Your seemingly trivial, but important checklist of things to do once you join a grad school.
The Grad School Bucketlist
- Creating a New Official Email Address
As e-mails will now be your primary mode of correspondence with the college officials, professors or even the company professionals, and will also serve as an inlet for various technical journals; you have to ensure that you have an official email id affiliated to your college. This will be immensely useful for the purpose of official communications and while applying for internships or research positions. Also, a lot of technical journals and groups allow free access for their content if you have an official email id. - Networking
Gone are the days when you could remain content while knowing just the names of your classmates. Grad school is the right place for improving your communication and networking skills. Get acquainted with the interactions taking place with people across many fields and domains. Go out of your way for taking your share in this osmosis of knowledge, and don’t miss on socializing opportunities either. - Keep Track of the News
Subscribe the relevant magazines and newspapers, and the mailing lists to gain information about all the fields in which you are interested. Most of these subscriptions are free and provide you with interesting, and sometimes mind-boggling content which you may not find anywhere else. - Exercise Regularly
Along with all the intellectual skills which you possess or will learn, it is equally important that you also balance your grad school life with a regular exercise routine or sports. Grad school is the right time for you to shape a healthy and robust lifestyle. - Hone your Hobbies and Skill Sets
Rather than binging on the TV shows, spend your time effectively on that piece of art which you didn’t complete, or on that interesting circuit which you always wanted to design. Explore and find out your hobbies and skills, and spend time learning and enjoying through them. - Read, Read, Read
Books open up completely new vistas and provide you with an enchanting vision about the wonders and marvels of human knowledge. Delve deep into the world of books and experience the beauty of the world which you can experience only through these books. - Travel
College is the perfect time to pack-up your backpacks and put your best foot forward. Explore the places you haven’t been to, cement some mesmerizing memories in your brain and make new friends. Travel experiences will also give you good breaks in between your busy schedule and will keep you refreshed and exhilarated.
Grad school is a brilliant platform for you to define and further redefine yourself and discover what constitutes the real you! And with a bucketlist like this, you could comfortably enjoy and forever cherish the complete package of experiences that will come along with a life in the grad school. Hence, make use of this time wisely.
All the very best!
