What to Expect in Your Grad School Experience

If you are looking for more details about the grad school experience, you are in the right place.

Once you finish your bachelor’s degree, you can apply to a graduate program, which means you have officially made it to the master’s level.

A master’s degree program is so intense at the graduate level is that you are learning to master the material that you are learning.

I attended a two-and-a-half-year graduate program to receive a Master of Science in School Psychology.

In this post, you will learn all about what to expect for your grad school experience!

If you are looking to obtain a master’s degree and attend grad school, you will want to know how you can prepare mentally and emotionally so that when hard times come, you can push through. 

The reason I was searching for a master’s degree is because I had a bachelor’s in public relations, and I was looking to advance in my career.

Pursuing my bachelor’s degree was difficult when I did not build a resume, and I didn’t feel like there were many job opportunities.

Should you attend grad school?

Grad school is a great option if:

• you have a bachelors degree and are not using it
• if you have a passion for a field that will bring you a job
• want to advance in your career 
• you want more career opportunities 
• are looking for higher income to support your family while doing what you love

If you can relate to one of these options above, don’t be afraid of grad school. Everything you went through to get your bachelor’s degree has prepared for you a master’s degree. 

What you do have to consider is if you have chosen a master’s degree that you will love enough to dedicate 2-3 years of you’re life to.

On a positive note, you may have had a bachelor’s degree for quite some time or may feel like another 2-3 years is A LONG TIME. But, think about how fast time has gone by, and once you are done, you will have your degree forever.

Reasons it is great to have a masters degree:

• more career opportunities 
• wide variety of knowledge
• you will have room to advance and make more money

What it’s like Being a Grad Student | Grad School Experience

It takes dedication

Every graduate program is different. You may attend school four days a week for 4-5 hours. Other programs may only expect you to attend two days a week and require more bookwork, homework, and practicum hours on your own time.

When I applied for the forensic psychology program, I attended school Monday through Thursday from 4:30 PM until 9:00 PM.

However, I enrolled in a second program to be a School Psychologist, and I only needed to go to class on Monday and Wednesday from 4:30-9:30 PM and one Saturday a month. 

There were also practicum hours that I completed on my own time at home.

You want to ask the program advisor what days and times you will have to meet in the program and if it changes each semester.

Finding out this information ahead of time will help you figure out if you can commit to those hours ahead of time.

Consider decreasing your work schedule

If you are working full-time hours or more than 40 hours a week, you may have to decrease the hours that you work. 

Obtaining a master’s degree is more difficult since you are mastering the material. It’s difficult to focus on a full-time job while in a graduate program.

You may want to look over your bills and see if you can pay off any outstanding debt to lower your bills, so that you can try to get a part-time job.

Here is A List of 18+ Great Jobs for College Students that you may want to look at to help you find jobs. I listed a few that I used to get through college.

It honestly depends on the program and what you know that you can handle.

You’ll have a cohort

When you are in a master’s program, you will be surrounded by other adults learning the same material as you. This group of people in your class is called your cohort. 

You will want to build strong connections with your cohort because you will need support from others that understand what you are going through.

Your cohort will also be the people you pair within the class for activities, at-home projects, or send a text when you need help with an assignment.

You will be limited on time with family

Family is the most important thing to all of us. They may be the reason that you wanted to enroll in the program in the first place.

Although your family is so important, they may not always feel that way when you are trying to focus and master the material.

Your husband, children, parents, and close friends may feel like they hardly see or get to spend time with you. 

When I started my master’s program, my husband and I recently got married. There were many times I felt as if I neglected him. Honestly, if you are dating or married, make sure the man you are with understands that you are not always available to them. 

Sometimes I came home, and he was asleep, or he wanted to hang out, and I needed to study. Our schedules were opposite at times, and the days were long.

You will have to set aside time to hang out with them and plan dates. I was blessed that my husband was very understanding. I always knew that once I finished my homework and attended to my daughter, he needed my attention.

Before you consider which program you apply to, have a family discussion about what it will take to get your master’s degree. I used two calendars in my house. 

One for family and one for the work schedule that I could use to communicate with my husband. We worked hard to set one day aside for family time.

You will want your family to be understanding and need them to be on board to help you through tough times so that you can get through this.

Prioritize and plan your schedule

Many people have families, children, spouses, and close friends while they work toward obtaining their master’s degree. You can do it too, with a plan. 

The best way to get through an intense program is to prioritize your time.

You will need to plan your schedule so that you know what days you have to attend school. This plan will only last for 2-3 years. 

