Jaimie FitzgeraldIf you are a college senior, this is probably the time of year when you are starting to feel like a giant ball of emotion. One minute, I find myself jumping for joy because graduation is right around the next corner, but 30 seconds later I am sobbing because I have no idea what is going to happen to my life after graduation. College ending is no doubt a wonderful thing, and we should no doubt be proud of ourselves for getting through the past 4 years and ending up sort of like a functioning adult, but what happens next? Basically, there are two ways you can proceed with your post grad life. You can either a) Try to find a real job or b) If you are a total nutcase, go to grad school/med school/law school and stay on the education train a little longer.
Both scenarios have their strengths and weakness. If you go the job route, you never have to go to school again! Ever! But, you no longer get to hide in a little academic bubble, and if you can’t find a decent job, you are kind of screwed. If you take the grad school option, you still get to enjoy the luxurious life of winter and summer breaks a little longer, but this school will probably be a million times harder.
I chose the education path, and applied to some law schools. The act of applying is painful, waiting for admissions decisions is painful, and choosing a school if you are lucky enough to get in to some, also sucks. If you are applying to grad school, I’m going to go ahead and say these GIFs probably sum up how you’ve been feeling about the process.
Time to graduate! Don’t know what you want to do with your life yet? More School!
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The first step is to actually apply to grad school.
Entrance exams, essays, letters of recommendations. It’s the college senior’s most dreaded form of torture.
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The whole process is just so overwhelmingly stressful that I’d rather not talk about it.
And that anxiety doesn’t just go away after the applications are sent in. It gets worse. Like, what if you don’t get in anywhere?!?
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So you freak out. Maybe you cry.
You go crying to all of your friends and family like “Wah! I’m not gonna get in to Grad School!” and your friends are like:
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Which obviously makes you more mad.
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Never tell a stressed-out nervous wreck to relax.
So obviously, you take out your frustration on that patronizing friend, they don’t know what you’re going through.
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Anyway, some time goes by (probably a few weeks, but naturally it feels like an eternity), and somewhere in the 7903 e-mails in your inbox, you see that someone actually wants you to go to their school!
It might be your top choice, it might not be, but either way:
And just when you realize that you’ve now gotten into school and can fulfill your higher education dreams, you remember something:
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Grad school ain’t cheap.
But hey, you can take out loans! It’s just a minor setback.
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Just kidding, bring on another round of hefty student loans!
Prepare for 2+ more years of not being able to afford an actual meal, or to go out, or to buy new shoes.
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And not only will you be broke, you’re going to have a ton of fancy grad school homework that might actually be hard.
Bye money. Bye sleep. Bye happiness.
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But it’s important to look on the bright side.
You don’t need to get a real grown-up job yet.
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You still get a summer vacation.
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And when you finish school, you might actually be a real human being with the skills to function in life!
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Moral of the story is: Grad school is probably gonna suck, but we still have a whole lot of life left when it’s over.
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How do you feel about grad school?
Featured photo via Thinkstock