How Different is Grad School from a Regular 4-Year Program?
Grad school has a negative connotation because it’s only for the smart and the rich. Yes, grad school can be difficult, and yes, grad school can be expensive, but that is the purpose of grad school. It is supposed to carve out the best from the general college crowd. It’s not meant for everyone.
You might have heard the typical gloomy comments about graduate school and visualized how graduate school would look like. I have first-hand experience being in graduate school to get my MS in Finance, and I understand where these beliefs arise, but it is not the end all be all.
Going to college to get your bachelor’s degree is going to look different for everyone because we all study different things and learn differently. For some, school and studying come easier than others. The same goes for graduate school. But, there are some differences. And I am by no means saying you have experienced regular college or will experience graduate school similarly to me, but these are general sentiments.
- Overall Program
Graduate programs range from 1 year to 3 years on average, depending on your field of study and if it is full-time or part-time. Most business graduate programs are 1-2 years long. A graduate program is normally shorter than an undergraduate program because the courses you take are specific to your field of study. You don’t have to take general education courses or “fun” courses to get enough credits to graduate. A graduate program is solely to make you an expert and leader in your field.
- Courseload
You now know that the courses in a graduate program are specific to that field. The course load and difficulty differs in each field of study, but it does seem easier for most to learn and study because it goes over one or a few topics. It is not like an undergraduate program where you need to excel at other subjects besides your selected field of study. You seem to be more focused on what you are learning.
- Community
Depending on the college you go to for your bachelor’s degree, the class size differs. But usually, an undergraduate program is larger than a graduate program because it offers a variety of courses to many different students. Because a graduate program is smaller, you are most likely to take similar, if not the same, classes as your classmates at the same time. You will quickly get to know your classmates, and sooner or later, they will start to feel like family because you are with them 24/7, if it’s in class, working on assignments and projects, or hanging out after. There is a sense of community and belonging that you feel in graduate school that you might not feel in regular college because it can be so vast.