Why Are Grad School Students Treated So Differently from Undergrads?
Preparing for graduate school, I found out the hard way, was not the easiest thing in the world. The flimsy "graduate offer pack" received with the acceptance letters had little more than the most basic information for survival. A brief introduction to the school along with a highly "abstract" campus map, a couple of paragraphs on "how to get accustomed to the new environment," and the dates and meeting place for registration. And that's all. The remaining information, if necessary, was all independent research, starting at the Google homepage.
And interestingly enough, after I figured out how to configure my LSE email account, but had a hard time accessing it from my computer, it literally took four days for the IT staff over in London to get back to me via email. Although I am getting used to inefficient BS after dealing with the British visa agencies, the slow response, whether deliberate or properly designed, will definitely force every single grad student like me to learn to survive without even the most basic and necessary support when we get to London.
Remembering the days as a fresh young high school graduate stepping into Yale's Ivy-covered campus for the first time, the situation seemed quite different. While superficially polite, the older students and the administrative staff did extend all sorts of support to the new freshmen, from small things as carrying bags to more important topics like helping out with selecting classes. Such personalized support, most likely, will be completely nonexistent when I head to London in less than a month.
Our welcome as new grad students will most likely be a simple key hand-off at the front office of the grad student dorms. No help with setting up, no visits from school officials, and not even smile-filled welcome parties. I am not saying that Yale did a particularly good job at those things (I certainly do not believe so), but at least, help was readily available when sought after, and it did not take much effort to find and talk to the higher-up people directly responsible for student welfare.
I suppose for the grad school staff to expect maturity and independence from the new students is perfectly justifiable. Unlike the fresh new undergrads, most grad school students do have significant experiences overcoming unfamiliar situations with unfamiliar people after four years of college education and possibly a decently long time of full-time work. They are full-time, functional, and (hopefully) productive members of society now. They are just taking a year off that building up a bit more credentials back in school.
Yet, are such expectations maybe a little too much on the part of the staff? For many new students like me, grad school will be the first time we step onto British soil. Sure, the language difference may not be there, but there are still certain cultural differences between America and Britain, as well as Europe as a whole. There will be certain biases against Americans that we will not know about beforehand, and the stereotypes against Chinese and Asians in general will most certainly be different.
There will be no one to teach us these differences. No set lectures, and no extensive booklets to explain cultural, ethnic, and religious taboos. Everything will be a firsthand trial-and-error process: if one gets scolded doing A, then do not do A ever again. It will most definitely be a rough road ahead for all of us as we find, step by step, where that dimly-lit path of what is considered "socially acceptable" lies. The process will test our mental strength and many will protest and complain about why there are no one available for assistance.
But looked in another way, it may also just be deliberated a part of our social education. Seeking the truth via independent exploration is the essence of a thesis-based grad school curriculum. By not spoon-feeding the grad students bite-sized pieces of knowledge in toned-down lectures like she does with the undergrads, the school is allowing us to learn and remember much more quickly and deeply. And by facing difficulties together, we, as a group of unknowing grad students, will bond and network more closely, creating those needed lifetime professional associations.
And interestingly enough, after I figured out how to configure my LSE email account, but had a hard time accessing it from my computer, it literally took four days for the IT staff over in London to get back to me via email. Although I am getting used to inefficient BS after dealing with the British visa agencies, the slow response, whether deliberate or properly designed, will definitely force every single grad student like me to learn to survive without even the most basic and necessary support when we get to London.
Remembering the days as a fresh young high school graduate stepping into Yale's Ivy-covered campus for the first time, the situation seemed quite different. While superficially polite, the older students and the administrative staff did extend all sorts of support to the new freshmen, from small things as carrying bags to more important topics like helping out with selecting classes. Such personalized support, most likely, will be completely nonexistent when I head to London in less than a month.
Our welcome as new grad students will most likely be a simple key hand-off at the front office of the grad student dorms. No help with setting up, no visits from school officials, and not even smile-filled welcome parties. I am not saying that Yale did a particularly good job at those things (I certainly do not believe so), but at least, help was readily available when sought after, and it did not take much effort to find and talk to the higher-up people directly responsible for student welfare.
I suppose for the grad school staff to expect maturity and independence from the new students is perfectly justifiable. Unlike the fresh new undergrads, most grad school students do have significant experiences overcoming unfamiliar situations with unfamiliar people after four years of college education and possibly a decently long time of full-time work. They are full-time, functional, and (hopefully) productive members of society now. They are just taking a year off that building up a bit more credentials back in school.
Yet, are such expectations maybe a little too much on the part of the staff? For many new students like me, grad school will be the first time we step onto British soil. Sure, the language difference may not be there, but there are still certain cultural differences between America and Britain, as well as Europe as a whole. There will be certain biases against Americans that we will not know about beforehand, and the stereotypes against Chinese and Asians in general will most certainly be different.
There will be no one to teach us these differences. No set lectures, and no extensive booklets to explain cultural, ethnic, and religious taboos. Everything will be a firsthand trial-and-error process: if one gets scolded doing A, then do not do A ever again. It will most definitely be a rough road ahead for all of us as we find, step by step, where that dimly-lit path of what is considered "socially acceptable" lies. The process will test our mental strength and many will protest and complain about why there are no one available for assistance.
But looked in another way, it may also just be deliberated a part of our social education. Seeking the truth via independent exploration is the essence of a thesis-based grad school curriculum. By not spoon-feeding the grad students bite-sized pieces of knowledge in toned-down lectures like she does with the undergrads, the school is allowing us to learn and remember much more quickly and deeply. And by facing difficulties together, we, as a group of unknowing grad students, will bond and network more closely, creating those needed lifetime professional associations.
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