# Starting Grad School Tomorrow--Scared



## retropat (Aug 25, 2009)

Hey Guys,
I'm sure I'm not the only one hear going into basket case mode with school starting. I begin grad school tomorrow and I'm just a ball of anxiety. You see, I thought I had a job secured after graduation this May, but it fell through and decided at the last minute to enroll in grad school. I'm nervous because it all happened so fast and all those "what if's" of starting school are on steroids because of the newness of this whole thing. I guess I'm glad I'll be challenged this semester rather than moping around my house, but I still just want to crawl under a rock. Anyone else feeling this way. Advice? I didn't help myself by going on ratemyprofessors.com and seeing that one of my profs is an all around d-bag. If worse comes to worse I can always drop the class, but I'll still anxious about meeting him. Thanks for letting me vent guys, I feel better just getting this off my chest. I know I'm lucky to have a problem as insignificant as this one, but it still sucks.


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## pita (Jan 17, 2004)

My favourite prof of all time had nothing but frowns on ratemyprofessor. I was going to drop the class, but I'm glad I didn't. He kind of _was_ a jerk, from time to time, but an awesome jerk all the same.

I'm not in grad school, but I think it's pretty normal to feel terrified about the whole thing. When I'm in new situations (particularly those that materialized faster than I would have liked), I find myself reading my anxiety as a 'sign' that I'm making a huge mistake, but it's rare that I'm actually making a huge mistake; usually, I'm just freaking out about change.

Many schools offer seminars to help grad students deal with stress and anxiety. Something like that might help you out.


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## retropat (Aug 25, 2009)

Hey, thanks for taking the time to respond. That's interesting about your prof and his rating. I guess I shouldn't put the cart before the horse and actually meet the guy before passing judgement. Also, I do the same thing where I let my anxiety tell me that I'm making a mistake. I'll have to look into help sessions about managing grad school stress. Thanks again, every bit of support helps.


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## SilentLoner (Jan 30, 2006)

I'm applying to grad school this year (for fall 2011). I have almost a year to prepare and I'm hating every moment.

Guess I may be in your shoes soon...


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## kenny87 (Feb 22, 2009)

why not try a little more job hunting instead. It seems like you got a degree, didn't get the first job you applied for and convinced yourself, "oh **** a 4 year isn't good enough so if I don't go to grad school I am gonna fail at life."


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## retropat (Aug 25, 2009)

kenny87 said:


> why not try a little more job hunting instead. It seems like you got a degree, didn't get the first job you applied for and convinced yourself, "oh **** a 4 year isn't good enough so if I don't go to grad school I am gonna fail at life."


I definitely see you point. Regardless of whether or not I got a job, I'd planned on going back to grad school. I'm just doing it sooner than I expected. I'm still job hunting since I have a maximum of five years to complete my degree so I can always take time off too work. Right now, I'm just trying to stay cool and get through tomorrow.


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## Ape in space (May 31, 2010)

The whole summer before I started grad school, I was worried sick. The thought of actually having to talk to professors and express my intention to have them as my supervisor was just too much to handle. Throughout undergrad I could easily make it through without ever having to talk to my professors, but now it was required.

My first day of grad school, during orientation, everyone immediately seemed to start socializing during the coffee break, and before I was even aware of it, I was once again left standing there by myself while everyone else was busy chatting. Great, yet another place I don't fit in.

I did very badly in my grad courses the first year, because the anxiety and depression of this new 'social' atmosphere sapped my motivation and turned physics into a chore rather than something I loved. But after I made it through that awful first year, things started to settle down and I got some of my motivation back. I'm still very nervous when I have to interact with my supervisor or the other students, but it's much better than it was my first year.

So I just wanted to say, try not to worry too much about interacting with people, because no matter what happens, it will work out okay. Don't let anxiety diminish your enjoyment of the subject or your motivation.


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## retropat (Aug 25, 2009)

Thanks for the encouragement. My first year of undergrad was probably one of the worst years of my life so if I could get through that I'm sure I can get through this.

My first day of classes went pretty well actually. The professor that got a bad review online actually seems like he'll be OK. He's not the "warmest" person, but he gives lots of opportunities to resubmit work if there's a problem. I also really liked my other professor. I think both classes will kick my ***, but I've been stagnant for too long so this might just be what I need.


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## sadbunny (Sep 1, 2010)

I just started Monday and was a bit overwhelmed with all the presentations I have to be doing soon =( Alot of group discussions and a mandatory seminar class too...its killing me but I won't give up


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## Iota (Mar 24, 2010)

I'm in the same boat. No luck with jobs (I actually secured one but it fell through) so it is off to grad school. This should be an interesting time. Just remember, you already went through the hard work and got a degree... is this really going to be that much harder? Good luck.

To be honest, I still have yet to take a class that was harder than the AP History course I took in high school...


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## squonk (Sep 3, 2010)

I'm starting grad school next month. Happy to hear everything's going well; as long as you're committed I'm sure it will keep going that way.

I'd go on ratemyprofessors, but I can't really sub out any of my classes so it wouldn't make a difference aside from maybe making me nervous.


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## TheCanadian1 (Sep 14, 2009)

I'm starting today ... in an hour to be exact. I'm terrified!


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## theJdogg (Sep 18, 2009)

So, how'd it all go for you? I'm curious, because I start this fall.


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## ryanb (Nov 16, 2009)

*


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## theJdogg (Sep 18, 2009)

Great what did I get my self into?


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