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Housing

When looking at an apartment, if the current occupants are there, take them aside and ask THEM about the apartment: is the landlord decent, how much do utilities really cost, has there been a bug or rodent problem, etc. Unlike the realtor or owner, they are likely to give you an honest and candid answer!

Dissertation and Thesis Tip

if you're having real difficulty finding time to work on your thesis, try the following exercise. For 2 days, from the time you get up until you go to bed, log on a note pad every activity you do and how long it took to do it. After 2 days, identify those activities that are less important or immediate than working on your thesis. Plan to substitute thesis work during those times until your working at least 3-7 hours per week on your thesis. it has been found that with just 7-10 hours of work a week, most students can finish their dissertations in 2 years or less.

Holiday Stress

Chances are most graduate students are under an enormous amount of pressure during holidays. End of semester deadlines and holiday stresses are piling up. Add to that the intense fatigue and isolation that sometimes accompany graduate work and it can feel like there is no way out. if you or anyone you know is feeling anxious or just needs to talk, help is available. 1-877-GRAD-HLP is a national crisis-line staffed by trained counselors who understand your unique pressures and know how to help.

Financial Pressures By Ron Blue

Ron Blue summarizes the topic, Financial Pressures, this way, "Changing your financial direction is a four step process: spend less than you earn, avoid debt, build liquidity, and set long-term goals."

Step 1. Spend less than you earn.

Step 2. Eliminate all high-interest debt. "Paying off credit-card balances and auto loans can bring a guaranteed 15-21% return."

Step 3. Set aside one month's living expenses in an interest-bearing checking account. These funds can be used for minor emergencies with the intent to repay the account when funds become available. One of the greatest drains on graduate student emotional energy is the constant fear of financial setbacks. The added security in having funds set aside lends greater peace of mind and an ability to focus on study without worry of finances.

Step 4. This step may seem unattainable to those living check to check, but consider setting aside 6 months worth of funds for unexpected emergencies in a money-market account. For most graduate students, their primary investment is in themselves, their education and their future capacity to earn a living applying their craft in academia or industry. Long-term investments can be seen as a more future consideration, secondary to surviving graduate school. As one cartoon stated, "the money handbook for the rest of us: No-Money Management."

For more info from Ron Blue, please check out the following:

Ron Blue, The Debt Squeeze, 1989, 57-68 Ron Blue, Money Matters, The Concept Of Sequantial Investing, November, 2002 Ron Blue, Generous living, Zondervan, 1997, p. 87

Finanacial Pressures

When feeling financial pressures, be aware of alternatives to increasing your credit card debt. Check with the Financial Aid Department on campus for information about short-term interest free loans. These may be only $300-$500, but could help you survive until the next TA check. "Once economic difficulties begin, it becomes too painful to think about them, making budgeting and expense tracking nearly impossible. The time to prepare for the onslaught of expenses is while there are still funds to manage and before denial set in." Dr. Teresa Sullivan, UT-Austin.

Things not to include on a Professional Web Page

Phil Agre from "Networking on the Network" does not recommend including personal information on your Professional Web Page. if you do want to maintain a personal home page for your friends and family, or if you want to post your baby pictures and jokes and links to TV show fan pages, get an iSP account and create a completely separate home page for that purpose. He also does not recommend putting goofy stuff on your Professional Web Page. it needn't be dour and pompous, but is should not be frivolous either. Humor is okay, but professional humor. It's a fine line.

Grad Schools, how to choose

if you are considering grad school for the Fall, one of the best resources for charting your course through the process is "Getting What You Came For" by Rob Peters.

Family Life from 'How to be a Good Graduate Student':

'If you have a family, you will have to balance your priorities even more carefully. Graduate school isn't worth risking your personal relationships over: be sure that you save time and energy to focus on the people who matter to you.'

What is a Mentor?

Good mentors are able to share life experiences and wisdom, as well as technical expertise. They are good listeners, good observers, good problem-solvers, and make an effort to know, accept, and respect the goals and interests of a student. For more info, check out our recommended sites.

Offer Support

Offer support to the incoming graduate students on your campus, by supporting the National Graduate Student Crisis-line, 1-877-GRAD-HLP. To find out if your campus is participating in our fall orientation promotion (free rechargeable 30 minute phone cards), contact your graduate assembly/council or info@hopeline.com.

Women Grad Techniques for Success

Self-esteem and socialization are the root of many women's difficulty in dealing with new methods of learning in graduate school. Although problems like these are not going to be solved overnight, there are steps you can take to make your experience more rewarding and satisfying.

Hints on feeling Confident:
1. Set realistic goals. Remember, you're there to learn.
2. Recognize that many things can only be learned through trial and error.

if at first you don't succeed....

