Friday, 25 September 2009

• the coming out

  So there's something about being a student again that revitalizes the creative juices and gets me interested in blogging again. Either that, or it's just my alto-ego's nagging encouraging emails.
  
  Transitioning into grad school the last few weeks has brought about some intriguing observations on key differences between graduates and undergraduates. Let me demonstrate with a few scenarios, followed by how each group would handle said scenario:
  
  1. Orientation
  Undergrad: mud wrestling, waterslide races, helpful tours of dorms and dining commons
  Graduate: diction tests, entrance exams, choir placement hearings, helpful tours of the reference section of the library
  
  2. You just hear Friday's late afternoon class is cancelled
  UG: Much rejoicing for a long(er) weekend
  G: Students plan to meet anyway on their own to discuss class content and share reference books
  
  3. Research papers
  UG: A neat synthesized report of somebody else's research, hopefully without too much plagiarism
  G: You get excited over finding few resources because that means you can break new ground
  
  4. Unwritten, unenforced dress code
  UG: flannal pants and a hoodie... on good days
  G: Ties for the men and dresses for the ladies, flip flops maybe on Fridays but certainly not if there's a guest lecturer
  
  5. Course reading lists
  UG: Ignore most required readings and hope somebody else in class carries the discussion
  G: Competition for library books and articles on the suggested reading list is fierce; at least everybody owns all the required reading material
  
  6. The professor calls and says he is late for class because of traffic
  UG: Most leave because isn't there some sort of unwritten ten-minute rule so class is supposed to be cancelled?
  G: Students pull out a copy of a Renaissance mass and sight read it in six part harmony to pass the time
  
  

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