Is Grad School Worth It?
” “Jane,” Doc said, his sage eyes brimming with wisdom, “I’ve been out of graduate school for over 30 years. Everyone I know from school is either dead or retired. Maybe you should talk to someone who’s graduated more recently. Have you met with Bill or Natalie?” “Doc,” I said, my head hung low, “I’m at the end of my rope. I can understand if my professors want me to know what I’m getting into, but why do they have to make grad school sound so hopeless and scary? It’s hard to motivate myself to apply when all I have to go on is an overwhelming sense of dread coupled with the near certainty of failure. The application process is dehumanizing enough — the test scores that tell you how intelligent you are, the check boxes that tell you what sex and race you are, the rejection letters that tell you how worthless you are. The last thing I need is professors who don’t believe in me. Just tell me I have what it takes.” He looked at me fondly. “Of course you do. And so do most people who appl
