don't think you'll have a problem.
Is there someone currently enrolled in the program who is in the same situation that you could ask for advice?</p>