To go to graduate school, or not go to graduate school, that is the question.

Posted by Jen Zeman on April 16th, 2009

In the fall of 2008 I considered, and was ready to begin, a graduate degree online with the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. The master’s program was in Liberal Studies and at the time I felt this was the direction I needed to go in. I felt I had completed enough research to know whether graduate school was the right choice and that Liberal Studies was the program for me. As soon as classes started, fear and loathing consumed me. I started questioning whether starting graduate school now was really right after all and suddenly I felt like I wouldn’t be able to handle it. Not a good way to start a semester – I was setting myself up for failure. After much consideration and discussion with my husband and with myself, I decided to drop the classes and withdraw completely.

In deciding to withdraw, I took a hard look at my reasons for beginning graduate school online. I hope the lessons I learned will be helpful to you when deciding to pursue a graduate degree:

1. Carefully consider the reasons why you are doing it. A lot of career fields do not require a graduate degree. Do not feel pressured to obtain one just because others around you have one (i.e. do not think of it as a status symbol). If you feel pressure from others to obtain a graduate degree, you will be miserable in the process.
2. Graduate school is expensive, even if your company offers some sort of tuition reimbursement. If a graduate degree isn’t necessary to get you where you want to be, think about whether the debt you will accumulate will be worth it in the end (i.e. will you recoup the money?).
3. Graduate school consumes a lot of time. If you think earning your bachelor degree online was a lot of work, multiply the workload by at least two.

For me an online graduate degree is not completely out of the question. But when considering it next time around, I will spend no less than a year researching the right program; lining up adequate funding; and I will make sure I truly have the time it takes to make graduate school a rewarding experience and to make sure I do well at the same time.