3. Talk to others about your experience.
4. Realize that you can never be completely prepared for everything.
5. Ask for what you want.
6. Negative feedback does not always mean that your are wrong. Don't internalize criticism.
7. Feed your self-esteem bank. Remember your successes.
8. Remember that time will help you feel more confident. Take one day at a time.

The excerpt above is from, The woman's Guide to navigating the Ph.D. in Engineering & Science, by Barbara B. Lazarus, lisa M. Ritter, and Susan A. Ambrose. Copyright, © 2001, iEEE Press.

Getting to the thesis

The hardest part of getting a Ph.D. is, of course, writing the dissertation. The process of finding a thesis topic, doing the research, and writing the thesis is different from anything most students have done before. if you have a good advisor and support network, you'll be able to get advice and help in setting directions and goals. if not, you may need to be more independent. if this is the case, don't just isolate yourself from the world: try to go out and find the resources and support you need from professors, other graduate students, mailing lists, friends, family and publications like this one.

For more information on this topic go to the article "How to Be a Good Graduate Student" by Marie DesJardins.

How to enhance your marketability

Regardless of your discipline, career counselors say there are ways to enhance your marketability:

1. Dabble in another field.
   Ph.D.'s who develop some expertise in a professional area like criminal justice or medicine typically find it easier to land a job than those who focus soley on their main area of study.
   
   

2. Get out of the library or lab.
   The most interesting part of graduate school might be the research, but knowing how to write grant applications or evaluate program plans and outcomes can pay off in the business world and at universities and nonprofits.
   
   

3. Teach beginners.
   If you join the academy, you'll be drafted to teach freshman-level courses. And in industry, your expertise is only valuable if you can relate it in layman's terms.

Peer relationship nugget by Nick Repak

Perhaps you have experienced a "worse than anticipated" condition among your pee rs in graduate school. if the fear of vulnerability, time constraints, and lack of mutual respect as individuals has soured you in your department, it may be ti me to look elsewhere for a support system. if you feel ready to initiate new pee r relationships, here are some issues with which you may wish to wrestle first:

• assess yourself; as a friend are you an encourager

• do you share feelings with friends, not just concepts

• do you seek like-minded people or a variety of views

• would you prefer to talk deep or talk sports (How 'bout those Cowboys?)

• do you seek accountability, critique, a light-heartedness, or depth analysis

• when with a close friend do you say what you think or guard your words

• as a listener, are you attentive, distracted, or concerned

• do you tend to "work through" relational conflict or avoid & abandon

Dissertation coach

...Effective strategy to overcome the gloom and doom of the summer months is to hire your very own dissertation coach. A coach that you meet with on a regular basis can drastically boost your productivity by providing support and helping you set up a structure with realistic goals. Some of the things you can expect from working with a coach are:

• Self-confidence that emerges from regular feedback and acknowledgment

• Accountability knowing that you will have to report to your coach on a weekly basis

• Prioritizing your weekly tasks

• Breaking down overwhelming tasks into byte-size chuncks

• Focus that comes with deadlines and weekly accountability

• Clarity and objectivity from an external, uninvolved professional

• Venting to someone who is familiar with the workings of the dissertation process

Dr. Sally Jensen
The Dissertation Doctor

How can I tell what I'm feeling is a clinical depression?

The hallmark of clinical depression is the total elimination of your capacity to enjoy anything. Often, the sleep and appetite difficulties are present. Conce ntration can become very problematic. One common refrain from my patients is th at they say, "i feel so awful and there's nothing i can do about it." Clinical depression does not need a "cause." it can come out of the blue for no good rea son. Or, it can come as a response to difficult situations, including those in which you feel powerless and out of control (does this sound like ABD-land?).

Full text from Dr. Joyce R. Kamanitz to be included on the site soon.

The pursuit of a Ph.D. entails much more than classes and research
by Carolyn Kleiner, US News & World Report

Like many prospective Ph.D.'s, Lauren Wittenberg arrived on campus a bit starry- eyed, dizzy with love of her discipline, psychology, and eager to fulfill a ca lling to the academy. She dreamed of becoming a professor at a high-powered rese arch institution, of standing in front of packed classrooms, lecturing undergrad uates about the nature of prejudice and stereotypes, and then heading to her lab to investigate topics like the social aspects of eating disorders...

Journal your progress.

For those in a program that is 5 to 7 years long, it is often difficult to see t he light at the end of the tunnel. Especially if a professor does not give you feedback. By Journaling a sentence or two each day, you track your own progress (each small step) and give yourself the strokes you need to keep going.

Rules for writers:

1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.

2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.

3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.

4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.

5. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.)

6. Be more or less specific.

7. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.

8. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.

9. No sentence fragments.

10. Don't use no double negatives.

11. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.