Late Homework Nights

Admittedly, these happen in grad school. Sometimes, they happen after coming home at 7 pm from a full day of class, internship, and a networking fair through the Korbel Career Office, and taking a 2-hour evening nap in order to prepare for the long homework road that is ahead. I’ve been in the habit of taking these evening naps recently–I’m still not convinced it’s a particularly good habit, but when I wake up I really have a lot more energy to tackle my work, so I figure it’s easier to just go with it rather than to fight it.

Tonight, I’m going to post on a topic that I really wish I had had more input on when I was in your shoes: applying to grad school directly from undergrad. If you have been reading my blog regularly, you probably know that I was someone who made the decision to apply to graduate school directly following undergraduate school. Korbel was the only school I applied to: I figured that if I didn’t get in I would take some time after graduation to gain some more experience by pursuing an internship in Connecticut that I found interesting, while working at a restaurant to make money. This was not an option I was repelled by–I think there’s absolutely something to be said for taking time off after undergrad to get situated, get centered, and figure out what you want to do within the field you’re interested in with more specificity. So I viewed it kind of like a win-win: if I got into grad school, fantastic. If I didn’t, that was okay too.

I started thinking seriously about applying to grad school during the summer of my Junior year. I was completing an internship in Paris at the Direction de l’Accueil, de l’Intégration, et de la Citoyenneté (Department of Reception, Integration, and Citizenship–a French government branch that dealt with various aspects of immigration, mostly on the policy and programming levels). Since I knew no one in Paris, I had lots of free time by myself after my internship ended each day to reflect on my life and sort through the various thoughts I had going on in my head about my post-grad plans. I knew I wanted to commit to International Studies broadly speaking, but I wasn’t sure about which aspect of it. I also wasn’t sure that I’d be qualified for the kinds of programs I was looking at. When I graduated, I would have Certificate in International Studies, a double major in English and French, and a minor in Hispanic Studies. I’d be writing a thesis on the perception of immigration in France, and what that meant for French national identity. I spent a total of six months in France. Was all of that “international-y” enough to get me into grad school?

When I got back to school in the Fall for my Senior year, I talked with my campus’s Graduate School Advisor, as well as some folks from the Career Office. They were both encouraging and immensely helpful. I was less convinced of my own qualifications than they seemed to be, but I decided to apply. I researched tons of programs, and–partly for reasons of location, and mostly because it’s a fantastic school–I decided on the Josef Korbel School of International Studies. It was the only school I applied to. I submitted my application materials at the end of December and waited.

In late February, my acceptance letter came. I cried and called everyone who would care. I was SO excited, and I had been half-expecting a rejection. Now, here I am in Denver, in the middle of Week 7 of my first-ever Quarter of graduate school at Korbel. Do I regret my decision? Absolutely not. I still couldn’t tell you with certainty exactly what job I want at exactly which organization or which government branch, but I already have a much better idea of what my goals are than I did three months ago. I’m exposed to new ideas and new skills every day in my coursework and in my internship, and I am confident that grad school will be, for me, a way of doing what a lot of people take time off after undergrad to do.

Obviously, everyone’s path is going to be different. What was right for me may not be right for you. I do think there are some takeaway lessons from all of this though:

1. START RESEARCHING PROGRAMS EARLY. If you’re a Junior and you’re reading this right now, I applaud you. There are a lot of grad programs in the world, and a lot of nuances to sort through. If you have a region of the world or the country that you want to live in, all the better–it narrows down your decision a lot.

2. DON’T MAKE THE DECISION LIGHTLY! Grad school is expensive. Don’t just apply to grad school by default, or for lack of other concrete options. I truly did give my decision a TON of thought, and I consulted with a lot of people about it. Treat it like the “Big Deal” decision that it is.

3. DON’T WRITE YOURSELF OFF! Just because you don’t have a double major in International Relations and Economics, and just because you haven’t spent a year in a developing country doing something really amazing, doesn’t mean that you aren’t qualified for a grad program in International Studies (or, as the case may be, International Human Rights, International Development, Global Finance, Trade, and Economic Integration, or International Security). Have faith in your abilities! If you’re convinced that one grad program is right for you, and you have the moxie (and the grades, and a demonstrated interest in International Affairs) to back it up, then I say go for it. I did–and I’m extremely happy with the choice I made.