For most Winter Break is filled with relaxation and spending time with family members. For me it’s been spent researching School Psychology programs, requirements, types of degrees, GRE tutoring/testing sites and internship opportunities for the summer. This can all be very overwhelming considering that’s a lot of steps to complete. As a first generation student coming into an undergraduate degree was one thing but now a graduate degree is a whole different ballgame. Just like undergrad there’s an entry level test most programs require (GRE). This test is used to examine your readiness for graduate school and is required by most programs. Main difference is this exam is more difficult and more expensive. Each time you take it, it costs $200 and you can only take it 4 times in a year. This, along with the fact that graduate school typically runs at about double the rate of undergraduate tuition, can create a powder keg of stress for first generation students. How do I cope you may ask? A cup of coffee, a well charged computer and many tabs. I start by making a list of what’s “due first”, then organize it that way. First things first I need to find out testing sites/dates for the GRE, then I can focus on finding study sessions/groups or books that could be useful. Then I start looking at different programs for graduate school and see who offers graduate apprenticeships, scholarships or any sort of aide. Check out the requirements to apply/average GRE scores. Narrow it down to about 3-4 schools I feel like would be a good fit, send emails to department for some more information. Then slowly begin studying 30 minutes a day for the test day. Leaving my internship research for last since most do not come out until the new year. Now while that all sounds like a lot of work/research by breaking in down into a few days and asking for help from professors you can make the whole process much less stressful!