If you work part-time, you can separate your time even if you have children. 

You will want to create a schedule that includes when you:

• go to school
• got to work
• spend time with family
• go to church 
• do homework 
• can get student support time 
• complete practicum or internship hours
• do your laundry and dishes
• visit close friends

If you are not a “big scheduler,” you will want to prioritize your schedule so that you can be successful in the program.

There were times I felt like I had it all together and times that I struggled. Most of the time, it was because I was not prioritizing my time and needed a schedule for those two and a half years to be successful.

Once I developed a plan, I stuck with it so that I could have sanity, sleep, and time to tackle all the things that were important.

What is practicum?

Practicum is time to learn the material through experience while you are completing coursework. It is not as intense and hands-on as an internship. 

Think of practicum as practice. You may focus on specific skills that you will use during the internship.

During my master’s program, I had 2-3 courses a semester with an additional practicum course. We met once a month on Saturday for practicum. During that time, I was in the schools completing approximately 40 hours a semester with completing coursework. 

During the practicum, I shadowed the school psychologist to see how they administered assessments or focused on specific areas in the schools. 

During my second year, I practiced administering some assessments, score assessments, and more.

Practicum is different for every program. Some programs have more hours of practicum or only have an internship during coursework rather than practicum.

What is an internship?

An internship is a time you work to complete 600, 1,200, or 2,000 hours during your master’s program. Again this varies for every program. 

I only needed 1,200 hours of internship, which was at the end of my program. Once I completed all of my practicum hours and coursework, the internship was the only thing left.

I completed internship hours during the school year at an elementary and middle school. My cohort and I met every other Tuesday to check in with our internship supervisor, ask questions, and turn in our hours.

Your internship hours will vary depending on the program that you choose. Some internships are 2-3 years during your coursework. You may also complete internship hours. 

During an internship, it is impossible to work full-time because you are sacrificing your time to master the material hands-on. 

The internship is your full-time job. You will give so many hours to complete your internship. Everything you do on-site is time towards your hours. 

My program allowed me to collect “at home” hours if I was writing a report or scoring assessments from home. 

Take a break and time off to stay motivated in grad school

Because you are so focused, you will feel like you do not have time for anything. Taking breaks and time off is crucial for your mental health. 

You do not want your mental health to tank. It is EVERYTHING. If you aren’t motivated or happy, you won’t focus, be successful, and get your degree! 

Find small snippets of time you can give to yourself. 

You will want to find times in the evening or early in the morning to try to work out or have some peace a quiet to maintain the sanity that you need.

The great thing about school is you will always have Spring break, Thanksgiving, Christmas break, and maybe a summer break.

I always worked hard during the semester so that I could enjoy time with family. When we were together, I shut the computer off, and the school books were put away. 

On family vacations, I took my laptop and books with me. I typed assignments on the road and when we drove back home. 

During my internship, when I worked 50-60 hours a week, I would find a weekend when I could take one day off to do an overnighter with my family. But as soon as I got home, I knew I had to write a report, and it was back to business!

It is okay to take breaks to keep the motivation, but you have to mentally train yourself to revert to the hard work it takes to keep going each semester.

Study, utilize Grammarly, and go to the student success center

Now that you are in a master’s program. You are expected to write at a higher level. This is because you are held to a higher standard in your field of choice.

If you have not started using this to write papers, essays, or reports, you’ll want to use Grammarly. It will save your life.

Once you type your report, you can use Grammarly to fix silly errors and mistakes. Grammarly also assists you in writing quality level work by ranking you at a 60, 70, 80, or 90. 

When I started my master’s program, I thought that I was a great writer. Once I started typing papers, the professors cracked down on our cohort and told us that we need to go to the tutoring center to write at a higher quality level.

I started going to the tutoring center for every 10-page paper. Don’t be afraid to get help early on so that you can create new habits in writing. 

The tutors will explain what you can work on and how you can break bad writing habits. For example, you may have great ideas but are using run-on sentences.

At the beginning of the program, I ranked in the ’70s for Grammarly. At the end of my master’s program, I scored in the ’90s! 

Using Grammarly and getting tutoring early on will improve your writing skills and help you catch errors.

Feeling ready for your grad school experience?

Everyone’s family situation is different, but the grad school experience is fairly the same.

It takes a lot of motivation, dedication, and hard work to get through grad school. We planned a baby after a year into the program, and I know this will help prepare you to get through your grad school experience. 

I hope you feel completely informed on what to expect from your grad school experience. Now that you have all of this information, you are ahead of the game!