So, you or a loved one has decided that grad school is the appropriate next step for your professional development. Congratulations! But now what?
You are likely aware of the rewarding and challenging nature of graduate school. You may know some typical stressors on mental and physical health that you can expect.
As someone who has had a rough experience on this path almost failing out (twice), I learned valuable lessons. You need to strike a balance between productivity and self-care to excel.
In this article, I want to share those lessons with you. I hope you’ll equip yourself to handle the journey better than I did.
(Disclaimer: No one paid me to provide links or to promote their content.)
Table of Contents
- Rely on humor
- Maintain or start a hobby
- Prioritize physical health
- Leverage your learning style
- Attend seminars
- Use RSS feeds
- Advocate for your goals
- Build a reputation
What are some tips for surviving grad school?
I will begin with health-related issues, transition to academic advice, and then wrap up with some personal anecdotes about remaining flexible and hard-working in the pursuit of life goals.
Rely on humor
A hearty laugh releases dopamine and endorphins, the brain’s “feel-good” chemicals, while decreasing stress-related cortisol levels. Translation: laughter is fun and good for you!
By triggering the brain’s natural reward system, laughter improves your mood and creates a sense of well-being. It’s a simple and accessible (read “affordable”) way to enhance motivation and cognition.
If you have not heard of or read Piled Higher and Deeper from Jorge Cham (which is the quintessential acronym for Ph.D., imho), I highly recommend you give them a try. They offer a lighthearted and shockingly relatable take on the graduate school experience.
Let’s say, hypothetically, that this is not your style of humor or that you need to detach completely from any semblance of your graduate school life. Try revisiting favorite movies or television shows. You can also try the XKCD comics, which cover a variety of different intellectual topics and have witty mouseover text. I know what this looks like, but I promise I read other things besides comics!
Creating a new support group of friends (even just one) in the trenches is really beneficial. Grad school is a lonely experience at times, and extended periods of isolation in a new environment or away from family is an ingredient on the recipe for depression.
I found out early in life that laughter is my main defense mechanism in coping with difficult situations. “Laugh to keep from crying” and “Laughter is the best medicine” are common phrases for a reason.
Maintain or start a hobby
Engaging in hobbies isn’t simply a way to pass the free time that you don’t have. A decent hobby or two is crucial for establishing a healthy work-life balance. Yes, you can have one of those.
Hobbies provide a sense of accomplishment that is separate from research, which is often day after day of grinding away for lackluster results and periods of stagnation. For this reason, I suggest an activity with tangible output, such as playing a musical instrument, although be sure not to push yourself too hard.
I took my kids hiking in nearby parks and continued playing guitar, but I did not criticize myself for taking the easier trails or failing to nail Asturias by Isaac Albéniz (never ask me to pluck with my pinky finger, please). A proper hobby should give your mind the chance to recharge so you can go back to cranking out your work or studying.
Prioritize physical health
Research indicates that physical fitness is closely tied to academic performance (Santana 2017; Welk 2010); however, the emphasis on physical fitness in the US tends to decline after high school. (Jett 2024)
If your financial situation is anything like mine used to be, you might have to use creativity in finding ways to stay active. Whereas today I am an avid weightlifter, back then even subsidized university gym memberships proved too costly. Instead, I found street parking a long way away from campus and walked several extra miles per day. Added bonus: I didn’t have to pay for quarterly parking on campus, though I did have several parking tickets by the end of the year.
And I realize this is easier said than done, so I’ll say this next part non-judgmentally: Try to eat healthy. There are factors that push against this, but a good diet makes a difference in energy levels and clarity of thought.
Leverage your learning style
- Visual learners make connections through images and presentations.
- Auditory learners benefit from listening to podcasts and lectures, often asking frequent questions without taking notes.
- Kinesthetic/tactile learners require an engaging demonstration of the source material, like a walkthrough.
To get to this point in your academic and professional life, there is no doubt that you performed at the top of your academic game. However, it might be a good idea to reassess your learning style to tackle the onslaught of new material and tight deadlines.
My epiphany came from daily hands-on collaboration with fellow grad students and postdocs in my lab: learning techniques by looking over their shoulders, having them work with me to debug the errors in my code, etc.
Here are a few resources if you would like to look further into learning styles:
- Education Planner offers a free online self-assessment featuring 20 questions to help assign the user to one of the three categories listed above. It’s not likely to be 100% accurate, but it’s a decent start.
- Thinkific has an informative post I recommend that dives into these learning styles in greater detail.
But it’s also not only about you. Part of the grad school experience is leading discussion with undergrads. It will benefit you and your students to identify and cater to their learning styles through the material you use.
Attend seminars
Go listen to people present their research. And not only in your field. Exposure to diverse ideas and methodologies beyond your immediate area of expertise makes departmental seminars a valuable use of an hour.
