I am a first generation college student and I spent much of my undergraduate and graduate education bewildered by all of the norms and rules I had never learned. I made many costly mistakes (e.g., navigating financial aid, not understanding how applying to graduate school worked...) and blundered through embarrassing interactions with my peers who had drastically different backgrounds. (Although it was naive, I could not believe how many of my fellow graduate students' parents were PhDs or MDs!)
As a scientist who now professionally studies the importance of norms, I am committed to helping fellow first gen and other marginalized students by uncovering all of the hidden expectations and procedures in the academy, especially in the process of applying to and navigating graduate school. I do most of this through formal mentoring with students that work with me, but I also use this page to post resources that I've found helpful.
Resources:
The Field Guide to Grad School by Jessica McCrory Calarco, PhD
Every prospective graduate student should read this excellent book!
dynamicecology.wordpress.com/2013/02/05/thoughts-on-applying-to-grad-school-for-prospective-students-and-their-mentors/
As a scientist who now professionally studies the importance of norms, I am committed to helping fellow first gen and other marginalized students by uncovering all of the hidden expectations and procedures in the academy, especially in the process of applying to and navigating graduate school. I do most of this through formal mentoring with students that work with me, but I also use this page to post resources that I've found helpful.
Resources:
The Field Guide to Grad School by Jessica McCrory Calarco, PhD
Every prospective graduate student should read this excellent book!
dynamicecology.wordpress.com/2013/02/05/thoughts-on-applying-to-grad-school-for-prospective-students-and-their-mentors/
