Each student at Iowa State University has different tips to help ease the transition into college life.

Transition into graduate school from another undergraduate school can be no less challenging.

With advice and tips from current Iowa State graduate students, the transition can be less challenging and more exciting.

Peter Huffman, graduate student in materials science and engineering, said he eased into graduate school at Iowa State fairly well.

Reagarding concerns about becoming a graduate student, Huffman said, “an obvious concern was whether or not I could make it.”

Iowa State helped lift Huffman’s concerns through his coursework and himself finding out if he had what to took to be a graduate student.

“Be prepared to do a lot of work,” Huffman said as a tip for potential graduate students, adding that graduate school is as rewarding as it is challenging.

Huffman had spoken with numerous graduate students about their experiences prior to coming to Iowa State for his own graduate school, which helped him transition into school.

If Huffman could go back to the beginning of his graduate school career, he would change the order he took his classes.

“There are classes that if I had taken them earlier, it would have made the other ones easier,” Huffman said.

Jacquelyn Hoermann is a graduate student in English. Hoermann’s first tip for potential graduate students is “you don’t have to have a degree or be working on your bachelors in some field that has to match the degree you want to pursue.”

Hoermann came from a literature and language background and went into professional and technical communication for graduate school.

Having a reliable group of mentors helped Hoermann at the beginning of her graduate school experience by removing any concerns she had about school.

“They kind of took me under their wing. I didn’t ask for them to do that, so I’ve been fortunate in that it doesn’t happen for everyone,” Hoermann said.

At the point of realizing their specialization in graduate school, students begin to focus their attention and energy in different and more productive ways, which was another helpful way that Hoermann’s network of mentors helped relieve some concerns.

Hoermann has several tips for students looking to be in graduate school which include doing a lot of research on the program the student wants to pursue, customizing the programs to the student’s individual needs and wants, and receiving peer feedback on materials.

Hoermann also said students should have a visually dynamic and memorable resume.

“Focus how you [the student] are going to stand out and what makes you marketable,” Hoermann said.

The Graduate Record Exam is not everything, and students with poor scores can still receive funding and assisstanceship, Hoermann said.

Hoermann’s last tip is to network and talk to people in the program prior to the semester to know what is required from the program.