The aim of the following document is to highlight certain points that should be considered before/when applying to graduate school. We organize the points and associated discussion according to four high-level hypothetical questions:
The document is certainly not exhaustive, and feedback is always appreciated. Opinions expressed are exclusively those of the authors'. Thanks for useful feedback: Benedict Brown, Joseph Calandrino, Jiayue He, Janek Klawe, David Menestrina, Frances Perry, Philip Shilane, Jeffrey Vaughan.
Links to other resources are included at the end.
Deciding whether or not to attend graduate school is hopelessly difficult and confusing for most of us. Luckily you can rest assured that your life will probably not be left in ruins no matter which decision you make. My experience has been that graduate school is more flexible and allows you to work on more interesting problems whereas people in industry enjoy a clearer distinction between work/play (in terms of weekends and week-nights) and are paid more. This is obviously not universally true, however, and you are best served by getting as much information as possible: information from people who have already made their decision, and information about your own preferences.
Even if you've decided to pursue a graduate degree, it may be beneficial to take some time away. Some people who go straight from undergrad to graduate school experience a form of "school fatigue," and might have appreciated the perks of graduate school more if they had worked in industry for a few years. There is no universally correct answer here either, as others may find it challenging to return to homework (or a smaller paycheck) after having been in the "real world" for a while.
Your grandmother was a pretty good indicator when deciding on which school to attend for undergrad: if she said "ooh, what a good school!" then you probably weren't too far off. Unless your grandmother is an academic in your specific field, however, it is unlikely that she'll be a good indicator in choosing among graduate schools. The reason for this is that the by far most important person in determining whether you succeed in graduate school is your advisor. (After yourself, of course.) Clearly there are other features of a school that can play a significant role (including the quality of the other Ph.D. students and perhaps location of the school), and one may quibble about the exact definition of "by far" in this context, but there is no denying the general statement. Unfortunately many of us don't know exactly who we want to work with before we apply --- or if the professor in question wants to work with us back --- which necessitates that you identify sets of professors (or research groups) whose projects appeal to you. The variable nature of the application process (professors' number of graduating students, availability of funding, sabbaticals, etc) necessitates that you apply to a range of schools.
Choosing an advisor is an extremely important but very personal decision. That is, people respond differently to various advisors and management styles. Some students prefer an advisor that is hands-on and gives direct/forceful feedback whereas others cringe at the thought of a micro-manager. Some people must like/admire the persons they work for whereas others couldn't care less. The bottom line is that the right choice of advisor depends on who you are and what makes you most productive. Like everything else, knowledge is power, so ask current and former students in order to get some sense of the person who will ultimately guide you through the thesis process.
2007/04/26 Haakon Ringberg