Use berkeley.edu calendar for friendly calendar stalking. This makes it easy to schedule time with your peers
If you’re doing this, also put your classes on your calendar
Explicitly schedule research time on your calendar, particularly for later in the semester when classes pick up speed
Create a“backup only/not useful now” sub-inbox in bMail to sort the mails
Select the activities/events/lectures to go because time is limited.
Non-English native speakers should enroll in LAN PRO 380, install Grammarly for email/Facebook language correction, and double-check everything before you send/submit.
Ask peers/professors if they prefer in-person/email/slack/etc. for communication, since respecting this will generally get you faster responses
Don’t expect a standard/comprehensive on-boarding experience
Proactively reach out to professors, particularly potential advisors. Ask to schedule a regular time with them if appropriate.
Some things to generally ask about: Fellowships/funding, conferences, class recommendations, prioritizing classes vs. research
Paper reading strategies; many classes and papers have suggestions on this, the following were from my 1st semester classes
Jot down notes as you read the paper(highlight, bullet points, etc.)
Write a 1-2 sentence summary of the paper IN YOUR OWN WORDS after reading it
Come up with at least one interesting question/thought that you’d like to theoretically discuss with someone else that read the paper
Staying in campus during the winter break and Christmas can lead to serious loneliness. Suggest first-year students to book the airline ticket home for winter break ASAP. Note: most professors are also traveling during the winter break and Christmas. There is limited benefit to stay in campus, even if you want to do research.
FAQs
What should I do for reading/storing papers?
Option 1: Print them out, highlight/annotate them, and keep them in roughly organized folders(e.g. by class)
Option 2: Use some software like Mendeley to store, highlight, annotate, and organize them. This can be done on tablet or laptop.
Option 3: Some hybrid of the above(e.g. store them digitally but read them physically)
Going it alone, do everything yourself, and staying quiet
Fear of revealing ignorance/imperfection
Being afraid of asking for help from other professors because it’s not worth their time
Not communicating with advisor
Advisor asks student to learn stuff, but student doesn’t know where it’s going, just keeps learning
After 2 months, student realized the problem they were tackling but wasn’t excited about it
Fear of pushing back on advisor/giving input on projects
Not utilizing staff advisor
Ignoring degree requirements
Don’t wait too long to satisfy GSI requirement(get done by 3rd/4th year)
Can ask stuff like: How to apply for fellowship? How can I meet people? How can I broach a conversation with my advisor? And more!
Working too much/too hard
Assuming it’s expected to work very hard and that’s what everyone else does
Assuming more time in the office means getting more done
Burning out
Socializing only with your clique
Only talking to your labmates
Stressed because you’re overworked and just went through prelims, talking with peers that are overworked and just wen through prelims, and all you talk about is challenges
Not having any hobbies that weren’t related to school/not having any things that force you to take breaks
Tips
FAQs
Suggested books
How to screw up in grad school - Notes