Returning to the Academic World

by Brian Freedman

So you've decided to go to graduate school after some time away from academia. What do you do now?

The first thing you should do is take a deep breath: This is not going to be as difficult as you fear. In fact, you could make the very legitimate argument that what you're doing is actually far more productive than the alternative. Going to grad school after having spent a few years in the working world - or touring the wilds of Timbuktu on horseback, or trying out unsuccessfully for the Philadelphia Eagles' defensive line, or whatever else it is you've spent the years since college graduation doing - can actually be considered advantageous. After all, you now have all that life-experience to bring to the academic table. And you certainly have a better idea of what the world outside school is like. Indeed, the lessons you learn now in grad school will be that much more relevant to you now that you have a solid idea of what you want - and don't want - to do with your life.

So now that you're finally ready to go back to those hallowed and ivory-colored halls of academia, you have nothing to worry about. You'll be just fine.

First, The Good News

As just mentioned, you are at a distinct advantage for having spent a few years after your college graduation in the non-academic world. After all, when you graduated college, you had effectively spent the last 18 years of your life - assuming you started kindergarten at six-years-old - in school. So if you had enrolled in grad school immediately following graduation, it would merely have been an extension of the same educational process youÕd been dealing with your entire life. And while that is, in fact, the right path for some people, it's certainly not the only one.

Chances are you've spent the intervening years either working in the so-called real world or pursuing some dream, like travel. Either way, you have a much better grasp on the nature of the World Out There than any student who has never had to find an apartment, pay bills, deal with taxes, a creepy bossÉall that horrible stuff most sane people dread and despise.

But you, now that youÕve seen what it's like, have made the decision to go back to school for what are likely very specific and well-thought-out reasons. You want to stay in the field youÕre already working in but increase your earning potential, or you want to make a drastic change in your professional path, or whatever. The point is this: By having spent time away from school, you can be confident that your decision to go back was both well-considered and part of a well-thought-out plan.

OK, So Now What?

So you've made the decision to go back to school. Maybe it happened one day in your depressing, fluorescent-lighted office "kitchen," the one with the microwave that smells, inexplicably, like tuna. Or perhaps you were conversing with your Pigmy Warrior tour guide during your spirit-quest in Timbuktu, and he recommended returning to school to study theoretical physics. However you arrived at the decision, you now have some serious work to do.

Your first step should be to re-establish contact with your old college or university. There are entire departments of people who are hired for this very purpose. Seek guidance from them: They are wellsprings of information on the best programs, the course of action you should take, helping you through the process, all that good stuff. Of course, they'll try to sell their programs on you, but that's fine: The more options you have the better.

Then, you'll have to do a fair amount of research on your own. The best place to start is (warning: shameless advertisement alert!) GradPortal.org or GradSchools.com. Your local bookstore is a good bet, too. Basically, any source that contains all the information you need, and that offers useful advice for making your way through the often arduous process of applying to the programs.

But Everyone Loves Paperwork!

You know that feeling you get around tax-season, the one in the pit of your stomach when you realize that filing with the IRS is more involved than just checking a few boxes on a government-issued tax-calculation sheet and sending it in? Well, learn to love it, because tax season is cotton candy compared to applying to grad school. Best, then, to get started early.

It's not that the work itself is all that difficult. It's simply that there are a lot of steps involved. You'll have to get official and sealed copies of your transcripts. And fill out applications. And get recommendations. And take standardized tests. And write personal essays. And write essays on your professional and academic goals. And write essays on the best recipes for macaroni-tuna casserole, especially the kind that can be baked in the funky-smelling microwaves of depressing office kitchens. Indeed, the amount of paperwork in your future is daunting, so the best way to survive it is to start early, do it slowly, and complete each part as if it were the only one that mattered. This way, everything will get the attention it deserves, and you wonÕt get overwhelmed.

And As Always...

...have fun with it. True, the previous 800-plus words may have made it sound impossible to have fun with this process, but if you look at this as the first step toward realizing your dreams, then it can be nothing but fun. It's very similar to the way football players look forward to their grueling pre-season training sessions, or to the way an actor relishes the long, solitary hours studying a new script before opening night: All this work you have to do before you begin grad school may seem daunting and occasionally boring, but always make sure you keep in mind the purpose of it: To make your life exactly what you want it to be. And there's nothing more rewarding than that.

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