Attending seminars is an organic way to connect with researchers and explore potential collaborations with other groups. Interactions like these have led to helpful exchanges of ideas and new perspectives on my work.
Observe a variety of presentation styles and pay attention to delivery style and content that engages the audience. Not all presentations are equal in quality. Without naming any names, I vividly remember stellar presentations given by undergrads as well as substandard, lifeless presentations given by Nobel Laureates. These insights will serve you well when it’s your turn to present, whether in a group meeting, seminar, at a conference, or during your thesis defense. Practice a lot!
At the very least, the promise of free coffee and snacks makes attending seminars a worthwhile break from your routine.
Use RSS feeds
Set up an RSS feed through Feedly or similar reader to stay up-to-date on the literature in your field and in other general areas. Most journal websites have a link for this service at the bottom of their home pages (see below).
Some of the professors in our department mandated the practice of reading at least 10-20 papers every week. While it was voluntary for me, I reaped benefits from the discipline then and I still do to this day.
There is a caveat with the literature: Think critically (like a scientist) and don’t believe everything you read. A recent news feature in Nature showed a particular example of publication errors that can be serious and widespread, affecting dozens of researchers in a field.
Choose reputable journals as relatively trustworthy sources, but understand that no source is without error 100% of the time.
Advocate for your goals
So, I was accepted into the Biochemistry Ph.D. program at UCLA back in 2009. I loved biology and its intersection with chemistry, but I knew that I would not be happy running gel filtration columns all day for years on end.
After submitting my admissions paperwork, I decided I wanted to pursue a different area of research, so I asked my host professor during the site visit if I could switch my major to Physical Chemistry instead. He had no reason to accept my proposal, but he did and I am glad I asked!
Don’t hesitate to speak out and make requests regarding your future. They typically don’t cost anything. Early on in a program, reassess the direction of your research and switch labs if necessary. Stay respectful and go for it! The worst any reasonable person will do is say “No.”
If that happens, grin and bear it, and refer to Steps 1-3 above. Consider it training for adulthood.
Build a reputation
Work hard and build rapport with advisors, professors, fellow students, and staff. This sounds hackneyed and cliché, but it could change your life. Follow me for a minute while I elaborate using a personal example:
With teaching and coursework behind me, it was time to prepare for the oral candidacy exam. This step tests independent identification and critical analysis of an important scientific topic. The candidate devises creative approaches to research problems and presents findings in written and oral forms.
I agonized for weeks scouring the literature and picking a topic. I chose to utilize spectroscopic methods to investigate the dynamics of solvent molecules (namely, water) within the solvation shells of ionized solutes. For the life of me, I cannot remember the significance of my choice, which is probably why I failed the first time.
Second chance on my oral candidacy exam
Official UCLA guidelines clearly state:
- A maximum of one retake opportunity is permitted by the UCLA Graduate Division, contingent on the agreement of the candidate’s chosen Committee.
- A second failed attempt will result in the need to “discuss your options with the Graduate Student Affairs Office.” In other words, pack your things.
- The oral exam must be completed by the end of the second year of graduate studies.
I had already progressed into my third year when I failed a second time.
I was advised to seek another graduate school or be dismissed to the MS program, with readmission into the PhD program offered at a future time contingent on availability and competition.
Impostor syndrome kicked in full force and my mental health took a nosedive. I wrote research proposal letters to several professors at UC Irvine and UC San Diego, desperately trying to balance my professional aspirations and my desire to keep our family near in-laws in southern California. The situation looked pretty grim…
Third time’s a charm?
Against all odds (and regulations), my advisor, seeing my plight, graciously advocated for an unprecedented third try. I pulled myself together for one final attempt, and I passed!
This was a defining moment in my scientific journey in which I knew that Academia was not for me. I had to face the fact that I was not creative or talented enough, at least at the time, at conceiving ideas and writing proposals. I shine by devising and optimizing solutions to ongoing challenges like drug discovery.
The point is this: having established a reputation for hard work and being personable within my department, I received crucial support when I needed it the most.
Closing thoughts
Graduate school is a journey filled with challenges and opportunities for professional and personal growth. By prioritizing mental health, engaging academically, and establishing integrity with yourself and your peers, you can navigate this experience successfully and learn a lot about yourself in the process.
Zealously contending your well-being and building a supportive network are key components of thriving in graduate school.
Good luck on your path toward academic success! Thoughts or questions for me? Drop them below.
Until Next Time,
Avery
Sources
- Santana, CCA et al. “Physical fitness and academic performance in youth: a systematic review.” Scand J Med Sci Sports, 2017, 27, 579–603.
- Welk, GJ et al. “The association of health-related fitness with indicators of academic performance in Texas school.” Res Q Exerc Sport, 2010, 81, S16–23.
- Jett, KM et al. “Qualitative study on undergrad to grad health.” Int J Exerc Sci, 2024, 17, 1038-1055.