Need Everyone's Help! Can Someone Verify This???

AuraObscura
Fri, 21 Aug 2015 13:49:13 +0000

1. Two very different beasts. Grad school is far more specialized than undergrad. You apply to graduate school for a specific area and specific department. The people you compete against for admission to a particular department will have concentrated in that same area and will tend to have numerous accomplishments/experiences/credentials in that area.

Sidenote: “Ivy League” is a sports conference. That’s all the designation means. Sure, the schools that are part of the Ivy League are generally of high academic caliber, but so are lots of other schools. Like I said above, grad school is far more specialized, and you apply for a specific department or to work with a specific professor. The strength of a particular graduate department has very little to do with the name of the school. The strength of a particular department, and for a PhD, your advisor, are what matter–not the name of the school.

1. Grades tend to be inflated at the graduate level--it varies from field to field and department to department and program to program, but grades generally range from A to B. Again, it depends on the department, but in my own program for example, getting a B means you weren't quite up to par, and a C is essentially a failing grade.

If you’re doing a research-based degree, ie a PhD or thesis Masters, then more time will be spent on research and less on classwork. This is especially true for a PhD, which is a research degree. Is it easier or harder to perform novel and independent research than it is to take classes? I don’t know. Probably depends on the person. But, again, the expectations and standards tend to be higher for graduate level work in general, especially research.