What was your first year as a grad student like?

[perhaps11]

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I don't know about everyone else, but I have recently accepted an offer to a clinical phd program and the application process is complete! (Thank the heavens!) However, now I am curious (and a little nervous) about what my first year as a grad student will be like in a clinical program. I have heard many upper-level students tell me that the first year is hell. Is that the consensus for everyone else who is currently in a program or has already graduated from one? I guess my question is - What was your first year like as a grad student in a clinical phd program? (This includes other things too - like your social life and moving experiences - basically anything goes!)

 

[3rdWave]

Congratulations!!

I was totally overloaded with a crazy amount of reading/studying, and learning assessment. I really was up most of the night, every night trying to read all the material I was assigned to read for my classes. I rarely went out socially, and then it was later in the evening like 11pm for a drink with friends.

It was very stressful, but I survived and so will you.

 

[Pragma]

The first year of grad school was kind of like undergrad on steroids. In my program we didn't start clinical practicum until the 2nd year, so we did more coursework in year 1. You also have your assistantship responsibilities.

It seems like tons of work because it is a big adjustment to your research team and Master's work, graduate courses, and academic life in general. But I found that looking back on the first year (after you start wearing more hats and doing a lot of other things later in school), you look back and consider it fairly easy from a work standpoint. In part that is because you realize your class performance is not particularly important, and you are better off investing the bulk of your time to more important milestones while maintaining adequate grades.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

My first year, like many of the other posters', was pretty busy, particularly because I knew next to nothing about the type of work my advisor actually did prior to starting.

Honestly, though, it wasn't unmanageable by any means. One of the things I learned quickly in grad school was how to work smarter in addition to harder. Teaming up with other students to study for tests, dividing up articles and sharing summaries for them, etc. all helped to save my sanity. We also begin clinical (assessment) work our first semester in my program, so that took some adjustment and was fairly horrifying at first, but I also credit those experiences with helping make me comfortable coming in and "hitting the ground running," regardless of how petrified I actually might be.

 

[Ya Ya]

I'm currently in my second semester of my first year and I don't think it's that bad. In my opinion the best way to describe the first year is to think about finals week in undergrad. However in grad school, every week is finals week. And surprisingly, the actual finals week feels like a breeze (YMMV of course).
One thing that I wasn't the most prepared for were the psychological consequences of every week being like finals. There's this almost indescribable level of anxiety that isn't overwhelming (and many times is pretty subtle) but never quite leaves you. I thought it was just me for a while but apparently even the 4th and 5th students feel it. They've just adapted.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I'm currently in my second semester of my first year and I don't think it's that bad. In my opinion the best way to describe the first year is to think about finals week in undergrad. However in grad school, every week is finals week. And surprisingly, the actual finals week feels like a breeze (YMMV of course).
One thing that I wasn't the most prepared for were the psychological consequences of every week being like finals. There's this almost indescribable level of anxiety that isn't overwhelming (and many times is pretty subtle) but never quite leaves you. I thought it was just me for a while but apparently even the 4th and 5th students feel it. They've just adapted.

Yeah, it never really goes away, and (at least for me) it's owing to the fact that, as has been said in other threads, there's always something else you could or should be doing. The key is establishing a healthy work/life balance, learning how to say "no" when needed (while understanding that you're also going to need to say "yes" more often than not), and learning how to accept when certain outcomes are "good enough" rather than perfect.

 

[futurepsydoc]

Yeah, it never really goes away, and (at least for me) it's owing to the fact that, as has been said in other threads, there's always something else you could or should be doing. The key is establishing a healthy work/life balance, learning how to say "no" when needed (while understanding that you're also going to need to say "yes" more often than not), and learning how to accept when certain outcomes are "good enough" rather than perfect.

Congrats!!!!!

First year is tough, with respect to transition to be sure, but I think you just have to remember that feeling overwhelmed and anxious is totally normal. Like others have stated, the workload is much heavier. I think learning how to prioritize across the demands you have on your plate is critical. I think Acronym is right on the money. Learning how to accept when certain outcomes are "good enough" is critical.

During my first year, I struggled with this aspect a good amount, but realized that "good enough" was acceptable for my coursework. I put much more into my 1) clinical work and 2) research, as these two things were more important in my eyes. In the end, it actually did not effect my grades negatively at all. Most importantly, it did help me manage the stress and the transition to graduate school better. If I had to guess, I think I just became more efficient and happier, which led me to perform better.

Good Luck!!!! You will do great!!!! Congrats again!!!