{"id":932,"date":"2010-09-29T21:43:23","date_gmt":"2010-09-30T01:43:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mathgradblog.williams.edu\/?p=932"},"modified":"2013-03-22T17:38:10","modified_gmt":"2013-03-22T17:38:10","slug":"should-i-be-a-college-student-or-a-real-adult","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/mathgradblog\/2010\/09\/29\/should-i-be-a-college-student-or-a-real-adult\/","title":{"rendered":"Should I be a college student or a real adult?"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Diana Davis<\/a><\/p>\n

One question I have considered since becoming a graduate student is the decision whether to be what I would term a “college student” or a “real adult.” For my first year in grad school, I was a “college student”: I lived in the graduate student dorm (a single room with a shared kitchen and bathroom), my friends were all math grad students or undergrads, and my activities were confined to campus, except for a few weekend trips. This was very similar to my undergraduate experience at Williams. In my second year, I became a “real adult”: I moved off-campus, made several groups of friends who were not Brown students, and spent a significant amount of time doing things (mostly running) off campus. <\/p>\n

I have found that many graduate students expect all of their friends to be graduate students. A few days ago I was talking to a fellow grad student, who joined a new church and was disappointed to find that there were no other grad students there. She was hoping that she would find a community of grad students at church, but she found only families and undergrads. That was the conversation that led me to write this post: I would encourage other grad students to branch out of the university and be open to making friends who are not grad students.<\/p>\n

I run a lot, and in some ways it would be nice if I could find another grad student to be my favorite running partner, but I haven’t found one. My best running partners last year were undergrads, but then they both graduated. This year, I run with a group of male undergrads at Brown, and a couple of running groups outside of Brown. I spend a lot of time with the math grad students, but I feel that I have a fuller life since I have made friends in the wider community.<\/p>\n

Does anyone else have experience with this kind of situation? Please feel free to add your thoughts.<\/p>\n

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by Diana Davis One question I have considered since becoming a graduate student is the decision whether to be what I would term a “college student” or a “real adult.” For my first year in grad school, I was a … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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