How much work do you have to do to make it through Grad School?

Question

I was accepted for Gradschool, and starting my Masters in Information Technology on Jan 8, and im a bit worried. I found out that I have to maintain a 3.0 GPA every semester and an overall GPA of 3.5 to stick in the program. Im taking 8 credits, this semester thats two courses. I generally do well on IT courses, but still im worried at the high standards. Undergrad was shitty, i did OK but I could have done better. So my question, what should I expect on the grad program? is this a back breaking study times? Also Im 23, and im not working full time. Im concerened on how to act around with older people, as im thinking some of them might have families and more mature. I feel like im the immature kid and might stick out. I love participating in class, but i dont know if I should filter all my asnwers to make it sound "professional." Its odd really, Undergrad was real easy for me, i mean I felt like i didnt really do much to get a good grade.

Answer 1

You sound very much like myself at your age. I found undergrad work is some areas quite difficult, while in other areas I breezed through with B and A grades.

Grad school is different. You are taking classes that are, hopefully, in the area that you enjoy and excell in. Just be yourself and don't pretend to be a "professional" - unless you really are one.

Depending upon the school and subject area, I found the average grade in grad school to be a "B" as opposed to a "C" in undergrad. I suppose that this is so because those less capeable never made it to grad school.

As long as I competed against other classmates I did OK and got my grad degrees.

My trouble was when I went for my Doctorate, it was myself against three professors - mentors - who were very tough. They were the best in their field and didn't want anyone competing with them.

Good luck. Give it a try. You might also want to consider working in your field at the same time that you are taking the two courses. This will give you more experience interacting with adults and less time to interact with graduate students. Then again your work buddies and graduate students might be the same group - as it was in my case.

Answer 2

I found grad school to be fairly easy to maintain a high GPA in. Granted, my major was education, so it was cake, but everyone I have talked to about grad school says the same thing. Grad school classes are fairly easy to get A's in. The cool ting is that the grades tend to be based more on you doing real work instead of staying up late to cram for a stupid multiple choice test. I dont think I am a particularly smart or talented student but I remember my academic advisor looking over my final transcript right before graduation ( i had stright A's except for one B) and she asked me how in the world I managed to get a B. I told her the truth: the final was sort of long and I didnt feel like finishing it so I left the last 2 pages blank and went home. Dont sweat it! You'll be fine.

Answer 3

It all depends on what program you are in - some programs have very little work to do where as others you are reading nearly 24/7.

Good Luck!!!