Posts in Grad School
On Going to Graduate School At Your Alma Mater
On Going to Graduate School At Your Alma Mater

Flash forward to a year and a half after undergrad graduation and now I’m back on campus to begin the first day of my Master’s program at Boston College: I am a little nervous because I have no idea if graduate school will be as fulfilling as my undergraduate career and that scares me.

I’m going back to a place where so many memories have already been made. I’m afraid of change and afraid of beginning this new journey without the people who made this place my home. I’m afraid that this new experience will be completely different than the original one.

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Grad SchoolAllie OlivieriComment
Top 10 Most-Read Posts of 2017
Top 10 Most-Read Posts of 2017

We owe everyone who has contributed their stories at least a year’s worth of lattes as a token of our gratitude, but alas, this simple “thank you” will have to carry the weight of our appreciation instead. Thank you, thank you to everyone who has written for, read, and supported That First Year this past year. We exist because of and for YOU and we can't wait for what 2018 will bring to this community. 

Here are the top 10 most-read posts of 2017. Enjoy these stories from some incredible writers.

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Career, Dreams, Grad School, Graduation, Health, Life, Money, Our Favorite Things, Politics, Relationships, Style, TravelAlly WillisFeaturedComment
7 Pieces of Advice for Grad School Students
7 Pieces of Advice for Grad School Students

The first year of graduate school for me was incredible, amazing, life-changing, and HARD. Transitioning straight into grad school from my four years of undergrad, I approached grad school as an opportunity to grow and learn on a personal level, while also growing in the classroom.  As my friends and former classmates were celebrating new jobs and new cities, I dove back into the books for a quick two more years.

Throughout my first year of graduate school, I learned a few things that will stay ingrained in me for many years to come.

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Grad SchoolAmy LintnerComment
Top 10 Most-Read Posts of 2016
Top 10 Most-Read Posts of 2016

One of the best parts about running That First Year is getting to read all of the stories y’all send to me and thinking “Wow, that gal or guy is one helluva writer!” I’m forever grateful to be given this opportunity to take care of this space, creating community through stories shared of That First Year after college and beyond.

Below is a list of 10 posts that received the most reads this year. Give these posts a read as we bring this year to a close.

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Career, Dreams, Grad School, Graduation, Health, Life, Money, Style, Travel, RelationshipsAlly WillisFeaturedComment
Fried Chicken and a Breakdown
Fried Chicken and a Breakdown

I, on the other hand, have no one. I like to tell everyone I’m happy, but I’m really just pretending. Sure, I’m grateful for a million things, including my job. I love work. Work keeps my mind busy, and so I’m always there. I’m there on off days; I’m there even when my boss says, “Go home.” I wait around. Biding my time. Fighting the loneliness. I distract myself from dawn to dusk. I wake up, I work. I sleep. Exhaustion is my liquor. Exhaustion keeps me from feeling too much, from missing anyone too much.

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Graduation, Life, Grad School, RelationshipsAndria ModyFeaturedComment
A New Blog, A Better Blog
A New Blog, A Better Blog

New things, better things.

That’s been a go-to phrase for me for the past several months, a reminder in a rather transition-heavy and emotionally-turbulent time in my life to keep my eyes set on the good things to come rather than the worries I usually burden myself with needlessly.

And in the spirit of new things, better things comes along That First Year getting a makeover.

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Travel, Style, Money, Life, Health, Graduation, Grad School, Dreams, Career, RelationshipsAlly WillisFeaturedComment
Let the Applications Roll: 5 Tips for Applying to Grad School
Let the Applications Roll: 5 Tips for Applying to Grad School

The moment has arrived. After months of near neuroses, you’ve narrowed down your options and you’re ready to submit your completed graduate school application(s). To anyone who has not reached this point, the idea of actually being finished with your GRE and having gathered everything to submit an application may seem too good to be true. It also might seem downright unrealistic. Our undergrad applications were essentially a joke, seeing as how Jesus Christ Himself gifted us with websites like Common App that made submitting applications into the distant memory it is today. However, forget everything you know about applying to college. Take those sweet, sweet memories of meeting with your high school guidance counselor out of that back slot in your brain and erase the files. You’re on your own now, friend.

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Career, Grad SchoolKelsey WorshamFeatured, Archive 16Comment