By Jenae Cohn. My adviser nods along through my project’s pitch. He’s following, and I’m feeling pretty good about the progression of this idea.
“Well,” he says. “At this point, I think you can just start writing.”
Initially, when I realize I’m at the writing stage of a project, I feel a certain rush in knowing that I’ve actually got something - a real thing! - worth writing about. And hey, I like writing. I study writing, I teach writing, I read about writing, and I talk about writing (nearly) every day. Read more...

By Emily VanBuren. Preparing for comprehensive examinations is daunting. There is no way around it. Here at GradHacker, we’ve featured tips regarding studying for comps, tackling the written exam format, and surviving the oral exam. But for me, one of the biggest challenges when confronting qualifying exams is an organizational one: how to manage all of that information you’ve collected from those dozens and dozens (and dozens!) of books and articles you’ve dissected. Read more...

By Katie Shives. So many people equate graduate school with the pursuit of an intellectual passion. Right alongside this line of thinking is the assumption that doing what you are passionate about should make you happy without qualifications. However, anyone who has spent any significant amount of time in graduate education knows that it can be anything but the blissful pursuit of intellectual curiosity once you add in classes, teaching, independent research, service activities, grant proposals, and somehow fitting a life in around all these priorities. We all know how difficult the graduate process can become and the toll that this takes on some individuals. Read more...