Question for Graduate Students

[burbuja0512]

Hi All,

Aside from a rough couple days' start to my Capstone class, things are shaping up to go well. One thing that I am noticing is that even though the coursework is challenging, I don't think it's quite as difficult as much of the work that I've done on my own. For example, teaching myself Microecon, Finance, Bus Law, etc was pretty difficult. I obviously didn't have to write papers, but it was hard work.. harder than what I am going to do in my Capstone.

My question is, how difficult are graduate-level courses? Do they give you tons of homework? How much do you do on average? Is it easier or more difficult than some of the tougher tests?

Just thinking ahead and wondering how manageable it with my work/family balance to handle graduate classes.

Thanks

[FinancialWorld]

I 2nd that. I'd also like to know about the workload of graduate level classes.

[ryoder]

So would I!
I'm working on my 2nd and 3rd papers right now. The 2nd is done and needs final editing. The third is in draft mode with significant content written.
The 2nd paper was a compare and contrast of two articles on social responsibility of business.
The 3rd paper was reading a case study of kids cheating on papers in high school and what the teacher did to punish them. I have to answer 7 questions in essay form and cite a reference for each. Doesn't sound too hard does it? Its a 5-7 page paper.

I'll let you know how many hours all said and done each paper was. I have 10 papers in this class the last one being a big one.

[burbuja0512]

So would I!
I'm working on my 2nd and 3rd papers right now. The 2nd is done and needs final editing. The third is in draft mode with significant content written.
The 2nd paper was a compare and contrast of two articles on social responsibility of business.
The 3rd paper was reading a case study of kids cheating on papers in high school and what the teacher did to punish them. I have to answer 7 questions in essay form and cite a reference for each. Doesn't sound too hard does it? Its a 5-7 page paper.

I'll let you know how many hours all said and done each paper was. I have 10 papers in this class the last one being a big one.

Your masters program sounds more and more appealing every time I hear about it. If I didn't want to take classes in Spanish so darn badly, I would totally go for it.

[ryoder]

I just posted my 2nd paper to smarthinking tutors. I do that after revising it to get a second opinion. Then another revision and it gets posted for grading.

I'm going to continue on the 3rd paper now.

[bawhitsett]

The grad courses I took were more difficult than anything I took at the undergrad level, due to greater amounts of homework, many semester-long group assignments (2-3000 word research presentations), and having all proctored, closed book mid-terms and finals.

A week's worth of homework typically involved reading a chapter or 2, possibly listening to a lecture, multiple discussion posts, summarizing the most important factoid you took from the assigned readings, and participating in group activities. Some classes included additional assignments like summarizing articles, in say 500-600 words, but you usually had 2-3 weeks to do these.

The tests honestly weren't bad, they typically regurgitated the homework you'd previously done verbatim. Some didn't but the teachers usually would provide a study guide to get you through this. It could be a PITA to set up proctoring services, especially if you live in an area where the schools are not very flexible. When I was in VA it was a piece of cake as the local CC offered weekend testing. in TX, many schools don't offer external proctoring services, and those that do do it only during biz hours.

All told with the motivated folks here I think a lot of you could excel in grad programs. Takes a lot to finish a degree in this way. The biggest obstacle could be all of the traditional hoops you have to go back to jumping through in order to finish it.

[cookderosa]

I think it depends on your major, but the "hardness" of grad work can be summed up in a word: academic writing. In psychology (or any non-sciences), for instance, it's writing-writing-and more writing, all in APA style. If you've never written in an academic style as an undergrad, you're in for a treat. Essentially, you'll be reading thousands of pages of academic journals (and you'll learn which ones are considered acceptable by your field) and from those journals you'll generate either summary type papers or new ideas on an old theme. In essence, you're trying to put a new spin on what the experts have said by looking at multiple papers. The WAY you put them together is the APA (or Chicago, etc) style. You can't just put a period anywhere, or indent whenever you like, or randomly use quotes to quote....there are rules. banghead

The other element is research. Many programs, even online programs, require original research. I don't think it's the norm for online schools, but they exist. B&M schools are much more likely to have you create original research. If you are in a doctorate program, that IS your program.

If you're a writing lover, then you'll be in your element. For me, I'd rather write a paper than take a CLEP! If you hate writing (like my husband) a writing intensive program is right up there with torture. I've noticed more an more programs listing a capstone course as an option or alternative to a thesis, so read exit requirements carefully to match with your strengths.

While I occasionally hear about an easy grad class, I think it's certainly the exception.

[SRT12]

I'm glad the capstone classes gives sorta a preview of what grad school could be like. TESC Business Policy requires you to write a 8-10 page paper for the final project. I can't wait, Im not a big fan of writing but I am interested in a MBA. I have a question are there any resources that check papers free or low charge? Im new to this APA style too.

[ShotoJuku]

Two Words: [COLOR="Red"]Writing Intensive!!

I'd type more however I'm only at page 20 on a paper that I'm writing for a employee training and development class; five more pages ought to do it! banghead[/COLOR]

[ShotoJuku]

Im new to this APA style too.

Buy it, learn it, live it!

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