Now What?

So, those professors you emailed before/during your application process? If you're still interested in their work, now would be a great time to tell them that you've been accepted into the program and would like to work with them! As before, ask for a Zoom meeting to discuss further details of what projects students are currently working on, what options you have for your first year, etc. There is a great pdf of questions (from Columbia University) that I found to be incredibly useful, and will also be linked below.

At the end of your Zoom meeting, remember to ask them for the email address/contact information of students that are currently working with them. Professors may sugarcoat things, but students definitely won't. It's also important to get the student perspective on how the lab works, how communicative the professor is, etc. Remember to always send a "Thank you" email!

Either through the professor you've just contacted, through social media, or friends, talk to students and alums about their experience at the school you've decided to attend. Ask them about the good, the bad, and the ugly. Every school will have things from all three of these categories. And if these are current students in your field, then you have someone that you already know before you even get there! Older students are the best for giving advice, as they're gone through exactly what you're going to go through in the coming years.

Get to know the students who will be in your cohort, as it's always nice to be surrounded by people that will share this same experience with you and have a built-in support and study group! My cohort made a discord group to chat about events, gatherings, courses, and any other information so everything is in one place and everyone is included. I understand that there may be the sense of competition between everyone, but there really shouldn't be. You're all taking the same courses with the same professors, and each student has vastly different research interests, so unless the university has a small selection of faculty to work with, you shouldn't be fighting for a particular advisor. You'll be seeing these people for the next 5-6 years, and should get to know them and make new friends!

If you are able to move to campus (or a nearby area within walking distance to campus) early, you definitely should! Take this opportunity to get to know the area, get yourself accustomed to the campus environment and where the buildings you'll have your courses in are, and find the best coffee location near you. And if anyone in your program is also there early, you can explore together! Finding out when the library hours are (if it's not a 24 hour library) is also important information to know... You might also be given instructions to get your photo ID card prior to a certain date, so make sure to keep an eye out for this information.

Odds are, you'll have an orientation the day or two before classes begin, where you'll be given your office keys (if your particular department is set up with offices), you'll meet the head of your graduate department along with other important staff members, and will be given free food! You'll also probably be given an overview of the entire program, and what will be the general expectations for each of the years and/or milestones. I remember being very overwhelmed, and that's okay! Just take things one step at a time, whether it be by semester, by week, or by day. You're not in a rush to finish the program, and should take every opportunity you're given with a growth mindset.

For my program at least, I'm required to be a graduate teaching fellow for the first four semesters, and can choose to continue being a TF afterwards. The first semester, the course you're assigned to is randomized, then you are allowed to reach out to professors (which is nice if you're dealing with a sequence of courses) and ask to be a TF for the next course. Some things I've learned while being a TF for undergraduate courses:

• Be consistent with your grading, and set early expectations for how you are going to grade.

  • Let your students know what you expect from them on their first assignment and don't take points off for everything right away (unless it's a problem set that involves getting a correct answer).

  • If it's a qualitative question, for major errors take off points, but for errors that can be attributed to a misunderstanding, maybe for the first assignment you can just leave them a note of what they might have misunderstood and how they can improve.

• You can never have enough patience.​

  • Sometimes students just have a difficult time understanding a concept. Your job is to see if there are other ways of explaining it, giving them other resources (maybe the student learns best through YouTube videos), etc.

  • If they still are having trouble, you can always suggest they go to the professor, and there's no harm in that! However, set your boundaries! Don't answer emails at 22:30 unless they're urgent. You aren't a 24/7 answering machine!​

• Re-grading assignments.​

  • There will be times where you incorrectly grade something, thought the student meant one thing but in fact they meant another, etc. Give them back the points if its genuinely a mistake on your part. ​

  • If you think they're just trying to get points out of you, let them speak with the professor, as they are really the final authority in terms of grade distribution.