To begin, you need to decipher why you’re pursuing graduate school or further education now.

In graduate school, you are more than a student. You are a growing human who needs to find a balance between studying, resting, and being. Here are my two cents about hobbies and academia.

I provide 5 things you might want to consider as you choose between two programs. I give explanations and provide guiding questions about alignment to your future goals, the timing, finances, location, and personal relationships as you make your decision.

“What if I make the wrong choice? My parents want me to go home after my undergraduate studies, but I want to stay abroad… I don’t know what to do. I’m alone here but I also want to give living here a try. I feel lost and unsure.” Here’s my advice to my international students and anyone facing indecision about staying or moving “home.”

This week I suggest approaches to making friends in academia and share the three kinds of friendship I hope you will experience on your academic journey.

So it is reference letter season once again. I receive quite a number of requests each semester and would love to help you help those of us who are writing you letters! Whether you are in your final year of your undergraduate career or applying for a fellowship program, I hope these are useful.

I share 4 takeaways unique to a doctoral program this week, and tell you which one I think is the most important in your decision to pursue a PhD.

This week I received this question: What are the benefits of pursuing a Master’s degree and a PhD? What have you been able to develop for yourself in pursuing these levels of education? Looking back, I can think of at least 5 benefits! I’ll cover what my PhD taught me in my next episode!

Burnout is real. I share four pieces of advice on how I faced the pressure of grad school.

Good luck and know that you’re not alone!

In this episode, I answer a question from one of my former students about whether or not he should begin his Master’s program this year if he didn’t receive funding and still wants to travel to Asia for some language training.

We cover ideas including the importance of selecting the right school, of securing funding, and of being prepared for graduate education. :)