The way people talk about graduate school on Tumblr makes it seem like it's an absolute horror show! What is the benefit of putting yourself through that?!
hello hello! Thank you so much, dearly beloved anon, for asking this question, because you have given me the motivation to put words to thoughts I've been having for a few months.
@kaiserin-erzsebet and I have been talking for a while about writing something like this about grad school, so this is my first, brief shot over the bow.
Short version: Because it doesn't have to suck! Grad school is challenging, but there are also so many wonderful things that can happen as part of the process. Meeting people who are interested in the same things as you, who ask the same kinds of questions, getting to do research about something you're interested in and think is important, getting to travel if that's part of your research, making friends inside and outside of academia, getting to sped time with and learn from professionals in your field--so much!
Longer version with the caveat that I'm getting a PhD in history so I'm speaking from experiencing the College of Arts & Letters gauntlet:
I know I occasionally complain or joke about The Horrors of grad school, but I wouldn't still be here if the enjoyment/benefits didn't outweigh the costs. Some things that can help prevent grad school from being a horror show:
Being mindful of green vs. red flags when considering potential advisors, and knowing what to look for. (Do they treat their students like human beings? Reasonable expectations? Comments from previous advisees? What have their students gone on to do? Average length of time their students take to get through the program? Their response to cold emails or student interviews?)
If you get the chance for an admitted student visit, DO IT. You'll hopefully get to meet some of the faculty you'd be hypothetically working with, and other students, which tbh is equally important because these are going to be your colleagues/classmates for a couple years. If the vibes are off....warning sign. Sometimes you'll have shitty people in seminar with you, but "man this guy sucks but at least the rest of us can bond over it" is very different from "everyone here is an incredibly competitive loner and looking for the chance to knock someone else over and take their place."
Give yourself reasonable expectations. Your journey through grad school is your own. Figure out what your non-negotiable points are for research, dissertation, etc. (is there a theory you're dead-set on using? Source base? Time period?) Aka, don't let your research change to fit someone else's demands if those changes aren't reasonable suggestions. (Read: don't be a people-pleaser with your work. A good advisor will give you suggestions that can build on what you already know/already want to do, or raise a red flag if there's some serious flaw. A bad advisor will say something like "don't work on this topic because I don't like it.")
